BUT there were some highlights. We saw chamois again in a clearing, and I almost stepped on a snake (not the first time), I managed to photograph a hummingbird hawk-moth (not easy), but best of all, we got to ride two of those cargo cable cars again! We have a list of all these cable cars in Canton Uri, and our goal is to have ridden on each one of them.
The excursion started with the ever-exciting bus ride into the Isenthal Valley (a zigzag street cut into the sheer cliff face, where the bus JUST fits under the overhang -- until 1901 the only way to access this valley was on foot), then a ride on the cargo cable car with breathtaking views into the back of the Isenthal Valley (you have to take a little detour to a nearby farm to pay for the ride, which only costs 5 SFr. per person), then a hike over the ridge with views South into the Chlital Valley and Reuss Valley, and back down through freshly-mowed hay (we had trouble finding the trail), and another ride down with the only cable car that is still activated manually....
After that it was a pretty long and tiring downhill hike to the village of Bauen, a little village on the West side of Lake Uri, which until 1956 was also only accessible on foot or by boat, and the only public transport there is still by boat. So we got on the boat back to Flüelen, and enjoyed 20 minutes of lovely cool wind on this very very hot day.
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| Before this road was built in 1901, the only way into the Isenthal Valley was on foot. |
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| It is always a thrill to ride these cable cars. There is a phone on the wall in the shed, you call up to the farmhouse, they tell you to sit in the car, and then they start the motor. |
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| Here's the onther one on its way down. It has mailboxes at the back! |
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| It is also a peaceful slow ride in this cable car. Everything quiet around you, and this beautiful view to the back of the Isenthal Valley |
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| The hike over the ridge was pretty nice, but the descent was long and never-ending. The short additional cable-car ride at Oberbärchi saved us 150m of descent. |
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| On the left is the farm where you first have to pay for the cable car ride before hiking up to the ridge. Obviously, they trust that you will come to pay. If people don't pay, eventually the rides won't be offered to the public. |
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| Looking directly southwards from the village of Isenthal is a valley called Chlital, where we also want to go some time. |
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| This is a hummingbird hawk moth. It was flitting around so quickly that I had a hard time finding its location to photograph it! |
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| At one point we had to descend a ladder. That was fun! |
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| This view into the Reuss Valley (and the side valley is called the Schächental Valley) is very hazy. Possibly because of the heat, or maybe the position of the sun this early in the morning |
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| Some more interesting ground to cover up here |
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| Along this trail were a series of stones with words written on them. This is the Swiss dialect of Canton Uri, where we are hiking. In regular German, these words read "Feuchtigkeit / Trockenheit" which mean "Humidity / Aridity" but in a dialect hard to understand |
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| The entire hillside had just been mowed, and we couldn't find the trail anymore. We walked clear across the field and at one point I slipped, and started sliding... |
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| This weather is perfect for drying the hay, so the farmers are hard at work with their special mowers. Some of it is also done by hand with a scythe |
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| Such a beautiful view North across Lake Uri toward Brunnen. Below is the farmhouse at Oberbärchi where we are going to use their cable car to save us some of the descent. |
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| This is the only remaining cable car in Canton Uri (possibly in Switzerland? Or maybe the ones for public use?) that is still operated manually. The lady told us her kids go down the hill in this transport to go to school in the village of Isenthal |
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| I am totally enjoying riding in these contraptions |
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| The bottom "station" of the cable car. The trail continues below this and it is a long descent to the town of Bauen on the lake, but at least mostly through the forest, so slightly cooler. |
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| Heading down to Lake Uri |
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| Approaching the town of Bauen. The location of this town gives it a special Mediterranean microclimate |
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| The only public transport to this town is by boat |
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| We got to the lake with about 10 minutes to spare for the boat |
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| Fortunately it was quite cool on the 20-minute boat ride back to Flüelen, where we caught the train back to Zug |
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| From across the lake in Sisikon you get a clear look at the village of Bauen, which until 1956 was only accessible by boat or on foot from Seelisberg on the right. Now there is a nice tunnel blasted through the section where we did our hike. |
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| Hike across the Scheidegg Ridge from back in the Isenthal Valley, then down to Bauen and by boat back to Flüelen |
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