Saturday June 26, 2021 -- This time we really lucked out! It's so hard to tell where the weather is going to be nice these days. We took a risk with our choice to ride a bus up the Gental Valley from Meiringen to Engstlenalp in the Bernese Oberland. A risk mainly because the regular Post Bus (for which we don't have to pay extra) doesn't do that run anymore, and the private bus costs a whopping 24 SFr. each! The advantage of this is that not a lot of people are willing to pay that, so the bus wasn't full.
On the way to Meiringen by train over the Brünig Pass, the sky was very overcast, and the clouds were low on many mountain peaks, but as we emerged into the Haslital, and as the bus drove the 50 minutes up the valley to the Engstlenalp plateau, we saw that we were going to have very nice weather. By 2 p.m. it was supposed to cloud over, but it didn't.
We also picked a high trail which ran along the entire side of the valley, a trail which isn't popularly known, and for most of the 4.5-hour hike there was not a single other hiker on the trail. A small narrow mountain trail, lots of meadows, cows, sheep, rock-falls and streams to cross, and a view to make the heart stand still. We had glimpses of Mt. Wetterhorn and Mt. Wellhorn, and even the peak of Mt. Eiger before it was hidden in the clouds.
And being up this high, it was relatively "cool" to walk. We only felt the heat as we reached Reuti on the Hasliberg mountain, where we caught a bus back to the Brünig Pass.
In the end, even the 24 SFr. bus ride was worth it! I couldn't believe that such a large bus could travel such a narrow road. The usual dance was played out when cars came down the road and had to back up out of the way. And best of all: The entire valley floor on the way up is an open meadow, and the cows LOVE walking on the street! The bus had to kind of "push" them off the road to get to the Engstlenalp. There was a lot of honking, and a lot of surprised looks from the cows!
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| We got on the bus at Meiringen, then it drove to Innertkirchen to the other pick-up spot, and then drove up the Gental Valley. This is the view just at the start of the Gental Valley, looking Southwest. |
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| Vehicles coming up and down this narrow road in the Gental Valley have to give way to the cows. The valley is an open meadow. We were surprised at the large amount of avalanche snow which had not yet melted. |
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| I forgot to take a photo of the bus, so I looked for one on their website. This photo describes perfectly the situation as we drove up here! |
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| After a lot of honking and slowly "pushing" the cows off the road, we were able to continue on, to some surprised looks from the cows! |
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| A look back down the Gental Valley as we get closer to Engstlenalp |
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| There is a show dairy at Engstlenalp, so we stopped there to buy some cheese |
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| Setting up for the cheese making for the day |
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| The 1892 historical Hotel Engstlenalp |
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| Summer houses and barns on the Engstlenalp. In the background is Mt. Titlis, which has snow year-round. It is now 10:30 at the start of our hike. |
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| Looking down the valley to the South, our trail passes through the farm called Baumgarten. |
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| The first marmots of the year! They were far away, so the photos are blurry |
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| Lots of waterfalls and small streams to cross |
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| Several national and regional trails pass through here, from Engelberg to Melchsee-Frutt, but the trail we picked is a less-used one. We met no other hikers all day on this trail. |
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| For all the way out of the valley, the trail was narrow like this |
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| Some spots with rock-falls require more care to cross |
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| Once-in-a-while a look back to see how far we have come |
VIDEO:
Cows on the high alpine meadows
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| One of the buildings at Baumgarten Farm |
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| We found a good place for a picnic lunch, with a view up and down the valley and across to the waterfall... |
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| This is the best version of the Swiss flag which I had ever seen! |
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| Our lovely picnic spot, with a view up and down the Gental Valley, and across at the mighty cliffs (we watched hikers crossing several snow patches there) |
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| The trail on the other side of the valley still has lots of snow patches. We do want to walk this trail some time too, but we will wait till the snow is gone! |
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| A collection of large cowbells!! |
VIDEO:
Urs crossing the stream/river
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| The road below that goes up to the Engstlenalp |
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| The sheep we encounter.... we're never really sure if they are agressive either! |
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| And then we encountered some cows on the trail again. These are not quite full-grown, but we detoured up the hill above them anyway! |
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| Urs is trying to figure out the best way to pass by these two cows in the narrow bend in the trail. |
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| Another look up the valley as we detour above the cows (they are lying all over the hiking trail!) |
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| Can you see the snake? It was a baby, not more than about 25 cm long, slithered across the road in front of us, and disappeared into the grass |
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| At the mouth of the Gental Valley, where we turned and headed West, we got this magnificent view into several valleys: Right below is the Gadmertal (heads up to the Susten Pass to the left) from where the Gental branches off... in the middle heading left is the Haslital toward the Grimselpass, and straight ahead is a side valley called Uerbachtal. Right in the middle below is the town of Innertkirchen |
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| We are still enjoying lovely flowering meadows |
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| After a long section through the cool forest, we emerge into the western part of the Haslital Valley. Down below is Lake Brienzersee |
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| Reuti (Hasliberg), the end of our 4.5-hour hike. From here we took a bus to the Brünig Pass, then a train back home. (It's only a 2.5-hour trip) |
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| Last bit along the road at 4 p.m. |
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| First the bus took us up the Gental Valley along a narrow road to Engstlenalp, from where we walked 4.5 hours and over 15 km to Reuti in the Hasliberg Valley. The more popular trail is along the ridge, or over to Melchsee-Frutt. But we met no other people along the way. The Gental Valley and Hasliberg are in Canton Bern, but right along the border with Cantons Nidwalden and Obwalden |
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| The turquoise trail is the one we did this day. All the others are trail hikes over the past eight years in this area. |
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| The region of the Gental Valley and Engstlenalp |
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