INTO SWITZERLAND

VIA ALPINA DAY 38 –  THURSDAY 30 JULY 2026
VADUZ –>WEISSTANNEN

DISTANCE HIKED: 29.60 km
ELEVATION GAIN: 1,300 m

TOTAL DISTANCE HIKED:  974.40 km
TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN: 47,941m 

A hot day is forecast for today. We had a beautiful breeze as we hiked out of Vaduz towards Sevelen in Switzerland. Crossing an old wooden footbridge over the Rhine River into Switzerland felt like a long awaited milestone. It feels like we are about midway to completing the hike.

Sevelen was a residential town with five supermarkets and not much other activity when we passed through this morning. A heat haze obscured much of the view of the valley.  It was so nice to reach the shade of the forest as we left town.  Cresting a hill near Artilleriewerk Magletsch  there was a fabulous cool breeze and such a surprise to see soldiers  guarding what looked like a bunker. I commented on how nice the breeze was compared to the other side of the hill. For them this respite will be short-lived as they pointed out that they will still be there in the afternoon when the sun comes over the hill.
Surprising that Switzerland being a neutral country the first people we spoke to were soldiers.

From here it was a nice dowhill to a valley  and onto  Sargens where we stopped to have lunch and a cold drink. It was around midday and it was tempting to stay in town just to get out of the heat.  That was a temporary whim.

From Sargans the trail left town alongside the train line. Trains zoomed through and in my imagination they were all zooming to Zurich, the gateway to the world. How I dreamed of  escaping the heat. Hammer was quite and just put one foot in front of the other.  

It was so hot,  unbearably hot. We reached the nearby town Mels and it felt deserted. It was like everybody had gone to the beach. Its all I could think of as we sweated our way ascending a steep winding trail which was  exposed to the sun at first, and then through some shaded forest. The shade brought some respite from the heat, but the uphill grind continued.

As we slowly ascended away from Mels we had distant views of Sargans in valley behind us. Surprising how quickly it disappeared into our rear view and then completely out of view  We were passing through farmland with haymaking in full swing.

As we continued up the valley the sound of rushing water below sounded like an engine. We eventually reached the Seez River and followed it upstream towards Waisstannen. The water looked amazing and its coolness on such a hot day was inviting.

We reached Waisstannen and stopped for a cold drink at Hotel Gemsi.  I was keen to stay, but we still had plenty of daylight,  if not enthusiasm on my part, but Hammer was keen to keep going. In any case they had no vacancies so there was no choice. 

While having a drink I studied the map and noticed a campground located about a kilometre from town.  A generous local farmer has fenced off a part of their farm, installed a portable toilet and provided a flat camp site  right by the river.  Finding it felt like a gift, camping fee was a voluntary donation.

We had a swim in the river which was a godsend at the end of a long hot day. We waited for the sun to dip behind the mountains before retreating to the tent and getting horizontal.