From Arni (Amsteg) to Erstfeld high above the Reuss Valley

Saturday Sept.19 -- Even our best-laid plans cannot be followed through if the public transit breaks down! Due to a technical problem on the railway line which we needed for heading to the eastern part of the country -- where the weather was the most likely to remain steadily nice for the day -- we had too much of a delay to catch the single bus connection into a remote valley near Landquart, which we had planned on discovering. 

Going East any later meant most of the day would be gone, so we took a risk and headed into the Reuss Valley again, because we don't have to travel far.  There is a trail there high above the valley, that we have long planned to hike, discovered on a map after we did a hike on the opposite side of the valley some time ago, looking over at that mountain and wondering: Can we walk there?

In August 2019 we did a fabulous hike on the other side of the valley, and wondered if there was a trail over there, connecting the two alpine pastures: Vorder Arni on the left, Riedberg on the right.

Hiking on the other side of the Reuss Valley, Aug.2019. It turns out there is a trail, which we always intended to walk. That's what we chose for our Plan B.

Even though there was fog on the Arni Alp as we headed up there with the four-person cable car from Amsteg, we had high hopes that the sky would clear, as the sky was still blue to North of us, in the direction we were walking. But in the mountains, this changes quickly. Within 30 minutes we had full overcast skies, and the trail, which ended up being way more challenging (steep, overgrown, very narrow) took much longer to navigate than expected. The effort would have been so much more rewarding if we would have had the view of the magnificent mountains in this area! A real shame, as we probably won't do this difficult stretch a second time.

At least the rain held off (none in the forecast) until we had completed the difficult part. But there was no opportunity for lounging at the Riedberg Alp, and the long descent to Erstfeld we did mostly in the rain. Good thing I always have the plastic cape in my backpack!

Crossing the Reuss River just North of Amsteg to get to the cable car station. The "fog" here might have been an indication that the weather wasn't getting better!

Or maybe the thicker fog up at the Arni Alp where we are headed might have been a reason to turn back? But we had high hopes of it evaporating

The little 4-person cable car used to be an insider tip. It is tucked away from major thoroughfares. Yet on this Saturday there were quite a few people ahead of us and we had to wait 30 minutes for our turn.

Heading up above the Reuss River, it's not looking too bad to the North (The other side with the clearings is where we walked in 2019)

At the summit station at Hinter Arni, the fog seems to be clearing. The times given on the trail markers for Riedberg and Erstfeld are for if the trail was flat and cleared. It took us 2 hours to get to Riedberg, because of the difficult trail. 

A view of the Hinter Arni Alp. We have been here a dozen times, often with guests. Urs' extended family lives in this region, and his Dad grew up nearby. Usually, we walk South from here, to a small lake called Arnisee.

On the map and trail markers, this trail maps out at 3 hours 20, but it takes about 4 hours to do. (In 2019 we walked along the other hillside, starting at Schwändli in the North and descending at Frentschenberg)

Some cute farmhouses in Vorder Arni

At this point, the weather is looking pretty promising!

On the way to the view bench for our picnic lunch, this rather long and not poisonous snake was lounging on the trail! I saw it this time!

The "view bench". From here you should get a fantastic look North down the Reuss Valley! As it turns out, it was very windy and cold. 

The first stretch was quite an adventure, steep uphill but with secure handholds.

At some places we had the help of a rope to get up.

More rope work.

Steep uphill on a narrow trail along the cliffs

A peek through the trees and a close-up look at Vorder Arni where we had our picnic lunch.

I have to say I did enjoy the first section, quite an adventure

Such a shame that the air was hazy and the sky overcast. This view into the steep valley should have been magnificent.

This was the difficult stretch. A very narrow, overgrown trail on the steep slope.

Picking our way along the overgrown trail.

Then there was a steep and wet downhill section which we had to descend carefully.

If I had known the trail was this steep, I might not have attempted this crossing. At least it didn't rain while we passed along this stretch.

A look back to Vorder Arni where we started on this difficult trail high above the Reuss Valley!

Finally we got to Riedberg Alp, safe and sound. What a beautiful mushroom! It was about 30 cm tall. 

A look up along the Riedberg Alp (we came from the left side at the height of the upper cabins). This is where the rain started.....We had actually planned a coffee break with a view!

We rushed down through the forest from Riedberg Alp, and ran into these guys. Sheep can be scary if they look like they are going to attack you! And what is up with that evil-looking llama!

Posing in my rain gear. We actually waited 20 minutes in the forest here, in the hopes the rain would stop. I used the cape as a tent, and had a coffee break beneath it.

No sign of the rain letting up, so we continued down the hill in the rain. Lucky for us, the rest of the way to Erstfeld below was a wide forest road and not steep, so no issues walking in the rain.

A wide easy road zigzagging down the hill to Erstfeld

A burst of sunshine on the city of Erstfeld, as we near the valley bottom.

View South up the Reuss Valley

The glacier-fed river coming down the Erstfeld Valley joins the Reuss River at Erstfeld. I love how the two flows are different colors (white from the glacier water), and it continues like this for a while

Jagdmatt Chapel South of Erstfeld. I haven't visited this one yet. 

Our hike depicted on Google Earth maps

Another of our favourite areas to hike because we can get here quickly: Reuss Valley with the side valleys called Maderanertal, Erstfeldertal, Schächental, and Brunnital

This is what it looks like on a nice day, crossing the Reuss River into the main part of Erstfeld. On the left you can see the whiter glacier water from the Valley to the West, as it flows together with the rest of the Reuss water toward the North.