Day Four of Orca in Switzerland – Exploring the Trail Less Travelled

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Today is Day Four of Orca in Switzerland and I saw that the Canton in which I live has the most active cases of COVID19 so my motivation both to go to shops and to go for walks has taken a hit. At the same time I don’t know whether it’s COVID 19 that is having this effect or the fact that I walked a theoretical 197.2 kilometres since the start of this month for the March Activity challenge.

All I have to do now to complete the challenge is walk 7.8 kilometres a day for the next ten days and I’m done. Easy goal. I’m impatient for this challenge so that I can return to cycling, no matter whether it’s on the indoor trainer or outdoors.

Exploring The Trail Less Travelled.

Today I went off exploring the trail less traveled. I walked towards an Ingress portal and then I took a right turn and walked along a trail. I could have taken the road and crossed a bridge to get to the portal but the muddy path is an excellent option because it keeps me away from people.

The path wasn’t too muddy but I did have to scramble over a tree that had fallen to the ground and avoid slipping on mud. I captured the portal, full deployed and then I went off exploring.

A nice little hidden waterfall just 30 centimeters high.

I love walking along this river because you would never believe that you’re so close to Eysins and Nyon. If you stood quietly you could probably hear both. It’s nice because it’s secluded but it’s also nice because you could imagine children playing by this river on a hot summer’s day.

I walked beyond the waterfall but at this point the path becomes more challenging. I could have gone across and towards Nyon but I chose to go down towards the river. The river, is less full of water than it was a few days ago when the rain was heavy so I could sneak a little further than on previous explorations.

The layers of rock strata, and trees growing up around them

The image above shows a safe bit of cliff but there are moments where you feel that it’s precarious. Erosion is slowly eroding the soil away and trees are falling forward, into the valley. I wouldn’t recommend exploring certain segments on a rainy day.

During the quarantine, the message is to stay away from people. By exploring snickets in forests you achieve this goal easily. No dog walkers, no families on a walk, no one.

Quarantine can be boring, and it can be lonely, especially for those of us living in solitude who still have the fortitude to endure loneliness for society at large. Exploring is a nice way of living in the moment. It’s a way of finding things to write blog posts about, but it’s also something to show others, once solitary people, are once again allowed the company of another human.

Staying Local

During this pandemic, I am trying not to use the car and I use the scooter as little as possible. I try to stay within walking distance for everything. My logic is that by traveling further I would come in contact with more people and I might bring the virus from an infected region to one that was clear of the virus.

At the moment we know which Cantons are affected but we have no idea of whether villages or towns are clean. If we knew that villages or towns were clear of the virus we could go into reverse quarantine. Rather than keeping people isolated, we could keep them insulated. By this, I mean that shops, handshakes, and social life could be restored. Of course, this is unfeasible.

Before I stop writing for today I did see people start to wear masks, and gloves, attempting to isolate themselves from the risk of contagion. I’m still washing my hands, and simply staying home when not on a walk, and washing my hands as soon as I get home.

What is your pandemic footprint. Mine, is just two at this moment in time.