I start out in Klosters and Davos, both of which are practically devoid of tourists and great bases for hiking. The views may be just a shade less flash than around Grindelwald, but the alpine trekking is nonetheless fabulous, reminding me of the ridge sections of the Kepler hike I did in New Zealand. Both towns have excellent (but not cheap!) youth hostels, although they couldn't be more opposites. The Klosters YHA is in an old, wooden building, full of character and homey, friendly atmosphere, while the Davos YHA is brand new, modern efficiency with a capable staff.

From either hostel, it is simply a matter of hiking up a hill to get to the start of the trails. Above Davos are paths up to Schiahorn (2709m) and Weissfluhgipfel (2844m). Getting out to a train or bus is usually easy.

My next stop was Pontresina, a wonderfully picturesque village in the Upper Engadine. There are far more tourists around here, but still less than Interlaken. The surrounding area is stunning -- clearly as scenic as anywhere in the Alps. Unfortunately, the YHA is not very good, as expensive as Davos but cramped, with bad food, and overall nowhere near as nice.

I take a day trip to the Swiss National Park with a guide, german speaking, but he carries a telescope which is useful for spotting Ibex, red deer, and eagles. I climb P. Languard (3262m), easily done for such a high peak and the 360 degree view from the top is as grand as anywhere. I bike over to Morteratsch and do the popular hike over to the Bovalhutte that overlooks the glacier there. I train to Alp Grum and hike around spooky pale blue Lago Bianco and then above Ospizio Bernina for more great views. I bike and hike through lovely Bever Valley, which is less busy than equally beautiful Roseg.

When I tire of the Pontresina YHA (but not the area!) I grab my bag and hike through the woods to the St Moritz YHA, which is modern and better, although the neighborhood is amazingly ugly for such a pretty little fou-fou town. There's an amazing spot near here where two very different rivers flow into each other, so that half of the combined river runs for quite aways as cloudy white while the other half is clear and dark. Never seen anything quite like that before. I also spend a few days up at Maloja, which is a superb spot for hiking since the town itself is at high elevation. The hostel here is bad though.

Suffice to say that this whole region is an amazing paradise and I hiked like a maniac. I found myself getting into a pattern where, after hiking for a long while I would realize it was time to turn back, but simply could not resist going "just a bit further" until I would make some summit with an outstanding view, leaving me more worn out than I wanted to be. It was almost like an addiction, I simply could not stop myself from making a final summit. Eventually, I realized it was something of a shortcoming. I remembered a conversation I had with my friend Mike about a lesson he learned in Japan about learning to "leave things undone".

So, during my last hike, far, far out of St Moritz, I once again found myself in this same situation -- coming across an enticing summit after a long day of hiking. Unlike my other hikes in this area, the day had not been superlative. In fact, a large portion had been a hard climb up barren rock. Not unusually, I'd lost the trail and was on my own with a tough slog up a mountain. Finally, I get to a point about 100m below the top with a scree slope above me. Here I held the moment of great debate. The short distance to the top was certainly possible, but by no means easy. Would it be a waste to forego the apex? Was this the one to leave undone? What view would I be missing?

For once, I resisted temptation and turned around, just to make certain that I could, really. Immediately upon turning, I discovered an incredible view before me! I'd been so intent on trudging up the mountain that I never thought to stop and look behind! I take this as a revelation.