Along the Sihl River near Lake Zurich from Hütten to Schönenberg

(This post added on Dec.11, 2023)

Saturday February 27, 2016 -- We're not seeing a lot of sun lately and it's still snowing here (and mostly raining), also in the lowlands. We had hoped to do a much longer hike along the Sihl River (feeder to Zurich's water supply) but we ran into more snow there than expected (and it was quite shady at river level), so we ended after just two hours of walking. 

At least we didn't have to travel far (about an hour by train and bus) and we got some exercise and fresh air.

We took a bus to a place called Hütten where we started our hike, heading down to the river. This is what the landscape looked like across the Sihl River. We started at about 2:30 p.m. 

Snowy landscape across the Sihl River

We started at 2:30 p.m. in a village called Hütten, walked down to the river. By the time we got to the bridge at Finstersee, we realized there would be too much snow on the hiking trail, so we ascended out of the ravine and headed to Schönenberg (the nearest bus stop), where we ended the hike at 4:30 p.m.  

Walking along the Sihl River with just a touch of sunshine. It was cold. 

The Sihl River flows out of Lake Sihlsee at Einsiedeln, and runs parallel to Lake Zürich and through Zurich city to join the Limmat River just north of Lake Zurich. 

The moss-covered rocks are pretty

At the Finstersee bridge we decided to head back out of the river "ravine" in the direction of Wädenswil, to the town of Schönenberg, which had the nearest bus stop. 

Out of the ravine now, we can look at the village of Finstersee on the south side of the Sihl River. 

Close-up view of the village of Finstersee on the south side of the Sihl River. 

There are many farms in this pastoral area near Lake Zurich

Hahaha, that cow is funny, peeking around the corner of the barn door. 

We passed by the pond called the Teufenbachweier. Here we had to wade through snow as it is not a cleared trail.

From the pond, we still had about another 35 minutes to Schönenberg, which was the nearest bus stop for us. 

This is the first time I have seen this "weather predicter" and I got a kick out of this. (Later we often saw this on our hikes). You can predict the weather based on the condition of the rock: i.e. if the rock is wet, then it's raining, or if you can't see it, then it's foggy. 

In the town of Schönenberg near Lake Zurich

We ended our hike in Schönenberg at about 4:30 p.m. From here we took a bus to Wädenswil on Lake Zurich and a train back home. 

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps

Not much view anymore on the bus ride back down to Lake Zurich

Heading by bus down to Wädenswil on Lake Zurich, from where we catch the train back to Zug. It's a short trip for us, just over an hour. 

Winter Walk around Blitzingen in the Ober Goms Region of Canton Valais

 (This post published on December 12, 2024)

Sunday February 21, 2016 – This was only the second winter walk we did this season and even though the weather was wonderful and the scenery as fantastic as usual, 15ºC weather meant soft wet snow to walk on, which, even when the trails are prepared, makes walking rather tedious. To get to Blitzingen in the Goms Valley where we did our 8-km walk up the hill above the little Valais village, we traveled with the Gotthard-Matterhorn train across the top of the Alps. This is always a treat, even on the rare Sunday when the weather is nice, meaning the train was jam-packed full of people (some even standing in 1st Class)….

The excursion starts in Andermatt where we take the regional Gotthard-Matterhorn railway line up the Urseren Valley to Realp, and from there through the Furka base tunnel to the Upper Goms Region. The cars here are parked bumper to bumper, as this wide valley is popular for winter walks and cross-country skiing, as well as downhill skiing.  

Heading by train along the Urseren Valley from Andermatt to the Furka Base Tunnel

View out of the train window as we head up the Urseren Valley

After passing through the Furka Base Tunnel, we come into the Upper Goms region in the Rhône Valley, passing the town of Oberwald

This valley is also very popular with cross-country skiers.

Passing through the Goms villages, where many people are busy with cross-country skiing. 

Beautiful day for being outside in the snow in the Upper Goms. The train runs next to the River (the Rotten). This view is back to the village of Obergesteln. 

Interesting clouds

This village is called Ulrichen, the next village to the south.

Between Ulrichen and the next village of Geschinen, a lone chapel called St.Katharina sits on the hillside. 

On this short winter walk, we started at the Blitzingen train station at about 11:45, and walked up into the village to a restaurant where we had a nice lunch before heading out on our little round-tour walk. As the day was still so pleasant, we then continued on the prepared walking trail, to catch the train at the next station called Biel.  

It was such warm weather, that there was no more snow on the paved roads, which is a shame. 

Looking up the valley as we head up the road, the river below is called the Rotten here, but this is actually the Rhône River which starts at the Rhône Glacier near the Furka Pass, and empties into Lake Geneva in the west. 

The little houses across the river with their snow caps look so very pretty!

And every village has a church....

All the pretty wooden houses here. 

At about 12:45, after lunch in the restaurant, we started out on our afternoon walk, which first meant going up the winding paved road. (It's more fun if the road has hard-packed snow on it!)

Warm, mild weather for our little afternoon walk. 

These mirrors are located at blind corners for traffic. Cool photo!

A yellow chickadee poses for my photos!

At the top of our hike (300m above the village of Blitzingen) we get great views over the Goms Valley all the way toward the Furka Pass.

Spectacular view of the Ober Goms Region. 

Down below, the Gotthard-Matterhorn Panorama Train (Glacier Express) is headed toward Brig

Prepared winter trails

The rest of our hike is downhill along prepared winter trails, but the snow is soft and walking is a bit tedious.

The prepared winter trails are most fun to walk when the snow is crisp and firm. Here it was a bit soft. 

Looking down the valley

This sign warns us that the Aspis Viper (a venomous snake) is prevalent in this area, in all weather conditions, even rain.

A cluster of cute stalls with lovely snow-covered roofs!

This little hamlet is called Wiler, which is also the word for "hamlet".

A cluster of stables at the valley bottom on the other side of the Rhône River.

Once we got down to the Blitzingen train station, we continued walking another two kilometers north along the winter trail to the next station. This is the regional train passing by us. We prefer it to the Glacier Express, because you can open the windows!

This is the Glacier Express, mostly for tourists. It requires a supplemental reservation fee, and we have never ridden on it. 

The Glacier Express train is on its way toward Brig/Visp (with connection to Zermatt). It is a panorama train and has those large windows. A reservation is required to ride it. We prefer the regional trains. A little further on we got on the regional train at the small station called Biel. 

Heading north again now by train toward the Furka Base Tunnel, passing all the villages again. 

Some very cool clouds over the mountains back in the Urseren Valley. 

A view behind us toward the Furka Pass as the train heads back toward Andermatt. 

What our trail looks like, but with snow!

Location of the Upper Goms Region of the Rhône Valley.