Hike from Tällihütte in the Gadmen Valley, to Engstlenalp in the Gental (Gen Valley)

Monday August 8, 2022 -- After some cloudy weather on the weekend (and even some rain), our next hiking week started on Monday. Weather prognosis? Pure sunshine all over the country, all week (albeit still up to 30 degrees in the low-lying areas).

In June last year we did a fabulous hike in the Gental (Gen Valley) in Canton Bern, from Engstlenalp at the back of the valley all the way to Hasliberg to the South. (Those photos HERE). From that vantage point we saw a great-looking hiking trail on the opposite side of the valley, and that hike has been on our to-do list since then. This seemed like a good day for it, so the plan was to start with a cable-car from Gadmen to the Tälli Mountain Hostel on the South side of the ridge, (saved us 550m ascent), hike up to the saddle aptly named Sätteli (Little Saddle) to get a really good view of the Trift Glacier to the South, and then walk UP the Gen Valley to Engstlenalp. 

To get to the start of the hike we had to do what seemed a world tour: Train all the way to the Gotthard Tunnel, then a bus over the Susten Pass, and down the other side, a 3.5-hour trip. What a disappointment when we woke up to thickly clouded skies! We went anyway, expecting the clouds to dissipate, but only the Susten Pass was cloud-free... we could even see from there that we were headed into the fog! Wishful thinking didn't pay off. Not only didn't we get the view of the glacier to the South, but the fog moved up and into the Gen Valley! We waited there for 45 minutes, and luckily the fog cleared in the Gen Valley at last, and we had a good walk into the valley.

Engstlenalp in the Gen Valley is a bit hard to get to and out of (expensive bus has to be reserved ahead, and cable cars from both sides run only till 4:30 p.m.). We chose to return via three cable cars to Engelberg, but had to push to make it on time (having started late due to the fog). And the end of the day was a bit of a downer with all the tourists there. (We might have been better off hiking up toward Melchsee-Frutt).

(Note: in 2020 we hiked from the Susten Pass Road to the Tälli cableway along the Gadmerflue flanks. At that time we did see the Trift Glacier from the Berggasthaus. Those photos are HERE. They are worth a look because we took the same bus route to get there, and had wonderful weather)

Coming up the Meien Valley from the East, we had low cloud the whole way. It was only when we crossed the Susten Pass, that we were above the cloud. What fantastic weather up here, I almost changed plans for the day to stay here...

The fantastic Stein Glacier. There is an alpine hostel somewhere at the top on the right, one we will never be able to access!

Heading West down from the Susten Pass into the Gadmen Valley, it is very clear to us that the fog is thick and at the level of where we want to hike (at the far end of the Gadmerflue range) 

A good close look at the thick fog in the Gadmen Valley. We had high hopes that it would dissipate when we got there, but it only moved higher up. We had no view into this valley any more. 

Heading down into the fog in the Gadmen Valley. 

Since we had already traveled 3.5 hours to get here, we decided to go on with the original plan. This is the Tälli cableway which goes up to the Tälli Berggasthaus.

The Tälli Cableway, owned by the Grimsel Power Company, can be used by the public for 8 CHF for a ride. It saves us 550m of ascent and almost two hours of hiking. We got to the top at 10:45

We risked waiting at the Tälli Gasthaus (35 minutes) with a much needed coffee and dessert (I also had a fabulous piece of homemade plum and peach streusel cake). In retrospect, we should have left on the hike right away, as there might still have been a view above the fog. 

This is the best view we had on the way up to Sätteli. (The sign at the Gasthaus said 90 minutes to Sätteli, we did it in exactly one hour. Nothing to stop for along the way!)

This is a section of Trail no.38, Via Berna. This is about as much view as we had to the South, into the Gadmen Valley. So we missed out on that. 

I think there were some pretty nice cliffs along the way!

Some hikers who had passed us on their way down said that there was sunshine on the saddle. By the time we got there (12:20), the fog had gotten there before we did.

We waited for 45 minutes up at the saddle in the hopes the fog would clear to the South (Fortunately, we had sun here quite soon). We couldn't wait longer or we would miss any opportunity to get out of the valley again. 

The fog started lifting to the north in the Gen Valley, so we decided to head out that way, but 90 minutes later or so than originally planned! 

A couple of photos before heading into the valley. Can you see me? The sign says 2.5 hours to Engstlenalp. 

Finally, the fog has lifted enough for us to enjoy the rest of our hike. It is now 13:10, kind of late for us to "start" a hike. 

On the opposite side of the Gen Valley is the trail we walked a year earlier. We had our picnic lunch at that time at the farm directly in the center of the photo

On the map, this hike draws out at 3 hrs 40 minutes. The suggested time on the trail markers is longer. We did the first section from Tällihütte to Sätteli in an hour, and took another 2.5 hours to the lake (Engstlensee). Getting to the chair lift to Jochpass took another 30 minutes, longer than expected. So at least four hours total. 

Hiking along a very nice trail into the Gental

The cliffs above us are quite impressive

A look back toward the saddle

At some point the fog did clear a bit in the South. You can just see the summit of Mt. Wetterhorn and the Rosenlaui Glacier. 

Behind that hill ahead is Lake Engstlensee where we are headed. 

A look down the Gental (Tal = Valley)

Here we had a bit of a break before the final 30-minute walk to the other end of the lake, where there is a chair lift to the Joch Pass (from there two more cable-ways down to Engelberg)

A young fellow practicing his "throw"

Showing off my new hiking boots. My 8-year old ones (twice re-soled and once sewn) are now ready to throw away!

It took 30 minutes to walk to the back of the lake, with a final tiring uphill section, to get the chair lift to Jochpass. The Internet implied the facility is shut down at 16:15. We made it there at 16:10! Looks like there is plenty of fog on the other side as well! NOTE: The Joch Pass is the border between Canton Bern (where we are) and Canton Nidwalden

Looking back over Engstlensee, on our way uphill to the chair lift

You can just barely see the chair lift station nestled in the cliffs up ahead. This last section was very tiring to do. 

Riding the chair lift up to Joch Pass, a look back down toward Engstlensee and Engstlenalp.

At the pass you change to another chair lift, a long ride down to the popular upper plateau called Trüebsee. Interesting fact: At the Joch Pass (from one cable-way to the other) we crossed the Canton borders from Canton Bern to Canton Nidwalden. At Trübsee at the start of the third cableway we crossed from Nidwalden to Obwalden. 

It was actually a lovely, scenic and peaceful ride down to Trüebsee. For this section, we are in Canton Nidwalden. 

The clouds sitting low on the Trüebsee pastures made for very interesting scenery. 

From the base station of the Jochpass-Trüebsee chair lift (out of the photo far left), you have to walk another 20 minutes to the gondola station at the far back. It was here in this area where we encountered so many tourists. Many come to continue up to Mt. Titlis, somewhere on the right. 

Final section of the cableway (gondola) to Engelberg. We are now in Canton Obwalden.

From this base station we had to walk another 10 minutes to the train station. It was hot down here, and the train to Luzern, as usual, very full with very loud tourists (Indians and Spanish, not Americans!)

The Trüebsee-Engelberg gondola cable-way. We got to Engelberg at 17:01, and had to wait almost an hour for the next train home. At least from here it's only 1 hr. 40 minutes to get home!

To get to the Tälli cable car station near Gadmen, we had to travel 3.5 hours over the Susten Pass (it would be bottom right out of this picture). Returning via Engelberg takes less than two hours (not counting the time for the chair lifts and 30 additional minutes of walking at the end of the hike!). In total we walked about 4.5 hours again. 

All the hikes we have done in this area. From the Sätteli, we should have gotten a good view of the Trift Glacier, but the entire valley was in fog. 

This map shows how we had to travel south first (by train) through the Reuss Valley to Göschenen, then with the bus back via Wassen and the Susten Pass to Gadmen. This took 3.5 hours. For the way back at the end of the hike via Engelberg, we were 45 minutes on cable cars, 30 minutes more of walking, and the train back home was just over 90 minutes (about 3 hours total).