Panorama Ridge Hike from Mostelberg to Rothenthurm

Saturday November 14, 2020 -- Still more beautiful late fall weather with clear skies and good views, but most cable cars are now going through overhaul before the skiing season! But we found one that was still running on weekends! Well, we actually mapped out the hike we wanted to do before checking... then we lucked out.

Mostelberg is a small vacation village just one hour from where we live, a popular family ski area when we have enough snow, and very popular for hiking along the Schwyzer Höhenweg (Schwyz High Trail near the Mythen mountains). We have also already done several hikes in this area (there is also a lovely winter trail with loads of sunshine and views), but this time we mapped out a lesser-used trail along the crest of the low rolling hills.... turns out there were still more people than we expected! The hike itself was not difficult: Besides a lot of mud (seems to be the way it is this time of year), there were no long uphill stretches, mostly up and down over several lower peaks, but distance-wise it was longer than expected -- 15 km and five hours of walking! My feet were very sore after this one. But again good views across to the Uri and Bernese Alps and especially in this "flat-land" area near Zurich.

There is a 374-meter long suspension bridge near the cable car station at Mostelberg (completed in 2010), which used to be the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in Europe until 2017, surpassed at the completion of the 494-meter long Charles Kuonen suspension bridge near Zermatt, which was the longest in the world until apparently this year when a 516-meter one was opened in Portugal. I crossed the Mostelberg one once in 2014, and wanted to cross it again. This meant hiking the first uphill section in the shadow of the mountain, which is usually acceptable. Afterwards we had lots of sunshine, and the only "hillside" shadow we had was on our final descent from Nüsellstock to Rothenthurm, about 30 minutes....

We were lucky that the Sattel-Hochstuckli gondola aerial cable-way is still in operation on weekends in November! (Overhaul taking place from Mon.-Fri.). The cable-way saves us 400m ascent.

Our ultimate goal is the Nüsellstock peak above Rothenthurm via an undulating ridge, but after that it's still 90 minutes to descend, so a good five hours of walking!

Opened in 2010, the "Skywalk" was the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in Europe until the Charles Kuonen Bridge was opened in 2017. After crossing the bridge, we had to climb through the shady forest to the sunshine above.

(On a side note: This is what the bridge looks like from the South):

Many people were going to the summit of Hochstuckli, but we walked below that summit to reach the "crest" of undulating hills till Nüsellstock, from were we descended to Rothenthurm.

About 200m above the bridge we get the first views over the region of Canton Schwyz.

A close-up of the Uri and Bernese Alps to the southwest.

And a super-zoomed view of Mts. Eiger and Mönch, the most well-known of the Bernese Alps.

Directly to the North we can see the town of Rothenthurm (our final destination). This large expanse is the largest upper moorland in Switzerland, and a popular region for cross-country skiing when there is snow in winter!

To the Northeast: Lake Aegeri (Aegerisee). The steam "cloud" in the far back might be the nuclear power plant at Niedergösgen near Aarau.

Another beautiful view over the Uri Alps and Mt. Fronalpstock on the left.

Most people we met on this stretch were headed to Mt. Hochstuckli, the rise on the right. From here we also get the first glimpse of the distinctive Mythen peaks.

Nice trail, lots of sunshine. We are headed South directly toward the Mythen Peaks!

The trail to the East of Mt. Hochstuckli was very wet and muddy. We think this is generally a wet area, as parts of the trail are covered with wooden planks.

And then we arrived at the passage with this great view of the North side of the Mythen Peaks. From here we could descend to join the Schwyzer Höhenweg which passes to the left of these peaks (we've walked that already), but we are heading uphill to the left.

And also a fantastic view down toward the towns of Schwyz and Brunnen, and Lake Lucerne and Seelisberg; Mt. Fronalpstock on the left, and the extension of Mr. Rigi on the right.

Here's where we had our picnic lunch, with this view of the Mythen Peaks to the South.

And from here we continued northwards again, up and down over several of these small peaks.

A look behind us to the sweep of the Alps to the Southwest.

Many people enjoying the view on one of these small peaks

From here we can see North to the city of Einsiedeln on Lake Sihlsee.

A barn with a bench in the sunshine for a much-needed break for my feet! By this point we had already been walking about three hours!

The sign at the barn informs us that we still have two hours to go to our destination! It's like an entire second hike ahead of us!

A really good view to the West of Mt. Rossberg above Sattel and Goldau, which is part of the Mount Zug Range (our home mountain). And on the left: Mts. Rigi and Pilatus, which you can see from most everywhere in Northern and Eastern Switzerland!

Another peak, this one is called Höch Tändli 

Descending Höch Tändli across this sunny meadow, we can see Lake Zurich (to the North) in the background.

Zoomed view of the summit of Nüsellstock, our final peak before the descent to Rothenthurm. Those people lounging on "our" bench were still there when we got to the summit!

We got to the summit of Mt. Nüsellstock at 14:00 and still have over 90 minutes to go!

A nice clear view to the Toggenburg Region in the North, the city of Einsiedeln, and Lake Sihlsee. Unfortunately some very dark shadow below that we need to cross!

And looking down below us, we see the town of Rothenthurm, which we are now descending to. And in the back, Lake Aegerisee

Thirty minutes in the shade, and then we reached a nice sun-dappled forest trail.

A look up to the summit of Mt. Nüsellstock. We descended on the shaded side.

Below us the valley bottom. The mountain on the left is Hochstuckli. About halfway up is the town of Mostelberg, where we started our hike. 

And the final stretch down to the town of Rothenthurm. It's now 15:30 and shadows are moving quickly over the town, so it's a good time to end our hike!

Our 5-hour hike mapped on Google Earth. We started in Mostelberg at 09:40, and caught the train in Rothenthurm at 15:45.  That's 6 hours for a 5-hour hike, which means only one hour of breaks along the way. That's quite an achievement!

Because this area is near where we live, we have done a lot of hiking in this region!! This was the first time we attempted the hills between Mythen and Einsiedeln because we have to walk a minimum of five hours, which is a long hike....

Hike along the two Mythen Mountains to Mostelberg

Wednesday Aug.28th, 2019 -- We're back home now, and saw that the weather for Wednesday was supposed to be good only in the morning, with expected storms in the afternoon. So best idea was to do something close to home.

Urs' Uncle Tobias likes to come hiking with us, and he had once suggested doing the "Alter Schwyzer Weg" ("Old Schwyz Trail") from the Great Mythen to Mostelberg, a two-and-a-half to three-hour hike starting with a cable car ride in the fairly recently-reopened Rothenflue cable-way (Dec.2014), and passing behind the amazing geological wonder which is the two Mythen mountains that dominate the countryside in Canton Schwyz. (The Grosse Mythen is a very popular mountain to ascend, but there is nothing more to it than a 500m straight up hike to a restaurant at the top, and a splendid view on a nice day. We did this hike several years ago, but it was foggy so we didn't see much for our efforts).

The area around this singular mountain is Switzerland's oldest game reserve, and chamois can often be spotted close to the trail here. We did see some, but only because Tobias knew about them and pointed them out. Also, we bought cheese and sausage from an alp dairy, which is something we like to do. 

Unfortunately the air was VERY hazy, and so the normally fabulous view over Lake Lucerne was not as I might have hoped, and it was a hot day for hiking as well, but we finished the hike just as the dark clouds moved in, so you could say we were successful with that!

Side Note: We were in this area very recently, had started further East and hiked the "Ybriger 7-Egg Trail", ending our hike at the base of the Grosse Mythen, approximately at the same place that we started this hike. Pictures of that hike are here: 7-Egg Trail

From the town of Schwyz to Rothenflue with the recently reopened Rothenflue cable car. In the background is Lake Lucerne

View down on Lake Lauerzersee, and behind that, although not visible, is the South end of Lake Zug

At the summit of the Rothenflue Cableway. The sky was still covered with clouds, so we had a coffee at the restaurant until the clouds cleared out shortly afterwards

The clouds are thinning out and the air is getting warmer but the day remained hazy. This is the view eastward over the Hoch Ybrig region of Canton Schwyz (where we recently walked from)

Looking North right onto the Grosse Mythen. The trail up to the summit is very visible, but there is not much up there except a restaurant and view terrace. We are walking down to that house below (Holzegg) then following the base of the mountains to Mostelberg at the back

Here at this creative little "shop" you can purchase cheese and jams etc. This time we didn't purchase anything here, later then at the dairy along the way. 

View to Brunnen and Lake Lucerne looking directly westward

A couple of weeks ago we walked the "Ybriger 7-Egg-Weg" and this time we are doing a piece of Trail no.63: The "Schwyzer Höhenweg"

A chamois in Switzerland's oldest Game Reserve

A chamois in Switzerland's oldest Game Reserve

Between the two Mythen mountains is an alpine dairy where we bought half a kilo of cheese and two dried sausages, which were completely eaten by three days later

Cheese Dairy at "Zwüschet Mythen" (literally translates to "Between the Mythen")

A look down at the town of Brunni in the Alptal Valley. This was the destination of the recent hike we did here, when we walked the "Ybriger 7-Egg-Weg"

The Large Mythen on the left, the Small Mythen on the right, from an angle you don't really see them (back side // NE side)

On a hot day it's always a relief to have nice paths through the forest. By the way, Kudos to Uncle Tobias who is 86 and still walks like a young buck. 

Restaurant at Hagenegg, heading around to the front of the Mythen mountains, although seen from the North now

This is the Pilgrim's Chapel in Hagenegg, we decided to have our picnic lunch here, on the shade side of the chapel

Picnic in the cool shade of the Hagenegg Pilgrim's chapel

Lovely wood decor inside the chapel 

Benches for outdoor services, or picnics. The two Mythen mountains very much dominate this landscape!

The best part of this hike, a short section on a high trail with a view of the Schwyz Region

Last glimpse of the Mythen (larger one = Grosser Mythen) with the restaurant at the peak is now at the back. 

Last section to Mostelberg was along a paved road, so not too thrilling. But a view of one of the longest pedestrian suspension bridges in Europe is always a thrill (we've walked across this before, so didn't go this time). This bridge is 374m long and hangs 58m above the gorge.

Last stretch to Mostelberg. There were too many people up here, especially kids, as there was a large "Bouncy Castle" play park set up, so we descended right away with the Sattel-Hochstuckli Gondola cableway.

A view of Lake Aegerisee on our way down to Sattel

These gondola cars usually rotate on the trip up or down, but on a day as hot as this one, the rotation is put on hold because air flows better in the cabins when they don't rotate. 

Another cable car ride to cross off the list (although we rode this one once in winter). From here you walk 10 minutes to the train station, and as usual, we got there with just a few minutes to spare

The actual Route no.63 "Schwyzer Höhenweg" would actually have been around the left of Mount Engelstock, but that would be 30 minutes longer, and it was pretty hot to walk, so we took the shorter way. 

Almost 10 km to walk from the summit station of the Rothenflue cable-way, around the back of the Large and Small Mythen Mountains to Mostelberg, where you once again descend with a cable-way (or on foot if it works into the schedule).