A Lodge in Switzerland

I've just booked the place we'll be staying next summer during the first leg of our hiking trip to Switzerland. It called the Gemmi Lodge, a wonderful spot next to the Kander River and right up against the Alps in Kandersteg.

Check out the photo on the home page of its website (http://www.gemmi-lodge.com). It looks more like a grand hotel than a hostel, but that's the norm for Switzerland. Swiss hostels are among the best in the world, cleaner and friendlier than many regular hotels I've seen in the U.S.

I stopped by the Gemmi Lodge last year and was excited to see that a new High Ropes Park had opened across the street. It has zip lines, rope bridges and all sorts of high-in-the-air thrills. (See the photo above, or visit http://www.kandersteg.ch/english/sport/seilpark.htm.) Looks like an exciting way for some of you more adventurous folks to spend some free time during the trip!

Learn more about our trip _ and sign up now. Visit us at http://myhikingvacations.com. As many trips as I've led over the years, it's always a thrill to make that first booking ...

Happy hiking,
Joseph

Switzerland in 2006, 2009

Some of you who are interested in going on our hiking trip to Switzerland have asked about the trips I led with the Boy Scouts in 2006 and 2009 _ and whether there are pictures from those trips on the Internet.

Of course, there are! Thanks to Scoutmaster Doug Donnell of Troop 1018, there are plenty. Take a look at these links. They provide you with a great sense of the spectacular scenery in the Kandersteg area.

http://troop1018.org/Past_Activities/Events2009/0907_Kandersteg/0907_Kandersteg-Index.htm

http://troop1018.org/Past_Activities/Events2006/07_Kandersteg/0607_Kandersteg.htm

Naturally, our itinerary won't be the same as the one for the Scouts, but we will be doing some of the same hikes. If this whets your appetite, go to http://myhikingvacations.com
and sign up for your trek to the Alps with us in July 2011.

Happy Hiking,
Joseph

Boy Scouts, hiking and Switzerland

OK, so you may have heard that this is the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. They did the celebration up big, with a parade down Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., and then welcomed tens of thousands of scouts to their Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia.

But what you may not know is that the scouting movement is older than that. Scouting was founded in 1907 in England by Lord Robert Baden-Powell, and he was wise enough to choose Switzerland as the site for his ideal permanent Scout camp _ a place where Scouts from around the world would be welcomed for all kinds of fellowship and adventure.

The Kandersteg International Scout Centre is located in the beautiful village of Kandersteg, Switzerland, which just happens to be one of our destinations in the hiking trip I'm leading next summer. The hiking is magnificent in that area, and the scenery is spectacular.

We're now in full swing in the planning for our return to the Alps on 12-22, 2011. We're sure you'd love to join us for the vacation of a lifetime! Visit our website
http://myhikingvacations.com for details.

Happy Hiking (and Happy Birthday to the Scouts!)
Joseph
http://myhikingvacations.com

Can You Canoe?

Hard as it is to believe, not all great vacations revolve around hiking. I've just returned from 9 days canoeing in the remote, endless and unspoiled lakes, ponds and streams of southern Ontario (Quetico Provincial Park) and southern Minnesota (the Boundary Waters).

It was a fabulous trip. We camped on islands, watched bald eagles soar, heard the loons give a concert and saw centuries-old pictographs left by native North Americans. Quite a bit of preparation goes into a trip like this (and the mosquitos are everywhere!), but I highly recommend it to all you outdoors adventurers.

If you'd like to know more _ or, as always, if you're looking for the perfect hiking trip _ check out my website http://myhikingvacations.com. We're now planning our summer hiking trip to Switzerland, set for July 2011.

Happy hiking (and canoeing),
Joseph