In the Emmental/Entlebuch Napfberg Region, from Bramboden to Trub

Saturday September 18, 2021 -- After the very long hike we did the day before, this outing was supposed to be a stroll in the rolling hills of the Emmental/Entlebuch not too far from home. We had been to the Napfberg region before, and rather enjoyed walking along part of the Alpine Panorama Trail there, and admiring the beautiful farms tucked into the dips and perched on the hills, and we wanted another similar experience. (Those photos are HERE). We chose to do a section of the "Grenzpfad Napfbergerland", or "Napf Mountain Border Trail" to the East of the popular Napf Mountain (this trail is right along the border of Canton Luzern and Canton Bern). To gain access to the ridge trail, we took a little bus from Schüpfheim to Bramboden, as this bus runs only on weekends. (We took the same bus a year ago to walk the Wood Coal Trail (those photos are HERE), and at that time the bus was packed... this time there were only five of us, what a pleasure).

The excursion started well, with the bus driver handing out coupons for a free drink at the hotel (marketing effort to get people interested in this little-known area), so we lounged on the restaurant terrace for a while enjoying a coffee, before starting on our hike. But the day soon became overcast with low clouds and very little view of the mountains to the South, and the lovely rolling hills I had wanted to enjoy were only seldom visible on this trail which was predominantly through thickly forested areas.

Furthermore, what should have been a short easy hike ended up being another 14-kilometer and 4.5-hour walk, with many uphill sections as well... I was very tired and we probably should have descended the ridge sooner, but I really wanted to attain our goal of reaching the village of Trub, which Urs said was particularly pretty.

In the end, this wasn't one of my favourite hikes...but looking at my photos now, there are so very many pretty ones just the same!

This area of rolling hills is actually in the Entlebuch region of Canton Luzern. This is the view from Bramboden, the start of our hike, looking Southeast. Normally, we should see the Alps from here. 

Enjoying a free coffee in Bramboden, thanks to our bus driver!

Right next to the hotel is the little church in Bramboden. We usually pop into each church we pass, to see if there are some particularly nice features or artwork of some kind. 

This church had a very interesting wooden ceiling. I always admire the ceilings. 

The day actually started nice with some blue skies, and we were hopeful that we might soon see some of the mountains to the South. 

Being watched again as we walk past

Clouds are gathering to the South. It was cold without the sun.

A fantastic maple tree!

An hour and 3 kilometers from Bramboden we finally reached Trail no.65: "Napfbergerland Grenzpfad" (and the border of Cantons Luzern and Bern). It would have been shorter to head North to Mt. Napf, and descend to the bus from there. But there were more clouds to the North, and our plan was to head South. 

Right in the middle of the meadow along the trail is a the little shop set up by the nearby farm. They were offering ice cream, which Urs could not resist. Also, he bought cheese. 

Lower down is the first farm we passed. (Probably the one who set up the little self-serve shop). Most notably is that Mt. Napf to the North is hidden in clouds. No point in going there...

The trail heads into the forest. 

A rare view when we were not in the forest! We had just exited from a long and boring section along a forestry road, and sat here to have lunch and enjoy this view. 

These are the kinds of farms which dot the meadows in this rolling hilly landscape

The Emmental is actually a very pretty region. Our hike was actually not as easy as we'd expected, as we were doing a lot of up-and-down walking! 

Something to break the monotony a bit!

Finally we got some of the sunshine that the weather forecast had actually promised! This view is in the direction of Mt. Rigi, which is also hidden in the clouds. 

Finally down in the valley we reach the village of Trub, and got to admire some of the typical Emmental houses here. 

This is a really cute house!

"Downtown" Trub

Such an unusual addition built onto the little church in Trub!

There are some really fantastic and wonderful buildings here!

In particular we always enjoy these little structures called "Spycher", which were originally built for storage but also as residences when older farmers passed on the family business to their children, who then took over the larger farm houses. 

In the end, our "short walk" turned out to be a 14-kilometer hike, with a total of more uphill meters than some of our mountain hikes! The "Border Trail" we walked is exactly that, the border between Cantons Luzern and Bern.