Crossing Sattelegg Pass from Sihlsee to Wägital in the Schwyzer Alps

Sunday September 22, 2024 -- After the long hike near Adelboden yesterday, we did a shorter and easier hike nearer to home this Sunday. Starting in Willerzell on Lake Sihlsee (near Einsiedeln), we walked over the Sattelegg Pass and down into the Wägi Valley (Wägital). This is not a very high pass, only 1190 meters above sea level, and only about 400 meters of altitude on the uphill portion of the walk. It was a very muggy morning, and even though we were supposed to have some sunshine, visibility wasn't great.

We had planned to have lunch at the Sattelegg Pass Restaurant, and knew that we would encounter very many people there (a popular weekend destination for residents of the Zurich region, as this is close to Lake Zurich), but we had sandwiches along just in case. We got to the pass at 12:40, and the terrace (as well as the tables inside) was pretty packed, but we lucked out as some people were just leaving and we quickly grabbed their table! So we had lunch there before continuing eastward down the other side of the pass, along a trail that was pretty overgrown and difficult to follow. With the recent rains, the livestock had pretty well ruined the sections in the clearings, the ground was wet, and without GPS we would have had a hard time following the trail.

On the descent it was cooler and less muggy, although little sunshine. But for a "quick" three-hour Sunday hike, we did OK with this. The bus trip out of the Wägital and then a train home via Lake Zurich takes only 90 minutes, so having left home at about 8:30, we were back again before 5 p.m, including our approx. one-hour lunch break.

We took the bus from Einsiedeln to the church at Willerzell. 

Before heading onto the trail, we had a look inside the church first. 

The inside of the church in Willerzell

We started in Willerzell at 10:20, and got on the bus on the main road in the Wägital at shortly after 3 p.m. 

Along the way is a little chapel hidden among a few trees. The chapel is called St. Wendel. 

This little waterway has a name, it is called Fischbach. 

Heading eastward up the hill now, away from Lake Sihlsee. To this point the trail was fairly level. 

At some point we got a view of Lake Sihlsee and the city of Einsiedeln. This is a zoomed view. This is at 11:35, about an hour and 15 minutes after starting on our walk. The village of Willerzell where we started is just to the left of the bridge below. 

Instead of a gate, this is how we had to cross the pasture fence!

There are the cows!

They are always curious to see us

It was pretty muggy on our hike up to the highest point before the pass, but we finally got a view of the lake (and Mounts Rigi and Pilatus) although I would have preferred better visibility.

To our south we now see into the Schwyzer Alps, most notably the two peaks called Gross Aubrig and Chli Aubrig, accessible on a hiking trail which starts from the large parking lot at the Sattelegg Pass, and thus popular hiking destinations on the weekend. We passed to the south of both those peaks on a hike we did in May of 2020, starting at Lake Wägitalersee and walking westward to Lake Sihlsee. (Those photos are HERE)

A lovely forested section on the way to the pass, easy now on a wide road. 

Easy stretch now to the Sattelegg Pass, which is slightly lower than this road. 

Below us is the Sattelegg restaurant with a full parking lot and overflow into the pastures! This is the parking lot from where hikers can walk up to the summits of the Gross (large) Aubrig and the Chli (small) Aubrig mountains. 

What a fun car!

From the Sattelegg pass, we are going to head down toward Vorderthal, although not quite into that town (20 minutes less than the 90 minutes suggested). From the parking lot here, people can hike to the summit of the Chli Aubrig in less than two hours. (There were very many people on that summit when we passed below there in May of 2020). 

I hadn't had French Fries in months, and these were the best! We also had our standard Panachés (Radler) brewed locally in Einsiedeln.

We lucked out with a good table on a very busy lunch terrace, and almost nobody smoked! We were here for an hour. 

This beautiful creature was "hanging out" next to our table. 

With a final look at the busy terrace at the Sattelegg Restaurant, we continued on our hike at 1:30 p.m. 

This is the Gross Aubrig

Forested sections with dry narrow paths are also fun to walk. 

This is the time of year for a lot of fungi in the forests. I had never seen the coral-type of fungi on the left, called Ramaria. 

This was one of those forests which are left to nature....

First view of the Wägital Valley

Wägital and the main town of Vorderthal below

That barn was leaning quite a bit!

This clearing was difficult to navigate. There was no trail and the ground was wet and soft and all churned up by livestock. 

Finding our way across a bit of difficult terrain!

A lovely hillside above the pass road all covered in the autumn crocuses!

As with most other pass roads in Switzerland, this one is popular for motorcycles and sports cars!

Here we crossed the pass road. 

Getting closer to the main road in the valley

There were two mules (or donkeys?) at this barn, braying very loudly at us!

Down near the main road now, and the cows are watching Urs again. 

"Welcome in the Wägi Valley"!! It would have been another 20 minutes to the main village of Vorderthal further up the valley, but there was no need to go there, as we could catch a bus right here. 

Pretty houses near the bus stop on the road. From here we took a bus (another narrow, winding road) to the Lachen train station on Lake Zurich, for the train trip home. 

These are the hikes we have done around the region between Lakes Sihlsee and Wägitalersee. The pink trail is the one we did this day (10 km) starting at Lake Sihlsee and passing via Sattelegg Pass to the road from Lake Wägitalersee to Lake Zurich. 

Location of Lakes Sihlsee and Wägitalersee in Switzerland