Hike from Tällihütte in the Gadmen Valley, to Engstlenalp in the Gental (Gen Valley)

Monday August 8, 2022 -- After some cloudy weather on the weekend (and even some rain), our next hiking week started on Monday. Weather prognosis? Pure sunshine all over the country, all week (albeit still up to 30 degrees in the low-lying areas).

In June last year we did a fabulous hike in the Gental (Gen Valley) in Canton Bern, from Engstlenalp at the back of the valley all the way to Hasliberg to the South. (Those photos HERE). From that vantage point we saw a great-looking hiking trail on the opposite side of the valley, and that hike has been on our to-do list since then. This seemed like a good day for it, so the plan was to start with a cable-car from Gadmen to the Tälli Mountain Hostel on the South side of the ridge, (saved us 550m ascent), hike up to the saddle aptly named Sätteli (Little Saddle) to get a really good view of the Trift Glacier to the South, and then walk UP the Gen Valley to Engstlenalp. 

To get to the start of the hike we had to do what seemed a world tour: Train all the way to the Gotthard Tunnel, then a bus over the Susten Pass, and down the other side, a 3.5-hour trip. What a disappointment when we woke up to thickly clouded skies! We went anyway, expecting the clouds to dissipate, but only the Susten Pass was cloud-free... we could even see from there that we were headed into the fog! Wishful thinking didn't pay off. Not only didn't we get the view of the glacier to the South, but the fog moved up and into the Gen Valley! We waited there for 45 minutes, and luckily the fog cleared in the Gen Valley at last, and we had a good walk into the valley.

Engstlenalp in the Gen Valley is a bit hard to get to and out of (expensive bus has to be reserved ahead, and cable cars from both sides run only till 4:30 p.m.). We chose to return via three cable cars to Engelberg, but had to push to make it on time (having started late due to the fog). And the end of the day was a bit of a downer with all the tourists there. (We might have been better off hiking up toward Melchsee-Frutt).

(Note: in 2020 we hiked from the Susten Pass Road to the Tälli cableway along the Gadmerflue flanks. At that time we did see the Trift Glacier from the Berggasthaus. Those photos are HERE. They are worth a look because we took the same bus route to get there, and had wonderful weather)

Coming up the Meien Valley from the East, we had low cloud the whole way. It was only when we crossed the Susten Pass, that we were above the cloud. What fantastic weather up here, I almost changed plans for the day to stay here...

The fantastic Stein Glacier. There is an alpine hostel somewhere at the top on the right, one we will never be able to access!

Heading West down from the Susten Pass into the Gadmen Valley, it is very clear to us that the fog is thick and at the level of where we want to hike (at the far end of the Gadmerflue range) 

A good close look at the thick fog in the Gadmen Valley. We had high hopes that it would dissipate when we got there, but it only moved higher up. We had no view into this valley any more. 

Heading down into the fog in the Gadmen Valley. 

Since we had already traveled 3.5 hours to get here, we decided to go on with the original plan. This is the Tälli cableway which goes up to the Tälli Berggasthaus.

The Tälli Cableway, owned by the Grimsel Power Company, can be used by the public for 8 CHF for a ride. It saves us 550m of ascent and almost two hours of hiking. We got to the top at 10:45

We risked waiting at the Tälli Gasthaus (35 minutes) with a much needed coffee and dessert (I also had a fabulous piece of homemade plum and peach streusel cake). In retrospect, we should have left on the hike right away, as there might still have been a view above the fog. 

This is the best view we had on the way up to Sätteli. (The sign at the Gasthaus said 90 minutes to Sätteli, we did it in exactly one hour. Nothing to stop for along the way!)

This is a section of Trail no.38, Via Berna. This is about as much view as we had to the South, into the Gadmen Valley. So we missed out on that. 

I think there were some pretty nice cliffs along the way!

Some hikers who had passed us on their way down said that there was sunshine on the saddle. By the time we got there (12:20), the fog had gotten there before we did.

We waited for 45 minutes up at the saddle in the hopes the fog would clear to the South (Fortunately, we had sun here quite soon). We couldn't wait longer or we would miss any opportunity to get out of the valley again. 

The fog started lifting to the north in the Gen Valley, so we decided to head out that way, but 90 minutes later or so than originally planned! 

A couple of photos before heading into the valley. Can you see me? The sign says 2.5 hours to Engstlenalp. 

Finally, the fog has lifted enough for us to enjoy the rest of our hike. It is now 13:10, kind of late for us to "start" a hike. 

On the opposite side of the Gen Valley is the trail we walked a year earlier. We had our picnic lunch at that time at the farm directly in the center of the photo

On the map, this hike draws out at 3 hrs 40 minutes. The suggested time on the trail markers is longer. We did the first section from Tällihütte to Sätteli in an hour, and took another 2.5 hours to the lake (Engstlensee). Getting to the chair lift to Jochpass took another 30 minutes, longer than expected. So at least four hours total. 

Hiking along a very nice trail into the Gental

The cliffs above us are quite impressive

A look back toward the saddle

At some point the fog did clear a bit in the South. You can just see the summit of Mt. Wetterhorn and the Rosenlaui Glacier. 

Behind that hill ahead is Lake Engstlensee where we are headed. 

A look down the Gental (Tal = Valley)

Here we had a bit of a break before the final 30-minute walk to the other end of the lake, where there is a chair lift to the Joch Pass (from there two more cable-ways down to Engelberg)

A young fellow practicing his "throw"

Showing off my new hiking boots. My 8-year old ones (twice re-soled and once sewn) are now ready to throw away!

It took 30 minutes to walk to the back of the lake, with a final tiring uphill section, to get the chair lift to Jochpass. The Internet implied the facility is shut down at 16:15. We made it there at 16:10! Looks like there is plenty of fog on the other side as well! NOTE: The Joch Pass is the border between Canton Bern (where we are) and Canton Nidwalden

Looking back over Engstlensee, on our way uphill to the chair lift

You can just barely see the chair lift station nestled in the cliffs up ahead. This last section was very tiring to do. 

Riding the chair lift up to Joch Pass, a look back down toward Engstlensee and Engstlenalp.

At the pass you change to another chair lift, a long ride down to the popular upper plateau called Trüebsee. Interesting fact: At the Joch Pass (from one cable-way to the other) we crossed the Canton borders from Canton Bern to Canton Nidwalden. At Trübsee at the start of the third cableway we crossed from Nidwalden to Obwalden. 

It was actually a lovely, scenic and peaceful ride down to Trüebsee. For this section, we are in Canton Nidwalden. 

The clouds sitting low on the Trüebsee pastures made for very interesting scenery. 

From the base station of the Jochpass-Trüebsee chair lift (out of the photo far left), you have to walk another 20 minutes to the gondola station at the far back. It was here in this area where we encountered so many tourists. Many come to continue up to Mt. Titlis, somewhere on the right. 

Final section of the cableway (gondola) to Engelberg. We are now in Canton Obwalden.

From this base station we had to walk another 10 minutes to the train station. It was hot down here, and the train to Luzern, as usual, very full with very loud tourists (Indians and Spanish, not Americans!)

The Trüebsee-Engelberg gondola cable-way. We got to Engelberg at 17:01, and had to wait almost an hour for the next train home. At least from here it's only 1 hr. 40 minutes to get home!

To get to the Tälli cable car station near Gadmen, we had to travel 3.5 hours over the Susten Pass (it would be bottom right out of this picture). Returning via Engelberg takes less than two hours (not counting the time for the chair lifts and 30 additional minutes of walking at the end of the hike!). In total we walked about 4.5 hours again. 

All the hikes we have done in this area. From the Sätteli, we should have gotten a good view of the Trift Glacier, but the entire valley was in fog. 

This map shows how we had to travel south first (by train) through the Reuss Valley to Göschenen, then with the bus back via Wassen and the Susten Pass to Gadmen. This took 3.5 hours. For the way back at the end of the hike via Engelberg, we were 45 minutes on cable cars, 30 minutes more of walking, and the train back home was just over 90 minutes (about 3 hours total). 

High Trail Hike from Engstlenalp to Reuti in Hasliberg

Saturday June 26, 2021 -- This time we really lucked out! It's so hard to tell where the weather is going to be nice these days. We took a risk with our choice to ride a bus up the Gental Valley from Meiringen to Engstlenalp in the Bernese Oberland. A risk mainly because the regular Post Bus (for which we don't have to pay extra) doesn't do that run anymore, and the private bus costs a whopping 24 SFr. each! The advantage of this is that not a lot of people are willing to pay that, so the bus wasn't full.

On the way to Meiringen by train over the Brünig Pass, the sky was very overcast, and the clouds were low on many mountain peaks, but as we emerged into the Haslital, and as the bus drove the 50 minutes up the valley to the Engstlenalp plateau, we saw that we were going to have very nice weather. By 2 p.m. it was supposed to cloud over, but it didn't.

We also picked a high trail which ran along the entire side of the valley, a trail which isn't popularly known, and for most of the 4.5-hour hike there was not a single other hiker on the trail. A small narrow mountain trail, lots of meadows, cows, sheep, rock-falls and streams to cross, and a view to make the heart stand still. We had glimpses of Mt. Wetterhorn and Mt. Wellhorn, and even the peak of Mt. Eiger before it was hidden in the clouds.

And being up this high, it was relatively "cool" to walk. We only felt the heat as we reached Reuti on the Hasliberg mountain, where we caught a bus back to the Brünig Pass.

In the end, even the 24 SFr. bus ride was worth it! I couldn't believe that such a large bus could travel such a narrow road. The usual dance was played out when cars came down the road and had to back up out of the way. And best of all: The entire valley floor on the way up is an open meadow, and the cows LOVE walking on the street! The bus had to kind of "push" them off the road to get to the Engstlenalp. There was a lot of honking, and a lot of surprised looks from the cows!

We got on the bus at Meiringen, then it drove to Innertkirchen to the other pick-up spot, and then drove up the Gental Valley. This is the view just at the start of the Gental Valley, looking Southwest.

Vehicles coming up and down this narrow road in the Gental Valley have to give way to the cows. The valley is an open meadow. We were surprised at the large amount of avalanche snow which had not yet melted.

I forgot to take a photo of the bus, so I looked for one on their website. This photo describes perfectly the situation as we drove up here!

After a lot of honking and slowly "pushing" the cows off the road, we were able to continue on, to some surprised looks from the cows!

A look back down the Gental Valley as we get closer to Engstlenalp

There is a show dairy at Engstlenalp, so we stopped there to buy some cheese

Setting up for the cheese making for the day

The 1892 historical Hotel Engstlenalp

Summer houses and barns on the Engstlenalp. In the background is Mt. Titlis, which has snow year-round. It is now 10:30 at the start of our hike.

Looking down the valley to the South, our trail passes through the farm called Baumgarten.

The first marmots of the year! They were far away, so the photos are blurry

Lots of waterfalls and small streams to cross

Several national and regional trails pass through here, from Engelberg to Melchsee-Frutt, but the trail we picked is a less-used one. We met no other hikers all day on this trail. 

For all the way out of the valley, the trail was narrow like this

Some spots with rock-falls require more care to cross

Once-in-a-while a look back to see how far we have come

A patch of weeds!

Trail heading South

This fabulous waterfall across the valley is actually about a dozen streams coming out of holes in the cliff wall!

A close-up shot of the streams coming out of the rock wall to create a waterfall

This stream was a bit of a tricky one to cross! Down below is the farm at Baumgarten, where we stopped for our picnic lunch

The sound of the cow bells carried up high, it was so loud!

VIDEO:

Cows on the high alpine meadows

One of the buildings at Baumgarten Farm

We found a good place for a picnic lunch, with a view up and down the valley and across to the waterfall...

This is the best version of the Swiss flag which I had ever seen!

Our lovely picnic spot, with a view up and down the Gental Valley, and across at the mighty cliffs (we watched hikers crossing several snow patches there)

The trail on the other side of the valley still has lots of snow patches. We do want to walk this trail some time too, but we will wait till the snow is gone!

A collection of large cowbells!!

A good look down the Gental Valley

There is a trail on the other side of the valley as well, it follows just below the cliffs

Another marmot! Urs spots these faster than I do

Continuing southward after our picnic lunch. We still have a long way to go

The cliff walls on the opposite side of the valley

A look up the valley

There is a lot of water coming down this mountain river. We think this is where the avalanche came down to cause the pile-up in the valley below. It was a difficult stream to cross.

VIDEO:

Urs crossing the stream/river

The road below that goes up to the Engstlenalp

The sheep we encounter.... we're never really sure if they are agressive either!

And then we encountered some cows on the trail again. These are not quite full-grown, but we detoured up the hill above them anyway!

Urs is trying to figure out the best way to pass by these two cows in the narrow bend in the trail.

Another look up the valley as we detour above the cows (they are lying all over the hiking trail!)

Can you see the snake? It was a baby, not more than about 25 cm long, slithered across the road in front of us, and disappeared into the grass

At the mouth of the Gental Valley, where we turned and headed West, we got this magnificent view into several valleys: Right below is the Gadmertal (heads up to the Susten Pass to the left) from where the Gental branches off... in the middle heading left is the Haslital toward the Grimselpass, and straight ahead is a side valley called Uerbachtal. Right in the middle below is the town of Innertkirchen

We are still enjoying lovely flowering meadows

After a long section through the cool forest, we emerge into the western part of the Haslital Valley. Down below is Lake Brienzersee

Reuti (Hasliberg), the end of our 4.5-hour hike. From here we took a bus to the Brünig Pass, then a train back home. (It's only a 2.5-hour trip)

Last bit along the road at 4 p.m.

First the bus took us up the Gental Valley along a narrow road to Engstlenalp, from where we walked 4.5 hours and over 15 km to Reuti in the Hasliberg Valley. The more popular trail is along the ridge, or over to Melchsee-Frutt. But we met no other people along the way. The Gental Valley and Hasliberg are in Canton Bern, but right along the border with Cantons Nidwalden and Obwalden

The turquoise trail is the one we did this day. All the others are trail hikes over the past eight years in this area. 

The region of the Gental Valley and Engstlenalp