Same procedure as every year: we participated in the annual hike through the night before ascenscion day. As usual, the route starts in the village of Bremgarten and follows the river Reuss for 45 kilometers before finally climbing 1500 meters over the final 5 kilometers up mount Rigi.
The hike gets more popular each year. This time a record 2363 hikers participated, 1679 of whom actually made it all the way to the summit. We started as a group of four: first timers Sandra and Björn, Tim and me. Tim had to bail after the first 20 km or so because he was wearing boots he hadn't used in more than ten years and consequently got nasty blisters. Björn and Sandra were great troopers and we reached the summit at 8 in the morning after starting at 8 in the evening, giving us a nice and even 12 hour start to finish time. The weather was picture perfect during all this time. Starry night with frozen ground (slippery on the mountain!) and blue skies during the day.
Returning back home from the mountain I barely had time to shower and to take a 40 minute power nap before Anita and I headed for the airport. We were flying to Germany to attend my grandmother's funeral. She had finally been redeemed at the age of 92 after a long period of suffering from Parkinson's disease. Rest in peace Oma.
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