Hiking to the Esterli Tower in Canton Aargau

Sunday February 9 -- The day promised to be sunny so we went back to our favourite sport of hiking and walked through the forest in Canton Aargau (Argovia), an area just Northwest of where we live, easy to get to and mostly no snow in winter.

Our goal was a look-out tower called the Esterliturm near Lenzburg (Esterli Tower) with the hope of some good views of the Alps, but unfortunately the air was hazy. Also, the winds from the oncoming storm front started up, and so even with sunshine, it wasn't quite as enjoyable as I'd hoped. Most of the trail was on wide forest roads which is OK for this time of year, but sometimes also monotonous. Canton Aargau is 35% forest: There are 49,000 hectares of forest and 16.2 million trees.

The Esterli tower was built in 1974, is 48 meters high and requires a climb on a spiral staircase with 253 steps! Even though you have a wonderful view of most of Northern Switzerland from up there, we didn't stay long because it was COLD! 

Our plan was to end the hike at Lake Hallwilersee, either at the Hallwyl Castle (which we have been to twice before) or in the town of Seengen, where, according to my map, there was a different castle which we had not seen before. We chose the latter.... but could have saved ourselves the 30-minute detour as this turned out to be a rather ugly run-down building... and the town of Seengen provided no additional charm either....

Start of our hike in the little village of Egliswil. This Protestant Church is typical of this area. Seems to have been built in approx. 1700.

There are always some very nice houses to look at

Heading up the hill toward the forest trail to the Esterli Tower. Urs is getting all kinds of notifications warning of strong winds expected, also in this area, although so far it is warm and pleasant

Looking down at the village of Egliswil

We recently had very strong winds pass through the area and you can see the results when walking through the forests. More of the same is expected. 

Sometimes we have to climb over trees or broken branches that have fallen on the trails, usually as a result of large wind storms.

Heading toward the Esterli look-out tower. It's a very unusual-looking tower!

This narrow tower has an internal spiral staircase with 253 steps.

At the base of the tower is a large picnic area and a display which shows how much wood grows in the Argovian forest every 20 seconds. Good thing too, as it has to replace the fallen trees!

Next destination: Up to the observation platform!

It's a real work-out to climb the 253 steps! There were 3 fold-out seats along the way, for if you get tired...

It was very cold and windy up here, so we didn't stay long! This view is looking South across Lake Hallwilersee toward the Alps, but difficult to photograph due to the hazy air and sun angle

A bit less exposure on the camera creates a darker picture, but you can see the Alps

To our North, a zoomed view of Lenzburg Castle

And beyond the Lenzburg Castle is Wildegg Castle on the Aar River

 

After descending the tower, we walked back toward the South, making a loop to the East of Egliswil

The pastoral landscape of the Seetal Valley. 

Still heading South, we catch a glimpse of the Esterli Tower behind us. 

At a place called Eichberg was a restaurant and some multifamily homes, and this wonderful view over Lake Hallwilersee. We sat on a bench and had a coffee break, but not for long as it was windy. Below is the town of Seengen, which is our destination for today. 

When we got to Seengen, we did a 30-minute detour to look at this castle, "Schloss Brestenberg", which I had seen on our map. Not worth the detour, nor the rush to get back to the bus stop!

I thought I might try to get a look at the castle from below, and this is what I found!

Another 11-km Sunday afternoon walk from Egliswil to Seengen via Esterli Tower

We have done some other hikes in this area as well, including almost the entire perimeter of Lake Hallwilersee.

And as it turns out, we did see that castle on a walk along lake Hallwilersee in April of 2017... so we could have saved ourselves the detour! Looks better from this side than up close anyway.

A Short Attempt at Cross-Country Skiing in the village of Stoos

Saturday February 8 -- Before the big storm expected next week there was a nice weekend in the forecast. So we decided to try out cross-country skiing on a nearby ski hill, which is, incidentally, accessed by the steepest funicular in the world: The Stoos Railway. 

Perhaps the snow conditions weren't ideal (slightly too warm, so the snow stuck on the skis) or the fact that we each fell once (totally due to lack of experience) that we decided one round on the 3-km loop was enough of an attempt. It seems to be more of an individual sport, one for people who want a real serious work-out. We decided we preferred our walking and hiking, an exercise which can also offer a work-out but which you can actually do together, sometimes strolling and mostly with plenty of time to admire the surroundings. Also, taking photos is easier when you are hiking!

So we decided to forego a second round and had lunch at a nearby restaurant and enjoy the sunshine in the motor-vehicle-free vacation village of Stoos before heading back home with our equipment.... also: less equipment to take along on public transport if we stick to hiking!

PS: This was Urs' first time trying this, and he didn't really like it. I have done it three times before, and liked it best when I was alone on the trail. So I might try this again on my own...

The steepest funicular in the world was opened in Dec.2017 and cost 52 Million Francs. This railway accesses the vacation village of Stoos in Canton Schwyz. The cylinders turn as the slope changes, so the people always stand horizontally.

VIDEO:

Stoos Funicular: The steepest Funicular in the world.

Maximum incline = 110%

Hewn out of solid rock through the mountain

When it gets steep, the cylinders turn and you can see the people in the cylinder above you.

On the steep section you get a view across the top of the cylinder below you. Those distinct peaks are the Greater and Smaller Mythen mountains

Funicular heading back down into the Muotathal Valley

From the funicular station there was some walking involved. About 1 km to the start of the cross-country ski loop. When we started, there was no sunshine yet.

We first had to walk about 1 km to the start of the loop trail

As we got to the start of the trail, the sun came out, and it got warm right away, especially because this sport requires more exertion than simply walking!

There were not many people on the trail, which was good for us so we could take our time. The snowy landscape is pretty, but you can't enjoy it like when you are walking

Sunny warm day in Stoos, with the Mythen in the background

There is Urs on the trail, his first time trying this sport. 

Nearly back to the beginning of the 3-km loop

VIDEO:

Urs on the cross-country ski trail in Stoos

When you set up the self-timer on the camera, it takes much longer to get back to the track than it does when you don't have skis on!

In the motor-vehicle-free village of Stoos you can rent the horse-drawn carriage to bring you and all your ski equipment to your vacation apartment.

This little chapel is a recognizable feature of this village

 

And to the East a good zoomed view of the Karst Region of the Muotathal (Silberen)

Time to head back down with the Stoos Funicular

Heading down to the base station of the Stoos Funicular: The sun is shining on the hillside across, makes us want to be hiking over there!

At the bottom, the railway crosses the Muota River before arriving at the base station

The upper plateau which is the popular summer and winter vacation area, only about one hour from our home.

East side of Mount Zug from Lake Aegeri to Allenwinden

Saturday Feb.1, 2020 -- No hikes for over a week! The last one was Jan.22 (10 days ago) and before that Jan.15th. So even though the weather wasn't really the best for hiking, it was a fairly mild Saturday, and we wanted to walk, so we did another section of the "Alpine Panorama Trail no.3" which passes near where we live. A 30-minute bus ride took us to the town of Unteraegeri on Lake Aegeri, just the other side of our local mountain: Zugerberg. Just over two hours of walking on mostly paved and forest roads (ideal for today as recent rains have made the meadows soft and muddy), and a small glimpse of the Glarus Alps later, we got back on the bus in Allenwinden, after passing through several farms and learning about horses in Switzerland (there are 74,000) and five types of sheep.

Where we got on the bus in Allenwinden is where I started on a different walk in December, on a nice sunny afternoon at that time, walking to a fortress ruin which we didn't yet know about, and heading down the mountain through Inwil to Zug. Those photos are HERE.

Main square in Unteraegeri. Everywhere are preparations for Carnival (Fasnacht)

Many farms in the area are part of what is called the "Agricultural Information Trail" with plenty of information about farms and agriculture in Switzerland, and the opportunity to see the operations up close.

Farming country near Lake Aegeri

An old barn converted to apartments

Following Trail no.3. Some of it was muddy!

We spotted a "Peeping Tom"!

Peeking into a barn with "Roux du Valais", an endangered breed of sheep native to Switzerland

Always so cute when there are babies!

The farmer has information posted about this type of sheep, which almost went extinct in the 80's, but were brought back by a group called "Pro Specie Rara" who work with interested farmers to breed endangered species

Removal of these Christmas decorations looks rather laborious

This one looks like the king of his property

Usually we don't like trails on paved streets, but because of recent rains and muddy trails, this worked out fine for this day.

It is called the "Alpine Panorama Trail" because there are often glimpses of the Alps.

There is still snow on this shady side of Mt.Zug

As an exception we ignored the warning signs, because the alternative was a huge detour, and our trail was a wide forest road. Turned out they had been clearing debris from a recent storm, but being Sunday the machines weren't in operation, and there was no issue on this 1 km stretch of forest road.

In Spring these rolling hills are full of blossoming cherry trees

Last stretch through a small ravine before getting to Allenwinden, where we reached the bus stop just three minutes before the half-hourly bus!

An 8-km section of Trail No.3 "Alpine Panorama Trail", partly on paved roads and forest roads, not too much through the muddy meadows. Travel time only 30 minutes each way to home, and we got back before the afternoon rains (in the morning we still had sunshine).

In December I did a short 90-minute walk starting in Allenwinden and walking to Zug. This time we started in Unteraegeri and ended in Allenwinden

  December's hike started in Allenwil and ended in Zug. The recent February hike started in Unterägeri and ended in Allenwinden

We have covered a lot of ground in this area because it is easy and quick to get to by public transit