Journey to the Center of the Dry-Heave
So I finally did it. My first wilderness adventure trek in Switzerland. And it was crazy right from the get-go.
Essentially, there was a conflict of events. And the clash was between the Geneva Intern Network (GIN) Party (scheduled for the night before), and the Hiking Trip to Zermatt. Primarily because alcohol would be served and drank at the party, and because the train for Zermatt was leaving Geneva at 6:35am. Not exactly a smooth transition from one event to another.
And that's exactly what went down. When I opted to join the pre-drink party (which I enjoyed referring to as 'Yonky-Tonk', even though it didn't catch on), I never took into consideration that I hadn't eaten anything for dinner, so instead of just feeling buzzed and going home to get a half-decent night's sleep, I pretty much got tanked, was on the verge of dry-heaving, and got 2 hours of crappy crappy sleep. I know Chris McAllister took pictures of the party, so I'll post my drunken highlights at some point this week. Like right now, cuz I just got the pics from McAllinski himself!!
I am such an ass. Look at me very quickly getting retarded.
And before I continue, I'd just like to point out that the first picture of me seated in the centre, with my hand up by my face and the faint light highlighting me was pure coincidence and completely natural. Higgins, I don't know how that happened, but I'm happy with the result! And the next following pics look as though I've just been shot in the shoulder with a high-calibre rifle... but then, who's to say that didn't happen?!?
Lesson of the Evening: Never drink Gin straight up. There's a reason as to why Gin is always mixed (ie. Gin & Tonic, Gin & Coke, etc). I swear it's like drinking polyethylene.
Anyway...so by the time I made the 40 minute trek back to the apartment, it was already a little past 3am. And by the time I finished packing everything I needed for the hike, and threw my ass into bed, it was close to 4am. In fact I wouldn't even call my rest, "sleep". I swear, it felt as though I had just woken up as soon as my head hit the pillow.
So in my hungover stupor, I hauled my on-the-verge-of-dry-heaving body out the door and onto the tram and made my way over to the train station. When I got there, I didn't see anyone around so I just figure that I was early. Little did know that Gustavo, Tom, and Ben, had de-evolved into a trio of pansies overnight and opted to bail on the hike, and sleep in. Which was probably something I should've done too, but I was too stupid and too hungover to know any better.
Anyway, after running up to the train platform (twice, because I thought maybe I might've missed them) and near the practically ready to pass out at the station, Sarah and Naveen, show up with just 5 minutes left to spare before the train is scheduled to depart. And since they didn't know what was going, we made the decision to just go anyway, with just a minute to spare. Exciting stuff, isn't it!!
The next 2 hours were just painful. I essentially passed out in the train car and attempted to regain control of my bodily functions.
By the time we reached Zermatt, it was smooth sailing... well, at least when we finally began our trek up the mountain. After consulting the tourist info station as to which trail to follow, we opted for the "medium" difficulty as we didn't feel like spending the cash to take the cable car up to the top of the longest trail, and because we're not a trio of Japanese tourists who are looking for an easy brisk walk.
So off we went, and just like that, believe it or not (the Ripley's kind!) my head cleared of all the drunken-hung-over fogginess and we were hiking up the base of the mountain!
Now since this is a hike, there really isn't THAT much to tell. I mean, c'mon, we're basically walking up the side of a mountain. How spellbinding could that possibly be? Okay I exaggerate... although it was a lengthy and exhausting climb, it was an incredible experience. The view was amazing, and it was an entirely different world the higher we hiked up into the mountains.
At the base of the mountain, it's sunny, warm, and comfortable. And as you move higher and higher up into the mountains, it gets darker, colder, misty, and even rainy. I swear if it wasn't for all the construction on the new skilift, some parts of the area could be comparable to some environments of 'The Lord of the Rings'.
But aside from the breathtaking views of mountains, and there were a ton (essentially everytime I wasn't focusing on the ground to keep from falling off the trail and into the gourge), the most amazing experience was the silence that can be heard (does that even make sense?) Yes, that's right, the silence that can be heard when you're up in the mountains.
And I know I've said it many times to people already, but I'm from a small city called 'Hamilton', and even when it's the dead of night, like 3:30am, and there's no traffic along my street, or even in the area. When there's no airplanes, or vehicles in the sky, not even a peep from the birds, it still wasn't even nearly as quiet as it was when you're up in the mountains. And to be completely honest, the feeling was almost eerie and surreal. It's like nothing you've ever experienced. I could whisper to Naveen twenty metres away, and she'd still be able to hear everything that I say, as if I were right beside her. Incredibly peaceful. Spirituality at its finest. Now I know why all ninjas in the movies live out in the woods for a part of their lives.
But I'll move it along by saying that by the time it was all over, and we had hiked close to 2.8 vertical kilometers, and completed the hiking trail in 6 hours. And when reached the last rest station, we were treated to trio of Swiss Alphorn players. That's it, go ahead and say it. RIIIIIII-CO-LAAAAAAAAAAA!
Anyway, from that point on, there isn't a whole heck of alot to tell except that we took the underground cable car back down to the base...
...and feasted on delicious pizzas (can you guess which one was mine??) at this extremely cozy italian restaurant before heading back to Geneva.
I couldn't say for sure as to whether I'd do another crazy mountain hike again in the near future, but I definitely would give it some serious thought. It was perfect time to go, as all the surrounding vegetation was just changing colour.
But one thing is for sure, is that the next time I go, I'm definitely staying dry the night before. It just isn't worth the dry-heave. And especially the flat-faced lying, in which I said I wouldn't touch a drink for at least a week.
Damn, I'm an alcoholic. Curse you, european culture, and your cheap booze and wine!!
Essentially, there was a conflict of events. And the clash was between the Geneva Intern Network (GIN) Party (scheduled for the night before), and the Hiking Trip to Zermatt. Primarily because alcohol would be served and drank at the party, and because the train for Zermatt was leaving Geneva at 6:35am. Not exactly a smooth transition from one event to another.
And that's exactly what went down. When I opted to join the pre-drink party (which I enjoyed referring to as 'Yonky-Tonk', even though it didn't catch on), I never took into consideration that I hadn't eaten anything for dinner, so instead of just feeling buzzed and going home to get a half-decent night's sleep, I pretty much got tanked, was on the verge of dry-heaving, and got 2 hours of crappy crappy sleep. I know Chris McAllister took pictures of the party, so I'll post my drunken highlights at some point this week. Like right now, cuz I just got the pics from McAllinski himself!!
I am such an ass. Look at me very quickly getting retarded.
And before I continue, I'd just like to point out that the first picture of me seated in the centre, with my hand up by my face and the faint light highlighting me was pure coincidence and completely natural. Higgins, I don't know how that happened, but I'm happy with the result! And the next following pics look as though I've just been shot in the shoulder with a high-calibre rifle... but then, who's to say that didn't happen?!?
Lesson of the Evening: Never drink Gin straight up. There's a reason as to why Gin is always mixed (ie. Gin & Tonic, Gin & Coke, etc). I swear it's like drinking polyethylene.
Anyway...so by the time I made the 40 minute trek back to the apartment, it was already a little past 3am. And by the time I finished packing everything I needed for the hike, and threw my ass into bed, it was close to 4am. In fact I wouldn't even call my rest, "sleep". I swear, it felt as though I had just woken up as soon as my head hit the pillow.
So in my hungover stupor, I hauled my on-the-verge-of-dry-heaving body out the door and onto the tram and made my way over to the train station. When I got there, I didn't see anyone around so I just figure that I was early. Little did know that Gustavo, Tom, and Ben, had de-evolved into a trio of pansies overnight and opted to bail on the hike, and sleep in. Which was probably something I should've done too, but I was too stupid and too hungover to know any better.
Anyway, after running up to the train platform (twice, because I thought maybe I might've missed them) and near the practically ready to pass out at the station, Sarah and Naveen, show up with just 5 minutes left to spare before the train is scheduled to depart. And since they didn't know what was going, we made the decision to just go anyway, with just a minute to spare. Exciting stuff, isn't it!!
The next 2 hours were just painful. I essentially passed out in the train car and attempted to regain control of my bodily functions.
By the time we reached Zermatt, it was smooth sailing... well, at least when we finally began our trek up the mountain. After consulting the tourist info station as to which trail to follow, we opted for the "medium" difficulty as we didn't feel like spending the cash to take the cable car up to the top of the longest trail, and because we're not a trio of Japanese tourists who are looking for an easy brisk walk.
So off we went, and just like that, believe it or not (the Ripley's kind!) my head cleared of all the drunken-hung-over fogginess and we were hiking up the base of the mountain!
Now since this is a hike, there really isn't THAT much to tell. I mean, c'mon, we're basically walking up the side of a mountain. How spellbinding could that possibly be? Okay I exaggerate... although it was a lengthy and exhausting climb, it was an incredible experience. The view was amazing, and it was an entirely different world the higher we hiked up into the mountains.
At the base of the mountain, it's sunny, warm, and comfortable. And as you move higher and higher up into the mountains, it gets darker, colder, misty, and even rainy. I swear if it wasn't for all the construction on the new skilift, some parts of the area could be comparable to some environments of 'The Lord of the Rings'.
But aside from the breathtaking views of mountains, and there were a ton (essentially everytime I wasn't focusing on the ground to keep from falling off the trail and into the gourge), the most amazing experience was the silence that can be heard (does that even make sense?) Yes, that's right, the silence that can be heard when you're up in the mountains.
And I know I've said it many times to people already, but I'm from a small city called 'Hamilton', and even when it's the dead of night, like 3:30am, and there's no traffic along my street, or even in the area. When there's no airplanes, or vehicles in the sky, not even a peep from the birds, it still wasn't even nearly as quiet as it was when you're up in the mountains. And to be completely honest, the feeling was almost eerie and surreal. It's like nothing you've ever experienced. I could whisper to Naveen twenty metres away, and she'd still be able to hear everything that I say, as if I were right beside her. Incredibly peaceful. Spirituality at its finest. Now I know why all ninjas in the movies live out in the woods for a part of their lives.
But I'll move it along by saying that by the time it was all over, and we had hiked close to 2.8 vertical kilometers, and completed the hiking trail in 6 hours. And when reached the last rest station, we were treated to trio of Swiss Alphorn players. That's it, go ahead and say it. RIIIIIII-CO-LAAAAAAAAAAA!
Anyway, from that point on, there isn't a whole heck of alot to tell except that we took the underground cable car back down to the base...
...and feasted on delicious pizzas (can you guess which one was mine??) at this extremely cozy italian restaurant before heading back to Geneva.
I couldn't say for sure as to whether I'd do another crazy mountain hike again in the near future, but I definitely would give it some serious thought. It was perfect time to go, as all the surrounding vegetation was just changing colour.
But one thing is for sure, is that the next time I go, I'm definitely staying dry the night before. It just isn't worth the dry-heave. And especially the flat-faced lying, in which I said I wouldn't touch a drink for at least a week.
Damn, I'm an alcoholic. Curse you, european culture, and your cheap booze and wine!!
posted by Alanosaur at
1:39 a.m.
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