plans are made to change

In German we kinda have a saying, that goes like this “erstens kommt es anders und zweitens als man denkt”. It basically means that plans can be made, but in most cases they will change anyways. I think, it fits 2020 perfectly.

I had this master plan for 2020 in mind – I’d fly to the US and hike the Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) and then stay there for two more months and visit many trail friends I met on the PCT in 2018! I thought it would be perfect to return to Europe with a container ship (this is one of my dreams of crossing the Atlantic by ship). So I booked everything and I was soo ready for this year.

But then, as we all know, Covid-19 came and the plans were destroyed. I was always very optimistic and thought maybe it could happen. But as time went on and it looked worse. So I decided to say goodbye to my master plan and started figuring out a new one.

I live in such a beautiful country and it is time to explore it! So I was checking out the long-distance hikes in Switzerland and I’ve decided to hike two trails (well, I hope) across the country. I will start with the Via Alpina (the green one), which is marked as number 1. The trail starts actually in Liechtenstein and goes all the way west till Montreux on the Lake Geneva. This trail is approximately 390km/242mi long.

Check out here the Via Alpina

When I’m at the Lake Geneva my intention is to walk home on a different trail, which would be the Alpine Passes Trail (Number 6). This goes more south and is about 610km/379mi long. The elevation profile of both trails is just INSANE! Fingers crossed, I’m fit enough…

Check out here the Alpine Passes Trail

My goal for this summer is to hike a 1000km! That would be half of the PNT and my original plan. I’m sure it will be a great summer with tons of adventure for me and you all!!!

Stay tuned for updates!