Moving a bit slowly this morning. Tired due to late night getting washing from dryer and folding it up, researching what to do etc, etc after the others had gone to bed.

Despite forecast for rain at 2pm we decided to head up the mountain on the cable car to First at 11:30am to walk the Alpine Flower Trail .
Note: the Alpine Flower Trail is described as a "gently undulating path through flower strewn meadows".

Awesome view of the valley on the way up to First with plenty of parasailers circling their way to the valley floor past our gondola cabin. We could also hear the bells of the cows as we rode above their fields.

Once we arrived at First we promptly donned our puffy jackets and started on the trail to our first destination - Lake Bachalpsee.

This was a wide paved trail which made the walking easier but it did have a fair few climbs in it which was a test for Bev at times. She took breaks when she needed them and continued on.

Along the path Bev spotted a fox! That was totally unexpected and great to watch him alternating between loping across the tufty alpine grass and standing stock still in hunt mode . He was also extremely fluffy!

There was a lot of snow around on the way to the Lake but not on the path which was good. Well, apart from the "detour" Jill & I took from a lookout back to the main path (hehehe).

The lake was frozen over so there was a lot of white on white on white, but with small patches of beautiful blue where meltwater pockets had gathered on top.

Still, it was a fair amount of effort to get there and Bev summed it up by saying when we arrived "is that what we've walked all this way to see? Right."

She was able to have a little rest on a bench surrounded by alpine flowers while Jeff & I walked along the lake, and Jill went to look for (or make) yellow snow. When I looked back to check on Bev she was swinging her legs and looking pretty contended (or maybe just relieved to sit down). Either way, all good .

Decided to continue the walk to Waldspitz instead of just going back to First and taking the cable car back.

There was a lot of snow on the track in the first half an hour of this section, plus soggy ground that soaked our shoes and rocky bits to negotiate. Though she naturally needed help at times, especially with the snow crossings, Bev coped really, really well with all this. Quite impressed with her because let's face it, she's no spring chicken anymore and we're probably pushing her limits nearly everyday.

The scenery in this section was worth the effort though with lots of snow around and pretty alpine flowers pushing through the ground and snow. Most flowers have little to no leaf foliage so as you walk all you see are brightly coloured flowers everywhere against the soggy brown grass.

We don't know hardly any of the names, but we saw yellow buttercups, bright purple bell shaped flowers, bright pink flowers in tiny clusters or hanging from the undersides of rock ledges, white snowdrop like flowers, tiny blue star shaped flowers, yellow flowers and many more!

Lots of fun crossing the snow and walking this section despite soggy feet. An added bonus was seeing several marmots along the trail, including one which waited until Jill got quite close and then ran along the trail in front of us .

The trail eased off and became more of a road lower down as we passed old cow barns. Finally around the corner we reached our lunch destination of Walspitz (although it was 4:10pm by then!)

Man in the restaurant was friendly and helpful and told us we really needed to make the cable car from Bort (last one at a stretch departs at 5:20pm) or we would have to walk the entire way back into Grindelwald - about a 2 hour walk!

The sign said about 40mins from here to Bort but he looked at our group and said "allow an hour".

Oh dear.

The total walk from First to Bort was meant to only take 2hrs 30mins and we'd already taken about 4 hours just to make it this far!

After a quick visit to the "little house" (walking by rushing glacial streams has a certain affect on one), Bev & I started down the trail to Bort while Jeff & Jill waited for our sandwiches to be made .

Though we couldn't stop to admire it, this last section was very scenic, with a narrow trail repeatedly zig zagging through pine forest down the hill. More flowers out here and some new types too like beautiful purple violas and violets.

Very pretty indeed but also extremely steep (understatement of the day) and hard on your knees. Bev was an absolute power house here and armed with the knowledge that yet another long walk faced her if we didn't make it to the cable car in time, she took off down that trail with her head down and a steely determined glint in her eye. Honestly, I could hardly keep up with her myself at times! I even had to warn her to slow down when the trail was particularly steep!

After about 15mins I saw Jeff & Jill on the trail above us but even they couldn't catch up.

In the final stretch the trail changed to a wider and more level surface as we exited the forest and continued through grassy meadows full of cows and sheep all wearing bells . With the Bort cable car station in sight and a time check showing we'd only taken 30mins we were able to cut the pace slightly and enjoy the last little bit of the walk at a less frantic speed.

We did this last section in 40mins - a very impressive feat considering none of us are 20, one of us is 73 (!) and another has Fibromialgia (arthritis type synonyms).

Very happy to buy our tickets and munch on our (really yummy) sandwiches on the ride back to Grindelwald.

In all, it took us 5hrs to cover 6.5kms on this "2.5 hour trail".

I think even in summer without snow, water on the trail and soggy ground to contend with that that's a huge underestimation for this "gently undulating" trail!

Having said that ... we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. :)

Back in Grindelwald and refreshed after sitting down in the cable car we decided to walk some more (gluttons for punishment I know...) and have a look in the shops and to get a few more things for dinner (ie dessert) and breakfast.

Jill didn't last long but Bev stayed with me while we wandered around for 30mins or so. Found a few bits and pieces then bought some Indian takeaway to supplement our leftovers from last night and headed back to our chalet to enjoy a well earned dinner.

Hair dryers also came out to dry off poor soggy sneakers!

After dinner I laid on the lounge and enjoyed the view of the twinkling chalet lights dotting the other side of the valley. Well I enjoyed it for about 10mins and then I passed out. Tired wee sausages tonight but what an enjoyable day.

PS. And it didn't rain! Whooo hoo.