i should have known this, but i'd just like everyone to know that : swiss people are crazy and can't be trusted when it comes to hiking. today was a 'bank holiday' in geneva only, which basically just means its a day off and absolutely everything is closed. even my french class was cancelled and we were given the gift of a long weekend. i've been itching to hike ever since i found out there were hikeable mountains in switzerland, and knowing that everything would be closed i thought it would be the perfect opportunity.
mt. saleve is our local "mountain" it's actually just a cliff, but the closest thing we have. you can reach it by city bus #8, it's about a 20 minute ride. in my head, i'm picturing a nice hike to the top with a stellar view. before taking off, i had read quite a few blogs, maps, and reviews about climbing saleve so i was pretty confident in what i was doing. wrong. very very wrong.
i followed an older couple up to the trailhead, which happened to be like straight up. no worries though, i read online that this hike is about 99% uphill, so i was prepared for that. here's what i was dealing with : straight up, basically pulling myself up with the trees on the sides of the trail. this is the point i should have known this wouldn't turn out as i had planned.
after "climbing stairs" for about an hour, and being passed by multiple people, i decided this just wasn't going to work out. not worth it. i must have chosen the way wrong trail. heading down was a lot quicker for all the wrong reasons. unfortunately, there may have been a few times i accidentally slid down the side of the hill. oops. anyways, my calf is a little scraped up, but no big deal. about a 1 hour trip up the mountain only took me about 20 minutes to get down.
end of my failed hiking trip story. i definitely learned some lessons there. but, i wasn't going to let mt. saleve win. mt. saleve is famous for the cable car that runs from the ground to the top of the cliff. after sliding/walking down the hill i caved and paid the whole 8 francs it costs for a round trip ticket and rode the dang cable car up. it was much faster, less stressful, and yes, the view was awesome! (even though it was a little foggy)
people were parasailing off this huge cliff!!
