Round Tour from Schwarzenberg at the foot of Mount Pilatus near Luzern

Friday June 16, 2023 -- (No hike on Thursday) For the 8th hike in the 12-day period we kept it short and easy and close to home, only 2.5 hours of walking, and 8 kilometers, at the foot of Mount Pilatus near Luzern. We started early again, in case the day should become hot, and it was actually very pleasant to walk, even a bit cool at the start because of the cloud cover.

This region near Luzern to the starting point of our hike in a town called Schwarzenberg, takes only 1 hour and 15 minutes from home with public transport, and so we were back home by 1:30 p.m. in time for an afternoon nap and to enjoy the rest of the afternoon on the balcony.

Highlights of the walk, besides the rolling hills and pasturelands, were the many newborn lambs we encountered in one particular field, some of which must have only been born this night, as they were still trying to get their legs steady. What was also interesting is that on previous occasions we had done hikes both directly to the South and to the North, and I really like to look at our other hikes from the "outside", to see where we had been. 

Another nice day in the Luzern Region as we travel by bus from Malters to Schwarzenberg. 

Loop hike around a couple of small hills near the town of Schwarzenberg, Luzern. We started at 8:45 and got back on the bus at 12:05.

Start of the hike just on the outskirts of Schwarzenberg. The date inscribed just below the roof of the house on the right is 1799

Elderberry is now in full bloom. It smells very nice

To our south is the drawn-out ridge called Mittaggüpfi, this is part of Mount Pilatus, which is more to the left. 

A nice mix of forest sections and pastures. 

They are always so curious!

The trail took us to the top of a hill called Arnehubel. From here we looked down on the town of Schwarzenberg, where we started.

Heading back down the Arnehubel. 

Heading back down the Arnehubel. Later the trail passed by the farm buildings below. 

One of many farms in this region

The trail continues past that farm ahead, and around the next hill. 

There was a bench at the farm, so we sat for a while, and admired the Arnehubel hill which we had walked down from. Look how cleanly it is mowed! Every inch of grass used.  

The tour we were doing is called "Grosse Welt", or "Large World" as opposed to "Kleine Welt" or "Small World". 

Falcons and Swallows

It was interesting to study the landscape to the south of us, as we had once crossed the hilltops straight ahead, coming from further south, walking from there to Schwarzenberg. Those photos are HERE. 

Most often, sheep have twins. These are some of the lambs we saw in a pasture. Those upper left looked fairly newborn, the mother still had the umbilical cord hanging from the back. 

VIDEO:

The lambs are watching us carefully; they've probably not see a lot of humans yet.

As we round some more hills, the view to the west, into a gorge

It was a pleasant morning for this walk, not too hot yet. 

A look behind us to the south, to the trail we walked on the left, and the peak we had crossed in April 2018

Taking an early lunch break. (11:10)

Now we're heading back in the direction of Schwarzenberg

Down below in the valley of the Kleine Emme River is the city of Malters, from where a bus takes you up to this hillside. 

We had seen a deer in the forest just before getting here, but it ran so fast I couldn't photograph it. I was so excited then, to catch sight of this deer here, which didn't run away even though I took several photos. Turns out this is a deer farm, and the deer aren't wild at all. In other words, not so exciting!

Back below the town of Schwarzenberg. We didn't walk back up into the top but rather caught a bus on the road near here. In the background is Mount Pilatus. 

The loop hike we did this day is in blue, and the hike starting in Finsterwald to the south, ending in Schwarzenberg, is the one we did in 2018.