Technical Summary:

Day 1: Engelberg to Meiringen

Stats: 24.3km (112m ascent/1852m descent)

Trail Conditions: The whole trail was typical dirt/rock mountain trail. The technical difficulty increases towards the top where there is an amazing ridge hike. The descent goes through some grassy patches, which can be difficult to manage once your legs are fatigued from going down. I slipped a few times even with poles!

Good to Know: There is a gondola GB 2534 that brings you up to Trübsee. There are a few different gondola options going down from Planplatten area. The first closes early around 16:00, so if you arrive later in the day like I did you may have to hike down or catch one of the smaller gondolas below. I ended up catching one of the lowest gondolas PB2480 at Hasliberg Reuti to Meiringen. The 1800+ meters of descent will have catch up with you so the gondola was much needed by that point.

Engelberg to Meiringen

Day 2: Meiringen to Gimmelwald

Stats: 19.7km (1144m ascent/1385m descent) & 5.6km (462m ascent/49m descent)

Trail Conditions: On the first section around Meiringen/Grindelwald were a lot of paved road throughout the way as well some rocky roads. The second part I intentionally started from Mürren to start back on normal dirt/rock mountain trails.

Good to Know: This section I found the most annoying. There was a lot of transportation options, which I ended up using some (buses B164 & B128 from Meiringen to Schwarzwaldalp to Grindelwald; gondola PB2461 from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp & train R66 to Mürren). I happened to arrive on the day of a bike race and got instantly annoyed trying to share the streets the paths were on and within Grindelwald there were tons of tourists and traffic. Honestly, my least favorite section of the trail.

Grindelwald to Wengen

Mürren to Gimmelwald

Day 3: Gimmelwald to Griesalp

Stats: 12.3km (634m ascent/1280m descent)

Trail Conditions: The trail starts off as the same typical mountain trail as the day before, but becomes rocky and steep after Hundshubel. It remains that way until it reaches a rocky road. The road was very rocky and I slipped quite a few times (also due to my lack of hydration and nutrition).

Good to Know: There is one hut (Rotstockhütte) right by the start here where there is a water fountain nearby, but after that there is nothing until close to Griesalp. I was dehydrated and hungry most of this day and wished I had stocked up better in Mürren the day before.

Gimmelwald to Griesalp

Complete Middle Section

Daily Blog:

Day 1 - Engelberg to Meiringen

The first day from Engelberg was very hot so I immediately opted for the gondola to Trübsee. After the quick ascent from there to Engstlensee, the cows there at the top even looked exhausted from the heat.

Right at the top, there was one of the stamp stations.

Then a short descent to Engstlensee, which was really gorgeous. This part of the path was like a dirt road with plenty of places to stop for lunch. I opted for under a pine tree.

Then there was a short but really beautiful ascent to Tannensee.

Around the lakes, there were cute goats. The trail became like road again and there were more tourists including a little tourist “train”, which was linked little cars that looked like a child’s train.

There was another ascent from Tannensee to the start of the ridge hike. The ridge hike was very stunning and started the most technical segment of the hike. From this point, I didn’t see any more people - just sheep!

At one point, I found two marmots. See if you can see them in the video below.

….and then the sheep!

The rest of the way down. I was very focused on my footing due to the amount of grass. I slipped a couple of times before taking the gondola from Hasliberg-Reuti down to Meiringen, where I camped for the night. The camping spot there was on a playground in AlpenCamping and the lady at reception was very kind. I had no reservation and she even ordered me bread for the morning. I met a British man and Dutch couple were doing a cycling tour and camping next to me. We had a lovely chat over dinner. Meeting people at the camping spots is a real perk. It’s so nice to meet fellow outdoor-loving people and exchange recommendations of adventures to do.

Engelberg to Meiringen

Day 2 - Meiringen to Gimmelwald

The morning started off very relaxed with the delivery of the fresh bread and gipfelis. After saying goodbye to my new friends, I went to Coop and get some supplies for the next couple of days. The next part of the route was right along a bus line to Schwarzwaldalp. At the top there was connecting bus down to Grindelwald. Around Schwarzwaldalp there was a lovely view from the base of Wetterhorn as I waited for the connecting bus, which I was glad I did because the trail ran along the road and there were a couple of different biking races going on at the time. One on the road for race bikes and one on the trails for mountain bikes. It felt good to avoid all the bikers - however, I would soon learn in Grindelwald the races would continue from there again following along the trail. Grindelwald felt very overwhelming with the heat coming off the pavement and the tourists everywhere. I started to continue the trail to Wengen.

The trail towards Wengen was mostly on the road with lots of cyclists from the race. It was not ideal and un-motivating to continue.

Cute sign for goat cheese. There were white Saanen goats (native to Kanton Bern)

I stopped part way to Wengen and took the train to Lauterbrunnen as the combination of the heat, roads, and cyclists were all wearing on my enthusiasm and energy to continue. At Lauterbrunnen, I took the gondola up and then took the tiny mountain train to Mürren. I have done the trail from Lauterbrunnen to Mürren many times, so I did not feel the urge to repeat it along it is a very nice trail.

In Mürren, I purchased some snacks, which I enjoyed while gazing at the magical views from the village. I would end up regretting not purchasing more snacks or drinks for the next day (as I would run out of food and water).