Hiking through the "Gorges de Court" near Moutier in the Jura

Wednesday Nov.20^th, 2019 – It was an unusual outing we did this particular day off, because when we checked the weather report the night before, it was showing sunny weather only in the far West and in the Sion area down South, but both those areas had lots of snow except the region around Delémont, a city in the Jura hills close to the French border. On a whim we decided to go visit that city (2.5 hours by public transit) and depending on how low the snow was on the hillsides, pick some local trail to walk once we got there.

Big disappointment in the morning when we had thick fog on the entire trip there, which was just starting to lift in the area near Delémont… but as the train pulled in to the station amidst this blanket of fog, I said I’d rather ride the train all day than walk anywhere in the fog. 

What the city of Delémont looked like when we got ther at 10:50

So we stayed seated till the next town of Moutier, and what a surprise as there was no fog there at all, not 15 km South of Delémont.

After visiting the tiny town and buying sandwiches for our lunch, we headed into the “Gorges de Court”, a ravine carved out by the River Birs over millions of years, and just two hours to walk through from Moutier to Court. True, there was quite a bit of shadow (being that it was a narrow gorge) and yet lovely moments of sunshine and much better than fog! The Internet description of the gorge promised several bridges and stairways and a hand-hewn tunnel (very few as it turns out) but the highlight was another small herd of Chamois way up on the rocky cliffs, spotted of course by Urs, as he has very good eyes for that.

We had quite a long time to wait for the train in Court, and although we had brilliant sunshine, we could see the fog rolling over the mountain from the South… our train trip back took us through the mountain into that fog on the South side, so I would say we had a successful outing, though a short one, just because we did manage a few hours of sunshine.

The Castle of Moutier, now housing government minitries

Sitting on the Castle Wall

The police station (the prison was just behind it) and the Protestant Church

   

View over Moutier to the Gorge which we are heading to after walking around the town a bit

 

It was so nice to meander through the park in the sunshine, seeing as the entire way here was foggy!

City Hall. Originally we were going to catch a bus from here to the entrance of the gorge, but since the entire walk to Court (the next town at the other end of the gorge) was two hours, we decided to walk there as well.

We knew we would have lots of shade, but the sunshine through the forest was lovely

One of a handful of bridges to cross the Birs River

Walking through the "Gorges de Court". A road and railway line go through here as well, but it wasn't very bothersome. 

At two places the trail actually crossed a bridge UNDER the motor vehicle road

The River Birs, carving out the gorge over millions of years.

 

Sunshine and no fog!

The sign warns of falling rocks, and suggests to avoid stopping for a picnic

The trail passes along steep cliffs

At about that spot Urs saw some Chamois. I zoomed in on them with my camera to try for some close-up photos.

  

Close-up photos of the chamois

VIDEO

There were three or more chamois running up the cliffs on the other side of the railway line. 

Passing through the single tunnel which apparently was hewn by hand

One of a handful of bridges we had to cross. The wood was slippery

Some impressive geological formations, where at one point the earth's crust was pushed up to 90 degrees.

The train from Moutier to Court passes through the gorge as well. We rode the train back to Moutier after we exited the gorge.

Lots of sunshine in Court, after exiting the gorge. It was early and we still could have walked more, but this time we just sat for 45 minutes in the sunshine at the train station waiting for our train back. 

And across the mountain range South of us we could see the fog pressing from the South, trying to cross the mountain range but dissipating as it got to the North side.  Good for us, we had the sunshine!

We waited here at the train station in Court for 45 minutes enjoying the sunshine, which most of the rest of the country's low-lying areas did not have!

On the way through the Jura countryside.

 

For us a very short walk from Moutier to Court through the "Gorges de Court". Main point was finding the one sunny place that was not already covered in snow!

And then I checked the webcam for Lake Zug (back home) and this was the weather there all day!

On the Sunshine Trail near Locarno: "Sentiero del Sole"

Wednesday Nov.13, 2019-- We just had to go back to the Ticino this day to escape the cold and snow we got down to low levels. Near Locarno, where we had been just the Saturday before, but to the North of the city this time, through the chestnut forests of the Terre di Pedemonte. It was sunny and mild, though winds were expected (which we did have at the start, but it was manageable).

We chose to do a simple and short hike, part of one we had done before and knew was interesting and mostly we knew we would have lots of sunshine. In fact, the trail was marked "Sentiero del Sole", which means sunshine trail (We did this trail once on a Dec.26th in even warmer weather). 

We started in the Onsernone Valley, a wild and beautiful side valley of which there are many here, and walked high above the villages of Cavigliano and Verscio with far-reaching views of Locarno and the Maggia Delta in the East, and the village of Intragna in the West, gateway to the forking valleys Onsernone and Centovalli.

This was a short hike for us, and meant to be more of a stroll than a hike. We had our picnic lunch at the same place we did last time, on the wall of a lovely stone rustico (the owners aren't here at this time of year) with views to the snow-capped peaks in the Maggia Valley, and then descended to Cavigliano and Verscio by a trail we hadn't used before.

And on the way back with the Centovalli train, the air was so mild I could ride with my face out of the open window, my favourite way to ride the train!

The start of our hike on the road into the Onsernone valley (behind me). This view is South toward the Centovalli, and our trail heads up the hill on the left.

Looking North into the Onsernone Valley

A typical Rustico house that you find scattered here and there on the hillside

Heading eastward, but this view is westward into the Centovalli

Another lovely stone house and cleverly-built stone wall using "local" material and built without mortar

At the start there was a lot of wind

Looking down at the village of Intragna, gateway to the Centovalli behind it (The Onsernone Valley heads off to the right). Intragna has the highest church steeple in Canton Ticino. In December, there is sunshine here only late in the afternoon.

Along the trail we found a property with a view. We stopped here and "borrowed" their table for a coffee break!

What a great location for a garden! If I lived here, I would sit out here all day.

The little sticker on the trail markers show us that we are on the "Sentiero del Sole", the Sunshine Trail

View to Cavigliano below, the first town we descended to after our hillside walk. From there we then walked to the next town of Verscio

Zoomed view of Verscio and its magnificent church. At the bottom of the photo is the tiny train station where we got on the train to head back to Locarno.

There was a short and interesting stretch into a ravine, where we had to pass through a couple of tunnels blasted out of the cliff

Here we had to get down low to pass through the tunnel!

Second tunnel. Nowhere was it dangerous

Second tunnel. This part of the trail had shade

Free shower along the way!

Spectacular view toward Locarno and the Maggia Delta on Lago Maggiore at the back

On some stretches when there is lots of water, you have to pass very carefully

At the entrance to the Riei Valley we had our lunch. December 2016 we walked into and out of this valley. This time we just headed directly down to the villages at the valley bottom to the South

Lovely sunny spot for our picnic lunch. Lots of sunshine and a great view

One last view to Locarno before heading down to the valley bottom.

Someone's private garden. I had to photograph over the wall

This is the trail we walked, an easy one for us. We descended to Cavigliano, then walked another kilometer to Verscio to catch the train. Last time we did this walk, we went into the Riei Valley first, and came out in Verscio

A very healthy-looking banana tree!

Olive tree in Cavigliano

I love how the moss grows on the stone roofs.

Heading to Verscio to catch our train. This one is headed to the Centovalli. We will be going in the opposite direction.

Church in Verscio. I always enjoy passing by here when on the train. 

Looking back on the hillside that we walked.

The train follows the Maggia River on the way to Locarno. This is the view back again to the sunny hillside we walked along, wthe the villages of Cavigliano and Verscio at the foot of the hillside.

On the way home from Locarno, we have to change trains in Bellinzona. The Castel Grande looks pretty in the late afternoon sunshine

Our trail along the Sentiero del Sole, starting at Cresmino in the Onsernone Valley

We have done lots of hiking in this area! The last time we walked the trail, we headed into the Riei Valley and came out at Verscio. 

And here is a link to the photos of the same hike on Dec.24th, 2016 (the trail in dark-red on the map, super-imposed on the purple one, where we walked into the Riei Valley and then out to Verscio):  Click Here!