Day 1 started bright and early at school with the tedious task of repacking my bag that I had already packed and repacked numerous times the night before! Once that was done it was down the hill to the bus stop and onto Montreux train station. We caught the very modern Golden Pass Panoramic train from Montreux to the small town Montbovon where our ‘epic’ journey was to begin.

We climbed high above the town, stopping for lunch on a pile of logs at the top of the hill. For most people lunch consisting of a nice bread roll filled with meat and salad. However, I settled for a packet of raw ‘2 minute noodles’, which despite what others may say was very tasty!

Once full, we started down the hill only to walk up another one 10 minutes later! We got to the top of a field where we took a break. We then climbed up what looked like the remains of a landslide to have a well earned rest at the top. Once we had recovered, we moved along the nice flat road that ran along the mountain side. As we started our decent, Chateau d’Oex was visible in the not so far distance.

We descended into town and then onto the campsite by the river. In the following days, we would come to appreciate the facilities the campsite offered such as toilets and a lit, warm room for cooking and washing up. It had been a long day as we only arrived at the campsite at 7pm, so most of us were spent and retired to the five-star comfort our tents for night’s sleep. 

Day 2: Chateau d’Oex - Campsite 2

We set off at about 10:00am (1 hour later than planned), and after coming very close to making a wrong turn before we had even left the campsite, started walking towards the river. The scenery was a combination of open paddocks and forest for most of the morning until we reached the train line.

We then proceeded to start climbing, which is pretty much all we did for the rest of the day. Passing the time was made easier by continuous performances of “A Riga bamboo”, an incredibly repetitive girl-scout song that was to become our theme song for the trip. We stopped for lunch in a small town, or rather gathering of 5 buildings. The weather was excellent and we enjoyed the nice scenery as we were eating. It was time to set off once again, and we began to climb towards the summit of the mountain (or hill) that was above us. We took the long sweeping road around the back of the mountain. Once we reached a small farm house, we very willingly left our bags and climbed up the long and windy path to the top. After what seemed like an eternity of time, the summit was in sight. Below us were magnificent views of mountains and valleys, and in the distance the ‘Dents du Midi’, a sign of how far we were from home.

We finally reached the summit and took a minute (or ten) to admire the spectacular scenery in front of us. Once I had finished my relentless photo taking, we headed back down towards the bottom, picked up our bags and carried on towards the campsite. It was getting darker and colder as we moved down towards camp, walking on hard road had taken its toll on our feet, so we were getting slower by the minute. During the decent, Isabel made friends with a group of pigs in a barn house and we managed to scare a flock of sheep into the far corner of a field, although they may just have been running from our repulsive smell!

We reached camp at about 7pm again, and by camp I mean a patch of grass by the side of a road. We managed to get the tents up before it became dark. Cooking, on the other hand, was done in the dark, which was a harsh change from the heated room we used the night before. As there wasn’t much to do once it was dark, we all headed to our tents to sleep.

Day 3: Campsite 2- Rougemont – Campsite 3

The prospect of toilets and a vending machine pushed us on at a steady pace and we arrived at the Rougemont tourist office for lunch at around 12:30. Getting started after lunch was difficult, but once going we moved at a fast pace following the river along the long and windy road in the valley.

The feet were beginning to hurt and as we moved further along the road our ‘5 minute’ breaks slowly became 10 minute breaks. Despite all this we arrived at the campsite well before dark, which was a great relief to all of us! We set up the tents in the fields of a local farm, and then began to cook. Mike and I enjoyed a 4 course meal consisting of pasta, pasta, pasta and then some soup.  Much to her dismay, we were through 2 of our courses before Zoë’s water had even boiled, so we made sure she understood how nice our food tasted!

Once the washing up was done, it was getting dark and cold as we were camping at 1350m above sea level. We were running out of games to play, so we decided to go to bed at the late hour of 8:30. Although we were in our tents, we didn’t manage to sleep for a good 45 minutes courtesy of some unpleasant behaviour from Zoë as well as the fear for some that cows may come and sit on our tents!

Day 4: Campsite 3 – Saanen – Montreux – School

Motivation had returned as the prospect of returning to civilisation became increasingly appealing. After a visit from the farmer, we hurried through breakfast and quickly packed up, setting out at about 9:45. We were to walk down the road we had previously walked up the day before, and then continue down into the town of Saanen, located in the canton of Bern.

Even though Mr. Lineham and Ms. Beckett sped past us, we made very good time down the hill and arrived in Saanen at about 11:45, 45 minutes earlier than planned! It was a good feeling to see a nice big space to sit down at the train station. We dumped our bags and went in search of food. Once I had eaten my lunch, I decided to remove my feet from my boots and socks. This was interesting as they had not seen daylight in 4 days, having been in the same pair of socks the entire trip. Putting my socks and boots back on was even more interesting, as I realised it may not have been such a great idea to take them off in the first place!