Each June, after the muddy meltdown of winter snows, my thoughts turn towards the summer season’s !rst wild"ower display debuting alongside the mountain trails of Colorado, where I live. Every year brings new color or a new species of "ower I haven’t seen before. At sub-alpine elevation (approximately 10,000-10,900 feet), the bloom time varies for the perennial mountain garden. Sometimes the blooms seen in years past have drifted to a new location as if an alpine fairy whisked the seedlings to another favored spot with a wave of her wand.

THE FOURTH OF JULY TRAILHEAD Depending on the timing and temperatures in July, red Indian paintbrush (Castilleja spp.) carpets large swaths of

the slopes along the Diamond Lake hike, just west of Nederland, and then blazes into hot fuchsia pink. Riotous colors burst forth: purplish bluebells bend over cascading creeks, while pink elephant heads (Pedicularis groenlandica) appear along marshy meadows. #e trailhead o$ers up an impressive array of no less than 100 species of high-country wild"owers, making it a top hike in late July during peak bloom season. Some locals claim the origin of #e Fourth of July Trailhead name stems from the bodacious wild"ower display in July, reminiscent of !reworks, with columbines, iris, shooting stars, bell"owers, glacier lilies, daisies, sun"owers, and Indian paintbrushes giving new meaning to the colorful name. With hikes like Diamond Lake, it’s

Wild"owers From the Rockies to the AlpsA Colorado hiker finds herself at home in SwitzerlandGigi Ragland

A springtime hike on Sigel Alp. Photo: Roland Gerth and Appenzellerland Tourism, Switzerland

In the Rockies (shown): Silene douglasii; Silene vulgaris is found in Switzerland.

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hard to believe that any could compare in beauty. But beyond our backyard of the Rockies, it’s good to remember that beauty reigns in all places of the world. A mountain hiking enthusiast can roam from the Andes to the Himalayas, the Carpathians to the Cascade peaks, and a vast number of other ranges. My mountain wanderings have taken me to many stunning places, but the Alps of Switzerland hold a special place in my heart.

THE MAGIC OF THE ALPS #ough I grew up on the "at plains of Oklahoma, in my imagination I climbed the Alps right along with book character Heidi. Completely enchanted with the movie, !e Sound of Music, I thought the landscape was the superstar of the !lm. #e opening scene, with Julie Andrews twirling around the mountaintop singing "#e hills are alive with the sound of music," became forever etched in my memory. I knew I had to visit one day. Fortunately, that dream did come true and I have explored Switzerland several times. #ere are many places in Switzerland where the traditional lives depicted in Heidi still exist today. You can hike into the high-

Above: Hikers enjoy the “Geologischer Wanderweg” trail on the Hoher Kasten. !is high altitude trek explores cli"s to rocky mountain paths, detailing how local rock formations originated with the aid of 14 signs dotting the trail.

Left: Arnica species are known for their healing properties. !ey are found in the Swiss Alps as well as the Rocky Mountains.

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country meadows of the Alps to explore the pastoral setting complete with brown Swiss cows grazing on the green grass during the summer months. And if you are really lucky, the family tending the cows might share a luscious piece of homemade cheese with you. #e varieties of delicious Swiss cheese are as vast as the array of wild"owers blanketing the mountains. #e gentle bovines feed on grass, but they also munch away on a steady diet of pasture wild"owers, plants, and herbs, giving distinctive "avors to the !nished cheese. #e Swiss have been blending blooms and herbs into food, drink, and other products for centuries. In fact, Appenzeller cheese, named after the region in Northern Switzerland, has been made in the area for over 700 years and is reputed to be the tastiest cheese in Switzerland. #e 42 herbs basted into the rind during the aging process might have something to do with it. Admittedly, cheese was never one of my favorite foods, but after a visit to Appenzell I am a happy convert. Hiking in the Alps of Appenzellerland, I experienced the desire to twirl around and burst into song like Julie Andrews. I refrained though, lucky for the ears of my hiking companion, Greg Witt, who is a certi!ed

Above: Two mountain bikers head uphill from the Berggasthaus Bollenwees

guesthouse in the Bollenwees Fählensee, a prime starting point for wild#ower hikers.

Right: Geranium sylvaticum is found in the Alps; in the Rockies (shown)

Geranium viscosissimum.

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Switzerland Specialist, mountaineer, and the author of many hiking guides, including Best Hikes in the Swiss Alps (Amazon Kindle, 2012). He and his wife own and manage a vacation company, Alpenwild, based in Provo, Utah, that o$ers hiking, walking, and trekking tours in the Swiss Alps. With Greg’s encyclopedic knowledge and years of experience with local culture, I felt con!dent that I would enjoy a great day full of Swiss-ness, with all my questions answered.

COMPARISONS What makes the Alps any better or di$erent than our mountains? Witt says this is one of the most frequent questions asked by Americans. His answers speak to the di$erence between mountain ranges. He says, “I think the scale of the Alps is just so much grander. #ere’s a vertical relief from valley "oor to summit that we simply don’t have here in the Rockies.” He explains that the Rockies’ high peaks, (Elbert, Massive, Harvard) rise less than 5,000 feet from the surrounding base and adds, “Compare that to Zermatt where you have the summit of the Matterhorn hovering 9,500 feet

!e Alps species of meadow salsify is Tragopogon pratensis. Closest in the Rockies is tragopogon dubius, shown.

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Campanula rapunculus is one of the many bell#ower varieties found throughout the Alps.

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above.” When you add in the hundreds of glaciers easily accessed by trekking or train ride, the excursions are vast and varied. Witt set me straight on the word “alp.” Most people think of it as a mountain. “Actually,” he says, “an alp is a high meadow above timberline. #e mountain range is named after these meadows.” But does it compare with timberline in Colorado? Witt says that the Alps have a low timberline, around 7,000 feet, compared to over 11,000 feet in Colorado. #is brings us back to mountain wild"owers. “#e Alps’ low timberline results in grassy and wild"ower-!lled meadows that blanket the 7,000-10,000-foot band where alpine farmers graze sheep, cows, and goats in the summer,” he explains. Now you can understand the extraordinary taste in local milk and cheese. Swiss folklore claims, “#e higher you go, the better the pasture; and when you reach the sky even the humans eat grass.” I didn’t snack on grass while hiking the Alps, but noted its subtle "avor in the cheese, beer, bottled "ower water, delicious fresh salads topped with edible herbs and "owers, tea, and even a mineral bath infused with local herbs and "owers at a local spa. “Alpenbitter,” a local schnapps made with over 40 herbs, spices, and "owers, is considered a good way to wind down in the evening. From the heart

!e view from Hoher Kasten looking down across the valleys and ridges of the Alpstein range.

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Along a hike from Brülisau to Hoher Kasten Mountain Station, a stop at the revolving Hoher Kasten Restaurant o"ers amazing Alp views in addition to showcasing an alpine garden with over 300 plants.

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of the town of Appenzell you can seek out Lowën Pharmacy where the facade of the beautiful old building is decorated with painted medicinal herbs and "owers on the round-arched panels covering the shutters.

ALPENGARTENS Aside from their practical purposes, the aesthetic appeal of wild"owers is astonishing. Greg Witt and I discovered alpengartens nestled at the base of a gasthaus (guest house) along the winding routes at Ebenalp and Scha"er. #ese small alpine gardens feature species of "owers found in that region of the Alps, marked with a sign indicating their type. We both agreed on our favorite "ower, the wily-haired rampion (Phyteuma scheuchzeri), otherwise known as Rapunzel. Most of the alpengartens are carefully tended and decorated by the couple that manages the gasthaus and restaurant. #e Hoher Kasten Mountain Alpine Garden Society cares for a very large alpine garden adjacent to the revolving restaurant. #is garden o$ers a great resource for identifying the living "owers of the region. #ere are 300 di$erent plants marked with their names, as well as an herb medicinal and culinary garden indicating plants used to make known Appenzeller products. Free alpine garden tours are o$ered during the summer, June through mid-August. Hikers can visit, brush up on their wild"ower education, and compare species with wild"owers discovered in the Rockies. When I arrived back home from my amazing Alps adventure, I was a bit melancholy. I missed the ease and e:ciency of moving about the Alps and within Switzerland by rail. While Witt had no de!nitive answer when asked to compare the quality of the Rockies and the Alps, I preferred their

Indian paintbrush (Castilleja sp.) seen near Diamond Lake, Colorado, one of the author’s favorite hikes in the Rockies.

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in the high country transports one to another realm. We wander along trails breathing in the deep scent of pine or stop to linger over the sweet fragrance of wild"owers wafting in a sudden summer’s breeze. Our legs and lungs work hard on long hikes, but we are rewarded with views so resplendent that our hearts ache. I gather the memories of these views like a colorful bunch of wild"owers, and count myself fortunate to live where the pickings are easy.

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RESOURCES

To find out more about hiking trips in Switzerland: www.alpenwild.com

For more about Appenzell: www.appenzell.ch (Google Chrome translates German to English)

For more about tourism and traveling in Switzerland: www.myswitzerland.com

For more about the Diamond Lake hike: http://www.nederlandchamber.org/rec_dayhikes.html

easy accessibility. As Witt said, “#ese mountains have been the playground of Europe for hundreds of years.” #e inventive Swiss have created methods for all to enjoy the high mountains: tourists and locals can take a tram, funicular, gondola or a mountain railway transit system. Last summer the Swiss celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Jungfrau Railway in Interlaken. Considered “the

railway to the sky,” this tunnel was carved through the Eiger to build Europe’s highest elevation railway station at the saddle of the Jungfrau. From here people can view a stunning panorama of the glaciers immediately below and beside them. Truly, the majesty of a mountain view has the ability to render one speechless. No matter where we live, the energy, and magni!cence of the mountains is transformative. One thing is certain, a hike

Wildlower hiker setting out in Bottenwees.

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