From Ibergeregg Pass to Illgau above the Muota Valley

Friday August 11, 2023 -- The second most wonderful day in a row, and another solo hike nearby to take advantage of this excellent weather. Once again this was in Canton Schwyz, which offers so many mountain landscapes and is quick and easy for us to reach.

We have done so many hikes already in this region, but I had never been to the village of Illgau, which perches on a vertical cliff 220 meters above the Muota Valley, to which there is access by cable car, the only means of public transportation here. (Many locals who have no cars use this transport to reach the bus below on the main road out of the Muota Valley).

I started early again to beat the main heat of the day, and took the lovely bus service along the winding road to the Ibergeregg Pass, a pass we have crossed twice to date on foot, including using this same bus service on one occasion in 2017 (those photos are HERE). The bus currently requires a 5 CHF supplement charge, but they give you a coupon for a free drink at one of the many mountain restaurants in the vicinity, so before starting on my hike, I had a light breakfast at the restaurant at the pass.

It was an easy mostly downhill hike, and even though there was a more direct way to get to Illgau, I chose a detour through the forest (nice break from the heat) to a look-out point called Fallenflue Chänzeli from where I got a spectacular 180-degree view from Stoos in the South -- with its famous funicular, the steepest in the world -- all across Lake Luzern to Mount Pilatus where I had been the day before, Mount Rigi and the fabulous Gross Mythen.... in fact, it would have been ideal view weather to climb that last one again, although maybe too hot.

There weren't many places I could set up my camera for self-timed photos, so this is an album with lots of landscape photos again.

On the bus ride up the mountain we pass through the landscape near the city of Schwyz

To the south is the long ridge between Klingenstock and Fronalpstock, a very, very popular high trail (especially with tourists who have a hard time with this sometimes) and the one I did alone about four weeks earlier, those photos are HERE.  This is all still in Canton Schwyz, but just beyond the ridge is the border to Canton Uri. 

I spent 20 minutes here on the sunny terrace at the Ibergeregg Pass Restaurant, with my free coffee and an expensive pastry. The service lady (not on the photo) sat mostly with the older lady and smoked two cigarettes in the 20 minutes I was here. Of the four people here this morning, she (the employee) was the only one smoking. That is the reason we don't often eat on restaurant terraces. 

This was another "short" hike, only 2½ hours and under 10 km. I started at the Ibergeregg Pass at 9:15 (having left home at 7:20 and gotten there with the bus at 8:45) and was transported down to the valley from Illgau at 12:45, to catch the 12:53 bus. Back home by 2 p.m.!!!

Views of Lake Luzern, the mountain resort village of Stoos (upper left), and the forested promontory called Fallenflue which I walked through later. 

Being watched carefully as I pass through "their" pastures. 

This is a beautiful region, easy for us to access. 

Now a better look at the village of Stoos below Mount Fronalpstock, and in the center the Fallenflue Forest with the look-out point. 

Many such old barns here

A particular nice piece of high-grown meadow to cross

I know the leaf-blower makes the hard work of harvesting dried meadow-grass much easier than manual raking, but the noise is so annoying. There were no less than three such fields I passed through, where they were harvesting the hay this way. 

Down below is a chapel, hidden in the trees. The trail passed by there on the way to Fallenflue Forest. 

There is a school bus parked in that barn!

The Gründel Chapel, built in 1875. I had a quick look inside. There were some nice old hand-carved pews inside. 

The Gründelkapelle, hidden in the trees

I got to the look-out point at about 10:40, and spent 15 minutes here admiring the view. Down below is the city of Schwyz, the capital city of Canton Schwyz. In the center is the long-stretched out range of Mount Rigi, with the summit in the far back center. And very far in the back on the left is Mount Pilatus, where I had been the day before. 

From here you get a really good look at how steep the railway line is for the Stoos Funicular, the steepest funicular in the world, completed in December 2017.  We have been on the upper plateau of Stoos many times, even once in winter to try out cross-country skiing. 

The two funicular railway cars crossing on one of the steepest parts of the track

VIDEO:

The Stoos Funicular descending to the valley station. This is the steepest funicular in the world, completed in 2017. It is quite ingenious, as the individual cylinders turn to keep the floor always horizontal, so you never change position standing up for the ride.

Panorama view from Fallenflue Känzeli. The "rock" that is Mount Mythen is quite impressive

The peak of the Gross Mythen is a very popular ascent, especially on a nice day like this one. There is not a lot of room at the top, even though there is a restaurant. We ascended this peak in 2014, but it was foggy all the way, except for a small window once we got to the top. It might be time to try again. 

I returned eastward in the direction of Illgau along the edge of the 600-meter cliff which drops vertically into the Muota River Valley (Muotathal)

Several houses like this on my way down through the forest

It's a big deal here in Switzerland to build "Insect Hotels". This pretty project was realized by the local elementary school. 

A look down at the village of Illgau, the end of my short hike. I wasn't very successful this time at taking self-timed photos. 

A closer look at the village church in Illgau

Another very pretty house in the village

The Illgau village church and a restaurant next to it. 

The Illgau-Ried cableway station. You have to phone 15 minutes ahead, -- preferably from here at the station -- to the person who operates the cableway, then she comes up the road from where she lives to let you down. It was lunch time when I called from the trail for a 12:45 ride, and she almost forgot about me. Locals have special passes to use, to operate the cable-car on their own. 

A two-minute trip with the Illgau/Ried cable car to the main road in the Muota Valley below. The bus stops right here. It's very convenient for the locals, and is the only mode of public transport

The view down the Muota Valley on my way down in the cable car. (We have also walked out of this lovely valley once before, from the village of the same name as the valley -- Muotathal -- all the way to Schwyz, mostly along the river. Those photos are HERE)

As I waited for the bus, the cable-car ran several times. I wondered if the lady kept getting calls on her way back home? But probably, it was all locals wanting to catch the same bus. 

Heading out of the Muota Valley by bus, this is a look up to the cliffs where I had walked along after leaving the look-out point at Fallenflue Chänzeli. This here is actually 600 meters above the valley bottom. 

What this hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps

We have done so many hikes here in the region around the Muota Valley, Stoos, and the Mythen mountains. We even made a trip up to Stoos once with the original funicular railway, which went out of operation when the new one was complete. You can also reach Stoos by cable-way, which we also have done a couple of times. 

Location of the Muota Valley and the Hoch-Ybrig region of Switzerland. 

Easy Walk along the Muota River in the Bisis Valley

Sunday August 14, 2022 -- After yesterday's long trip to Arosa and in anticipation of a rainstorm in the afternoon, we chose a short easy hike along the Muota River nearby, completing a section of the Bisis Valley which we had only traveled by bus before. (Back in early July we did that 2-day hike in Glattalp, descending to Schwarzenbach in the Bisis Valley. That's where we started this time).

According to my map, this should have been a leisurely 2.5-hour hike all along the river, right into the town of Muotathal, where we have been many times before. What we didn't know until we got there, is that the river has been redirected underground between two power plants in the valley, and the large, dry riverbed was only a stark reminder of the growing water shortage in all our rivers. Additionally, as we were at a lower elevation, we had hoped walking next to the running water would give us the sense that the air was cooler... but instead, it only felt humid.

At least we started early, and by the time we reached the junction with the valley connecting to Glarus via the Pragel Pass there was water again. We finished this short hike with cake and refreshments at the bakery café in Muotathal, which is open on Sundays, and were already on our way home at about 1:30 p.m, getting home just before 3 p.m. 

On the bus ride up the valley, we passed the little hamlet called Bisisthal (same name as the valley). Our hike starts a bit further up the valley and we are going to walk down to here

Close up view of the cute little church in Bisisthal

We were the only people who got off here at Schwarzenbach (the rest were going to the back of the valley to take the cable car up to Glattalp). This is where we ended two other previous hikes, so we figured we would start here and walk the rest of the way out of the valley to Muotathal

From Schwarzenbach looking down the valley which we are walking out of. 

Since we had ended a couple of other hikes in Schwarzenbach, and started/ended several in Muotathal, we thought this would be a good day to walk the rest of the valley. The trail goes right along the Muota River the entire way. About 2.5 hours

A cute farm-house in Bisisthal 

As we head over to the church in Bisisthal, a look up to the Schwarzenbach Restaurant and chapel where we started our hike. Glattalp, where we were in early July, would be behind the large mountain at the back (?)

The cute church in Bisisthal had a very nice painted wood-panel ceiling

Another look back as we continue down the valley, this time to the church in Bisisthal. Here the water from the Muota River is still above ground, and we were expecting our hike to continue this way!

An enjoyable and easy walk along the Muota River

This cow obviously just recently gave birth, although the farmer must have been here because the calf's ears are already tagged. We walked by quickly, as mother cows can get pretty dangerous when you are near their calves.

Another very nice look up the Bisis Valley

The water reservoir at the Mettlen Power plant 

Right below the power plant, there was only this large dry riverbed, almost all the way to Muotathal. A local told us that if there is a lot of winter snow, the riverbed fills up as well. Apparently, in 2005, the river was so high it flooded this entire valley bottom. 

When I mapped the trail, it was pretty clear that we would be walking along the river the whole way! We didn't expect that it would be without water!

Pretty butterflies

Like many of the "hidden" valleys in Switzerland, this one starts with a narrow ravine, before it opens up more toward the back. 

This wall called "Höch Müra" was built by hand after flooding of the river in 1910, to protect the farmlands and people fürther down-valley from future floodwaters

Siberian Huskies are raised here at the Husky Lodge in Muotathal, they are trained to pull sleds in winter. 

Below the second power plant near the town of Muotathal, the water is diverted back to the riverbed

Another final look back up the Bisis Valley

This cliff walk is not nearly as difficult as the last one!

Approaching the bridge at Hintherthal, the junction with the other valley where you can cross the Pragel Pass to Canton Glarus

The St.Josef Franciscan Abbey in Muotathal is the oldest still in operation Franciscan Abbey in Europe. (Established in the year 1288)

Also, the abbey plays a part in Switzerland's military history, as the nuns gave shelter to the Russian General Suvorov and his troops as they traveled over the Pragel Pass (ca. 1799)

A look up to the Pragel Pass

Another bridge with flowers over the Muota River. The colour makes all the difference in the world!

Our after-hike panaché and ice cream sundae, and this time I treated myself to a piece of Torte, at a bakery in Muotathal which is open on Sundays. 

Passing through the town of Schwyz on our way to the train station, this is the Ratshaus (City Hall), among very many attractive buildings in this town. 

We have done many hikes starting or ending in Muotathal, or ending in Schwarzenbach from the Schächental side. So this day we connected the two by walking from Schwarzenbach to Muotathal.