Raten Pass to Chatzenstrick Pass via Rothenthurm High Moor

Thursday April 6, 2023 -- A very cold week this week, although this happens a lot in the first week of April (it's hard to get used to the cold again after a mild February and March).

This day dawned cloudless again so I went out for the third hike of the week on my own. (Each hike within 1-1/4 hours of travel for me). This time I wanted to complete a very short section of the Alpine Panorama Trail between the Raten Pass and the Rothenthurm High Moor (a nature reserve and largest contiguous moor region in Switzerland), to connect two other sections we have already done. Since this was only an hour, I was planning to hike over the Chatzenstrick Pass again to Einsiedeln, a hike we have done twice before, one time as a winter hike.

This goes on my list of not-so-successful-hikes, especially compared to the one I did the day before. By the time I got to the Chatzenstrick Pass, over half of the six kilometers had been either on long straight stretches of dirt road, or asphalt road with constant ascent, both of which make me tired. The additional 30 minutes down to Einsiedeln would also have been mostly straight paved road, so I changed plans and descended to another destination (Bennau).

Additionally, foresters were burning large slash fires whose smoke reached all the way to the pass (I do not like the smell of burning wood). Furthermore, the military were holding shooting practice nearby, and the sky became overcast.... 

I preferred this as a winter hike, like the one we did in January 2019, those photos are HERE. 

I look at it this way: I am training for our longer summer hikes....

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The excursion starts with a bus ride through the city of Zug and along the lake, then over Mt.Zug to Lake Aegeri, before ending at the Raten Pass. 

Bus ride along Lake Zug. Visibility is pretty good, we can see Mt.Pilatus on the right, and the Bernese Alps in the center. 

Heading up past the farms on Mt.Zug. It's nice to see the trees blossoming

Bus ride past Lake Aegeri (Aegerisee)

Heading up to the Raten Pass. The Schwyzer Alp to the south. 

Heading up to the Raten Pass; a look to the West and you can see the summits of Mt.Rigi and Mt.Pilatus (past Mt.Zug)

Already on my way on foot, a look back at the Raten Pass. My bus is still there, getting ready to head back to Aegeri. 

Heading up the hill toward St.Jost, you can actually see Lake Aegeri and the towns of Ober- and Unterägeri. Zug is one the other side of the mountain at the back. 

The missing stretch of Trail no.3 was from Raten Pass via St.Jost (20 minutes) and down to the train station at Altmatt. I was going to descend to Einsiedeln after the Chatzenstrick Pass, but because I'd done that twice, I decided on a different descent, to Bennau. I started at 11:30 and caught the bus in Bennau at 14:20

The chapel of St.Jost, dedicated in 1654, is at the highest point on the pilgrim trail from the Aegeri Valley to Einsiedeln. St.Jost is the patron saint of pilgrims. The chapel is under Cantonal monument protection. 

The popular restaurant next to the chapel is only open on weekends. The chapel, unfortunately, was also closed. 

This trail is both part of the Pilgrim Trail to Einsiedeln, and National Trail no.3: Alpine Panorama Trail. The section I wanted to walk to "close the gap" was to the train station at "Dritte Altmatt". To Einsiedeln would have been another two hours from here. About the same to Bennau, which is what I did. 

Out of the forest and the first glimpse of the Rothenthurm High Moor, and the Chatzenstrick Pass (on the left). I knew right away I would have problems with the smoke from the slash fires. The train station at Altmatt is in the group of buildings behind me. 

A look across the largest contiguous high moor in Switzerland

Another look toward the Chatzenstrick Pass across the largest high moor in Switzerland. 

Down on the high moor. Trying to get some selfies with my tripod and self-timer

The train station at Altmatt. After a long, straight flat stretch across the moor on a wide dirt road, I reached here in just over an hour. There was a train just pulling in, and I could have ended this section here, but I did decide to continue up to the Chatzenstrick Pass for a view of Einsiedeln. 

Heading up to the Chatzenstrick Pass, you can see across to Lake Zürich. 

Here at the pass is the first view of the Schwyzer Alps on the far side of Lake Sihlsee

I knew from the last time we were here that there was a bench in front of the chapel, so I headed down there for my lunch break

Lunch break at the chapel near the Chatzenstrick Pass

This is the view I had from the front of the chapel. I could see that there was another long straight stretch of road below into the city of Einsiedeln. That's when I decided to descend a different way. 

Heading back up the hill above the chapel (you can just see the bell-tower below), the view to Einsiedeln is much better. 

A zoomed view of the massive monastery at Einsiedeln. We hiked a section of Trail no.3 starting there, a couple of weeks earlier (photos are HERE)

From here I can even see to Lake Sihl (Sihlsee) to the east

Descending to Bennau to the north instead of Einsiedeln to the east. 

The bus stop is in front of the church and I had enough time to investigate.

Replacing tiles on the church roof is like rock climbing...

We had seen this church from below from the train when heading to Einsiedeln two weeks earlier (upper left) and I had wanted to visit it anyway, so this worked out well. The church is not that old, ca. 1895 

St.Sebastian church in Bennau is not very "old" (1895) but it had a stunningly beautiful decorated interior. 

This artwork is so different from the simple frescoes we usually like to admire. But I found it quite beautiful, the colours are the opposite of "loud". 

Organ in St.Sebastian Church in Bennau. 

I caught a bus from Bennau to the train station in Biberbrugg, and this was the view along the way, to the Schwyzer Alps

Sections of the Alpine Panorama Trail which we have done around Einsiedeln and the Raten Pass

I took the train back via Arth Goldau in the Reuss Valley, and got a different view of the Mythen Mountains from the north side. This was the area I hiked in the day before. 

Location of Raten Pass and Einsiedeln in Switzerland, not far from where we live.