Wednesday October 20, 2021 -- For our mid-week hike we decided once again to stay relatively close to home, and chose to visit a lesser-known valley near Luzern and below the northern flank of Mt.Pilatus: The Eigenthal Valley.
We chose to do a 3-hour round tour hike starting at the second-last bus stop into the valley. The leaves are now really turning autumn colours, and especially at the start of our hike at 11 a.m., the valley looked quite lovely.
Unfortunately we lost the sunshine quickly, and the first half of the hike, which was uphill on a low thickly-forested ridge was rather cold, very muddy, and offered little in terms of view. The best part of the hike was about the half-way point when we emerged at the Oberlauelen alpine farm below the vertical walls of Mt. Pilatus.
Our plan after the descent was to have some refreshments at the Unterlauenen farm at the back of the Eigenthal Valley, but when we got there the patio was full, with people standing in line to get a place at a table. This really surprised us on a Wednesday afternoon, but the valley is easily accessed by car, with an easy 30-minute walk from the parking lot along the river to this farm -- most such farm restaurants are already closed for the season -- so an understandably good option for an afternoon walk. Needless to say, we did NOT stop for refreshments, but we enjoyed our 45-minute walk along the river back to the bus stop, opting to take our refreshments when we got back home (at 4:30 p.m., after a 90-minute sojourn with public transit!)
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| As we got out at the upper bus stop in Eigenthal, we looked up the valley and where we would be walking across the low ridge on the left, to return via the valley bottom. Very pretty with the sunshine and the fall colours. |
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| That's a massive fungus! |
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| At first we had sunshine and could enjoy the very pretty colours! |
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| Then for about an hour we walked uphill through thick forest, on rather muddy trails. |
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| It might seem that this trail is muddy all year round, and that is why the planks have been laid down here! |
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| There was only one clearing where we got a view North across the pastoral landscape of Luzern |
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| In this clearing we found a nice place to sit and have our picnic lunch |
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| Continuing on uphill, we discovered the cutest little bench! Hardly room for two people! |
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| Heading along some more muddy paths. The grass was easier to walk on! |
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| Lovely fall colours at the back of the Eigenthal Valley |
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| First glimpse of the Upper Lauelen Farm |
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| Upper Lauelen (Oberlauelen) Alpine Farm below the North face of Mt. Pilatus |
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| Nice farmhouse at Oberlauelen. From here we descended about 30 minutes back to the valley bottom, to the Lower Lauelen farm, where we hoped to have some refreshments and maybe a dessert! |
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| As we approached the Lower Lauelen Farm, we could already see from here that the outside patio was full of people! |
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| As there were already people waiting for a free spot on the patio, we decided not to stay, and headed out of the valley again. This is another look back at the restaurant Unterlauelen |
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| A pleasant walk along the river back to the bus stop. The colours are beautiful now. |
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| A couple of farms along the way |
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| A look back at the North side of Mt.Pilatus, and the tree-covered ridge which we had walked on. |
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| The little hut is the "lower" bus stop and the final stop into this valley. |
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| Another look back up the Eigenthal Valley |
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| It's all still very lush and green here, and the cows are happy to be out in the pastures. |
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| A fun sign at the Post Bus Station. |
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| A relatively short hike for us (3 hours) but there was still a lot of uphill along the forested ridge |
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| The mint-green trail is the one we walked this day. Again, a region where we walk a lot, as it is not that far from home |
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