This resort is off-putting to some. Ignore the posturing Eurotrash, conspicuous in brightly coloured expensive outdoor apparel, unsoiled. 😀
Instead, turn your gaze up to the Matterhorn, “iconic emblem of the Swiss Alps and the Alps”. This valley is one of the great natural wonders of the world.
Zermatt … is in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of about 5,800 inhabitants.
The village is situated at the end of Mattertal at an altitude of 1,620 m (5,315 ft), at the feet of Switzerland’s highest peaks. …
Zermatt is famed as a mountaineering and ski resort of the Swiss Alps. …
To prevent air pollution which could obscure the town’s view of the Matterhorn, the entire town is a combustion-engine car-free zone. Almost all vehicles in Zermatt are battery driven and almost completely silent. Electric vehicles are allowed for local commerce. …
… 3 ports: a USB-C port for charging the unit at a maximum power of 65W — capable of being fully recharged in 2 hours using a 65W AC charger — and for outputting up to 100W, another USB-C port that supports outputs up to 45W, and a USB-A port that allows for outputs up to 18W.
… a small LED panel designed for a singular purpose — to display the battery capacity …
An estimated 200 to 250 people a year complete the entire trail with several thousand others doing shorter sections of it. …
Milissa (aka Mary Poppins) and Lady on a Rock got a permit by showing up early at the ranger station on a Monday morning with no specific expectations and took whatever was available.
Part of my off-season conditioning for hiking is running about 30 minutes / day during the winter. Happily, I can do that easily on Vancouver Island as the climate is so mild. We don’t get much snow.
First large flowers to bloom in March 2025 in Parksville wereskunk cabbage.
It’s an impressive plant found in swamps and wet woods, along streams and in other wet areas of the Pacific Northwest. A distinctive “skunky” odor is characteristic of blooms.
About the same time, Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris), also known as Kingcup start to pop up. Also near wetlands, marshes, and along streams and ponds.
Both are impressive, brightening up the trail after a long winter.
In fact, I saw tiny Daisies (Bellis perennis) even earlier. Late February.
Though pretty, we usually remove them from our lawn during the summer — along with dandelions.
Speaking of dandelions — they are among the first flowers to bloom in the spring, a crucial food source for bees as they emerge from hibernation and begin foraging. So I’ll leave the first flowers of the season alone.
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