Having already made a big pitch for doing only the hikes I suggest and only doing them exactly as I describe them, I'll now qualify that by saying that there might be some practical reason not to. Whether it be a lack of time and/or energy, not enough challenge, not enough sunlight or simply the need to head in a different direction, there are alternatives that might suit your pruposes. Let me start by going through the Lauterbrunnen Valley Hikes systematically, as they've already been laid out for you, and mutating them.

The hike called "Gimmelwald-Mürren, Indirect" was once part of something longer that was intended to be done as a day hike out of Interlaken. What that means to you and me is that from either Gimmelwald or Mürren, it can be easily extended in a direction that will lead you back towards greater civilization. From Gimmelwald, the trail down to Stechelberg takes off from the "bottom" of the village, right next to the Mountain Hostel. I'm no longer recommending this trail for anything other than practical foot transportation in and out of Gimmelwald because it is a heavily trafficked trail that remains in the woods pretty much the whole time. It is, however, an easy-to-follow, problem-free and certainly not ugly route that'll get you either down to Stechelberg in an hour or up to Gimmelwald from Stechelberg's last busstop in an hour and a half. If you've got no hurry and no heavy backpack, consider taking the detour through Schwendi, which will offer you a wide open view of the main valley and a better glimpse of the back valley.

Similarly, if you end up in Mürren, still full of energy and seeking the cheapest, quickest way down, fear not; you can walk down to Lauterbrunnen from there in an hour and a half. Just follow the trail that heads out along the train line from the north end of town and watch for a trail marker pointing you across the tracks and down. This trail is a lot like the other one only not quite as wide and well-used, and it crosses more waterfalls/streams. If you use it to cut transportation costs, it beats out the other way by removing the need to take the postal bus from Stechelberg to Lauterbrunnen.

The third and best option is to take the trail at the north end of Mürren and just stay on it as far as Grütschalp, where you can catch the funicular down. This is a big, wide path popular with my grandmother and her friends, but it goes through wide open pastures with great views the whole way along. It adds just one easy hour to the hike you've already done.

The "Oberhornsee Hike" presents some of the best but certainly not all the scenery in the Back Lauterbrunnen Valley. I was in the area a long time before I ever made it as far as the lake, and I enjoyed every stage of my exploration of the valley before and after finding it. Before I say anything else, I should point out that Oberhornsee is a long way to come from Gimmelwald or Mürren, and the options extend the journey further, so if you're really interested in this remote, less-travelled back valley, you should think about staying overnight at the Hotel Tschingelhorn, Obersteinberg or the Schmadri Hut. Though the Schmadri Hut can be reached from Mürren in six and a half hours and from Gimmelwald in six, I prefer the closer and comfier Hotel Obersteinberg. The Tschingelhorn is perhaps a prettier building but requires backtracking.

From Obersteinberg, you could use your second day to go to the lake, then from there up over the moraine towards the hut, until the lefthand turn-off takes you across the Schmadribach and down the other side. Most people who go this way go down as soon as possible; indeed, the trail and bridge across the big wash-out area visible across the valley from Obersteinberg are often washed out, so people tend to come down via the network of cowpaths in the woods just east of the Schmadribach. Please consult the map! Doing this will bring you to the Läger Hut, idyllically situated at the bottom of the falls, and if you follow the stream a little bit eastward, you'll find a bridge where you can cross over to it. Both ways down from there are nice. If you turn left, you pass the hut, go over the cranberry bog and down through the woods to the trail junction marked Im Tal. Not ten minutes from the junction, these huts are worth checking out as well, not only because they're in a gorgeous spot but because here, like at Läger, Obersteinberg or your next way station at Scheuerboden, you might find cheese-making in progress. Once back at the trail junction, follow the signs to Scheuerboden. Turning right after you cross the stream at Läger will also bring you to Scheuerboden, but halfway there, you have the choice to take a lefthand detour to the Holdri Falls. Though it's a dead-end trail, the falls are worth the easy fifteen minutes each way. Once you reach Scheuerboden, follow the "normal" route down along the river to Stechelberg.

If you are able to cross over the wash-out area--some people come right down it, without path, because it's not so steep--you can descend by path directly into Scheuerboden. Go across to Scheuerboden instead of continuing down on the righthand side of the stream, not just because the path is closed due to falling rocks but because the streams coming down on this side are often uncrossable. You can also stay on the high road, which will take you as far as Kriegsmad, the high, open field just south of the tongue of the Rottal Glacier. I have no idea about the condition of this path because I only know one person who's ever been there, and that was about a million years ago already, when you could still cross over the Rotbach and go down the other side. The area is, from hearsay, very beautiful, and also a good place to find examples of Mountain Crystals, if you know exactly where and how to look. Why no one goes there is a mystery to me. If you go there, you will most likely descend from there on the steep, zig-zag trail, backtrack slightly along the river at the bottom and then cross over at Trachsellauenen.

If your luck is in, and the Rotbach is small when you get there, you might be able to cross over at the wide, shallow fan, where it meets the river and continue down into Sichellauenen. Please consult your map! It's also remotely possible that you might be able to cross over directly from Kriegsmad to the huts at Stufenstein, but don't do anything risky. Stufenstein makes an excellent side trip regardless of how you get there: a really remote spot with unparalleled views, but from what I understand, none of the ways there would be to my liking. The alternatives to crossing over from Kriegsmad are to come up either from the well-marked junction on the main path from Stechelberg to Trachsellauenen or to go through Sichellauenen and follow the unmarked dirt road south through some fields to a non-descript barn. On two of the boulders in the veritable field of boulders to the right of the barn, you will see traces of red paint. If you look closely at the one that's further up, you'll see the word Rottalhütte and an arrow. Following this arrow leads you, apparently, via the easiest of the three routes, with the least number of scary wash-outs. As for continuing on to the Rottal Hut or taking the branch off to the Silberhorn Hut, you'd better be a very experienced hiker or a climber, respectively. Few things can be counted on in life, but one of those few things is that you will never find me in either one of those places.

To wrap up the Back Lauterbrunnen Valley, I should repeat what's already included in the main description of the Oberhornsee Hike: that the Wetterlücken Glacier makes a very nice hour-long side trip, once you've reached the lake. From there, the trail continues out across the neighboring Glacier to the Mutthorn Hut (4 hours on the glacier), which should not be attempted without a guide. If you're that one-in-a-millionth person keen enough to get a guide (approximately SFr 200.00 per day), consider continuing on across the glacier to the Gastern Valley or up over the Gamchilücke to the Gspaltenhorn Hut. You don't have to have climbing experience; you just have to be an experienced hiker, have a level head and a guide.

The aforementioned Gspaltenhorn Hut can also be reached in a day's hike from the Rotstock Hut, no guide required. This is via a pass called the Sefinenfurke, which, from what I understand, is another place you'll never find me. The path's been rebuilt, though, since the last person died falling off of it, so it's probably okay, now. What's popular with the experienced hiker types is to make a four-day hut-to-hut tour. The first day is spent making the grueling climb up from Stechelberg to the Rotstock Hut, via Ozen. The second day brings you to the Gspaltenhorn Hut; the third day to the Bliemlisalp Hut and the fourth past beautiful Oeschinensee and down into the town of Kandersteg (accessible by Eurail on the main train line south to Italy). Book ahead for beds at the huts, and remember that the huts and trails in these higher elevations are only open from mid-June to mid-September. Though the brown "Mürren" map that I recommend later in this book doesn't go all the way to Kandersteg, it cuts off close enough that the short, easy walk remaining is negotiable without a map. Don't even think of doing it without a map, and it's better if you can pick up a professionally published hiking guide before hand that will describe the route to you in detail.

Aside from possibly cutting costs by walking down from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen, I can see no obious or useful variants to the "Trümmel Valley Hike." The Trümmel Valley, if you ask me, is probably the one redeeming feature of that whole massif separating the Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald Valleys. Yes, there are incredible views, but the wide, busy paths offer little foreground and mountains that are often too close--a nightmare for photography.

The Saus Valley, on the other hand, is an untouched fairy-tale land with options in all directions. Though, as I've already mentioned, I've hiked embarrassingly little of it, I've read a little and studied a lot of maps. Experienced hikers--and once again I stress the word experienced--can hike further into the valley and up over the Bietenlücke to meet the main trail to the Schilthorn (easy hour and a half descent from there into Mürren or easy one hour up to Birg). You can also reach the Schilthorn peak by going straight up the back end of the valley. Please note, by checking your own map, that both of these are broken trails and probably unmarked. Ditto, if you head up the trail along the Kantbach (gorgeous views and great wildflowers!) and try to double back in the direction of the Lobhorn Hut. Both the Lobhorn Hut and the villages of Sulwald and Isenfluh are more easily reached from the other end of the valley, clearly signposted at Sausmatten. Sulwald is connected by a small cable car to Isenfluh, and Isenfluh is easily escaped with its little private bus service back to Lauterbrunnen.