RESET IN ALTDORF

VIA ALPINA DAY 43 –  MONDAY 3 AUGUST 2026
ALTDORF –> ALTDORF

DISTANCE HIKED: 2.00 km
ELEVATION GAIN: 0 m

TOTAL DISTANCE HIKED:  1,077.80 km
TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN: 54,840 m

The private campground worked out really well last night. There where  a few camper vans and about seven small tents so not busy or crowded. And a lovely spot about 2km from the centre of town.  The onside shop which works by an honesty system had  a great coffee machine so I had a good start to the day this morning.  Hammer had to wait till we were in town. We had booked a hotel break in Altdorf for tonight.

We walked the 2 kilometres along the trail into town. Unfortunately the hotel manager won’t be onsite till 2pm so we couldn’t check- in   but the cleaner let us leave our bags inside.

We wandered around town at a leisurely pace, had some breakfast and later lunch.
Temperature was rising to 33°C and all I wanted was to get a room, have a shower and wash my sweat encrusted clothing. Hammer couldn’t stand his crusty hiking clothes and had washed them at the campground last night. 

Altdorf is a spread out diverse town with new and old buildings, barns and multistory buildings interspersed.  A new train station anchors new multistory apartments in its surroundings.

The town is famous for being the home of the Swiss fabel about William Tell.  A tall statue of William and his son dominates the town square.  It would have been a great town to be in last Saturday for the Swiss National Day celebrations.   

When we finally checked into the hotel the manager was advising us against walking the section of trail tomorrow.  He thought it was the worst section of the VA route through Switzerland.  He suggested getting a cable car for a 3.7km section of trail which rises 935 m.   We’ll see when we get there. The VA guide offers both options.

We had a salad for dinner and a nice dessert from a local pattiserrie. Feet are rested and we are good to get out of the valley and into mountains on a predicted 33°C day tomorrow. Hopefully it will be a little cooler in the mountains.