Round Tour via Pochten Falls in the Suld Valley, to Aeschiried near Spiez

Sunday October 24, 2021 -- Sunday was as beautiful as Saturday, a cloudless day but not as cold. 

Mid- to end of October, most Postbuses stop running to the mountain passes or to the back of remote valleys, and this Sunday was the last run to the back of the Suld Valley, a wild valley near Spiez on Lake Thun in the Bernese Oberland. We had heard of some "mighty" falls (Pochtenfälle) at the back of the Suld Valley, and had often spoken of going there. Usually the buses to the falls are packed full, but this late in the season, the back of the valley with its attractive restaurant is in full shade of the mountains, and therefore only frequented by die-hards like us.

We decided on an ascent past the falls into the upper alpine pastures, to a mountain hostel called Brunnihütte which faces the Northern Valley of the Brienzer Rothorn Ridge, and then returning via the sunny ridge to the wide open area at the foot of Mt.Niesen and the entrance of the Kander Valley, offering us incomparable views to the north of both Lakes Thun and Brienz and the city of Interlaken in between, Mt. Niesen always ahead of us, and the wide open Kander Valley to the south. 

It was a hefty ascent, 650m steep uphill, taking us over two hours to reach the hostel, but at least half the time we were in the morning shadow, so it really seemed to go quickly. The back of the upper valley was sensational, and the trail would have continued over a pass called Renggi Pass into the next valley to the East. We were itching to continue up and over, but we expected the descent on the North side would be icy and slippery, and so this will be a hike for another summer. As it was, even on the way to the hostel we had a section of icy trail that was difficult to navigate...

An additional note of interest: Whereas in the previous couple of weeks I had been in the Emmental, and then in the Appenzell, each of which has very distinctive styles of buildings, once again we were able to admire another different style of building: In these parts of the Bernese Oberland, the houses are a nice variety of chalets....

On the way up the Suldtal Valley, we are just passing through the area which will be the end of our hike, namely Aeschiried and Lake Thun in the background

Once again we are delayed by a cattle procession, moving them from one pasture to the other!

VIDEO:

The little boys are all happy to be in the field, 

as if it was spring-time and they had just come out of being cooped up all winter!

As we arrive at the back of the Suldtal Valley, this is the final bus stop, a lovely restaurant which at this time of year is in full shade. We wanted to get going right away, so we didn't stop for coffee, but had a quick look at the features of the restaurant and the adjoining old water wheel before starting up the mountain. 

Some interesting features on and around the Restaurant Pochtenfall

The old water wheel, in use since the 16th Century, previously provided power to tan hides and to work a sawmill, and now it powers 50 lamps in the restaurant

The trail markers indicate 15 minutes to the falls, and about 2-1/2 hours to the Brunni hostel, which is the point where we turned around and headed back out along the ridge and parallel to the valley bottom. 

Altogether a 4-hour hike starting at the final bus stop at the back of the Suld Valley and heading straight uphill for about two hours to some beautiful upper meadows and to the Brunni Hostel, before heading back down to Aeschiried. 

Starting on the uphill stretch. It was cold here without sunshine, so we walked quickly!

It took us less than 15 minutes to get to the falls. We were expecting something much more spectacular, but I guess at this time of year there is simply less water than in Spring. 

I love bridges!

Through the trees, we got a nice view of Mt. Niesen to the West, with its spectacular funicular train. As a side note, next to the funicular line is a staircase, which is the longest staircase in the world, with 11,674 steps, and an altitude gain of 1669 meters from base to summit!!  (3.4 kilometers)

After an hour climb, we finally made it to the sunshine where I had to change into lighter clothes!

This is a lovely upper alpine pasture. From here we could have continued to the very back and over the Renggi Pass into the next valley to the East. But we were worried about icy sections on the shadow side of the pass, so we headed up to the left instead. 

Climbing higher now, we look down the Suldtal Valley. The mountain with the interesting bump is called Mt. Stockhorn

Below is the alpine pasture called Schlieri, which is the furthest back we went in the Suldtal Valley, before ascending on the North side. 

Another view down the Suldtal Valley, this time with "Switzerland's Pyramid" (Mt. Niesen) in the background. 

On this section toward the Brunni Hostel, large sections of the trail were in shadow, and were frozen and slippery, so we had to tread carefully. 

The Brunni Hostel, closed for the season. This is apparently a popular starting point for Mt. Morgenberghorn in the background

Now we head westward parallel to the Suldtal Valley. We have to cross that hill ahead of us before descending. That's where we had lunch. 

First view on the North side of the ridge, of the city of Interlaken, Lake Thun on this side and Lake Brienz further back. 

This is where we had lunch, with a good view of the upper alpine pasture at the back of the Suldtal Valley, and the Brunni hostel which we passed before coming this way. The red dotted line show basically where we walked. 

Now it's all downhill to the wide open region at the foot of Mt.Niesen and the entrance to the Kander Valley toward the left. 

Our trail here was VERY muddy and we had to watch out not to slip. But the mud showed clearly that a deer of some kind had recently used the hiking trail as well!

Beautiful open view of Lake Thun, with the city of Thun on its West end. 

And an equally stunning view of the East side of Lake Thun, with Interlaken and then Lake Brienz behind it.

Close-up of Interlaken: The "city between the lakes", and the gateway to the popular Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald Valleys to the South.

The spectacular panorama view which we had on our entire way back down to that next village below. This is also a good look into the Suld Valley below that, and the Kander Valley on the very left. 

The Kander Valley (Kandertal)

Straight ahead below is Aeschiried, where our hike ends and we can take a bus to the train station in Spiez, which is nearby along the lake. 

VIDEO:

Panorama of this beautiful area as we descend toward Aeschiried

(Unfortunately, the video is a bit shaky)

Perfect weather and view for one of our last hikes of the season!

Another look at Mt.Niesen and the Suld Valley below

Some fall colours

The cows here are different than the ones in our area!

Arriving at our destination in the village of Aeschiried

As we head to the bus stop, there are many pretty chalets to admire, each one with its own unique features. 

A very pretty chalet

Here at this interesting small building, with what looks like an old butter churn maybe (?) is a refrigerator, an indication of a self-service cheese and sausage "store"!

As Urs pays for the cheese, he is watched carefully by two future farmers who then double-check and count the remaining cheeses, to report back to the head farmer!

What a beautiful display of cow bells!

And this is the village school-house

A final look back at the Suld Valley on the right, and the hill we descended from on the left. 

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps. 

At Spiez we changed from the bus to a train (back to Bern). This is the castle in Spiez

On our hike we did not have any view of the snow-covered peaks of the Bernese Alps. The Eiger/Mönch/Trio is best admired on the train ride between Thun and Bern!

Werenbachtobel Trail on the East Side of Lake Zurich

Saturday October 23, 2021 -- We had a long hike planned for Sunday, but Saturday was such a nice day (although quite cold) that we still decided on an afternoon walk, just not far from home.

On the East side of Lake Zurich are some nice family trails along streams in small gorges called "Tobel". These are easily accessed by public transport, and even for us coming from Zug, just an hour to get there.

It was already nearing noon by the time we left home, and so we were happy with just a two-hour round tour of the Werenbachtobel, enjoying the wonderful fall colours, and even a bit of a view. The information we found on the Internet claimed that the Werenbachtobel was one of the most impressive landscapes among the gorges in the Zurich area, and that it emerged over the course of the last 10,000 to 15,000 years with the retreat of the Linth Glacier. 

We mostly pass through Zurich on our way somewhere else, and aren't familiar with much of the city except for the main train station. This was a reminder once again that we really should spend more time discovering the beautiful city of Zurich!

When you walk in a gorge, you don't have a lot of sunshine, but walking along the stream is relaxing!

And because the trees are now changing colour, it was pretty in the forest. 

Actually, there were two gorges we passed through. This one on the Northern section of the loop is actually called the "Stöckenbachtobel" and this is a different river than the Wehrenbach River that flows down the southern gorge. 

The brook that flows down the Stöckenbachtobel is nicknamed the "Elephant River", although no one is really sure where the name comes from. This stone elephant was set in the stream by the "Zurich Beautification Association of 1898" and children like to play here. 

We always enjoy crossing bridges, especially such old stone constructions

In the forest you might often come across interesting woodland birds and animals, such as this beautiful woodpecker. 

Once we left the Stöckenbachtobel, we had a section of road and city to cross before entering the other gorge. It was quite late for our lunch, and we were happy to find a bench here under these beautiful trees, although there was a very cold wind blowing. (You can just barely see Urs taking possession of the bench!)

The maple trees here mainly turn bright yellow in fall. There aren't many of the orange or red ones you see in Eastern USA or Canada

We took a detour over the hill past this old protestant church, which was unfortunately locked and can only be visited by appointment. From this hill you could see all the way to the Bernese Alps, but the air was very hazy. 

A look back a the little church hill as we descend and continue toward the Werenbach Gorge. 

This isn't actually officially part of the city of Zürich, it's like an outlier village called Witikon. 

This was cute!

As we descended into the Werenbach Gorge, we came upon the old mill in Trichtenhausen, which is now a restaurant

The beautiful painting on the building wall indicates that the locality of Trichtenhausen existed already over 1000 years ago (!), and apparently the mill was in operation from 1417.

This is the old mill wheel which exists since 1417, but no longer in use. 

Continuing back to our starting point in Burgwis, but this time along the Werenbach river

I do enjoy walking through the forest when the sun shines through. 

And if I'm lucky, a squirrel might sit still long enough for me to be able to photograph him!

The information we got from the Internet about this two-hour loop hike... 

Our 2-hour and 7.5-km afternoon walk as depicted on the hiking map.

It's nice for the city people of the Zurich and Lake Zurich area to have these forested areas within the populated areas, for easy access for jogging or family outings. 

This beautiful building at the Zürich Stadelhofen train station (from where we took a tram to Burgwis, to the start of our round-tour) reminded me that I should maybe visit the city more?