Let's go to the Gotthard

After all the trail fun around Davos, it was finally time to seriously and permanently turn our gaze to the west. In the next few days, I wanted to get much closer to the Gotthard Massif quickly and without much fuss.

The first stages were not technically difficult but still interesting. Beautiful bike paths and some trails led through deep gorges and over daringly built bridges, following the Albula River to Thusis. From there, it was a comfortable ride along the Hinterrhein River with a bit of climbing to Trins Mulins, a small, sleepy village with the best campsite so far - wonderfully located on a meadow in the midst of a rock panorama, and excellently equipped with its own bathing lake, refrigerator, and kitchen.

The next morning, we embarked on a trail that led through the entire Rhine Gorge, the Grand Canyon of Switzerland. It first plunged steeply and somewhat exposed into the bizarre rock formations from which the good old Rhine once excavated itself after the Flims Rockslide. I wouldn't have expected that from the Rhine, but until now I only knew its gentle nature as it calmly passes Karlsruhe. The route then followed a constant up and down along the river, which strongly reminded me of the trails along the Isar River at home. It was quite pleasant, as such trails are not very common in Switzerland.

And so, for two days, we continued on well-developed bike paths, passing through Trun, Disentis, and Sedrun until we reached Rueras. The stages were not too long, as we reliably encountered thunderstorms and heavy rains in the afternoon, and I wanted to have my ducks in a row by then, or rather my tent on the campsite. Nevertheless, the Gotthard loomed closer and towering impressively threateningly right behind Rueras.