Short Tour at the foot of the Two Mythen, Canton Schwyz (Rotenflue to Alpthal)

Sunday June 18, 2023 -- For the 10th and final hike of the 12-day vacation period we again chose something close to home and not very long (only 2.5 hours this time) so that we could start early, as the days have really gotten hot.

We went for another walk behind the two Mythen mountains near Schwyz, a place we have been many times because it is easy to access both from Schwyz with the Rotenflue gondola, or from Sattel (Mostelberg) also with a gondola. In particular we like this region because there is no hunting allowed, and there is a small herd of chamois which always graze at the same place on the north side of the Grosse Mythen (i.e. Large Mythen), so you can expect to see them each time, which is always special, although slowly becoming "boring"! (It's almost like going to the zoo). Also, there is a mountain farm there with cheese we like (Zwüschet Mythen), and we were hoping to buy some, but were out of luck this time. (Last time we were here we did buy some. Those photos are HERE).

We descended on a trail (mostly a wide road) we had not been before, to the road in the Alptal, but just fine for the short hike we had planned. We got on the bus just after noon, and were home by 1:45, just in time to pass by some of the 200,000 spectators who had come to watch the closing parade of the National Yodeling Festival held in our city of Zug over the weekend. We were the only people headed OUT of the town center, but it was interesting enough just to observe the participants, 15,000 people from all over the country in national costumes, yodeling and playing the alphorn in 11 different venues throughout the city. One venue was next to where we live, so we got to hear enough yodeling over three days without having to get into the crowds. 

A view of the Grosse (Large) and Kleine (Small) Mythen to the south (on the left) as we head out of Arth Goldau by train. 

These are part of the Uri and Alps on the other side of Lake Uri (Niederbauen, Gitschen, Uri Rotstock). We have great visibility this morning. 

The bus goes from Schwyz train station through the city of Schwyz (capital city of Canton Schwyz) and then on to the valley station of the Rotenflue gondola cableway. Behind the buildings you can see the pass between the two Mythen mountains, which we descended from back in August 2020 (those photos HERE)

A look across the city of Schwyz as we head to the Rotenflue Cableway. It's 8:30, basically the start of the cableway run. 

First look at the Grosse Mythen (Large Mythen, as opposed to the Small Mythen which is not visible from here) as we make our way up with the cable car. 

Heading up the mountain with the Rotenflue Gondola Cableway.

The south side of the the Grosse Mythen. You can see the zigzag trail up to the summit. It is a popular climb, and even this day this early there were many people going up. We did the summit hike in 2014 (in the fog unfortunately) and not sure if we will do it again. Today there would have been spectacular views. In the back on the left is Lake Lauerz (Lauerzersee)

On the summit of the Grosse Mythen is a restaurant (hotel?) and a few tables, but not a lot of place for many people! The summit of this mountain is red rock which is apparently older than the rock below it, proof that the Earth's crust turned on itself during some upheaval eons ago. 

I had to get another photo in the "Grand Tour of Switzerland" frame. This is a special look-out point next to the Rotenflue restaurant at the summit.

From the look-out point, a superb view to the west: Lake Luzern (Vierwaldstättersee) and the city of Brunnen on the left, the Rigi Massif in the center, Lake Lauerzersee on the right, and the city of Schwyz below. 

And a look to the north in the region where we will be hiking. The large building at the foot of the mountain is a restaurant called Holzegg, from where the trail up the mountain starts. 

A good photo of the Grosse Mythen. The Klein Mythen is the peak on the right. Together they form a distinctive mountain protrusion in this otherwise pastoral landscape of rolling hills. 

We are following Trail no.63 (Schwyzer Höhenweg) to Haggenegg, 1.5 hours from here. From there we will descend to Alptal. 

Starting at about 9 a.m. at Rotenflue, and walking to Haggenegg Pass along the Schwyzer High Trail. Then we descended on Trail no.4: Via Jakobi (St. James Trail) to the main road in the Alpthal Valley. We were on the bus by noon. 

Beautiful meadows of high grass and a look down to Brunnen and Lake Luzern. This is next to the Skihaus at Holzegg 

The familiar chapel at Holzegg, near the start of the trail up the Grosse Mythen. 

A look down into the Alpthal Valley. At the very north end of it is the pilgrim city of Einsiedeln. 

Heading along the trail at the foot of the Grosse Mythen. 

Around the corner and on the north side of the mountain is the farm called Zwüschet Mythen (translated this means "Between the Mythen Mountains"). We stopped there for coffee, but they had no more cheese to sell.

Usually it's cows or goats watching us pass on the trail, but this time it is a chamois. There was a small herd of about six animals, exactly where we expected them to be. This of course is a zoomed view. 

Several chamois observing us passing by below. They are not really afraid because this is a no-hunting zone (Switzerland's oldest Game Reserve) and they are used to hikers going by. We've walked past here three times now, and have seen them every time. (We would not actually have known to look for them, but Urs' uncle, who was with us the first time, made us aware). 

A very nice shot of the chamois on the Mythen. 

This is a better idea of how far up the chamois were grazing, at the foot of the north wall of the Grosse Mythen. 

Stopping at the Zwüschet Mythen farm for something to drink. 

Urs had his morning dessert, and we had very expensive coffees which weren't even real coffee, but chicoree coffee. And not even any cheese to buy and take with us.... 

We could still see the chamois from the farmhouse patio

VIDEO:

The Chamois as seen from the restaurant

Continuing along the mountain trail now heading toward the Haggenegg Pass. Down below is the village of Brunni, the village furthest back in the valley. From there there is also a cable car up to the starting point of the hike up to the summit of the Grosse Mythen. 

With this heat, cool green forests are always welcome!

As we now pass at the foot of the Kleine Mythen (Small Mythen) we see the Grosse Mythen from its north side. 

A small uphill section to the Haggenegg Pass, although we didn't have to go all the way to the pass. We went to the right at the sign there, and continued from there. 

Most of the rest of the trail was along this road, but it wasn't a problem, as it wasn't hot at this time of day. This is part of the Trail no.4: "St. James Trail" which connects Einsiedeln to Schwyz here, by passing over the Haggenegg Pass.  

We heard a cuckoo but there were no trees or forests far and wide! We then spotted it on the tower from the ski lift. It's not often you see a cuckoo sitting like this (if you see them at all, they are usually in flight). This is a male cuckoo. 

Now we can clearly see both the Grosse Mythen on the left and the Kleine Mythen (which actually looks larger from here) on the right. This is from the north side.

A look south to the still snow-covered Schwyzer Alps to the south of the Muotatal Valley

This time we are being watched by the cows again!

I suggested he should try to be nice to the cows for a change, say "Hello"! By the way, there was the most fantastic music made by many many cow bells that accompanied us all the way down the hill, and I so regret not thinking to make a sound video of it. 

A close-up look now at the Grosse Mythen

Old barns and farmhouses along the way

And now we're headed down the hill on the last leg of this hike. A short section here was on a small path again. 

A bit of a steep section here. 

We took a bit of an alternate route to get to the main road, to make sure we caught the bus, because we didn't want to wait a full hour for the next one. This house here looks out of place. Its style is more like the houses of Canton Graubünden, in southeast Switzerland. 

The school and church in the village of Alpthal, as we pass by bus, having caught the bus further up the road. We had hoped to walk all the way here, but would have missed the bus. 

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps. 

The many hikes we have down around the area of Schwyz and the two Mythen mountains, including a descent to Alpthal from the other range of mountains. We were hoping to "join" the two trails. 

The location of Schwyz and the Mythen mountains in Switzerland

Here are a few photos of the people in traditional costume walking around Zug, mostly trying to catch a bus to their next venue. Once in a while they would gather in a corner somewhere and sing.

Alphorn performance near the marina in Zug

It was a hot weekend, so refreshments in between performances were a must!

Some very pretty traditional costumes

Every time we were at the main bus stop near the train station there was confusion, as people searched which bus to take to their next venue. Sometimes we helped point the way. 

Appenzell costumes, preparing for the end-of-event parade. 

Breakfast at the train station, and a bit of singing for the travelers (like us, on our way to another hike). 

VIDEO:

Singing at the Zug Train station.

And then our Patrouille Suisse, which is a branch of the military which flies formation jets, were supposed to perform on the 16th, which was the start of the fest. They were practicing on Thursday the 14th, and I can view this from my balcony. I got a few photos and videos before the practice was stopped early, because apparently two of the jets grazed each other and the nose of one plane fell to the ground (fortunately no crash, and the pilot was able to safely land his plummeting plane). But the troupe did not perform on the Friday.

VIDEO:
A sample of the practice that the Patrouille Suisse does over Lake Zug, which I can watch from my balcony