From Brunnen to Vitznau along the Waldstätter Trail

March 30, 2018 -- On this Good Friday holiday there weren't many places around the country with decent weather except locally, so we stayed close to home and walked the lovely Waldstätter Trail from Brunnen to Vitznau on the South flank of Mount Rigi on Lake Lucerne. (In German, Lake Lucerne is called the Vierwaldstättersee, which actually translates to Lake of Four Cantons because it borders four of our Cantons). We had some sun and wind and toward the end the rain clouds pulled in, but in all a trail as we love it, up and down through forests and meadows with views of lakes and mountains and sheep and goats (no cows out yet) and lots and lots of birds of prey.

And always something interesting to learn: For the first time we saw a very rare breed of goat called the Copperneck goat (Kupferhalsziege), which is related to the Valais Blackneck goat but which was never recognized as its own breed, so any animals with such colouring showing up among herds of Blacknecks had been disposed of in the last decades. Since 2006 (when only 28 such goats were found) the Swiss organization ProSpecieRara has been working hard to rescue this rarest of Swiss breeds, which as it turns out are descended from the same forefathers as the Valais Blacknecks (Copper Goats, not because of their colouring but because they can be traced back to the Copper Age) 

Our  hike starts on the Lake Road near Brunnen, at this little castle (Seeschlössli)

We decided to start the "Waldstätter Trail" at this point instead of in Brunnen, to save 3 km walking along the road. From here the trail went steep up the mountainside.

10-km hike, took us 3 hours 45 mins walking time because there were two sets of steep ascents.

View East from our first picnic spot

Picnic spot with super view. A well-earned rest after an approx. 300-m ascent.

And to the West, the mighty Mount Pilatus

At the halfway mark, we descend into the town of Gersau, before ascending on the other side again.

Interesting item we found in Gersau: Very old boulders transported here from various parts of Switzerland (including a 275 million-year-old rock found while excavating for the Gotthard Base Tunnel), converted into garbage cans, of all things 

A common merganser on Lake Lucerne

Interesting artwork: This one is named "Mondo Gioia" (Joyous World)

Lake Lucerne access in Gersau

So many buzzards and kites because it's Spring and the farmers are preparing the pastures.

We found a bench along the road on our second ascent, so stopped for coffee and to enjoy the sunshine and the views.

This was the highest spot on our second ascent.

Another view to Gersau below (looking back the way we came)

A good portion of the hike was along narrow trails like this one, mostly through the woods.

Signs of Spring, the sheep are in the meadows

This is a rare breed of goat called the "Copperneck" or "Kupferhals", related to the Valais Blackneck, and not long ago close to being eradicated. (With the help of breeders they are making a comeback)

A very nice hike along the Waldstätterweg from Brunnen to Gersau to Vitznau.

Toward the end of our hike it looked like rain....

A last stop to enjoy the view over the town of Vitznau before heading down to the road to catch the bus back to Brunnen.

So many birds of prey around at this time of year.

We have done many hikes around this mountain in the last 5 years.

On Mount Rooterberg nearby, from Udligenswil to Adligenswil

(This post was done on January 7th, 2021, three years after the hike. I was updating albums not previously completed).

March 25, 2018 -- A short hike for us this time, only two hours, but we just wanted to get out for some fresh air on a mild early spring day nearby, and in the process continuing along another section of National Trail no.3 (Alpine Panorama Trail) of which we have done several sections, especially near where we live, as it passes right through our region. As usual we made some adjustments to our plan to include less paved trail and more forest trail.

We started off in Udligenswil just below the very visible St.Jost church (as far as churches here go, it's rather on the "modern" side), and walked to Adligenswil where we stopped by for a visit with friends. These towns are very close to Luzern, and on a clear day (which this wasn't really) you can look down on the town walls of Luzern, and also Mount Pilatus looms ahead of you on the trail.

(Later, on Dec.8 2019, we finished the section of the Mt. Rooterberg trail from Adligenswil to Luzern. Those photos can be found HERE)

(And the previous stretch where we'd started in Udligenswil and walked northwards across Mt. Rooterberg along Trail no.3, those photos can be found HERE)

In Udligenswil on Trail no.3. In 2017 we started here and walked to Michaelskreuz to the North. This time we are headed South along the trail, in the direction of Luzern

On this small mountain called Mt. Rooterberg are many such pretty farm houses

And because this is farmland where the ground often gets tilled, we are sure to see loads of buzzards and kites looking for mice.

Coming up the hill from Udligenswil, we first approach St. Jost church from the back.

More pretty farmhouses

The road takes us in a loop around the church of St.Jost

Trail no.3 actually heads South from here, but we're heading North first to pass the church and to loop around the hill on a forest trail

Another kite

This is a very old farmhouse with the honeycomb windows

Some nice details on the old farmhouse

This one also was quite interesting

These very interesting buildings were usually built on a farm in addition to the main farmhouse, where the elder parents would move into once the children took over the farm

Barely visible in the hazy air is the city of Luzern on the right, and Mt.Pilatus straight ahead.

A better view of Mt. Pilatus ahead of us.

A short hike for us, only 6.5 km. We altered our route a bit to include a path through the forest. On our chosen route, we could look down at the city of Luzern, which we would not have seen had we stayed on Route no.3

As of this date, these are the trails we have walked in the area between Lake Zug and Luzern. The orange trail is the one we did this day, and the green one to the North of it in 2017. In 2019 we completed the stretch to Luzern.

Along the Valais Sunshine Trail from Eggerberg to Naters

March 24, 2018 -- It was a beautiful and sunny day all over the country this day, but we decided on a walk along the "Sunshine Trail" (Route 61: Walliser Sonnenweg) in the Valais, officially a 75km trail from Montana to Brig along the south-facing slopes of the Rhone River (called the Rotten here) Valley.

The section we did was Stage 4 between Eggerberg and Naters, an 11 km stretch which took much longer than anticipated (4 hours) but also turned out to provide a nice variety of narrow trails, a large part next to the railway line (South Ramp of the Lötschberg Railway), several sections up and down steep rocky areas nicely laid out with stone steps, along two of the many famous irrigation channels of this area (called Suones, and very necessary for watering this dry area), always with views up and down the Rhone valley.

Of particular interest was the BLS protected forest, a huge reforestation project by the BLS train company (who built the Lötschberg South Ramp) who purchased the hillside and planted 10 million trees and built an elaborate irrigation system of tiers and tiers of handrail-type pipes throughout the forest to keep the slopes from eroding and damaging the railway line. Sections at a time receive 24 hours of irrigation, and hikers are warned that they should come prepared with rain gear. Lucky for us, they weren't irrigating that day, although it looked like there might have been some recent watering, where the forest floor was particularly advanced with carpets of bear garlic, violets and even the first signs of crocuses and daffodils.

This fantastic structure is the Aarburg Castle, which we pass on our way to the Southwest part of Switzerland

We started in Eggenberg and walked 11 km to Naters, along the South Ramp of the BLS railway line, along the Laldneri irrigation channel which draws water from the Baltschieder Valley, and along the Drietschneri irrigation channel which draws water from the Gredetsch Valley. The BSL protection forest is the entire slope between Lalden and Naters.

From our starting point in Eggerberg, we walked back toward Brig parallel to the railway line. This section of the Walliser Sonnenweg (Valais Sunshine Trail) is also the Lötschberg South Ramp Trail

From where we started near Eggerberg, this view is South into the Matter Valley, across the city of Visp. At the back is the Mischabel Massiv, whose highest peak (Mount Dom) is the highest peak solely on Swiss terrain.

On this first section we follow the Laldneri Suone (Irrigation Channel). This 5-km long channel whose origins go back to 1312 takes its water from the Baltschieder Valley, and is still in full operation, bringing water to the pastures of the village of Lalden below.

The first 4 1/2 km of the trail follows the South Ramp of the BLS railway line

The first 4 1/2 km of the trail follows the South Ramp of the BLS railway line

Originally there was only one track here built on an old stone support. To expand to two tracks, they simply poured a second support of cement against the old stone support.

Trains from the BLS train company run on the South Ramp from Bern through the Lötschberg Tunnel to Brig.

A great spot for a picnic and train watching.

Exciting signs of Spring

Further up the hill we head into the BLS protected forest.

The forest is full of hand-rail-type pipes which run 24 hours at a time to make sure the roots get plenty of water

 

A system of pipes provides water for the 10,000,000 "newly"-planted trees in the BLS forest.

There were a few steep stretches (up and down) nicely laid out with stone steps

Bridge crossing the exit of the Gredetsch Valley, another parallel valley from which several Suones carry water toward the Rhone Valley.

Approaching the city of Brig (below). The hike is taking a lot longer than the 3 hours 10 minutes advertised on the trail marker at the start.... (it took us 4 hours altogether)

These slate-tiled roofs are typical of the Valais area of Switzerland

A look backwards into the Rhone Valley and the BLS South Ramp Railway line far below (BLS Protection Forest on the entire hillside on the right).

Here we followed another Suone (Drietschneri) for about 1 km, this one has its source in the Gredetsch Valley and is mainly used to water the protection forest. No water was running at this point because it is being cleaned.

Last stretch before descending to the town of Naters below

The church in Naters and the fascinating Bone House

We have done many hikes in this area. In three sections we covered the entire 26 km of the Lötschberg South Ramp Trail between Hohtenn and Brig. This trail was the first railway trail created in 1960.

View of Mount Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau Trio as we head back home after the Löstschberg Tunnel