Backpacking in the Alps

So we can see his steps in the snow and at one point he just disappeared and we were like oh And even his steps in the snow Hello everyone welcome back to this week's episode Today we thought Valentine had a little story to share about how she went backpacking I think was it last summer. Yeah, it was just before University through Switzerland with a few of her friends Mm-hmm, and so since she's the only one among us three that's done this sort of like backpacking trip adventure We thought it'd be interesting to talk about it or at least you could tell us what you did How you organized with your friends, you know how the trip went and what sort of like tips or you might have if If there's people that are looking into doing this sort of trip. Yeah So essentially what I did it was with three of my friends two of my friends. We were a group of three One of my friends has this shallow in Switzerland Because she's from Switzerland. She's Swiss So she has a shallow in Switzerland and we're all three really close because we all kayak together So we have shared trauma like kayaking with and like almost drowning Brings people pretty close together, you know like we've done some pretty crazy stuff We've already done some trips within our kayak club to give you like an idea of how crazy Valentine and her other friend is like amongst the three people. There's you and Eva Decided one day to Just one school day. They were like, yep. We're gonna run a half marathon at lunch break during lunch break And I was at home and Valentine just came back at like 2 p.m. And she was like, yep, I just ran 21k Without practicing That's how freaking insane Yeah, we were just like, you know, let's do it because we wanted to try well We were also like training for the French national championship So we were like already pretty athletic. Yeah, but not running fucking not right I mean, I mean in So I'm pretty sure you're just fine. We did it in two hours. It was all good Casually running I was on a Like rate, but okay, I feel like 10k would even be a challenge in itself Yeah, you go in there I'm impressed. I didn't know about that So all of our experiences together are pretty intense and like physically demanding because obviously like when you're racing and kayaking it's just like very emotionally draining and yeah, so we were like this is our last summer together What are we gonna do? Let's go backpacking in Switzerland because that's really chill, you know, till activities So we organized it while we were still passing our back of the way and we were just our Google Docs like filling all the slots Like what were we gonna be eating that day? What are we gonna be packing stuff like that? And so the day arrives we take the train and we go to Switzerland to my friends chalet sleep there get everything ready and the day We're supposed to leave her dad is like do you guys have like a map or anything like do you know where we're you're going and we all look at each other and we're like You know what that's not stupid A paper map would be pretty useful Well, you think you were just gonna rely on Google maps. Well the girl the ones that's from Switzerland sort of knew the place Okay, sort of yeah, but like we definitely needed that map like thank god for her dad because we would have gotten lost That's how well organized the whole trip was First tip organized Bring a map Because there's no cell I'm There's no cell service like every time we'd walk and then our phones would start buzzing because there was one bar We'd be like oh my god send a message to mommy dad like we're alive Mom was worried I survived so our first day we walked like we averaged around like 10 to 20 K per day walking with 20 kilo Backpacks with all our Camics and sleeping bags food and clothes and everything so we did that walked all the way up to the mountain and We slept in this one shallay the first night and they fed us there was perfect Switzerland is perfect in this way because you can't like you can get lost But they're always like shallays up the mountains where you can like sleep and it's really cheap and People that are super nice and they feed you and it's like very homie and stuff like that Second day we walked all the way down the mountain so the mountain that we had just walked up We went down but it was super steep and so we went down ladders with our like super intense backpacks Holding on to ropes with no climbing here We're so there was no like there was no safety There's like a rope you hold on to the rope and there are ladders Essentially if you fall and you need to contact someone You're good. Oh how much of a how long of a Cliff was it I guess it was the least amount of kilometers we did per day, but it took us what it was so demanding I think it was about like three kilometers down like nobody'll ladders. Oh the ladders were like a good There's a video she didn't make a video. I'd say it was like two stories. I'd say about two stories more than two stories Oh really yeah, what in meters? Well, do you imagine like what's wrong with that? I don't know depends on the building you know I'm imagining so many. Oh my god. You're so Sock mess. What's up? I don't know like One skyscraper One skyscraper you don't realize it was like a long way to ask skyscrapers more than two stories Can we use normal metric Like three cows Three Swiss cows I have it on my phone like I have I tracked it a skyscraper like is like 56 stories or something it's insane. No, the in skyscraper means everything and nothing I don't know There's an average just like well. I mean if it's scraping the skies So it's like a few like 100 meters then that's hundreds of hundreds of meters then no, but one ladder Okay, but there's a video though your the ladder video is like so I was tall, but it was long like how long did it take you to get Down then, okay, hold on. I'm actually gonna pull out the things I have on my phone because it might actually be interesting I like recorded the entire self Oh my god. No, this is the attention of detail we need. Yes, that's what we're willing to provide for you guys on this podcast Okay, 400 this one's 400 Do didn't you believe 400 meters? This one's 600 So 400 or 600 meters. Yeah for the ladders that's still impressive With just wait for for the like one ladder was 400 meters long No, I'd say like one ladder was probably like 50 to 100 meters because it was a lot like it was just a rope It was just an entire really long rope and so far For like metal ladders Nobody cares how long the ladder Sorry guys, no, it's important No, because I was thinking you were doing Mount Everest type of climbing and I It actually loved to climb a really challenging mountain one. Yeah, but you need all the gear for that. Yeah, no practice All right, so and then anyway, so yeah, it's made our way down We're like oh my god. Yay. We did it and by this time like we were exhausted We like what have we gotten ourselves into we're in the middle of nowhere. There's nothing there like a couple trees The views were amazing and our second day down we decided we were gonna sleep in our hammocks because we were like Yeah, we don't need a shallie like we'll be fine. We won't need much sleep like Tired so here we are trying to find trees because in the mountains there aren't that many trees that are out So we had to like walk at a lower altitude to put our hammocks up We found a place to put our hammocks and in Switzerland there are these Like fountains just logs that are carved out and just water from the springs that you can fill your water like everywhere Like whatever you're walking you're gonna find stuff like that So we were trying to clean ourselves off because we thought yeah, that was our shower Had a little like meal which was dehydrated chicken and stuff like oh, yeah You had this asked the type of food astronauts would exactly it was great that night was actually pretty decent We're all just chilling in our hammocks and then we went to bed and That night was pretty eventful for me because all my friends they came prepared They had rematresses and their sleeping bags were really thick my sleeping bag for some reason is supposed to be like Minus 20 but I think it lost a lot of its thickness So it's not as warm and my dad had given me this survival Blanket blanket and I was like no, I'm not gonna need it. I was so cold that late like I wrapped it around Me and then I dropped my glove in the middle of the night. It was like pitch black outside And I was like oh, no, I don't want to get out of my hammock so I leaned down And I was so close I was touching it from like my fingers and then I fell on the ground and I was still half asleep Oh, no, so I found the ground. Did you hear you? - It was all very stored of it, just kind of winded me. And then I just had the worst night sleep of my life. And it was all good. - And woke up the next day. - To be honest, I slept in a hammock before and you wake up with the worst back pain. - It was all right, 'cause we had to make sure that they were really tight, so we were somewhat flat. - I feel that you can't sleep well in a hammock. 'Cause I moved so much. - You can have me sleep. - I sleep on my belly, so it was really hard. So we woke up the next day and we were really tired at this point, 'cause we had not slept really well in the last two days. And so we walked down to the nearest city and we were thinking of taking the bus. We didn't wanna walk another 3K on the roads. So we took the bus, I was like, yay, I slept a little bit on the bus. It was so relaxing, but it lasted only 10 minutes. And then. (laughing) - It's so hot. - It's pink got off the bus. Everyone in the bus saw us go and they were like, oh my god, what did they do? Like we were, they saw we were sweating with our back bags. We all had sunscreen on. - They've been through some shit. (laughing) - Bags under the eyes. And then we got out and I almost sprained my ankle. Both my friends went into survival mode. So they got this towel and they put it in, like I said, the little logs that have spread a lot 'cause it's cold. And then they're like, you're put it on there and we filled it like a ziplog bag and so I had water around my ankles. - No, I didn't. - It's cold water. - People were walking by and I was just there with my ziplog bag. (laughing) - Let's bear grills type things. - Yeah, survival skills. - I love it. - And so we continued walking over a second now. And our third day, we had planned on sleeping in this yurt. I don't know if that's how you say it in English. - Yeah, I think so. - But it's this sort of Teepee/Tent. And that was probably one of the best nights 'cause we were sleeping on the ground but the mattresses were wonderful. And there's this family with us 'cause the yurt had eight beds. They had two kids and we went to bed before them and we were passed out by the time they went to bed. They must have been like, oh my God, wow. - Well, when they saw you, they must have thought, oh no, they're gonna be, you know, it's teenagers that you party all night. (laughing) - And we went to bed before there's three-year-old kids. (laughing) But we ate well and then we walked back all the way to her shally and we had a hikelet when we got back. - Mm, nice. - Very nice. - That's so rewarding. - Well, deserved. - Yeah. - So many times we got lost and we were just looking at this paper map. You're like, no, we're here. No, you're like, this is not where we are. Look, we just went there. It was just so complicated. - And there are little markers on the rocks for you to get around. Normally at each spot, you can see the next marker, but you know, that doesn't mean that. - Sometimes you didn't know. So with someone, how did you manage the map? Was one person in charge? - I was really in charge of the map, but I did participate when they were all sort of lost. - Right. - I was the one that was like, no, we're on the right way. Like, let's just continue the journey. I see the next marker. - It's still guys. (laughing) - It's still guys. - It's still guys. (laughing) - Just go straight, like you. - You'll find our way. - Just move forward. - Exactly, dude, just swimming. - I wouldn't trust you with the map. I trust you to be the cheerful person that just keeps on going when nobody wants to. - Yeah, that was essentially what I was doing. They were more responsible. And they were like, no, we need to figure out where we're going. - Which is smart. (laughing) - We didn't get lost. At the end of the day, we-- - I would have been the guy with the map going, okay, we're, no. - I know. - Usually, I remember when we would go on boat trips with mom and dad in Canada, in the Muscoca lakes or whatever, and it can get pretty confusing. Dad would always take the boat and take us, God knows where on the lake for the day. And I'd be so scared that we'd get lost. I'd have the map on the side. And with my finger, I know I'd look at the coast, okay, this looks like this. I became really good at navigation because of that. - Yeah, that is really true. Dad's always like, nah, it's this way. - He also used to give us the steering wheel and we would put like full steam. (laughing) But anyways, I'm looking, you know, coming back to your story. I'm guessing one of the most rewarding things about, you know, going on one of those backpacking trips is the people you meet like in those, in those, yeah. - And those are all shouts, yeah. - People are always super nice. And they're all either from the area or they're also going on this crazy adventure. They're all like super athletic. - On the trails, was it just the three of you or were there other people walking? - Oh, it was just the three of us. Like you could not, so you never, - Now we were on a trail. - It was just rocks everywhere. Well, we did see, at one point we were almost lost and we saw this one guy that looked like a local, like he was pretty old and he had this, you know, cloth backpack. - Right. - Like he's seen what I'm saying. - Yeah, yeah. - Dressed in a way that made him seem like he knew what he was doing. - Yeah. - Like he was hurting sheep in the middle of nowhere. - Yeah, exactly. And at this point, we were sort of not following the map anymore, so we were just making our way down. Like our whole goal was to make our way down to the trees so we can put our hammocks. - Yeah. - So we can see his steps in the snow. And at one point he just disappeared and we were like, oh, no. (laughing) - Oh no. And even his steps in the snow, we were just gone. So I don't know what happened to this guy. Like I hope he's okay. It was God. - It was our angel. - It was our angel, like. - Baby. - He went the way. - Like the foot, did you see just the foot steps? - Yeah. - So only saw. - Like seriously, it was out of a move. - Maybe he saw you, got scared and thought he had to go like, and he just saw three people following him. - We were like, ah, we're in there, we're going like this guy's too. And then we lost him. - Did you ever call after him or no? - No. - You just followed him. - What would you even call, hey dude! - Hey man. - Yeah, I'm very nervous. - Buzzfeed Unsolved Needs to Get. - To Get On This Game. - I agree. Something's fishy out there. - We've heard stories, so. - But then I identified man. - In the absence of so many. - Oh yeah. - Well that's fun. I'm really glad that you took this trip. I remember I was in the car with mom at some point when she couldn't contact you and you were in the car and she was like, is that like a new giant color? And it would always go right to the-- - The rain tone. - Yeah. - Because we just couldn't reach you and she was kind of worried. But in the end, it just ended up going really well for you. - Yeah, no. I'm really happy. I always love these kind of trips where you push yourself to your limit. I feel like you really get to know people. Like my closest friends I've been on crazy trips with them. And that's what-- - Those are the best trips. - Exactly. - Because that's where you realize like, do I want to be-- - And the fact that it won't happen. - I have a lot of need to survive these people. - Exactly. Yeah. - I need to know that. Like if I'm gonna be your friend, I need to know. - There's a zombie apocalypse. - Yeah. - So I'm just so you know. But also the fact that it wasn't completely planned and that there were some parts that happened that weren't planned just made it even more special. Well if there's one thing to know about the three of us is that we're really into spontaneous things. Like we're pretty spontaneous people as much as I do like being organized, the best trips are the ones that are spontaneous. - Mm-hmm. Flagged. - And just to finish off, the last day we were like, yeah, we're gonna take it easy. We stayed in our friend's shadowy, but then we took our bikes, which were professional bikes that are made to bike up the mountain. Because we weren't tied enough. Like we needed to do more sports. And then we just rode all the way down. - That's so cool. - And just full speed. Just like, yeah. And if you think of the Walter Mitty scene, if anyone knows the secret life of Walter Mitty, the movie, well there's this really famous scene where he's going down. - Oh. - And he's in Ireland or-- - Ireland and he's on a skateboard going down all the way like, he's roads, like the squeaky roads full speed on his skateboard. - Yeah, that was pretty much what we were doing. - No. - The best. - Thank you guys so much for listening to this week's episode. Feel free to tune in next week for a new episode and follow us on Spotify to get notified as well as its Instagram to find out more. [Music]