After our pleasant and relatively easy hike the previous day, it was time for a change.

As one of our fellow travelers departed to head home to Australia, our remaining group of three set out to do the hike to our overnight stay in the Berggasthaus Trift mountain hut.

As you can see on the map, this hike was in two parts. The red on this page is the hike UP to the hut where we would stay overnight.

I had not mentioned the weather on this trip except in passing before. Things had been very pleasant with only one day getting a bit chilly towards the end of the hike (disregarding the short stop at the Klein Matterhorn with the snow fields). But the previous day and now this day, the temperatures were rising. Typically early July in Zermatt is a pleasant/cool 16 deg C (61 deg F). But this year saw a heat wave. For our hike up the mountain, the high in town was reported to be 31 degrees C (88 degrees F). Our hotel said that it was even hotter there. Luckily it was dry but we found that the heat and intense sun followed us up the mountain. For Zermatt, this was roasting!

The hike started directly above the Zermatt train station and went literally up the mountainside. We didn’t take the direct route that follows the stream through a canyon directly up to the hut. Instead, we went to the right and then up - and up - and up. Between the hot day, our overnight stuff (which for me includes all my camera gear), and the steepness of the trail - it was definitely a challenge. But so worth it!

When we finally got past the steepest part, the top of the Matterhorn was there to greet us. As the trail kept going up but not as steeply, the challenge merged into pure enjoyment. During all of this, we walked past and saw many amazing snow retention fences/constructs above us. As we dropped down into the valley where the hut was nestled, we noticed a patch of almost fluorescent moss and moisture. This led us to discover a spring tucked away in a small opening on the side of the mountain. Our guide was nice enough to take our water bottles and reach into the dark abyss of the spring to fill the bottles. The taste of that cold, fresh spring water, especially after such a hike, was a gift from the gods!

When we arrived at the hut, we sank into a table sitting outside with the amazing views - hut to the side, stream falling down the canyon to the town far below, and massive peaks with snow fields and glaciers above us. Out came cold drinks and great food - what a lunch!

The original Trift hut was built in 1887 but was wiped out by a huge avalanche that sloughed through Platthorn, Trift, and Zermat in 1898. In 1900, the new Hotel du Trift (hut) was opened (in the same style as the original) and is there to this day. Imagine that this new hut went through two world wars, the Great Depression, and other world troubles.

The hut on the outside looks pretty much like a typical Swiss building. On the inside, everything is wood - floors and walls are the same. The rooms we had were small with a bed/mattress, bedroll, blanket, chair, a small table, and a light. It felt like we were staying in a simple monastery. After a day of great hiking in the fresh mountain air, it was exactly what we needed - everyone slept like a baby!

Dinner was great in the dining room on the main floor of the hut. We had a choice of meat or vegetarian - that was the choice (my kind of choice - no brain cells used in the decision). It was delicious, to say the least.

We had the rest of the afternoon off. Two of us hiked up the trail a bit towards the snow fields just to enjoy the view. My friend had fun acting like a duck splashing water from the stream all over the place. I, with my camera, enjoyed more pictures and got several wildflower photos while I was at it.

Up to now, I had not mentioned the wildflowers, but we ran across them regularly all through our hikes. The colors were vivid, and the shapes and sizes varied often due to how sheltered or the altitude they were surviving in. Wonderful.

Two of us had talked about staying up and going outside to enjoy the night sky for a bit. Turns out neither of us made it. But we both spent a bit of time looking out of our respective windows to capture the amazingly clear and brilliant night sky - and then promptly passed back out for the night.