There he is, the eagle of Zimplon Pass.
Watchful, he stares towards Italy, reminding us of past times of war.
We are here to go on a more peaceful mission.
The Stock Albert Trail is one of the oldest trails in the Swiss Alps.
It was built 400 years ago by a Swiss merchant with the same name.
He made a fortune by trading goods with donkeys and mules across the mountains.
We arrived early in the morning with the post bus to follow his tracks with our own means of transporting.
We follow the trail across alpine meadows and long, smooth rivers.
Every now and then, we pass ancient towers and buildings that were once part of the old merchant's empire.
In the village of Zimplon, we take a break to get prepared for the upcoming section, which will take us into the Gorge of Gondo.
Here, the river has eaten its way deep into the rocks, and at the end of it, we found one of the strangest trail sections we ever happened to ride.
Fort Gondo is a fortification that was dynamited into the rocks by the Swiss Army during World War I. Today, the trail leads right through it.
As we return to daylight, there are only a couple of kilometers left to Gondo.
This is the last Swiss village before the Italian border. At the Stockelpert Tower, we stop and wait for the post bus, because our journey does not end here.
We have the other half of the Stockelpert Trail ahead of us, from Zimplon Pass down to Valais.
This is the first real uphill of the day. It takes us to the entrance of another impressive gorge.
I'm good, I lost my faith in everything, and I can't hope for you to change, standing by the river down around me.
Finally, we arrive at Greed, the hometown of the old merchant. The trade business made him rich, but not only him.
We mountain bikers inherited 2700 vertical meters of pure single track.
Mr. Stockelpert, it was a pleasure to meet you. We are looking forward to coming back for more.
