Before heading to the train station in Brig to catch a bus 10 minutes to our starting point of Birgisch on the opposite side of the Rhone Valley, we walked up to the Jesuit College Church again to get a good photo of the hillside we had planned to hike that day.... then on to the local bakery for sandwiches and off to the Bus Station. Originally, we had considered taking a bus up to the Simplon Pass and walking back to Brig, but were SOOOO glad we chose a less popular excursion for the day. Being that June 1st was a holiday here, there were masses of people at the station, all going to popular destinations like the Goms Valley and the Lötschental Valley and to the Massa Gorge and also to the Simplon Pass, apparently, as the bus had a special trailer already loaded with at least a dozen bicycles!
After the exciting hike the day before, this one was rather anticlimactic for us, but the weather was pleasant and we saw lots of Valais Black-Nosed Sheep, which is always a treat, and even had to hike through a freshly-mown meadow (the farmer just pointed us straight across through the hay!). The trail from Birgisch high above Naters and Brig also includes a section along an irrigation channel, but it was just a small stream of about 1 km, so nothing exciting. Even the trails along the cliffs near the Massa Gorge Valley were rather "tame". Originally we were going to walk back to Brig but changed our plan to cross the suspension bridge and board the train in a small community with the unfortunate name of "Bitsch". This time our timing was off, and we missed the train by only half a minute. Fortunately we had a train every half hour....
It was a sad day for us, as we were distracted by a difficult family event which we had to deal with, so perhaps this was the reason that the tour does not remain a memorable one....
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| The day is starting out to be clear and beautiful with a nice look at the towers of the Stockalper Palace across from the dining room where we had our breakfast |
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| A short walk up to the Jesuit College Church for another look at the palace from above. Right behing the palace on the hillside nearby is where we are planning to start today's hike |
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| Jesuit College Church, light and airy on the inside |
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| A view straight to the North of us. Our plan is to walk from left to right across the hillside on the other side (not to the top, though, but rather along the farmed belt in the center) |
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| Hidden at the back of the Massa Gorge is the magnificent Aletsch Glacier, the largest glacier of the Alps. Our hike is approx. along the red line, coming from the left |
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| The beautiful old buildings in the morning light |
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| Brig is a town we usually only see from the train station (changing trains) so it is nice to walk through the old city for a change. Early morning is always the best! |
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| We took the bus from Brig to Birgisch, then walked to Geimen, and then along the cliffs toward the Massa Gorge. Instead of returning to Brig, we crossed the Gorge Mouth on a suspension bridge, and caught the train in Bitsch. 10+ km and a little over 3 hours of walking. In retrospect, we could have walked the irrigation channels between Mund and Birgisch as well! |
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| Start of our hike in Birgisch. Brig is below to the left, and on the mountainside across the valley is the road to the Simplon Pass |
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| Clouds creeping over the mountain tops |
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| Along this trail we pass through many farms and by many pretty Valais houses |
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| Here they had just mown the meadow and the trail was covered in grass. So the farmer just told us to cross straight through! |
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| Zoomed view of Brig below us. You can see the Stockalper Palace with its three towers, the Guesthouse behind it, and the large Jesuit College Church on the small hill |
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| The Massa Gorge is behind these first hills, but our trail takes us along the cliffs on this side of the hill, after visiting the village of Geimen hidden behind the trees on the left. |
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| A look down to the Rhone Valley and the town of Naters on this side of the Rhone River |
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| The first of many Valais Black-Nosed Sheep we saw along this trail, all lounging around in the shade, even though the day was not actually hot! |
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| A little one in the barn! |
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| A too-short section along one of the irrigation channels. It was called the Stockeri Suone (German in this part of Wallis) and was barely one kilometer long. |
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| Final section along the irrigation channel before arriving in the tiny village of Geimen |
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| Main square in Geimen! |
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| More lovely Valais houses and stalls on their mushroom posts to prevent mice from getting at the hay |
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| Tiny village of Geimen on the road to Blatten further up the valley |
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| This house corner was kind of freaky..... |
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| I had to add this photo of a non-typical forest chapel. We were surprised at this modern creation, we don't see many like this. |
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| We've pretty well completed the half-circle walk from Birgisch above Brig. Soon we head down again to Bitsch. This view is to the SouthWest toward the mountains in the Mattertal (Matter Valley) |
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| Zoomed view of the beautiful peaks to the SW in the Mattertal (I don't know their names!) |
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| Just before our descent, another more typical chapel looking down into the entrance of the Massa Gorge |
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| And isn't this just the cutest little Black-Nosed Sheep? It can't have been very old, but was already quite independently foraging around the meadow |
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| And descending through the forests more sheep enjoying the cool shade |
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| Crossing the Massa Gorge on the suspension bridge |
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| This is the entrance to the Massa Gorge near the Rhone Valley. The gorge is very spectacular higher up, we walked it several years ago |
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| One last look at the suspension bridge before heading down to the train station in Bitsch |
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| A pleasant, easy 10 km walk above Naters and Brig (yellow). Due to a family issue, we unfortunately could not enjoy it to the usual extent that we enjoy these hikes, even when they are not as exciting as the one we did the day before! The other trails are hikes we've done in previous years. Between Birgisch and Mund is an additional, lower irrigation channel which we have not yet walked. This would have been an ideal time to add this on. |
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