A Short Section of the Jura Crest Trail from Belchenflue to Hauenstein

Thursday May 26, 2022 -- A holiday here in Switzerland, but not the best day for hiking.... we tried again to follow the weather prognosis, but without a lot of luck: Heading again to the northwestern part of Switzerland where the weather is often better (Canton Solothurn and Canton Baselland), we had planned to walk up to the peak called Belchenflue for a view, then along a ridge trail to the castle ruins at Waldenburg. 

But Urs had injured his foot and his hiking shoes caused him pain, so we had to choose a shorter route, heading back toward the Hauenstein Pass along National Trail no.5: "Jura Höhenweg", or "The Jura Crest Trail", a 320-km trail which follows the ridge of the Jura Range from near Zurich along western Switzerland to Geneva. With the exception of our ascent from the Allerheiligenberg Clinic to the summit called Belchenflue, the rest of the 2.5-hour walk was along a wide military (mostly forested) road at a slope which apparently also gave Urs some problems.

As luck would have it, there is a military shooting range nearby, and there was shooting practice scheduled for all week. This is the third time we have walked in an area with shooting practice, and it is an annoying noise to accompany our walks, which are meant to be peaceful. 

The one redeeming factor of this excursion is that we had the only sunshine when we were at the look-out on Belchenflue, which gave us a really nice view of the rolling hills of Canton Baselland to the North. It was almost like being on one of our look-out towers, only with less haze this time.

The ascent from the clinic at Allerheiligenberg was all through the forest. This was the first view we got when we emerged from the forest trail, a look to the West to the Jura mountains at the far back, and the town of Langenbruck below

The forested section before the ascent to the peak at Belchenflue was actually pretty comfortable

We were surprised to see so much bear garlic in the forests here, although it is flowering, so it means it's almost finished. In other places it has already disappeared. Possibly because this is a north side, so it stays cooler longer. 

Just south of the Belchenflue peak is are detailed trail markers, indicating that there are certain trails you cannot follow when shooting practice is taking place. (i.e. the trail back to Olten). Fortunately for us, Trail no.5 (Jura Crest Trail) to Hauenstein is OK. Originally I wanted to walk to Waldenburg (2.5 hours from here), but we chose the shorter route to Hauenstein. But first the 10-minute detour to the peak at Belchenflue.

Heading up to the look-out point at Belchenflue. This is, by the way on the Canton Border between Solothurn and Basel Land. (Most of our hike was in Canton Solothurn, following the border, crossing it a couple of times). 

There is usually more sunshine in Canton Baselland, proven yet once again with this fantastic view to the North! This is originally where we had planned to walk (the hills on the left, in the center of the photo).

The view to the East along the northern/eastern part of the Jura range is pretty nice as well. This is the direction we are heading afterwards, on the right side of the photo.  

This wasn't one of our look-out towers, but almost an equivalent!

Heading back down from Belchenflue

Now the weather is also getting better to the west, long the Jura range at the back. 

The rest of the trail to the Hauenstein Pass (6 km) was along such a military road, and pretty popular judging by the many people who passed us on the way up (we think there was a "fest" for the participants of the military marksmanship training, as the local gun club had been setting up picnic tables at the pass below Belchenflue)

This whole mountainside featured in WWI as a protection line from invasion from the north, and the soldiers from the various cantons had carved monuments into the cliff face. These carvings are going to be restored this year. 

A look back at the look-out point at Belchenflue

We found a bench along the road where we had our picnic lunch, with this view to the south. On a really clear day, you can see the central alpine range. 

Remnants of "dragons teeth" (in Switzerland they are called a "Toblerone Lines") indicate that this was a tank fortification line during the World Wars, to protect from invasion from the North. 

From this point, the Jura Crest Trail continues higher up through the forest. We decided we had enough of the military road through the forest, so we descended to Ifenthal and continued along the  paved road to Hauenstein. 

Down below is the church at Ifenthal.

Filling up our water bottles

After experiencing some history of early 1900's (WWI) along the way, it was a trip back in time to see this car pass us along the road!

Long-horn cattle, an unusual sight here in Switzerland

Up ahead is the peak called Geissflue, also part of the Jura range, on the eastern side of the Hauenstein Pass. 

Last stretch along the paved road to the pass at Hauenstein

Some typical farm houses in this area

A familiar sight at the Hauenstein Pass. Some sort of antique shop, but it was closed on this day. 

Starting at Allerheiligenberg Clinic, we originally had planned to head north at the Belchenflue passage but we had to shorten our hike, so we followed the Jura Crest Trail (mostly) to Hauenstein. The pink line shows the canton border of Solothurn (to the South) and Basel Land (to the North).

We have on a previous occasion (2018) walked to Hauenstein along the Jura Crest Trail from the northeast, starting at Salhöhe Pass, which actually forms the border of Canton Aargau and Canton Solothurn. Those photos are HERE