Another Section of the "Four Headwaters Trail" in the Bedretto Valley

Saturday October 29, 2022 -- This October has been the warmest October in Switzerland since they began recording the temperatures 150 years ago! And today was more wonderful "T-Shirt and Shorts" hiking weather!

Back in August we did a two-day hike on the North side of the Gotthard Massif, crossing over into the Bedretto Valley to hike another section of the Four-Headwaters Trail ("Vier-Quellen-Weg"), an 81-km themed trail which takes you to the sources of four of Switzerland's major rivers. We have now completed most of this trail, minus a 2-day section we don't seem to be able to get done, and this final 7-km stretch in the Bedretto Valley. We had heard that the larches are glowing yellow right now, so this was our goal for the day.

Starting at the current final bus stop at All'Aqua at the back on the valley (in summer the bus continues over the Nufenen Pass), it took us only an hour's easy hike up to the popular hostel called Piansecco, from where we walked a stunning and varied and not at all difficult seven kilometers to Alp Cavanna, which is where we joined the trail in August after descending from the Cavanna Pass at the time. From here we then had another 600m descent (one hour) to the village of Villa Bedretto, from where we caught the small van-bus back out of the valley again (to Airolo). 

In fall and winter, the bus doesn't run that often in this valley, so we had to time our hike well: 5 hours and 15 minutes to do a 4-hour-15-minute hike, and even with a lunch break along the way, we still managed to get to the valley bottom with 20 minutes to spare!

(Photos of the August Hike are still a work in progress. But here are the photos of the section of this valley which we walked from the Nufenen Pass to the Piansecco hostel in September 2018 --> HERE)

Heading up from the valley bottom at All'Acqua to the hostel at Piansecco. We started at 9:30, and it took us an hour. We started in the shade, but soon had sunshine

Our first view down the Bedretto Valley. Valley bottom still has shade. The Ticino River flows down this valley. It has its source near the Nufenen Pass. 

We arrived at the hostel at 10:30. They are just closing down for winter.

We took a snack break at the hostel, and I changed into shorts!

This trail is called the "Sentiero Alto Val Bedretto" or "Bedretto Valley High Trail", of which we have done two sections, one from Nufenen Pass to here, and another section on the East end of the trail. This is also part of Trail no.49: "Four Headwaters Trail"

Starting in All'Acqua it took us an hour to walk up to the hostel at Piansecco, then two hours along the beautiful "High Road", and another just over an hour to descend to Villa Bedretto from Alpe Cavanna. We still had 20 minutes to look around the village before the bus came. 

The start of our hike along the south flank of the Gotthard mountains direction down-valley. It was a fantastic, very warm day with beautiful views and fall colours

The whole way we had the valley on our right and fantastic rocky cliffs on the left. 

Early morning shade in the Bedretto Valley

The warmest October in recorded history. 

Looking east down the Bedretto Valley to Airolo, which is the city just south of the Gotthard motor-vehicle tunnel (and original train tunnel from north of the Alps)

Looking down at the trail where it continues on the far side of this ravine, it is hard to imagine how we will get down there! We had our picnic lunch down there at the arrow. 

We had to descend on this mountainside of fallen rocks along a long zigzag path

Crossing at the back of the ravine... look at the colour of the water in that pool beneath the bridge!

A look down the ravine from the little bridge. On the right is the rocky hillside we descended, on the left the place where we stopped for our picnic lunch. 

Superb location for our picnic lunch!

A look across the ravine to the zigzag path we descended

Most of the larches had rust-coloured needles, but some of them were bright yellow

From here a path descended to another of the villages at valley bottom: Ronco

An interesting, possible moor-type landscape? Behind the row of trees is a steep descent to valley bottom, although this is not where we descended. 

Above us always these spectacular rocky peaks of the Gotthard Massif

Below, the first glimpse of the village of Villa Bedretto, which is the goal of our hike (this is a very close-up view!)

Coming into another side valley from where there is another trail down to the village of Bedretto, we get the first look at the mountain ridge we crossed in August, the Hüenderstock on the right. 

A large group of paragliders had boarded the bus with us in Airolo (they didn't expect a small van-bus and so didn't reserve ahead, and we barely all had room in the bus). The whole group climbed up from Villa Bedretto and we saw them in the sky as we passed here. 

On the other side of the Bedretto Valley is Val Cristallina, which Urs has hiked before. 

Pizzo Rotondo / Pizzo Pesciora. Heading around the bend now to Alpe Cavanna

These flame-coloured larches are what we came to see

A look up the Bedretto Valley toward the Nufenen Pass. The Ticino River flows below

Another look down the Bedretto Valley. Of note is the large stone wall below, which was built to protect the village of Villa Bedretto below from avalanches

Imagine the amount of work involved in building this stone wall for several hundred meters down the mountainside !!!

This is Alpe Cavanna, and we descended from Passo di Cavanna in August. This time, we are descending (road on the right) 600meters to Villa Bedretto. Mostly through forest for an hour. 

There are always interesting fungi in the forest

Near the bottom now, above the village of Villa Bedretto. We entered the village through that dike on the left. 

Heading past the village into the ravine (Cavanna River) so we can pass through the dike near the road below. 

Higher up the stone wall protects from avalanches, here it's a dike on the east side of the village

Passing through the dike into Villa Bedretto

Looking down at the church in Villa Bedretto

We still had enough time to check out the village before the bus came. 

Even the church bell-tower is built with a tapered side to the mountain, in case of an avalanche

The church of The Maccabean Saints in Villa Bedretto 

Here's the bus from All'Acqua to take us back to Airolo (2:45 p.m.). It was the same bus driver, and he told us he wasn't happy that the paragliders hadn't pre-reserved earlier! He also said it was totally unnatural that the valley looked like spring this late in the season. 

As we head back to the main road in the bus, a look back at the village of Villa Bedretto and the mountainside where we did our hike. 

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps

On the way home by train in the Reuss Valley, we pass the village of Wassen each time. This village is just a short distance north of the Gotthard tunnel, and the train does a 180-curve twice, so that the village is seen three times on the trip

Nearer to home, i.e. just before the Arth-Goldau train station is another of my favourite views, namely Lake Lauerz and the Mythen Mountains 

Here are all the parts of the "Four Headwaters Trail". We are missing only the part between the Gotthard Pass and Lake Toma near the Oberalp Pass. It is a 2-day stretch and requires overnighting in an Alpine Hostel, which is usually booked out all summer. By the time we can go in fall, it often has already snowed. 

All the hikes we have done in the area of the Bedretto Valley and the Gotthard Pass

Where the Bedretto Valley is located in Switzerland