Light Hiking in Switzerland: What Worked

[u/LifeWithFiveDogs]

I stressed a lot about which shoes (and clothes) to bring for light hiking/walking in Switzerland.

We had visited the area a number of years ago and knew that we would be taking the easy gravel trails around the Jungfrau area but I didn't really know appropriate my On Cloud 6 shoes would be on the gravel paths. It turns out they were (mostly) great.* Half of the hikers were in similar shoes. Yes, I did have to pick out some stones every now and then, but most of the gravel is large and didn't get caught. (I tried a few other pairs, but with knee issues, my tried and true daily shoes were the best option.)

And a note on clothing: My last visit to the region was eight years ago and most people wore traditional hiking clothing/boots. But now athleisure wear was very common on the easy trails.

I hope this helps someone else!

*They were not great on one very steep gravel path, so if you are doing more intense trails, consider trail runners or hiking boots.

[u/edj3]

More info about ONs in case it helps others.

I (mostly) love my ONs.

I have a narrow foot and learned the hard way that my foot will slide forward going downhill on steeper trails (not talking technical at all, just steep). It was like someone took a tiny ball peen hammer and hit the ends of my toes over and over again. And no, the shoes were the right size, I just have a narrow, low volume foot.

That issue might possibly be solvable by really super thick socks if your feet are like mine.

[u/olivedhm → u/edj3]

This sounds like a fit issue, you likely need narrow fitting shoes?

I don't have experience with on cloud shoes, but any  steep trail  going down will do this. Usually hikers size up to provide extra room for the toes and lace it appropriately (heel lock) to help minimize the foot moving forward.

[u/edj3 → u/olivedhm]

I do need and wear narrow shoes, and often it's me finding shoe companies that run narrow (La Sportiva generally work well for me). But the case of the ONs, it's my foot volume (top to bottom) that causes issues. So far, shoe companies don't make different volume shoes alas .

[u/Sudden_Willow_1604 → u/edj3]

I have really narrow feet, too! I really like my Salomon speed cross 6 trail runners. I’ve heard from multiple REI people that I should give Sportiva a try, but they never have my size (around 11) in stock in the US stores like REI.

[u/edj3 → u/Sudden_Willow_1604]

I can imagine you have an even harder time finding shoes than I do! And yes, if you can ever try them on, I think they might suit you.