From Saxet Valley over the Renggli Pass to Suld Valley near Lake Thun

Saturday July 8, 2023 -- A year ago almost to the day, we did a hike from a Swiss Alpine Hostel called Lobhornhütte just above the Lauterbrunnen Valley, to the next valley over called Saxet Valley (those photos are HERE), and at that time, looking down into that valley and the pass at the back of it (Renggli Pass), we decided that when the timing was right, we would go hike over that pass.

This was now the right time. After some unique experiences the day before at the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau mountains near Grindelwald, we took the last bus into the Saxet Valley and spent the night as the only guests in the Alpenrose Gasthaus in the small village of Saxeten. The plan was to start before 8 a.m. to avoid the heat and the other hikers, who would show up on the first bus at 9 a.m. Weather report was for pure sunshine. We had ordered breakfast for 7 a.m.

Imagine our disappointment when we woke up to heavily overcast skies, and even rain by the time we'd had breakfast. So we went back to bed and started at 9 a.m. with the handful of other hikers who had come in on the bus. The forecast now was for overcast till noon, and clearing afterwards. We figured on three hours to get to the pass, and the hope was that we'd finally have blue skies by then. Which, as it turned out, was exactly what happened.

The plus side was, that it wasn't hot for our ascent to the pass, which we felt went quite quickly. And we had such nice weather for the descent on the other side, with sunshine and a cool breeze, that by the time we got to the restaurant at Suld (a 4-hour hike), where we were going to catch the bus out of that valley, we still had enough energy that we walked for another hour, saving us the surcharge for the bus, which we instead spent on expensive icecream at the restaurant.....

This photo was taken the day before when we arrived in Saxeten for the night. Our plan for the day is to walk over the Rengglipass and end at Suld (4 hours), but we continued for another hour to Aeschiried, which is between Suld and Aeschi. 

This is the Gasthaus where we spent the night (Alpenrose). Weather forecast was for pure sunshine all day, but we woke up to overcast skies and drizzly rain. We had breakfast at 7 a.m. as planned, but went back to bed till just before 9 a.m. (we were the only overnight guests this night, and we slept very well!)

Heading out toward the back of the Saxet Valley at 9:15, after the rain had stopped

This isn't at all what we had in mind! The pass we want to cross is on the far right, and there were low clouds there. We could only hope that the forecast this morning was correct, which indicated a clearning of the skies by noon. We figured we'd need the three hours to get to the pass anyway.

The 5-hour hike we did this day, starting in Saxeten and crossing the Renggli Pass to Suld and then Aeschieried, was all along the Regional Trail no.38: "Via Berna"

We were hoping for some really nice views on the way up to the pass of Lake Brienz behind us to the north, but it was always overcast like this. 

A large section of the forest was humid now because of the rain. But the ferns sure were pretty!

By 10:45 we arrived at the farm at Innerberg. The low clouds near the pass are still a bit of a concern for me!

The farm at Innerberg (The pass is at the arrow). Here at the farm we had a good laugh. The farmer was just taking his pigs out for a walk! I had never seen that before. 

These darling pigs had been given a few moments of freedom, and a couple of them slipped under the fence and headed down the hiking trail where we had just come up from!

VIDEO:

The cute pigs enjoying their freedom!

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A proud display of the many years of cattle farming

Continuing higher we look back at Innerberg farm, where the farmer has now let the cows out of the barn. (The pigs were rounded up with a bit of effort!)

Another look behind us as we now pass the next farm called "Inner Innerberg". The skies over Interlaken and Lake Brienz are still very overcast. The flowering meadows were a real pleasure, as usual.

Nearing the pass now, we can see the large alpine meadow on the far left, where we crossed over from the Lauterbrunnen side the year before. 

Getting closer to the pass now! (You can see the trail leading up to the saddle). 

Fabulous flowering meadows

A close-up look at Lake Brienz and the community on the west side of that lake, called "Böningen bei Interlaken" . (The city of Interlaken is not visible, hidden by the hillside on the left). There was one additional hiker always slightly behind us, and a half dozen others who passed us on the way up. 

We got to the pass at 12 noon, and the forecast was correct this time. The clouds started to disperse exactly as we got there! So we were really able to enjoy our picnic lunch with this view across the Suld Valley to the road which crosses over to the next valley called Kiental. 

I am so happy now that the day has turned out as sunny as we had hoped. The positive aspect is that the ascent was not in the heat of the day, so the 750 meters we had to climb to the pass were quite comfortable!

Before heading down the south side of the pass into the Suld Valley, one final photo of the Saxet Valley now that we have the sunshine we were hoping for!!!

Following Trail no.38: Via Berna. We have only 90 minutes now to our goal in the hamlet of Suld, which is near the Pochten Waterfalls, and also the final stop on the bus run into the Suld Valley. (The plan was to take the bus out from there).  

A final look at this fantastic view as we now head down into the back of the Suld Valley. We started off at about 12:35

It looks like the descent to valley bottom would be pretty steep, but it wasn't that bad at all.

Stopping at a convenient water trough to fill up our bottles

The trail down to the river looks steeper than it really was

Interesting trail down the mountain

Crossing the streams on the narrow trails is always a challenge

Due to the rain during the night, there was a large section of the trail, composed mainly of steps, that was very muddy and slippery, so we had to tread carefully. 

Down below is the farm called Mittelberg, from where we then followed the road down the valley for a bit. 

We got to Mittelberg at 13:15, which means it took us 40 minutes to get to the road here, instead of the 30 recommended minutes. The first thing we did was wash our muddy shoes in the river where it crossed the road behind me.

Following the road and the Latrejebach (river) for a while to the next farm called Schlieri

A nice section off the road for a bit, and a look back up the valley

At the Schlieri farm, Urs was happy to find a well-placed refrigerator where he could purchase some nice cold refreshments!

In October of 2021 was the first time we had been in the Suld Valley, having taken the bus up from Spiez, and walked up the valley via the Pochten Falls. At that time we made it up to this point here at Schlieri, from where we ascended the hill here at the north side of the valley (to Brunni). That's when we first became intrigued by this valley. Those photos are HERE

This is such a lovely spot on the river. A family was really enjoying themselves here, and we had a short moment where we considered maybe we might stop also. 

Near the bridge on the Latreje river, which I remember so well from our October 2021 hike!

It was lovely and pleasant here, but we decided to continue down the valley. 

On the descent toward the Pochten Falls, there is one spot where you can look down the Suld Valley toward Spiez. On the left, hidden behind the trees, is the well-known pyramid-shaped mountain called Niesen

Heading down the left side of the ravine now, along a steep trail. Last time when we walked UP the valley, we walked on the other side, which gave us a much better view of the falls. 

The 81-meter high Pochten Waterfall is best viewed from the trail that passes on the other side of the ravine. 

Looks like there are other "side waterfalls" which also drop into the pool at the base of the waterfall. 

VIDEO:

The Pochten Falls

We got to Suld at 14:50, 2 hours and 15 minutes after leaving the pass. (The trail we took past the waterfall takes longer than the main trail). This here is a cheese storage, which the owner opens for business for about two hours each day. Since we just happened to come by at the opening time (1-4 p.m. on weekends) we stopped by to have a look inside.

The dairy farmer is just cleaning all his cheese wheels! Urs actually purchased some of the homemade dried sausage instead of cheese this time. 

This is the popular Restaurant Pochtenfall at the back of the valley and 15 minutes from the waterfall. The bus runs to here only on weekends, so it is very busy on the weekend. (There is vehicle access as well). 

We were going to take the bus out of the valley from here, but had just missed the 14:35 bus, and the next one wasn't for two hours, so we opted to continue walking, but to stop for dessert first! (I was disappointed with my tiny portion, three minuscule scoops of rum-raisin icecream totally hidden under a heap of whipped cream)

This old waterwheel has been here since the 16th Century. It was previously used to operate a sawmill and hide-tanning "plant". It is still in use by the restaurant, and the electricity produced operates 50 lamps at the restaurant. 

We were ready to continue walking at 13:35. The next bus isn't for another hour, so that is why we decided to walk to Aeschiried, from where the bus actually runs daily. In retrospect, we could have done this any day of the week in that case, as it is only the section between here and Aeshiried which is serviced by bus on weekends. 

A lovely farm on the roadside where we crossed a bridge over the river. 

At first we were worried that the 4-1/2 kilometers to the next bus in Aeschiried would be too hot, but a lot of it was through the shaded forest next to the river. A comfortable walk. Only a final 15-minute ascent back to the road was tough. 

Back on the road after coming up from the river, we get another look back into the Suld Valley. 

Another stretch on a lovely meadow trail with a light breeze made for a comfortable finish to this 5-hour, 14-km hike!

Ahead of us is Mt. Niesen. The farmers are busy cutting the grass and making hay again. 

Aeschiried is where we also ended our October 2021 hike, although at that time we came down the crest of the mountainside to the south of the river. This town has some very nice houses! We got here at 16:45, just a couple of minutes before the bus arrived from the waterfall! (What we saved on the surcharge for that bus, we spent on dessert). 

More nice houses in Aeschiried.

We had about 10 minutes till the bus came up from Spiez to pick us up, so I watched the farmer organize his hay!

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps. The orange line is the hike we did from further east ending in the Saxet Valley exactly a year earlier. And back in October 2021 we rode the bus to Suld and walked up past the waterfall, and then to the foot of Mount Morgenberghorn, from where we walked back to Aeschiried along the crest. Those photos are HERE

On the bus ride out of the Suld Valley and toward the town of Spiez (where we caught the train to Bern), we get a good view of Mount Niederhorn on the right (where we once were in winter) and the Justiz Valley like a cleft between the peaks. We still are planning to hike that valley some time. 

A cute little barn along the road

In Spiez we crossed a passerelle to change trains, and from there we got a good look into the mountains where we hiked this day, over the pass at the arrow on the left, and down the Suld Valley in the center. 

From the train to Bern you usually get a good view of the Eiger-Mönch-Trio. In this case we see Mt.Mönch on the left and Mt.Jungfrau on the right. The day before we had done a hike on the other side of Mt.Mönch, those photos are HERE

Where the Saxet and Suld Valleys are located in Switzerland. 

As a last note: We had no trouble getting back home after this 2-day trip, but did notice more people than usual at the Zurich train station this Saturday evening. We found out later that there were many issues with overfilled trains along the Bern-Zürich stretch, as thousands of people made their way to the Zurich Festival, a HUGE festival that takes place every three years and attracts over TWO MILLION people into the city over the three days, in this case July 7-9th.