A 10-km Stretch along the Reuss River, from Gnadenthal to Bremgarten

Tuesday May 17th, 2022 -- A very nice day, albeit a bit warm, but perfect to meet up with a friend (Urs worked all week) for a riverside walk. The section along the Reuss River which I picked to walk along was ideal for both of us, as we didn't have far to travel to get there. It is also a section of the river which I hadn't walked yet. And most of the way was through the forest with views of the water, so perfect for the hot day.

We started at the former Gnadenthal Abbey where Urs and I had ended a previous hike in 2020 (photos are HERE), and walked the 10.5 kilometers southward to the city of Bremgarten, where Urs and I had started on another stretch along the river in winter of 2018, walking southward as well (those photos are HERE). The section of the Reuss River between Bremgarten and the northern part where it enters the Aar River is part of a Nature Preservation area called "Reussuferschutzgebiet", or "Reuss Shoreline Protection Area" and is really one of the prettiest sections along the River, which is also part of Regional Trail no.42: Aargauer Weg (Argovia Trail).

Contrary to our usual hikes, this was a time to catch up on past experiences, have a long picnic near the water, and end with afternoon coffee in my friend's wild jungle garden.

The former Cistercian convent (since 1394) at Gnadenthal, now a care facility

Another look at the Gnadenthal Abbey from the Reuss River side as we cross the bridge

The sign tells us that the walking distance to Bremgarten along the Aargauer Weg from here is 2 hours and 30 minutes. 

The Reuss River shore is a natural protected area

We started shortly after 10 a.m. at the Gnadenthal Abbey, and arrived in Bremgarten at 14:30. But we had a very long picnic lunch along the river. 

The trail along the river was nicely shaded, and we had lots of glimpses of the river, with several islands as well. 

The first wild irises along the rivershore

Another very lovely section of the Reuss River 

I am always thrilled to cross wooden bridges. 

This spot here is of particular interest. It is called Sulz, and you can get yourself ferried over to the other side for 1.50 CHF ($2)this pontoon boat (Dogs and Bikes for 1 CHF). Unfortunately, the ferry operates only on Saturday afternoon and on Sundays. But still, it's a fun idea. 

Here at the "Sulz Ferry" location, the signs show the Aargauer Trail no.42 to the right and left (where we are walking), and the other sign is for what's on the other side of the river!!!

A sand lizard crossed our path; this is a male, they are bright green in spring during mating season. We have seen this type of lizard once before. In Switzerland they are considered endangered, as their habitat is shrinking

We found this perfect spot for our picnic lunch, on one of the blocks nearest the river. We probably spent about an hour here. 

I brought along home-made lemon and raspberry cake for the picnic. 

A visitor on the beach

The village of Eggenwil near the river

Not quite sure why they are all eating the grass in the same spot...

The last stretch before arriving in Bremgarten. Most of the trail was like this, so it was not tedious. Normally, I don't like hiking along rivers, but this was really nice. 

The medieval town of Bremgarten

Impressions of the town of Bremgarten

Impressions of the town of Bremgarten

Impressions of the town of Bremgarten

Impressions of the town of Bremgarten

The Spittelturm (or Spitalturm) tower on the South end of the town. 

Crossing the Reuss River by train (a local train to Wohlen), this is the view of the riverside section of the town of Bremgarten

On this day we did the 10-km section from Gnadenthal to Bremgarten. In February 2020 we did a short 6-km stretch from Mellingen to Gnadenthal (yellow), and in 2018 we started in Bremgarten and walked 9km to Rottenschwil via the Flachsee Lake. 

And this is my friend's lovely shaded garden sitting area where we had a well-deserved coffee (and more cake) after a successful walk along the nearby river! The perfect place to spend a hot afternoon... 

Walking over Mt.Heitersberg, and a visit of the Hasenberg Look-out Tower

Saturday January 1, 2022 -- First Hike of the New Year!!!

In the low-lying regions of Switzerland there is currently no snow and the grass is still green, but for weeks there has been fog. Only above the fog (1000m or so) you might find sunshine, but there the trails are covered in mushy snow.

On this Saturday, the forecast was for fog to only 600m, so as long as we stayed slightly higher, we might get some good walking in. We chose a nearby "mountain" called Heitersberg, (where we had hiked once before but had to cut our hike short due to rain) because at 780m we should safely be above the fog, and it would be like climbing a mountain again! Our main reason for going there was to view a brand new look-out tower (built in 2021) at the South end of the mountain, and we knew we'd have a good view of the Alps. 

We decided to start on the North side and end with a climb on the tower, planning to always have the mountains ahead of us. This was the wrong choice for two reasons: Most of the trail was through forested area (albeit mostly deciduous forest, which means we still had some amount of filtered sunlight) and therefore we had little view of the mountains except to the East; and secondly and totally unexpected were the hundreds of people we encountered at the tower! We should have guessed that on a balmy and sunny holiday afternoon, with loads of parking nearby and great visibility, that many many people were going to visit a brand new look-out tower after their family lunch on the first day of the new year!!!

We should have started at the tower... at 11 a.m, before everybody else's afternoon outing. But it was a beautiful tower, and the view was splendid. And we got there just before the shade reached the tower. And even though we had less sunshine on the trail than I had hoped, it was still a good 12-km walk for us.

We got off the bus (from Baden) hier along the road, where the forest trail heads up to the Heitersberg range. The thick fog was "slightly" disappointing! But forecast was for fog to 600m, so there was still hope. Trail marker indicates 2 hrs.45 minutes to the lookout tower at Hasenberg, and from there it was another 20 minutes down to the next bus stop in Widen. So a total hike of over three hours.

I'm still not sure if the fog is going to lift! But it was kind of cool to walk through the forest like this. 

When we emerged from the forest at 580m... sure enough, we were above the fog! This was the view to the West. We could have stayed here on the West side of the forested hill; we would have had more view and sunshine, but it was a wide flat road. We wanted more mountain trails, so we headed further up.

When we got to the ridge, we had a nice view of the mountains to the East, as well as part of the Jura Range to the North. And by fortuitous timing, we found a bench, in the sunshine, with the view, right at lunchtime!!!

From our picnic bench, a view of Mt. Säntis in the very east of Switzerland

We chose the eastern side of the forest because we knew there were small trails here as opposed to the wider forestry or paved roads on the West side. But this trail was pretty muddy!!!

Not a bad view, even with the fog! On the left is the Lägern Range, which we have walked about three times, and on the right is the Altberg, which also has a viewing tower (Steinacher Turm) which we visited in March of 2020 (those photos are HERE)

The damp forest smelled lovely!

Up ahead is a clearing where we finally had more sunshine and a view to the Bernese Alps

In this clearing we had a view of the Bernese Alps to the Southwest. From here we headed eastward again to climb the ridge trail to the summit of Mt. Heitersberg, where we were mostly in the forest again. 

The highest point of this hike, on the summit of Mt. Heitersberg

In the second world war, there was a defense line right over this mountain. In the mountain are hidden seven military bunkers within a few hundred meters of each other.

Even though most of the hike was through the forest, because its a deciduous forest, we still had some rays of sunshine. On the left, the hillside drops steeply down to a lake called Egelsee (which we visited in Apri 2014. But you could just barely see it through the trees

Finally a clearing with a nice view over the city of Zurich

First glimpse of the Hasenberg tower as we got off the mountain. The noise of the hundreds of people here was a shock. The tower is 40m high.

A look up at the beautiful Hasenberg tower. The viewing platform is at 36 m, and there are 210 steps to cover to get there!

The view from up here is definitely spectacular. And the panorama photo placards are useful to help identify all the mountains we see!

The view to the Northeast from the viewing platform

View to the Southeast and the Glarnish Alps

A zoomed view of the beautiful Glarnish Alps. 

And you even get a view to the Bernese Alps to the southwest!

As more and more people came up on the platform, we were starting to feel too crowded. So we didn't stay long. 

Another view on the way down. Looks like there is still fog down along the Reuss River in what is called the Freiamt region of Canton Aargau. (We're heading that way once we get onto the train in Widen-Berikon)

Luckily the tower is so huge that it can accommodate a lot of people

A look back at the Hasenberg tower as we now make our way down the hill to Widen, which is the nearest bus stop. 

As it's now almost 3 p.m. and the sun is already getting low in the West, the visibility to the East is even better. On the right is Mt. Säntis in the Alpstein Massif in the very eastern part of Switzerland, and the hill with the TV towers (also a look-out tower) is Mt.Uetliberg, which is Zurich's mountain (the city is on the other side). 

As we head down the hill toward the town of Widen, there are more and more people coming up from the huge parking lot, more people who want to see the new tower!!!

A final photo with the pastoral lands of Canton Aargau below, behind that the Albis Range with the old Felsenegg Radio Tower visible to the left of my head, and dominant in the background are the Glarnisch Alps. 

A zoomed view of all the people on the viewing platform of the Hasenberg Tower.

This was a 3+ hour hike for us, with a decent amount of uphill just the same! And almost 12 kilometers, on a beautiful sunny afternoon. 

In 2014, we started in Dietikon (blue line) and walked to the lake called Egelsee. Our plan was to continue across the Heitersberg hill, but it started raining and we cut the hike short. This time we decided to start on the North end to cover the ground we had wanted to do the first time, but instead of going to the lake, we crossed over the "mountain" along the ridge trail. The Hasenberg tower was our main goal. 

From the train station in Widen-Berikon, you take a special train called the "Dietikon-Bremgarten Bahn" which follows the motor vehicle road as it winds its way down to Bremgarten on the Reuss River. The fog looks cool from here. 

Crossing the Reuss River at Bremgarten, on the way to Wohlen. 

Once we got near home, the sun was setting and made a very nice late afternoon mood at the lake (Mt.Pilatus in the background).

On nice clear days we can see the Bernese Alps from our balcony as well!!!