On the Industrial Trail near Lenzburg in the Seetal Valley

February 27, 2019 -- We have been experiencing an unseasonably warm February with lots of sunshine, which means that the snow has melted in the lower elevations, and the crocuses and snowbells are already popping out of the ground! Which is exciting for us who prefer the variety of landscapes offered by dry-land hiking as opposed to the sameness of the winter landscape, as beautiful as that can be after a new snowfall.

On this Wednesday, temperatures were up to 18 degrees in many places, and we had a very nice, comfortable 14-km walk in the Canton of Aargau, starting in Lenzburg in the Seetal Valley and walking the Industry Education Trail along the river Aabach, where much of the industrialization of this area started (water power to run paper mills, sawmills, weaving and spinning mills, flour mills and so on) from the 1600's (or earlier) onwards. Along the way are information boards describing the original operations on those sites, most of which now serve other functions. The most exciting thing on this part of our excursion was seeing a rat on the riverbank foraging near a factory... made us feel as if we were really part of the early Industrial Age!

At Seon we crossed over the hill into the next valley to the West, the Wynental. Here we walked sun-dappled forest paths, through farming hamlets (talked to a farm lady about the hedgehogs living in her barn -- still one of my wishes, to see a hedgehog!) visited sandstone caves and passed by two castles before catching the train back to Aarau at Teufenthal. One of my favourite things here, meandering from castle to castle....

Town of Lenzburg. In the back, on the hill, is the castle Lenzburg, obviously bein fixed up for opening to the public in April

Me on the fountain

Although the Hero Company is no longer in this building, Hero jams were originally manufactured here. Founded in 1886.

A little walk around Lenzburg takes us to the Burghalde (built 1628) and the newer built-in Museum at the back

At the museum is this replica of a Roman wagon found in Zurich, dating from approx. 2800BC (wheels made of oak wood)

Many pretty framework buildings in this area

Across the river near one of the factory buildings, we spotted a rat. Also, the snowbells are out!

This building was the main of three mills in Lenzburg (Obere Mühle), originally mentioned in documents dating to the 13th Century. Was operated by two waterwheels with diameter of 4.5 meters. Now privately owned.

This is the Aabach River, of vital importance to the development of industry in this area

Zoomed view of Lenzburg Castle high on the hill

One of several information placards along the way, describing the establishment and operation of the early factories along the river. This one used to be a paper and cardboard mill. Most of the buildings are now used for other operations.

Walking along the Aabach River

At Seon, the Industrial Educational Trail actually continues to Hallwil (with one more large waterwheel and museum in Hallwil, which we have visited on a previous trip) but we crossed the hill to the next valley over to see the castles.

At Seon we crossed the river and headed into the hills to the West, through farmyards and forests

So many of these crocuses already blooming!

A lovely door

This hamlet we passed through is called Refental

Approaching Castle Liebegg near Teufenthal in the Wynental Valley

It is always a treat to see these structures called "Spycher", usually found in the Emmental. They were a combination of grain storage and living quarters for the elders once their children took over the farm

Before going to the castle we took a detour to the Sandstone Caves

Sandstone was mined from here as building material for many of the upper end structures in the area

From inside the caves

The sandstone caves near Liebegg

Up close at Liebegg Castle, this is all we could see from the outside, up close. This castle was established in the year 1150 by the Lords of Liebegg

Our destination of Teufenthal below, but first we walked over the rise on the left to have a look at Trostburg Castle, not visible from here

Approaching the Trostburg Castle. Also built in the year 1100 by the Lords of Trostburg. Partially destroyed by the Bernese in 1415. 

This entire structure including chapel and tower are unter private ownership. Totally renovated in the early 2000's.

View of the castle as we are heading down to the train station in Teufenthal

This 14-15 km walk from Lenzburg to Teufental took us about 4 hours and 15 minutes

Sunday Walk to Michaelskreuz on Mount Rooterberg

February 24, 2019 -- The small ridge called Mount Rooterberg which runs parallel to Lake Zug on its West side offers superb views of the Alps ON THE RIGHT DAY! 

But what it also offers is the opportunity for a hike up a hill which is basically snow-free. And also not far from home. So this was our choice for a Sunday walk, even though we knew the day would be slightly hazy. We walked up here once before in April 27, a dismal and cold day at the time, but this time we took a different route.

We started in Rotkreuz and walked up the forest trail from the North side, which gave us some nice views across the entire Zug area where we live, and the Rontal Valley which we often travel by train when we go to Luzern. The main goal of the excursion was the chapel at Michaelskreuz (translation = Michael's Cross), a popular look-out point in this area. For the descent we also wanted to do something a little different than last time, so we walked down to Root on the West side of the hill. At some places we ran into bits of snow and icy patches, but perfectly navigable. 

AND this is where we saw the first snowbells and crocuses! It was a nice introduction to the start of Spring hiking, which we find much more interesting than walking in the white winter landscape....

From Rotkreuz via Chüntwil it takes 1 hour 20 minutes to walk up to the Chapel at Michaelskreuz

Carnival starts on February 28th, so everywhere are dressed-up figures. 

Catholic Church in Rotkreuz

A large part of the uphill section was on a wide snow-free forest trail with lots of sunshine

Going up this way we got views to the West down to the Reuss River in what is known as the Rontal Valley

This barn has seen better days!

Up here at 770m altitude (Michaelskreuz) there was still astonishingly lots of snow

I found these whittled "hunting trophies" rather amusing!

The chapel at Michaelskreuz, a popular look-out point

Even though it was a hazy day, we still had a nice view of Lake Zug and the Glarnisch Alps (Direction Arth Goldau, Mount Rigi on the right)

 

Below is Rotkreuz where we started our hike, and in the back on the lake is the city of Zug

This tree is 500 years old, and the oldest tree in the Rontal Valley

 

Heading South along Mount Rooterberg, another glimpse of Lake Zug, Mount Rigi, and the villages of Immensee and Küssnacht at the base of Mount Rigi

We decided to head West so we could descend into the Rontal Valley instead of the Lake Zug side. Here we ran into some snow....

 

Glimpse of the town of Root on the Reuss River. This is the goal of our hike

Zoomed view of the church in Root

And it was on our descent that we saw the first snow-bells, a sure sign of Spring!

Enjoying a few minutes of sunshine on a bench just above the church in Root, before heading to the train station.

Root, Switzerland

 

In April 2017 we walked the green trail, this time the purple one from Rotkreuz to Root. Total 10 km, took us about 3 hours

In April 2017 we walked from Udligenswil to Buonas. This time from Rotkreuz to Root.