There are thousands of long-distance trails worldwide, sometimes thousands of miles long like the Pacific Crest Trail or the Wales Coast Path, others only a few hundred miles or less.
There are countless of them in Europe alone, some of them crossing the entire continent from the North Cape to Sicily. They all pose great challenges to hikers, but the rewards are overwhelming.
What are the conditions for successful hikes?
Of course, you should be healthy and reasonably fit (the fitness of younger people automatically sets in after some time). But the most important thing is mental strength.
Everything happens in the mind, success as well as defeat (although in the case of an aborted long-distance hike one can hardly speak of defeat, it is merely the result of an intelligent assessment of the situation, voilà). You have to desire it, you have to start it, you have to pull it through without hesitation.
Every evening, when the mind is tired and everything hurts, the next day, perhaps 20 or more kilometers once again, must be clear and possible. There should be no second thoughts, because only then the body and mind will regenerate during the night.
The long-distance hiking trails in Switzerland
There are 7 in total, starting with the Via Alpina to the Via Gottardo. And all of them are worth recommending, even if not for all ages. The Via Alpina, for example, is characterized as follows:
The Via Alpina crosses 14 of the most beautiful Alpine passes. Across seven Swiss cantons with diverse culture, geology and topography. Wide roads end in airy ridge paths.
Sounds tempting, but it's aimed at top athletes, elder people like me no longer belong to them.
A detailed description of the individual tours can be found on the swissmobile portal (see below)
Steeling the body, calming the mind
Given the diversity of routes, the choice is difficult. According to my age, I chose two of the easier but no less enchanting routes and hiked the Alpine Panorama Trail in 2021 and Trans Swiss Trail in 2022.
Both hikes were not only a rewarding and always exciting crossing of Switzerland, they showed me how multifaceted our little country is.
How different the mentalities, the languages, the traditions are, but also the topography, the ups and downs over hills and valleys, over passes and along brooks and rivers.
You have to experience it, you have to hike it to understand.
And most importantly, it has given me peace, it has calmed the spirit, it has created an amazing balance that has lingered for a long time.
You can not ask for more.
And here the first long-distance trail begins... the Alpine Panorama Trail