Haute Route - Hiking From Europa Hut to Zermatt

On our last night on the trek, I was determined to get at least one night shot. Fortunately, the weather cooperated and I got up around 3:00 am for a quick one hour exposure of the mountains and glacier overshadowing our cabin.

Once the clouds finally cleared, the view during the day was equally impressive.

The trail out, while still having too many boulders for our tired legs, was much easier than the previous day’s. There were rolling changes in elevation, but no more 1,600 meter / 1 mile climbs. Instead, we were treated to ever improving views of the Matterhorn, more and more wildflowers, and a sea of blue butterflies.

There were multiple ways to complete the trail. One way was to take the tram down. Not an option for us, it would be too anticlimactic. Another choice was to wind through every little village along the way. This was the guidebooks “proper” way to finish. After all, each village was a “can’t miss opportunity” to experience the “best” of something. A third option was to take a direct trail to Zermatt. We contemplated our decision while having a noontime drink. We ordered a bottle of juice and received the tiniest bottle imaginable for $4.50. Typically, any place we stopped and used the bathroom we bought at least a bottle of juice. This was never an issue before, however, when I came out of the bathroom I was greeted by the waiter informing me, rather rudely, that I needed to buy a second bottle as I had used the bathroom as well. This made our decision easy to skip the rest of the wonderful hospitality and take the more direct route. Zermatt, crowded as ever, never looked so good as when we emerged from the forest and headed to our hotel.

The story continues with a unique photo shoot.