Escholzmatt to Schüpfheim in the Entlebuch Region of Canton Luzern

Sunday January 28, 2024 -- Another sunny day in parts of the country, and because we had done quite an extensive hike the day before, we wanted something easy this time, also without a lot of travel time.

The lovely Entlebuch Region in Canton Luzern is accessible to us in less than an hour and a half, so we did an easy walk through the farming region between Escholzmatt and Schüpfheim. The first part of the walk was along paved roads but with little traffic (and also along a glacier moraine!), and the second part was on a forest trail, unfortunately quite cold as it was a very dense evergreen forest with little sunshine penetrating onto the trail. (There was a section of the trail through a moor, but that was off-limits till end of August, no reason given).

In all we did another 10-km and three-hour hike with plenty of sunshine. We finished early enough that we were able to take an additional short trip to the nearby Kambly factory in Trubschachen, where we stocked up again on Urs' favourite cookies, as the ones we got before Christmas were already all gone!

We started at Escholzmatt at 11 a.m., this is a look at the hills to the south of the train station there. 

First we walked north through the village of Escholzmatt to the edge of town, admiring the pretty houses.

Many very attractive houses in Escholzmatt

At the north edge of the residential area, before our trail headed through the pastures, there was this farm called Tannenhof

The cute cows were watching us from the barn at Tannenhof

This was another 10-km hike for us, and not really a long one in terms of time (2½ hours of walking, as there was no ascent of note). We started at 11 a.m. (leaving home at about 9:30 to make sure we wouldn't be caught in any fog) and got to Schüpfheim at 2 p.m. 

The walk wasn't all on paved roads! These pasture trails are always so nice and soft to walk on. We are heading northeast towards Schüpfheim now. 

Another pretty farm

A look back across the pastures at the houses in Escholzmatt. I believe that massif is the Hohgant. 

Another close-up look at the small hills on the south-east side of the railway tracks. As we found out later, these small hills are actually moraines left by the Waldemme Glacier

On the northeast side of the railway tracks is another stretched-out hill (another glacier moraine) which we ascended and walked along, looking down on either side. (Photo taken as we are currently walking along the moraine, looking on the left side).  

Walking along the top of the moraine and looking down at the southeast (right) side. The valley up ahead is where the Waldemme River arrives here from the Sörenberg region to the south, and where the glacial ice flowed out to form this region. 

Information panels on this moraine hilltop shows where the Waldemme Glacier would have flowed out of the North-South Valley and flowed in the directions of Escholzmatt and Entlebuch, giving the shape to this valley here. 

Looking to the south again, we see appearing to the right of the Hohgant Massif the pass called Sichle, which is the passage from the Emmental region on this side of the mountains, to the Bernese Oberland on the other. We have long planned to walk across that passage, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Now we've descended the moraine on the left, and will continue along this paved road (this is looking back from where we came). 

This is part of the Tellemoos Moorlands which we could not walk through, unfortunately. The steam coming off the frozen surface is interesting, though. 

Here at a farm called Tellenmoos we entered the forest and descended into a ravine. That massif in the back is the Schwändiflue, I believe, which forms the eastern side of the Waldemme Valley. 

The trail goes right past the Tellenmoos farm. 

It's cold here in the little ravine, so we are walking quickly. The river here is called the Bocke

A series of bridges as we head out of the ravine, but the trail continued just inside the edge of the forest here for 900 meters, and it was a pretty dense evergreen forest, so the next 15 minutes of walking were pretty cold, although a really nice forest trail. 

Finally back out in the sunshine and farmland. It's now 12:45 p.m. and we have been looking for a bench in a sunny spot for quite a while now, where we can stop for our picnic lunch. 

Since we couldn't see any benches nearby, we used this rusty turned-over bathtub to sit on for our picnic lunch, next to someone's Brussel Sprout plants. (As it turns out, there was a bench at the edge of the forest in the back, at the arrow, where our trail continued).

Near the bathtub bench was a large barn where the cows were enjoying the sunshine in their courtyard. There were little babies hopping in and out of their igloss as well!

Continuing on after lunch now from our picnic spot (small garden on the left behind the sign)

Entering the next section of forest, we had to laugh as the bench we had been looking for was right here, in the perfect sunny spot.

This time the trail followed the edge of the forest on the sunny side. The mountain behind this house is called the Farnere, and we walked to its summit from Heiligkreuz in October 2023, with views of the Schwändiflue Massif. Those photos are HERE. 

There was a lovely picnic spot here with tables and a fire pit, and this cool water pump! I was pretty sure the water was off or frozen, but Urs was able to get the water working with some pumping action!

VIDEO:

Urs pumping water!

Now a close-up look at Schüpfheim, where we are ending the hike. We've descended to valley bottom again. 

Final stretch into the town of Schüpfheim, another 30 minutes of walking to the train station there. 

A cat crossed our trail with something in its mouth, it turned out to be a mouse! (Every pasture here in Switzerland seems to have its resident cat!)

More and more farmers are covering their barn roofs in solar panels, so that they can create their own electricity for use in the barn. 

Crossing the Waldemme River. 

On the other side of the railway tracks is a small chapel on the hillside. I would have liked to go up to have a closer look, but we would have missed the train to the cookie factory, and it would have gotten too late then. 

Since we were 20 minutes early for our train this time (unusual for us), we took a longer route to the train station in Schüpfheim, adding a bit of a walk along the Waldemme River before returning to the train station from the north. 

Here are the hikes we have done in the region of the Waldemme River between Escholzmatt and Entlebuch, the region carved out by the Waldemme Glacier flowing north from the Sörenberg Region. The green trail also ending in Escholzmatt is the April 2021 hike we did out of the Waldemme Valley. Those photos are HERE. 

A 15-minute train ride from Schüpfheim to Trubschachen to the Kambly cookie factory, we got here at 3:15 p.m., sampled a few cookies, purchased three more bags, and were back on the next train 30 minutes later for the 1¾-hour trip back home. 

As it was Sunday afternoon, there were a lot of people here!

On the stretch between Luzern and Zug, I always take a few photos of Lake Rot (Rotsee).

Along the "Emme Riverbank Trail" from Flühli to Schüpfheim and Escholzmatt

Saturday April 24, 2021 -- Keeping it close to home again, we traveled to the Entlebuch this time, which is a UNESCO-designated biosphere encompassing 39,000 hectares of farms, peat bogs, karst geography, and wild rivers west of Luzern. This region is nicknamed the "Wild West" of Luzern.

In one of the valleys here called the "Waldemmental", the Waldemme River has its source on the flanks of Mt. Brienzer Rothorn, and flows north past the popular vacation town of Sörenberg, joining the "Wissemme" river near Schüpfheim, and continuing as the "Kleine Emme" (or "Small Emme" -- as opposed to the "real" Emme river which gives its name to the Emmental region) to flow into the Reuss River near Lucerne. All along these various "Emme" rivers are walking trails, in particular one such trail called the "Emmenuferweg" or "Emme Riverbank Trail". 

A year ago almost at this exact time, I walked a section of this trail starting in Sörenberg and ending in Flühli. 

(That blog entry can be found HERE)

It now seemed like a good idea to continue this trail, starting in Flühli (which by the way is the birthplace of glass manufacturing here in Switzerland: The early glass craftsmen came from Germany in 1723, and basically decimated the forests around here in their need for wood for their furnaces) and heading out of the valley at the top of a ravine formed by the Waldemme River.

Generally, the "Emmenuferweg" trail continues along the Kleine Emme River north past Schüpfheim to Wolhusen, but we turned west and followed the Wisse Emme tributary all the way to Escholzmatt. The train line between Luzern and Bern runs along this stretch, and we have traveled through here many times. It is a nice change to look at the area from outside the train. 

Aside of a monotonous 2.5-km stretch along this canal, the rest of total 16-km stretch we did this day was enjoyable... 

We started at the church in Flühli at shortly before 11 a.m.. This is a view to the south, to Mt. Brienzer Rothorn, where the source of the Waldemme River is. We're heading away from the mountains, northwards.

The sign says 2 hours to Schüpfheim (although it would have been more). Too short for us, so we decided to walk to Escholzmatt, although the trail we took was a different one, so 20 minutes less than indicated. The "Emmenuferweg" is Trail no.527

Following the Waldemme River, here's another look South to the mountains, which actually form the border with Canton Bern.

At first I thought cows were grazing on this hillside, but a closer look showed four deer, which was quite a surprise as this is close to a busy road. The traffic didn't seem to bother them.

These young deer were just shedding their winter coats. We observed them for a long time before this one noticed us and ran off to his mama.

Usually walks along a river are boring for me, but the trails here and the landscape were very nice. 

Another look up the Waldemme Valley to Mt. Brienzer Rothorn

Walking along the Waldemme River in the Entlebuch region of Canton Luzern.

One of the particularities of the Entlebuch region are these stretches of karst massifs called "Flue". This one is called Schwandiliflue

An interesting pothole created by the river shortly before it drops into the ravine

VIDEO:

The Waldemme River getting "wilder" as it heads into the ravine

We just crossed the "wild" part of the Waldemme River as it descends into the ravine. Now looking for a good place to have lunch!

One of many farms in this region

We came 1 hour 10 minutes to here, and it would be another 1 hour 25 minutes to Schüpfheim, so definitely longer than the two hours claimed in Flühli! Trail no.527 is the "Emmenuferweg" or "Emme Riverbank Trail

After a picnic lunch, we resumed walking along the ravine, and got a glimpse once in a while to the river below. 

We often see collections of old tools mounted on the side of the barns. This farmer also won many prizes for his cows and goats.

Out of the ravine now, and we're headed down to the river again on the left, but first a visit to a dairy shop, the white house in the middle. I said to Urs: "If they have Sörenberg Cheese, let's get some of that!"

It turns out the Sörenberg cheese (which is specific to this valley) was on special, so Urs bought a big chunk

The sign says "Specialty Cheeses of the Entlebuch". We bought Sörenberger and Sbrinz. Should have tried the "Entlebucher" as well. 

Here at the wooden bridge, the Waldemme River heads North, but we're going West now. Two more hours till Escholzmatt (having come just over two hours down the valley). 

Cool building!

Here is where the "Wisse Emme" (or "White Emme") River joins the Waldemme River. In the background is the town of Schüpfheim.

The first 2.5 kilometers along the Wisse Emme River were a bit monotonous, as it is obviously "manmade" here and totally straight.... After that the river's course was more of a meandering, which is much more interesting

At least there were interesting farms to look at, and once in a while the local train (BLS-Line: "Bern-Lötschtal-Simplon") would pass by. Actually, we have traveled with this train through this landscape DOZENS of times, so it gives a new perspective to have walked in the region

VIDEO:
Cows are now finally in the pastures

Shortly before the end of our hike we had a small uphill section, which then gave us the first view of the peaks and massifs to our South, since starting in the Waldemme Valley. (Not sure if this is the Schrattenflue, or Hohgant Massif)

Some more Entlebuch landscape

A particularly nice building that caught our eye.

A look at Escholzmatt before our descent to the train station.

And another look South. If I'm not wrong, that U-shaped saddle is the passage into the Justiz Valley and Lake Thun in Canton Bern, also something we would want to do...

It was a long hike after all! 16 km! There are no buses between Schüpfheim and Escholzmatt, so we basically were committed, once we headed West.