Sunday July 29: Two years ago we did a hike at Lake Grimselsee, in the Grimsel arena which is the source of one of Switzerland's major rivers: The Aar River, and loved it so much that we wanted to come again. Another stunningly beautiful area, the Grimsel Pass connects Canton Bern on the North side with Canton Wallis to the South, and besides being the watershed area for both the North Sea and the Meditteranean, it is an area of value for hydro-electric power production (produces yearly supply for one million people). From the Grimsel Pass North down the valley is a historic mule trail (14th century) that makes for a nice hike 8 km down to the point where is located the steep Gelmer Funicular (106% gradient) which was originally built to facilitate construction of the Gelmersee Dam (hydro-electric) and opened to the public in 2001. This funicular was the steepest in Europe until the opening of the Stoos Funicular in 2017. We started our hike at the large dam on Lake Grimselsee (not at the pass itself) and walking North along the milky lake Räterichsbodensee we watched the dozens of rock climbers for whom these glacier-sanded slopes are obviously popular climbing spots, and then continued along the mule track over several old stone bridges before stopping to admire from afar the little single-car 24-person funicular slowly and incredibly making its way up that steep mountainside. Unbelievable. And very popular. Especially on a Sunday. At 2 pm. you didn't need to bother going up anymore if you hadn't already booked your trip down. (about 20 minutes for each passage). Well we should have stopped here I guess. But we'd only done 8 km, and what is 6 km more (to the next bus stop) after that? Well, it was just hot and uninteresting, but who knows this in advance??? We were glad when we saw the village of Guttannen ahead and made it, as usual with just 3 minutes to spare for the bus... (next one two hours later). But... the alternative was just coming back to an overheated apartment...
As the PostBus leaves Meiringen and heads South, this view is down the Haslital Valley toward the Grimsel Pass
On the ride up by bus to the Grimsel Hospiz, this is one of the dammed lakes up here near the Grimsel Pass. The Mule Trail goes along the back of the lake to the dam
Grimsel Dam as seen from the bus. You can also just make out the trail we are going to come down after first crossing the dam
We got off the bus here at the Grimsel Hotel and power plant just below the Grimsel Pass. The sign says "Guttannen: 4 hours" but it took us 5 and a half.... To the Gelmer Funicular (Handegg) it is 2 hours 15 mins.
In 2016 we walked along the right side of the lake to the Unteraar Glacier (not visible) at the back, and spent the night there in an Alpine Hostel. One of my favourite hikes which I would do again.
On the old mule trail it is 8 km to Handegg to the Gelmer Funicular, and we walked an additional 6 hot kilometers to Guttannen further North. In retrospect, we should have ended the day in Handegg
Crossing the dam, then the trail goes up through that enclosed stairway then along the rock face
By "Along the Rock Face" I mean up a wonderful set of stone steps
Looking down at the Grimsel dam from the other side
The steep trail back down to the valley bottom was mostly set with stone steps, so the descent was not difficult
Heading along the old mule trail on the West side of Lake Räterichbodensee
Lake Räterichbodensee, one of several dammed lakes in the Grimsel arena
These slopes are a prime example of the scouring effect of the glaciers. Also a favourite of rock climbers. There must have been about 20. It was like looking for ibex and chamois
Popular with the rock climbers
At the end of the Räterichsbodensee Lake is this dam with its renowned hand-painted mural called "Mélisande", painted in 2004. It has suffered much in the last 14 years! At the time, this was the largest painting/mural in the world.
http://www.ens.ch/ens/places/europa/schweiz/melisande/index.html
From on top of the dam we get this fantastic view down the Haslital Valley, to the Gelmer Dam, and a sense of how steep the Gelmer Funicular runs
The old mule trail from Grimsel to Handegg
We crossed the Aar River several times on these old stone bridges
We crossed the Aar River several times on these old stone bridges
As we approached the Gelmer Dam, which was very high up obviously, this zoomed photo shows how magnificent this construction is
Until 2017, this was the steepest funicular in Europe. The single car transports only 24 people at a time, 10 minutes up, then 10 minutes down.
This is not quite the steepest portion...
VIDEO:
We watched the Gelmer Funicular from a few angles. It's maximum speed is 2 meters per second, but most of the videos on the Internet are sped up to make it look like a roller coaster
We walked to the base station of the funicular to get informed for our eventual trip up to Lake Gelmersee
The suspension bridge takes you back to the main road
There wasn't much worth of note on the additional 6 km we walked to Guttannen, except maybe this anthill. Most of the rest of the way was near the busy road as well.
We were glad to glimpse our destination of Guttannen, and made it to the bus stop with about 3 minutes to spare. This valley got 4 meters of snow in February 1999 and was cut off from the "outside world" by a massive avalanche
A taste of Guttannen
Restored in 1970, this church is under Federal Protection
In 2016 we walked along Lake Grimselsee to the Unteraar Glacier. This time we walked along the old mule trail down the Haslital Valley. Total 14 km, took us 5.5 hours. Normal would be about 4.5 hours.
Wednesday July 25th: The area called Freiberg Kärpf in Canton Glarus is the oldest (450 years) wilderness reserve in Europe and at 106 sq.km one of the largest in Switzerland. It is also a magnificent area, like a large green canyon with a sparkling dammed lake at its North entrance, and a single charming hotel at the edge of the steep drop toward Schwanden below. The area is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tectonica Arena Sardona, an area so designated because it displays excellent examples of the creation of mountains and other land features through tectonic thrust. (Notably the Glarus Thrust) Heading up to higher elevations to try to beat this heat wave, we discovered that an altitude of 1800m and a steep 1-hour climb of 300m is not high enough yet (hot hot hot)! But luckily, after the steep climb, we had cool winds for the rest of this 4.5-hour round-tour we did. It was magnificent. Being a wilderness reserve, we had hoped to see many animals, but they don't like the heat much either. One would probably have to be here very early in the morning, or after sundown. Nevertheless, with some patience and concentration we caught a movement of brown on a patch of snow high up, and with the zoom lens (not great resolution, though) captured a chamois who had found some tufts of grass in among the rocky cliffs. The main attraction on this round tour is the 50-m wide natural bridge carved by the river out of a soft layer of what is called flysch geology. This bridge is one of the more spectacular landforms created by the Glarus Thrust. At low water levels you can walk through the cave-like passage, which I tried from above but couldn't descend one short piece or cross the river in the cave. I should have tried it from below, but it was fun anyway. And considering how yellow the rest of Switzerland has gotten, we were pleasantly surprised at the large amount of green up here....
The excursion starts with a cable-car ride up the narrow gorge from Kies (20-person car) and a walk across the dam, which incidentally is made entirely of stone, and not concrete
Actually, before starting on the hike, we got to look down the valley where we'd come up by bus from Schwanden in the Linth Valley (this is right in front of the Mettmen Hotel)
On the steep 1-hour ascent, here's a view of the lake-side trail which we plan to walk on the way back to the cable car
The Garichti Lake actually has two dams. There's one on the East side as well.
Another look North into the Linth Valley, with the quaint Mettmen Hotel right on the edge of the gorge.
At the top of the first uphill section, we get our only views West, but there were a lot of clouds. In the back is an alpine hostel (Leglerhütte) which one can also access from here, but it would have been an additional hour.
Upper moor lake. There were a couple of these along the way.
Another uphill section to the back of the valley before we turn around and head back along the "canyon"
This is at the back of the valley where we had our picnic lunch.
Heading East into the "canyon"
Back here at the back of the valley is where we spotted the chamois on that piece of snow way up there.
I don't have a professional zoom lens, but what I could photograph was definitely a chamois!
Lots of pretty flowers of course
Heading North back down the valley toward the Kärpf Bridge
We were surprised to find snow up here, but at least didn't have to walk across it this time!
Finally arrived at the Kärpf Bridge, a 50-m natural bridge hollowed out by the Niederenbach River
I entered the cave from the top but could not cross at the last piece where the kids are standing. They managed to cross by starting at the bottom.
From the bottom side, the Kärpf bridge is much more stunning
A stunning hole in the middle of the landscape, created by Tectonic thrusts and the power of water
Last section is this upper wetland where all kinds of ecology-specific species thrive
Crossing to the West side of the lake for the final stretch back to the dam
The water was so wonderfully clear and turquoise
This dam is constructed entirely of stone instead of concrete
And the final section, back down to Kies with the cable-car, to wait for the bus back to Schwanden
This round tour took us 4.5 hours, but there is a shorter 2.5-hour option if you don't go all the way to the back of the valley
10-km round tour in the Kärpf Wilderness Reserve. Took us 4.5 hours to walk.
