Hiking in Switzerland – Gabrielle and Urs

May 20, 2018

Walking out of the Weisstannen Valley, Canton St.Gallen

Sunday May 20, 2018 -- The weather report had us fooled into thinking it was going to be rainy this Pentecost weekend, but the rain held off till the evening, and on this Sunday the weather could not have been better for this hike along the Weisstannen Valley, a side valley North of the popular hiking area around Mt. Pizol in the very eastern part of Switzerland. This is the kind of hiking I have been waiting 6 long months for....

First we took the Post Bus to the furthest stop at the back of the valley, where there is a charming mountain restaurant called Siez, where we had an early morning cup of coffee before joining the bus driver on his trip back out the valley. We got off at the next stop East to start our walk along the Seez River to the village of Weisstannen, (translates to White Fir), from which the valley gets its name. Here we got to see some cows heading from barn to pasture, as it's that time of year, and we also bought local home-made cheese at the local home shop, something we try to do on every such outing.

At the halfway point of this 14-km hike the trail left the river to go up the left flank of the valley, and ended with a long downhill walk to the town of Mels at the mouth of the valley. It took us over four and a half hours to walk, but worth every minute of it!

(Interesting information: The Seez River, which has its source at the back of the Weisstannen Valley, flows 33 km to enter Lake Walensee from the South. Across from the entrance to this valley, just East of the city of Sargans, is the border to Liechtenstein, and the Rhine Valley. And where we were at the back of the valley was just on the border of the Unesco World Heritage site Sardona Tectonic Arena)

Early morning light on Lake Walensee and the Churfirsten mountains on our way to the Weisstannen Valley

Heading up by bus into the Weisstannen Valley: This view is to the East into the Rhine Valley and Liechtenstein

We were the only people in the bus headed to the back of the Weisstannen Valley. Up ahead is the Unesco World Heritage Site Sardona Tectonic Arena

Final stop of the bus before heading back: Alp Siez. We had 20 minutes for coffee before heading back with the bus to the one-before-last bus stop, where we actually started our hike.

We walked 14 km out of the Weisstannen Valley, first along the Seez River, then down to Mels.

This was the start of our hike, looking backwards

Walking along the Seez River

At the village of Weisstannen is a side valley, where there are several stunning waterfalls. This is a plan for us once more snow has melted.

In Weisstannen we saw cows heading to pasture, and purchased homemade cheese.

At this time of year, the cows leave the barns and head out to pasture

Continuing eastward from Weisstannen

Typical lush Swiss meadows

Another look back up the valley as we cross the river and head up the hill on the left side of the valley

What would our hike be without our favourite Swiss Brown Cows.

High above the canyon we head out of the valley

A great place for a picnic lunch

Getting closer....

As we continue eastward the valley below (Sargans, Liechtenstein, Rhine River) opens up

There is actually a mailbox way out here, way way off the regular road.... Does the postman really come here?

And a final look back into the valley, to marvel at what we accomplished, having come from beyond the joining of those two valleys

A view of Mels below and Sargans behind, with its distinctive castle which we always see when we pass here on our way to Chur

Sargans castle, and behind it: Gutenberg Castle in Balzers, Liechtenstein.

Another 15 minutes walk along the Seez River in Mels, to get to the train station.

Location of the Weisstannen Valley within Switzerland.

May 19, 2018

Along the South Side of Lake Lucerne: Emmetten to Treib

May 19, 2018 -- We can't always order perfect weather, but partly sunny and no rain is also acceptable!

On this Saturday we discovered, just on the opposite side of Lake Lucerne near the village of Emmetten, a ravine with some pretty impressive waterfalls, accessible on foot on a very nicely laid-out trail. Unfortunately, due to the week-long rain, the trail (rocks, roots, wooden steps) was pretty slippery so the descent to the lake took us longer than usual, but no matter. Even the hike back out the other side wasn't too bad, and we saw a chamois, which we never expected for this area! Half the 10km we walked was along a narrow forest trail, the other half through lush meadows along the South side of Lake Lucerne. We finished our outing with a 1-hour boat ride on Lake Lucerne from Treib to Flüelen along the cliffs of Mount Seelisberg.

Highlight of the day: We saw a Chamois! Totally unexpected in this region.

Second highlight: Riding up front on the way home from Flüelen in the Urban Train with the Locomotive Driver, who is a friend of Urs'...

Record-setting event of the day (not since 1999):
As we were headed up to our starting point by bus, we looked down on the freeway, the link for people traveling from Lucerne toward the Gotthard tunnel for the standard trip South on this long weekend, and watched as the traffic simply stopped and piled up before our eyes. The reason? An accident in the San Bernardino Tunnel (the other North-South route) meant diverting all the traffic through the Gotthard Tunnel, and all feeders such as this one were halted to prevent the bottleneck in the one remaining route South. We found out a record was achieved, over 28 km of backed-up traffic and over 5 hours wait in the jam.... STILL GLAD we use public transport!

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/traffic-problems_major-alpine-road-tunnel-remains-closed-after-coach-fire/44130240

Traveling along the South Side of Lake Lucerne by bus.

As we head up the hill, we are witness to the beginnings of 5 hours (28 km, a new record) of traffic back-up heading toward the Gotthard Tunnel

After arriving in Emmetten, we walked into the Grueblital Gorge down to Lake Level, and out again, then to Treib where we did a 1-hour boat ride to Flüelen before heading back home.

Heading East from Emmetten toward Seelisberg.

Sacred Cross Chapel in Emmetten

This chapel built in 1791 has special value due to the artistic panel which hangs inside. This almost 5m-wide exquisite piece of art called "Dance of Death" was created approx. 1700 and was moved from the ossuary of the previous local church into this chapel in 1935. This secret is known only to a few locals. The Sacred Cross Chapel is considered one of the most important repositories of votive art in Canton Nidwalden.

The Gorge Bridge: Built in 2003, max. 10 people at a time, no running, no stopping on the bridge....

Hiking along the Grueblital Gorge down to the lake

The first of several waterfalls in the gorge

Above the waterfall

This dredger is always anchored in this location on Lake Lucerne, right across the entrance to the Gorge.

Right at the entrance of the gorge

Photos don't do this location justice

Heading to Treib, we are actually walking a section of both the popular Camino de Santiago (Called Via Jakobi in Switzerland, Route No. 4) and the Trans Swiss Trail no.2

A real surprise to get a glimpse of a Chamois in these woods.

A real surprise to get a glimpse of a Chamois in these woods. A shame I still can't work the Autofocus correctly on my camera

An interesting section along steep cliffs high above Lake Lucerne

Looking East, our goal is that clearing below and ulimately the end of the promontory.

Lush meadows

Picnic lunch at an old barn, overlooking Lake Lucerne across from the outlier of Mt. Rigi.

So many attractive barn structures in the lush steep meadows here

No hike in Central Switzerland is complete without the cows.

Surprising to find cherry trees here, especially ones growing out of the middle of the boulders...

This interesting structure we came across was an apple juice factory.

And this house was the oldest dated wood house in canton Uri (built 1340) until it was discovered in 2016 that the old Ochsen Hotel in Flüelen was actually built in 1317, now making that the oldest dated wood house in Canton Uri.

We arrived in Treib with just minutes to spare, our boat was already pulling in. That looks like a near miss....

The gorgeous Gasthaus Treib at the Treib docking station.

On Lake Lucerne near Mt. Seelisberg, looking South along the arm of the lake called Lake Uri

We could have gotten off in Brunnen, been home faster, but the day was pleasant and there were surprisingly few people on the boat, so we took the stunning trip South to Flüelen

Along the steep cliffs of Mount Seelisberg is the monument to the famous author Friedrich Schiller

This stop called Rütli is just below the famous meadows where representatives of the three original cantons Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden swore the allegiance that led to the creation of Switzerland in 1291.