I have long wanted to do the stretch from Kerns to Stans, which is a section of three different national and regional trails: "No.2: Trans-Swiss Trail", "No.4: St.James Trail" (the very popular pilgrim trail "Camino de Santiago" which also passes through Switzerland) and also "Trail No.571: "Bruder Klausen Weg", Brother Klaus being a nationally revered "Saint" who lived in seclusion for many years in the nearby place called Ranft, after many years as a political bigwig in the mid 1400's.
We had incredibly mild weather for mid-December, the only drawback being that the last stretch of our hike coming down into Stans was in the shadow of Mount Stanserhorn, the sun being so low at this time of year, and dusk coming so early. But the mild weather is caused by the Foehn Winds, which makes the mountains appear very large. We did regret that we didn't do the hike in the opposite direction (i.e. North to South), so that we would have had the mountains in front of us instead of behind. This meant I had to keep turning around to take pictures of the view behind us!
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| We started in the village of Kerns near Sarnen, where we have been several times already, most notably when I walked from here southward to visit Brother Klaus' hermitage in Ranft several years ago. |
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| Beautiful old farmhouses |
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| Heading North out of Kerns. At this time of year we don't mind paved lanes and forest roads because the meadow trails can be very muddy |
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| This is a very pastoral landscape |
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| Heading toward Mount Stanserhorn, where we walked around its base to the left. |
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| A look behind us toward the South, at the village of Kerns and the Obwalden Alps |
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| This pilgrim trail passes by many such chapels |
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| Another look behind us as we head uphill |
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| Walking along Trails No.2, 4, and 571. |
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| This little chapel called "Maichäppeli" is also an important pilgrim chapel |
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| A final view South along the Sarneraatal Valley |
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| To our West ist Mount Pilatus. Here at the little village of St.Jakob below, the trails No.2 and No.4 split up for a bit. We stayed on the Trans-Swiss Trail, whereas the St.Jakob's Trail passes down there, through St.Jakob! |
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| Last view of the mountains as we head around the foot of Mount Stanserhorn |
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| Another interesting little farm shop. Here you can buy refreshments as opposed to cheese and sausages |
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| A variety of juices, coffees and syrups are offered here at the farm kiosk (self-serve). We had our thermos coffee along, so didn't stoop for a drink this time |
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| Heading eastward now toward Mount Buochserhorn. Down below is Stans, the goal of our hike. |
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| Below is the city of Stans, behind it Lake Lucerne and the various peaks of Mount Rigi, and at the far back the mountains of Schwyz, still in sunshine, while here it is already dusk |
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| An image of Brother Klaus at this end of the "Bruder Klausen Weg" (i.e. Trail no. 571, created in 2017 at the 600th anniversary of the birth of Niklaus von Flüe) |
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| Descent toward Stans |
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| A look behind us at Mount Pilatus with the last sun on its peak |
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| Church tower in Stans |
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| Our 3-hour, 12 km walk from Kerns to Stans on a lovely and mild mid-December afternoon |
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| Since this area is not far from our home, we have done a lot of hiking around here |
BONUS: On our way home with the train from Luzern, and walking home from the train station, we got treated to the most spectacular sunset and clear view of the Alps, which looked much closer than they really are, due to the effect of the Foehn winds.
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