Last summer, Laurie reached out to me about planning a hiking trip in October. She and her daughter had a chance to meet up while traveling through Europe and were hoping to do a hut-to-hut trek together. As experienced hikers, they understood the challenges of the off-season—early snow, trail closures, and most mountain refuges closing for winter—so Laurie was prepared for a lower elevation village route if a hut hike wasn't possible.

But, I was determined to make something work. Fall hiking in the Swiss Alps can be tricky, but it's also pretty magical: quieter trails, beautiful colors, and crisp mountain air. With careful research, I found huts that were still open and pieced together a six-day itinerary that combined high alpine scenery, traditional huts (including a unique volunteer-run cabane), mountain foothills, and a finish through the vineyards of the Rhône Valley.

The route was loosely inspired by the Tour des Muverans in Vaud, but I made quite a few variations to work around seasonal closures and take advantage of what was still accessible. It ended up being the last custom itinerary I took on for the year, and honestly, it was one of my favorites —a bit of a puzzle to figure out, but so rewarding when it all came together.

I recently caught up with Laurie to hear about her experience on the trail:

What made you decide to work with me, and what were you hoping to get out of it?

I was going to France for a work trip, and my daughter happened to be traveling through Europe at the same time. We had about a week of overlap and wanted to use it to hike together. We're both experienced hikers and feel comfortable in the mountains — my daughter has worked in the AMC huts in the White Mountains, and we also hiked in Europe (although years ago) —so a multi-day hike in Switzerland seemed perfect. But when I started researching, I quickly got overwhelmed. It was just a rabbit hole of information. Every search led to ten more questions, and I couldn't figure out how to piece together a cohesive itinerary.

We had quite a few constraints. The timing was the biggest issue. We only had a narrow window in mid-October, when a lot of huts are already closed for the season. Second, we also needed to stay within about two hours of Geneva, since that's where we were both coming from. On top of all that, we were hoping for something challenging and rewarding, but with variety—some high alpine days mixed with cultural experiences, not just grinding through difficult terrain every day.

Ultimately, what I really wanted was that sweet spot: trails that were reasonably well-documented but hadn’t yet "blown up" with crowds. And that's such a fine line when you're sifting through the internet. You find either the super popular stuff where there's information everywhere, or you find vague mentions of obscure trails with no real details. Finding something in between, something that's actually been done and is amazing but isn't overrun, is incredibly hard to do on your own. I've always been a DIY person, but at some point I realized this was beyond what I could figure out in the time I had. I found you online and decided to reach out.

Once you were on the trail, what was it like having the route planned out?

It felt really nice to have the routes planned out, but also to have a reason behind them. Sometimes we'd see a more direct route or a different option, and we'd say to each other, "Well, Alex probably routed us this way for a reason." That was really validating. After the first day, we completely trusted you to know what was best—even though you weren't physically there with us. It also eliminated a lot of decision fatigue when there were multiple ways to go. We could just focus on hiking instead of constantly second-guessing ourselves.

It was also really helpful to know how to use Swiss Topo (the Swiss mapping app you introduced us to) and have a clear sense of where we were going throughout the day. That gave us confidence to just enjoy the experience.

Actually, there was this one moment that really showed the value of your insider knowledge. We met a few people on the trail who asked which hut we were staying at that night. When we told them Cabane Rambert, they were genuinely surprised it was still open in October! So you had knowledge that even locals in the area didn't necessarily know. That was a real testament to the work you put into researching our itinerary.

Was the difficulty level what you expected?

Honestly, I was mostly worried that it would feel a bit easy for my daughter, since she's worked in the AMC huts and is such a strong hiker. But I actually thought it was just right. We'd get to the huts each day by about 3 or 4, which was perfect—we felt ready to be done but never had that "ugh, when are we going to get there" feeling. And it was nice that we had options to make the day harder or easier if we needed to on most days, like the option to hike up to Col des Essets if we had the energy. That flexibility was really thoughtful.

There's a funny story about that, actually. The night before our toughest day, we met a Swiss hiker who mentioned she'd hiked to the top of the Grand Muveran (the peak right behind Cabane Rambert) very casually, like it was nothing. The next day, when we got to the hut, we saw the mountain and were like, “Where is there even a trail?!” But of course, there was one. My legs were done for the day, but my daughter says "I'm going to try it." She got most of the way up before deciding to turn back. The Swiss definitely have different standards when it comes to 'easily doable,' ha!

How did hiking in Switzerland compare to hiking in the US?

One thing that really struck me was the difference in expectations. Hiking in the Alps isn't like hiking in the US because there isn't the same type of "wilderness" experience. There's always a human presence—whether it's a hut, a farm, a gondola, or trail markers. At first, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about that, but I actually came to really appreciate the alpine culture that comes with it.

My daughter said it reminded her a bit of Bhutan in that sense, in the way the mountains and human life are so intertwined. It's not about entirely escaping civilization, but about experiencing how people have lived and worked in these mountains for generations. That said, the trails were still challenging and felt remote in plenty of places. We saw ibex and chamois multiple times, especially near the huts at higher elevations. It's a different kind of experience, but it has its own charm and character that we both ended up loving.

You stayed in a variety of accommodations—from traditional mountain huts to volunteer-run huts to guesthouses and hotels. What was that experience like? Did you have a favorite?

I absolutely loved the huts. Cabane Rambert was a favorite. The location was just incredible—perched high up with these sweeping views. There were only a few people staying that night, so we actually had a big dorm room to ourselves. It felt like the full, real "Swiss Alps" hut experience: half-board meal plan, communal dinner, the whole thing. And the views of the mountains were incredible.

But I also loved Cabane de Demècre. This is a really unique hut, run entirely by volunteers. When we arrived, two lovely older women came out to greet us - it sort of felt like they were our fairy godmothers. And what makes the hut really different is that everyone who stays there contributes a bit—helping cook a simple spaghetti dinner, cleaning up, and so on. It's all very basic, but felt very special. We all ended up sharing some wine and food. Everyone was so welcoming and kind, even though we didn't speak any French. I felt like they were looking out for us a bit. Talking to the volunteers, you could just tell that they were in the place they loved the best. When we left, everyone was really wonderful saying goodbye. There was a true sense of community and shared experience. It was a really cozy and really nice.

And after a few nights in huts, staying at a hotel in Ovronnaz our last night was nice way to end —there's something to be said for a proper hot shower!

You were hiking in October, which is already quieter than summer, and you were also in a less-touristy region. What was that like?

The colors were incredible. The larches were already turning golden by Lac de Derborence, and then at the end, hiking through the vineyards, with all the oranges and golds, was really stunning. A few of the higher passes did have some snow, but it wasn't too difficult to manage.

We did see people on the trails during the day. It turned out we were hiking during October school holidays, so there were day hikers out, but even then it was clear everyone was local—Swiss or French. We didn't see any other international hikers the entire trip.

And the huts themselves were very, very quiet, which we loved. Because there were so few people, we often had more space to ourselves, and at the smaller huts, it created this really intimate, communal atmosphere.

Were there any favorite moments or favorite days of the hike overall?

Honestly, every day was totally different. It felt like Christmas every day, wondering what we were going to see over the next pass. The terrain was so varied, and all of it was just beautiful. The mountains were spectacular, of course, but there were also lots of unexpected high points.

For example, we did not expect the section on the last day that took us through villages along the vineyard path (Chemin du Vignoble) to Ardon. The vineyards were golden at that time of year, and it was absolutely stunning. It was such a different landscape from what we'd been hiking through, but it was the perfect way to end the trek. Those kinds of surprises really made the trip special.

We also got so lucky with perfect weather for the entirety of the trip!

But really, the best part was spending time with my daughter. Not sure that will happen again, so I sure appreciated it!

How did having a custom itinerary affect your experience? What would it have been like planning it yourself?

I’ve always planned everything myself, and have never used a service like this before. But we had so many specific criteria, and I just don’t think I would have been able to plan this myself. A pre-packaged tour wouldn't have worked for us, and we didn’t even want that, anyway. We wanted the independence to hike on our own.

It was obvious that a lot of care and research went into not just finding open huts and stringing together a route, but actually picking exact areas and things we should pass by, even if it wasn't the most direct way. If I'd been doing it myself, I probably would have picked a more popular route, or maybe just given up on the idea entirely. Instead, I got to have a wonderful 6 days with my daughter in Switzerland.

Thank you, Laurie, for sharing about your trip!

And if you're interested in creating your own Swiss trek, get in touch and let's start planning.

A Mother-Daughter October Hike