Short Walk to the Ponds and Glacier Boulders near Wohlen in the Freiamt Region

Friday October 11, 2024 -- A rare nice sunny window this afternoon so I visited a friend for an afternoon coffee and a small walk near where she lives, in the forests above the city of Wohlen in Canton Aargau, in an area called the Freiamt, a region shaped primarily by the retreat of Alpine Glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age. (Only about an hour's travel time from where I live. When I left home it was raining quite heavily here, but just 30 kilometers to the north, the sun was already coming out!). 

There are several small forest ponds there, and in particular three interesting historical sites in the middle of the forest featuring erratic boulders transported to this region of Switzerland's Central Plateau by the alpine glaciers many thousands of years ago. The ponds also are results of indentations formed by the retreating glaciers, leaving moraine depressions full of water behind. (The depressions are still there, but the ponds have been remodeled and refilled). 

It was just a small 7½-kilometer walk we did (one which she does often) in a region I don't really get to, so it is a nice new trail to add to my hiking map, as well as a few nice photos.

Pretty flowers in someone's garden on our walk up the hillside. We started out on this walk at about 2:40 p.m. 

A small pond just as we reach the higher plateau. 

Here on the high plateau you can't see anything of the city of Wohlen, but you can just make out the outline of the pre-alp hills near Luzern (Pilatus Range etc.). 

Walking through some uncut grass between forest and meadows. There were beehives here, and what was probably a flourishing flower meadow for them to get their loot right from their front door!

In the middle of the forest was what looked like a tree farm. But then from here I insisted on trying out some "unofficial" trails to take a round-about way to the first lake, but the path was overgrown and very muddy. 

After beating our way through muddy overgrown paths, we finally reached the first pond called Steffetsmösli, an 8000m² forest pond under regional protection. 

This particular pond is quite full of lily roses. Also, the water is nicely reflecting the blue skies as the clouds are clearing here in this region (not like just 30 km away at my home where it was raining!)

We walked along this pond first to the west along its north side, and then back again on its south side. 

On the east side of the pond is information about the creation of the three forest ponds here, created by the retreating glaciers about 20,000 years ago as depressions were left in the moraines. These forest ponds are under regional protection. 

About 20 minutes later, we got to the largest of the three ponds called Cholmoos. 

First we walked all the way around the lake, then on a short side path, headed for some benches at its shores. We sat here for a few minutes enjoying the sunshine, but those other people were talking too much, so we left soon afterwards. 

The Cholmoos pond was also very full of lily pads, and here there were still some of the water lilies in full bloom. 

Water lilies on the Cholmoos pond

There were also a few coots swimming in the pond. There are probably lots of ducks here at warmer times of the year!

Lovely sunshine on our forest and pond walk. 

Continuing on our walk, we took a detour to the first of the three erratic stone sites (large boulders left behind by the retreating glaciers about 20,000 years ago) that are located here in the forest near Wohlen. 

From this angle, you can see that this might have made a decent roof to take refuge under. This erratic stone has the name of "Bettlerstein", or "Beggars' Stone", as legend has it that homeless people would sometimes take refuge here. 

The most well-known of the three sites is the "Erdmannlistein". The stones that are stacked up here are the largest preserved erratics in the region.  

There are six large boulders measuring between 5m² and 20m². Although their placement might have been purely random through the retreat of the glacier ice, it is posited that these stones might have been manually stacked here for ceremonial or astronomical reasons. (Nearby rocks also seem to have been manually placed with regards to the sun's position).   

Additionally, there is a legend surrounding these stones. The legend claims that small human-like creatures called "Erdmännchen" (like gnomes or leprechauns) lived in the hollow between the boulders. If a person walked around the stones seven times holding their breath, and then offered them some vegetables, they would have been rewarded with a gnome dance. But if someone hit the boulders, it meant a gnome lost their head. Apparently some bad people threw stones into the hollow under the stones, and after witnessing loud cries, there were no more sightings of the gnomes. 

We didn't go see the third pond, nor the site of the third set of erratic boulders, as it was 5 p.m. already and we could just make it to the small train stop near the Erdmannli site. At the train stop are stone sculptures of what the little gnomes might have looked like!

Just a small two-hour afternoon walk near the large city of Wohlen, but interesting to learn about the geology of the terrain! Originally we wanted to walk all the way to Bremgarten and take the train back from there, but we ran out of time due to unfortunate detours through the forest to get to the ponds!

What this 2-hour (7½ kms) walk looks like on Google Satellite Maps.

On the train ride from Wohlen southwards to Rotkreuz. There are some neat cloud formations in the sky. 

This train line (actually between Lenzburg and Rotkreuz) is a scenic one, as you get a lot of views of the Reuss River and the farmlands between here and Zug. 

On clear days you can see all the way to the Uri Alps and good views of Mounts Rigi and Pilatus. But not today!

These are the hikes we have done along the Reuss River and in the Freiamt region between Muri, Bremgarten and Lenzburg. It looks like we really need to find some trails to walk in this region! It would be a good area for lake autumn and nice winter days, as the snow doesn't stay much here.