Day 14 - September 9

i took off my boots today for the last time. My final 3 days will be spent on a train or plane. My waterproof Merrell hiking boots I bought on clearance a couple of years ago have served me well. Combined with SmartWool and DarnTough socks we covered over 70 miles of ups and downs, in sun, snow, rain and fog. We have hiked and squished across mud, rocks, meadows and forests without a single blister!

Today I went on the Gornergrat Railway to the summit of Gornergrat. The Gornergrat Railway is a cogwheel mountain railway. It was the world’s first fully electrified cogwheel railway.

The route

From the summit you can see spectacular views of the Matterhorn and 29 mountain peaks over 12,000 feet. Unless it’s fogged in like today. Anyone noticing a theme with my high altitude “views?”

In addition to shops, restaurants, and a hotel, there is also a planetarium - all over 10,000 feet elevation. And it is a huge ski area.

And a chapel

People have erected hundreds of cairns, some quite impressive.

This is how the train looks today

And this is how the original looked

There were a few whispers like this of what was hidden by the fog.

I had hoped to do one last little hike today but I’ve already checked off Hike in Rain and Fog

I bought myself some little wooden souvenirs to remind me of my trip

This is me

The cute little black and white goats I saw high on the steep slopes

And of course my arch nemesis

They also had the cutest little Valais black nosed sheep but at that time I hadn’t seen one.

And then I did! I hope I will find a little carved one in the next day or so

They are so cute. I’m besotted.

Back in Zermatt for lunch. Since Italy is on the other side of the Matterhorn, pizza seemed a good choice.

Don’t be deceived by the blue sky. The mountain tops still weren’t visible and 20 minutes after I took this photo, it poured rain.