New Season

I don't want to rub it in for my Oregon readers, but here the weather has finally come around, very suddenly, at the end of last week. Tuesday and Wednesday I went to St. Gallen (the lowlands) to visit my aunt, and it still was very cold. During the whole train ride (4 trains, 4 hours) I never took off my parka, despite wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt and a sweater underneath! What a change! The snowline is now above the tree line, opening a world of new hiking options. The forest is green, the fields are filling up with wildflowers and the river has become a monster: full of silt and mud form the rapid snow and glacier melt, gushing by my window, an inch from flooding. As for me, I feel reborn, finding once again the level of energy I had in the winter. Light, warmth, open windows, swallows flitting back and forth, screeching.. Today I even felt inspired to wash the windows.

I am now alternating walks with bike rides. The walks are taking me ever higher, and I hope I am not doing anything stupid by striking out on my own. I am very careful, always carrying a hiking stick because there still are snow fields here and there in the shadowy woods and some of the creek crossings are hairy because of the high water levels. Some tourists have come back, but it definitely still is low season and I seldom meet anybody on the trails. More accurately, I seldom meet humans. The other day I was having a snack in the most delightful meadow, high up on the slope... and suddenly a doe came out of the woods and strolled along the lower edge of the clearing, unaware that I was there, or pretending not to see me. Without the distraction of conversation with a hiking buddy, I see so much more. Marmots also are common encounters. At some places they are very skittish, elsewhere they can't be bothered running away from me.

So far I have done only 2 bike rides. My options are somewhat limited. It's either up the valley, or down the valley! There are many miles of trails, leading way up into the alpine meadows, but there is no way I'll ever ride my bike on them. I am not skilled enough, and while riding is exhilarating, it does not allow for observing flowers, watching birds, noticing the doe. Right now my biggest challenge is not having padded biking shorts and after an hour in the saddle the riding is less than enjoyable. Does one grow calluses, or develop special muscles that make one more resistant over the long term?

The wildflowers are now the highlights of my hikes. As one gains elevation one goes through all the stages of spring, ranging from crocuses where the snow just melted, to new species in the lower fields. Identifying them is an on-going challenge. Fortunately I have two friends who are passionate about wildflowers, and very good at identifying them. When I have exhausted all my field guides and I am still stumped, I send pictures of the mystery flowers to either one of them, and pronto get the name. One of these friends is my high-school German teacher whose true passion is flowers. He has translated THE wildflower guide of Switzerland, Flora Helvetica, from German to French, and just last week he sent it to me - at the amazing whole sale price. It's a treasure, a priceless resource, the Swiss botanist's bible.

As to the highlight of the past week: the visit of my friend Paul from Brussels. He heard me talk about Zuoz since 1978 and wanted to see it. After I picked him up at the train station, took him home and showed him the apartment, he expressed concern about my well being: he though I must be going crazy, all alone in this remote village, without a movie theater, a video rental store, or many of the other amenities found in the city. However, after the hike to the mouth of the glacier (a very different sight now that the snow is gone) and another to a high meadow peppered with wildflowers and affording a stunning view down to the lakes in the St. Moritz area, after having slowed down from his jet set lifestyle and having learned to appreciate the view from the window and the roaring of the river beneath, at the end of the visit he declared that he now understood why this place means so much to me. As he is about to move from Brussels to Switzerland with mixed emotions (it's too quiet, the stores are closed when you need them to be open, etc.) I hope that the weekend in the Engadin allowed him to discover some of the advantages and privileges of living in Switzerland.

Pictures:
1. Hiking to Marmore, above Sils. View down to the Lakes of Silvaplana and St. Moritz, as well as the towns of Silvaplana and St. Moritz.
2. Marmot standing guard
3. Poppies in the river bed
4. Sunday morning sightseeing in Zuoz.