Be on the 7:30 or 8:30 AM train out of Interlaken West for Spiez, so that you can meet the slightly erratic departure times of the postal bus you'll be taking later. (Economically, this hike can provide an excellent usage of all kinds of passes, making travel free as far as Kandersteg; plus, when you return to Spiez later in the day, every pass but Interrail gives you the option of a gratis boat trip back to Interlaken, Interrail being half off). After the twenty minute ride to Spiez, you'll have four minutes to change for the train headed south to Kandersteg. Close but easily do-able, just as long as you don't stop for coffee. A half and hour or so later, you'll arrive in Kandersteg and find a little bus with "Stockbahn" on the front of it, waiting just outside of the station. For SFr 2.00, it'll take you to the end of the line, which you'll recognize by the Stock Cable Car, and there you'll have a few minutes to wait for the 8:30 or 9:30 departure of the postal bus to the Gastern Valley. For SFr 15.00 return, this second bus will deposit you at the end of the road at the miniscule hamlet of Selden.

The road itself is so narrow that there is an actual schedule of which direction you're allowed to travel in at which time. The first part of it is literally hewn out of a cliff face. Shortly thereafter you pass through the narrow, misty gorge of the Kander River, at the top of which is the Gastern Valley. I like to think of this classic U-shaped glacial valley as a secret place because it seems like it's just too high up and too remote for anybody but the occasional hiker to bother with. Indeed, virtually the only things in it are the small clusters of buildings that constitute Selden and Heimritz. Butterflies and wildflowers far outnumber the human inhabitants, which makes it even more special.

If the transportation costs of this hike seem high to you, consider that the view from the top roughly equals that of the Jungfraujoch, which costs at least SFr 55.00 more than you'll be paying. You will also have the pleasure and achievement of a day's hiking, capped off by a view that is as nature intended you to see it--without a concrete maze and hundreds of other tourists around you.

From Selden, all you have to do is follow the signs to the Kanderfirn. There are no possible diversions from the route except for the beginning, lower portion, where you can basically be on one side of the river or the other. The tip of the firn (which is actually the small Alpetli Glacier) is visible nearly the whole way along. Soon you'll be above treeline, wandering among grazing cows and gazing up at the jagged peaks of the Petersgrat to the right, the Doldenhorn, Fründenhorn and eventually the "backside" of the Blümlisalp massif to the left. Across the valley is a breathtaking waterfall that courses from underneath the immense lobe of ice.

What was I saying before about fear of heights? I caught abuse on this hike for having to sit down and stare at my feet for a few minutes. When I got back up again, sure enough, it wasn't half as steep as it had looked to me earlier. So stick it out. There are lots of scarier hikes out there that you'll notice aren't recommended here. But this one's really worth it in the end (2,411 meters), when you see the ripply-surfaced glacier stretching out for miles before you and the distant mountains rising out of it just like waves.