Today we had a look at the genesis of a really interesting project. It’s all about ants. There are loads of massive anthills in the National Park, created by the unassuming wood ant. Just for accuracy there are six species of wood ant in the park, but I have no idea which ones we were looking at!

The ants create trails across the ground in the park, and they also climb the trees. It’s known that they prefer to climb the taller trees, and that they milk the aphids that pierce the trees and suck out the sap. No-one knows why they always pick the taller trees, and no-one knows exactly what the ants do while they’re up there – it’s hard to record without disturbing them. So a team from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL has decided to try to find out by using a drone to film the ants in the treetops. A company called Flyability that produces a special drone called “Gimball” wants to partner with the researchers to help prove their idea in the field.

Gimball is a drone that is encased in a carbon-fibre cage with flexible joins. A big problem with using drones for close contact work is the blades. These are usually made of carbon-fibre and rotate at very high velocity, meaning they tend to shatter on impact with other objects. Gimball’s rotor blades are safe within its cage though, so it can happily move around in enclosed spaces and bump into things without turning into a nail-bomb. Groovy! This makes it good for search and rescue work, and for inspections of pipework and other industrial equipment.

The purpose of today was to test out Gimball in the National Park to see if the idea flies. Sorry. We were picked up by Ruedi, and the three of us plus Michel and Stephano from Flyability, and Reudi’s son Florian (who is on school holidays) headed out to the park. There we met Martin and Anita who are researchers at WSL, and Thomas and Judith who have just finished their Masters projects and are taking on a summer internship working for WSL.

We all headed into the woods, enjoying the open spruce, pine and larch forest around us. We went to a spot Martin and Anita have previously worked at, and where ant-runs are well established. Michel and Stefano, step forward! Michel flew the drone, while Stefano operated the camera. There was a bit of setting up time, and then with a loud whirr, Gimball took to the skies.

Gimball!

Batteries included

Unfortunately there was a bit more wind out in the park than in your average factory, so control of the drone proved tricky. It was fun to watch though, the drone whizzing around all over the place, Michel managing to get it under control for a few seconds before it randomly shot off across the woods again.

It kept us entertained for an hour or so before eventually getting stuck in a spruce tree. Luckily, Florian enthusiastically offered to climb the tree and poked Gimball into Reudi’s waiting arms with a stick.

Florian takes care of business

After that, there was time for one more flight (which to be fair was quite controlled) before the last battery ran low and we drove back to the office to look at our footage.

It was actually pretty good; when Gimball had managed to stick close to a tree for a while we saw glorious HD footage of the bark. No ants though. We thought that when you watch the ants in person, it’s really the movement you see. They are pretty well camouflaged when they’re standing still. And with the movement of the camera and the cage it was pretty hard to distinguish from anything that might be moving on the tree.

Looking at the data

Ants are hard to see!

To prove it we headed out again to do some filming of ants moving on the trees while holding gimbal steady at ground level. Sure enough the ants showed up this time, showing that it was the movement of the camera and the cage spoiling the view.

While we were out, Ruedi pointed out an ant hill that is know to be over 100 years old, as it shows up in photos from when the park was established in 1914.

100 year old ant hill

Armed with the new knowledge, the researchers and the Flyability team went back to their hotel to discuss ants and cameras over dinner, while Reudi drove us back to the campsite, remarking, “Well, now you know what real research looks like. It doesn’t work and you have to go back and think about it again”. True enough. Tomorrow we’re going to go out with Reudi and the WSL guys to find new spots that would be good to film, track and generally mess about with ants. Good excuse for another walk in the National Park!

– Dave

On Saturday, we had a chore day at camp. Route planning, emails and fixing my slow puncture.

For Sunday, Ruedi had recommended that we cycle along the valley to the next town, then hike a trail up a 3,400m peak (although not all the way to the top!) for amazing views and possible ibex sightings. We debated doing the recommended route, we debated going up a different mountain and then I said I decided that I wasn’t up to going up any mountains at all. Dave really wanted to go but didn’t want to part ways for the day, so settled for a valley walk with me. And kept reminding me of that fact! But we had a nice day in the end.

We headed out along a trail, leaving Zernez along the river. We saw lots of trees covered in spooky webbing and saw thousands of little caterpillars weaving and munching. Apparently they’re tent caterpillars, commonly called web worms. They can eat whole trees bare (the ones we saw had no leaves at all), but the trees should survive one bad year if they are left alone the following season.

Web worms

They’re everywhere!

We could hear the pumping drum and bass of the festival and were worried we were in for a noisy walk. It did get louder, but the festival was only 1km or so from the town, so we were soon watching them from across the river, bouncing to the beat in the sun. Then we carried on past with just the sound of the rushing river and racing motorbikes.

Along we went past wildflowers and forests towards the town of Susch, when we spotted a fort on a little hill next to the town. There was a path off to the right that wasn’t signed, but looked like it might go there… so off we went. We’d been walking barefoot for a bit but the trail here was rocky and I put my sandals back on, but Dave persevered and we wound our way slowly uphill along the track. We passed some donkeys, including this little guy with his bowl cut! Then the track went to the front door of a house and we were suddenly without a trail. The sheep were looking at us from the shade of the trees and we could see the fort on the top of the hill but no path to get there but sheep tracks. We zig zagged our way along sheep trails, across the field and over the fence to find another track that took us to the fort.

Lovely wildflowers

Cute little donkey

We found the trail again!

Fortezza Rohan was built in 1635 during a 30-year war with the Austrians and the Spanish. At the end of the war, it was abandoned. The walls are still standing and the tower has been restored with a viewing gallery.

Fortezza Rohan

Up to the viewing gallery – bit of a squeeze!

Overlooking Susch

We sat on top of the fort and debated what we might do once our rewilding cycle tour comes to an end! Winter ski season, maybe?

On the way back, we followed the proper trail through the pretty village of Susch and back to Zernez along the river. It was a beautiful day and a lovely evening and we enjoyed ticking some jobs of the list after dinner. I even got an hour of yoga in before bed, finishing as the sky turned purple and an aeroplane made an orange vapour trail flying into the setting sun.

Back towards camp, cooling off by the river

Stroll back to camp

– Anna

We wanted to get an early start today to maximise our chances of seeing some wildlife. We got up at 4.55 and enjoyed a tasty breakfast in the hut. We were joined by two mountaineers who were planning to climb Piz Quattervals, which towers at the end of the Cluozza valley and is the highest peak you can climb in the Swiss National Park. The sun was already bathing the peak in a pink glow as we ate, although it wouldn’t reach our side of the valley for several hours.

Sunrise on Piz Quattervals

We wished the intrepid explorers a safe climb, and headed off up the valley. We climbed through the forest in the dawn light, with the air fresh on our faces. We heard a nutcracker in the trees, and Anna was quick enough to get this photo, which we lightened a bit so you can see it!

Nutcracker

As we came out of the forest we could hear the whistling alarm calls of the Marmots telling each other we were there. They were wary, but usually at least one stayed outside the burrow to keep an eye on us, while the others scampered to safety.

As we came over a ridge we found ourselves face to face with a Chamois, who seemed surprised to see us, and stood staring for a while before nimbly making his escape around the hillside.

Chamois surprise

We could see red deer and chamois along the top of the ridge we were climbing up to, and we also spotted a young deer quite close by before it too made its escape.

Red deer

Chamois surveying the valley

We got to the saddle as the sun was starting to light up the eastern slope of the valley we’d just ascended. We stumbled across a marmot very close in front of us. He knew we were there but seemed more interested in watching the valley in front of him than worrying about us.

So fluffy!

Marmot scanning the valley

We’d taken our time getting to the top so we decided to see if we could spot the mountaineers on Piz Quattervals, who had said they would take about three hours to do the ascent. We focused the binoculars and – there they were, just above the snowline! We decided this was a good excuse to have something to eat and hang around until they go to the top. In the meantime we enjoyed the wildlife. There were red deer on the slope facing us, wary even at a distance.

Red deer herd

Just then we spotted a small marmot approach larger one and start pawing at it. The larger individual turned round and we were treated to a marmot duel. It looked similar to an elephant seal fight, but with less tearing of flesh and bad feeling. Afterwards things seemed pretty friendly again.

Fight! (or play, we don’t know)

We hung around and enjoyed the views of the Val Cluozza we’d just climbed, as well as the panorama to the southwest.

Enjoying the view

The view

After a while we checked on our climbing friends again, and they had made it! They were miles away up the valley but we reckoned that through the binoculars we could see them taking photos of each other. Fair play to them!

They made it (see the tiny dots on the top?)

A wider view of the mountain for context – they climbed the right hand valley

Reluctantly we headed down the mountain, enjoying the many wildflowers that dotted the alpine meadow (for descriptions see here). Anna also enjoyed wearing my new ski mitts that I bought in San Moritz. I figured at least they would be hard to lose!

Mmmmm, so cosy!

Flowers

More flowers

Even more flowers

Yet more flowers

How many flowers are there??

OK, that’s all the flowers

Haha, I lied! But this one has mountains too.

The view on the way down

On the way down we crossed a small area of snow that is still lying on the path. It wasn’t anything but Anna took a photo and I think it looks cool, so here it is.

Snow field!!

A little while later we could see the turquoise waters of Lake Spol in the floor of the next valley.

Lake Spol

We headed down the long winding path towards the valley floor until we found ourselves in a wooded meadow close to one of the exits from the trail. It was only 1 pm though, so we decided to add another few kilometres onto our walk. The next trail followed the valley floor upriver, so we went up and down, crossing the small valleys created by the tributaries of the main river. Anna was teaching me German as we went, and the afternoon passed quickly. Eventually we got to a bridge and crossed, at which point we reached the sting in the tail, a 200 m climb to reach a ridge, which we would cross to get to the road. It was hard work after such an early start, but the woods were beautiful, mixed pine and larch.

Finally we crested the ridge and made our way down to the road. We waited a little while for the bus and took the 20 minute (and 16 franc!) drive back to Zernez. We came back from the campsite showers to find a note from Ruedi in one of our hiking boots. It says to be at the office at 7.30 am tomorrow if we want to help out with some more fieldwork. Can’t wait!

– Dave

We got up, ate overpriced brioche and headed along the cycle path to St. Moritz to find a supermarket. I went inside whilst Dave braved the chill morning to look after the bikes. It was a stressful experience! All of the fruit and veg was a ridiculous price. You can get 8 strawberries for €8. You can get a small bag of salad for €5. After much deliberating, I decided to go for a little iceberg lettuce for €1.20, which seemed a comparative bargain. So if we can’t eat fruit and veg, maybe we can have cheese? Or maybe not… the cheese here is priced per 100g. Usually in the region of €3-6 per 100g. So I spent a loooong time in the supermarket but think I did okay in the end and we would live to fight another day.

Into St. Moritz

The next task for the day was to get Dave a pair of hiking trousers. This is because I left his hiking trousers behind in the hostel in Milan when I was packing up and he was sorting his bike out. So the lost items tally is now: one of Dave’s cycling gloves, another one of Dave’s cycling gloves (half of a new pair), Dave’s buff, and Dave’s hiking trousers. The gloves aren’t getting replaced any more and he’s using my spare buff, but the trousers need replacing – it’s getting chilly in the mountains and shorts just aren’t doing the trick!

So we pedalled our way very slowly into the centre of St. Moritz, up a crazy incline. After one unsuccessful shop, the second one we went to featured a pair of €300 trousers that fortunately didn’t fit properly. But they did have a bargain bin of Hestra skiing gloves… “Hey Dave, look, these will come in useful when we do a ski season this winter!” Dave was initially less than impressed “For God’s sake, stop getting distracted!… Oooh, they are pretty nice aren’t they… And better than half price…”. So now Dave has a lovely cosy pair of Hestra mittens.

Hopefully too big to lose!

Thankfully the third shop sported a selection of 40% off hiking trousers and Dave found a pair that was long enough, hurrah!  At the checkout we talked to the lady on the counter about the area.  Apparently all the shops are having a hard time because it’s too expensive for tourists to come here (no shit) and some places are having to close down due to lack of business! Then she gave us a recommendation for a cycle route to Zernez and sent us away with a map and instructions to visit the two most beautiful villages on the way.

Finally, we were ready to get riding for the day! But wait, my back tyre is a bit squashy. Pump, pump, pump. Oh, and now it’s time for lunch. Dammit. So we got onto the cycle path and rode along it to a lake-side picnic bench to stop for lunch. What a great recommendation!

We were pretty tired from the monster climb yesterday and glad to be doing just 40 km down river today to Zernez. And with the cycle path, we were off the road all the way! Glorious.

We rode past farms, lakes, the river, through forests and villages. We got lost a few times where the cycle path appeared to be blocked off by electric fencing, but after a diversion and some back-tracking, learned that it’s not shut – you’re supposed to just go through the fence.

We stopped by a little airport to watch gliders being launched into the sky by a winch. They were all lined up on the runway and they’d bring one forward, attach the winch and reel it in, tugging the glider into the air in an almost vertical climb. It was spectacular to watch but I’m not sure I’d want to be inside!

A glider being launched

We also stopped in the two recommended villages, which were beautiful. One was famous for its painted buildings and they both had pointed church spires.

Painted town

Each building has its own designs

Crossing a lovely stone bridge

By the time we’d done all our stops, it was getting well into the afternoon and we still had 20 km to cover! We got out of the villages and back onto the gravelly cycle path, which wound up and down through the forest on the side of the mountain.  My back tyre was feeling squashy again and we stopped at the bottom of a steep hill to pump it back up.  Must be a slow puncture.

It was a lovely trail, but we did a lot more up and down and a lot more winding around than we would have on the road. We were both glad to be on it but I was also glad when we finally got a view of Zernez far below us and there were no more uphills between us and it!

Our gravel track in the forest (can we stop going uphill now please?)

At around 4:30pm, with a total of 2000 km under our belts, we pulled into camp.  I tried to call our designated contact at the Swiss National Park to let him know we’d arrived, but he didn’t answer, so I dropped an email to Ruedi the co-ordinator and said that we’d try again in the morning.

When we got back to the tent after showers, Ruedi was there to meet us! What a nice surprise. He introduced himself and told us a bit about the park. Then he invited us to go with two of his researchers tomorrow to help them fix a solar panel that wasn’t getting enough power. Would we like to go? We don’t need to be asked twice!

Once again, we lucked out with our timings and everything was going smoothly. Ruedi is so helpful and efficient, I think he will keep us busy whilst we’re here. We can already tell how proud he is of the park and of his team. And he loves living in this place, going mountain biking and mountaineering. Dave said, “What a cool guy, I don’t know whether to be jealous or in awe. He’s like an Action Man with brains!”

So we went to bed happy, ready for our first day in the park tomorrow.

– Anna

We had planned to get from Lake Como to Zernez in two days, but when we encountered the crazy gradients yesterday and cut our ride short, we realised we would need three. Today we decided we would go to St. Moritz, only a 35 km ride, but over 1000 m of climbing!

When we were sitting having breakfast a Swiss lady who we met last night came over. When we told her what we were doing she puffed her cheeks out and said “it’s even hard in the car!”, while doing a hand gesture of a twisty uphill snake. We were sure we would be fine though, we’d just had a delicious yoghurt and melon breakfast after all. We set off and were greeted by enticing views of the mountains. We found that the road was indeed like a twisty uphill snake.

Towards the mountains

Cool rock over the road

We puffed along for about an hour before stopping for some left-over pasta outside a post office. Anna then broke the news that we’d travelled six kilometres! Ah well, only another 29 km to go! Better get on with it!

We continued grinding up the hill, admiring the views, and cursing the motorcyclists that kept whizzing past us, often too close and always too loud for comfort.

So many bikers – these were considerate ones!

We stopped after another 6 km for a snack. While we were eating, my bike fell over in the road after some more traffic had gone speeding past. I was not best pleased. When we started riding again I went off ahead of Anna and tried to work my frustration out on the next set of switchbacks. When I got to the top though I was still frustrated but now I was too hot as well. When Anna caught up we sat and chatted for a while and, feeling better, headed onwards.

Don’t leave the bike there Dave!

Soon enough the valley we were in basically came to a dead end. We looked at the sheer wall in front of us. Is that the road?? Yep, there it was, switch-backing up this insanely steep gradient for a total vertical gain of 250 m.

Er, are we going up that wall?

We started to work our way up. There were temporary traffic lights at the bottom, which gave us a periodic reprieve from the motorcyclists. It was really hard work, and as we gained altitude it started raining, although I think most of it turned to steam as soon as it hit us!

Chugging up the hill

Forty minutes and four sore knees later we were at the top, taking selfies as a record of our achievement. Yay for us!

On top of the world (not literally)

Haha bikers, you can’t get us now!

View from the top

We rolled on a bit further and had our last food stop round the back of a massive hotel that faced a lovely blue-green lake. Our view was of the car-park but we were out of the rain so we didn’t care!

Car park lunch

We set out again along the shore of the lake, rejoicing in the flatness of the road. We whizzed along (compared to earlier anyway), and within another hour or so we pulled up at our campsite just outside San Moritz. This one costs almost 30 francs per night – we’re really going to have to re-think our budget here! On the plus side the campsite is lovely, the showers are really good and there is a nice little cafe serving tasty (also expensive) hot choccies.

Tomorrow we will DEFINITELY get to Zernez!

– Dave

Today we were heading for Switzerland! We rode around the rest of busy Lake Como, having to pull over occasionally to let traffic past. Then when we were waiting at a level crossing, we noticed a small side road full of cyclists… I checked the map and sure enough, it looked good!

We set off on the paved road and enjoyed 1.5km of peace, ahhh. Where we rejoined the main road, the cycle path carried on. But cycle paths are unpredictable (of surface, elevation and direction!), so we took the road. After about 100m we decided that we should try the bike path! It was quite busy and there was absolutely no shoulder, so the traffic was squeezing past pretty quickly. And a truck tooted us off the road at one point!

We ended up staying on the bike path almost all day in the end. It was lovely to be off the road and the scenery was great, but as predicted, it was quite unpredictable. We did a fair bit of extra distance and definitely lots of extra elevation gain.

We wound our way through little villages in the big wide valley, not gaining much height at first. After 20km, we stopped for first lunch by a big lake and after another 20km, second lunch in a cathedral. At the end of the first lunch stop, an argument was brewing… but resolved by the end of second lunch for a pleasant afternoon.

Lovely flat cycle path in the valley

First lunch by the lake

Second lunch in a cathedral

Then we turned off into a narrower valley and started the real climb. Straight away we were doing a crazy gradient on the cycle path. Huffing and puffing our way up, enjoying the views and the lovely weather. “At this rate, we’ll have climbed our 1000m for the day in no time!”, says Dave cheerily. But after a while, we went downhill for a bit, crossed the main road, and started going back up again! I can’t say I was particularly impressed. But it was still pretty and we had the whole path to ourselves, so there wasn’t too much to complain about.

Straight uphill, but very scenic

On one particularly steep section, Dave said that the speed we were doing was as slow as he could go before falling off (5 km/h). Then we rounded a corner with me in front and I heard a thud behind me. The gradient had increased, I’d slowed down to 4 km/h and Dave had fallen into the fence! Oops!

Riding the switchbacks

After another grueling ascent, our lovely paved cycle path turned into a mountain biking trail and we went downhill trying to avoid the biggest rocks and dips. Losing another hard-earned 100m elevation was not what I wanted at that stage in the day and I was a bit grouchy. But then the path improved again and we were going along the roadside towards the Swiss border.

At a dam below the border

We crossed into Switzerland on the main road through the empty customs area, and the signs for the cycle path were no more. So up we headed along the road. It was crazily steep and we were inside a half-tunnel, freaking out that we were going to get killed. There wasn’t much traffic but whenever it appeared, it seemed to come from both directions at once!

We made it 3km to the next village and decided to call it a day. We found the shop, stocked up on strategic items (some stuff is outrageously expensive, so I guess it’s pasta pesto for dinner again) and went to the campsite.

The campsite is great, one of the best we’ve had so far. We’ve made use of all the facilities we’ve been missing, including picnic tables (with epic views) and washer and dryer for just £1. There’s a nice looking tavern over the road, we might treat ourselves to a pricey beer!

– Anna

We hit the road this morning interested to see Lake Como. We got straight into a climb along a busy road that wound its way through surburbia until we crested a hill and went through a short tunnel. As we came out the other side we got our first view of the lake. It was in between two houses but still looked pretty impressive!

First glimpse

We started a long twisty descent through a couple of small villages and we found ourselves on the edge of the lake. There wasn’t much time to enjoy it as the traffic continued to be very busy! Eventually we found a spot to stop, and took a few minutes to enjoy the view, as well as be confused by the school of large Koi carp that were mooching around just under our ledge.

Just chilling by Lake Como

WHY ARE YOU HERE??

We rode on, battling the busy traffic and trying not to be distracted by the lake for the rest of the morning and half the afternoon. Things improved where we hit a series of tunnels and were able to take the old roads by the lake while all the nasty cars took the new tunnels. Result. We had lunch in a brilliant little park that had working toilets (with toilet paper would you believe), as well as a water fountain and shady benches. Paradise!

As we got towards the north end of the lake, the traffic quietened down a bit and we were able to enjoy the views. They were great, there was always a new angle to check out, or something happening on the water to stop and watch.

Time to enjoy the view

Misty

Not a bike though is it?

Anna getting some peace and quiet

We had our pick of campsites for once, and we pulled into one in the early evening when we felt like we’d had enough. We were sickened one again by the new phenomenon we’ve experienced in France and Italy of having to pay for showers separately, but we managed to get over it and go for a delicious dinner of gnocchi and pesto down by the lake.

Aaah, time to kick back and relax!

After dinner we headed to bed to try and get some sleep, but the German couple in the caravan next to ours have other ideas and have all their mates round for a loud card game and drinking session. The church bell next to the campsite also rings every 15 minutes for some reason, so hopefully our earplugs are good!

– Dave