From the Flüela Pass to the Dischma Valley via Grialetsch Valley (Graubünden)

Tuesday July 20, 2021 -- To make up for the lack of nice weather last week, Urs took Tuesday off this week and we did a two-day trip to Canton Graubünden. This time we were blessed with great weather, lots of sunshine, and the hikes we picked to do were at high enough elevations that we didn't feel the heat. (In fact, the first hike was rather cold...)

The main reason for the two-day trip was, once again, to be able to overnight near the start of a challenging hike which we could only access from locally (Wednesday's hike). But we always like to take advantage of the first day to do a "shorter" hike in the vicinity, which is this one I am describing. Last year we did a wonderful hike to the Jöri Lakes near the Flüela Pass (those photos can be viewed HERE), and while traveling to that destination by bus we discovered a side valley (Val Grialetsch) which gave us access to the Dischma Valley, which we had also discovered on the same trip last year (photos HERE)

According to our interactive hiking map, the hike from the Flüela Pass to the Dischma Valley was listed at 3 hours and 45 minutes. The total ascent of 500m over 12 kilometers should have been no issue for us, yet I found the hike quite tiring. Perhaps it's because the start of our hike at the Flüela pass was at an elevation of almost 2400m, and most of our hike was at 2700m, which means thinner air, colder when the sun is gone, and mostly several stretches where we had to make our way across piles of boulders that are quite common at these elevations. Or maybe it was simply because I hadn't slept well the night before.

Nevertheless, the landscape and views were incredible as usual, and the trail itself not particularly difficult to walk (except we had to go slowly as in a lot of places the large amounts of rain we've had have turned these trails into streams...). And the Dischma Valley was as beautiful as we remember, especially with the vast coverings of Alpine Roses (not appreciated by the farmers) and the large volume of water racing down the Dischma River. Best of all, we encountered only two other couples hiking up here, which gives you the sense that you own the world...

Our hotel was in Küblis in the Prättigau (1 hr. 50 minutes from the end of our hike, via Davos), right next to the train station, where we were able to spend a very quiet night and had easy access to the bus to St.Antönien the next morning. 

Here's where we got off the bus, at the Hostel at the Flüela Pass, Altitude 2382m (7820 feet). We came from Davos from the northwest, and are heading eastward down the valley. Starting Time = 10:30

Reading the trail markers, we were surprised that the locals had listed the time to Dürrboden (the end of our hike) as 3 hours and 15 minutes! Even the map had 3-3/4, and it definitely took longer. I guess they walk faster here!

A look back to the Flüela Hotel at the Flüela Pass

Heading South on a trail parallel to the pass road

A lot of sheep up here watching us carefully, to see whether they need to run away or not!

Several small lakes along the way

A bit of colour here and there. 

After 2 km along the pass road, our trail heads uphill to the entrance of the Grialetsch Valley, from where we are going to head southward

There is currently lots of water in the rivers and streams here!

Still some avalanche snow. A couple of weeks earlier might have been difficult to pass here. 

Heading up the hill away from the Flüela Pass road. Way in the back is where we had started.

Fantastic panorama view NW up the Flüela Valley. On the right is a mountain called Flüela Wisshorn, and right behind it are the Jöri Lakes which we discovered a year ago

To the east is the lower part of the Flüela Valley. The road goes down to Susch in the Lower Engadine Valley. Behind me on the right is the entrance to the Grialetsch Valley

The map shows how we followed the Flüela Pass Road, then headed South high above the Grialetsch Valley to the Grialetsch Hostel, then westward to the Dischma Valley. The farm at Dürrboden was the goal of our hike, and it definitely took four hours do do this hike. (A year ago we hiked for two hours out of the Dischma Valley from Dürrboden)

Panorama view of the Grialetsch Valley, which stretches North to South, then West, and connects the Flüela Valley with the Dischma Valley.

VIDEO:

The Grialetsch Valley

High up on the hill we spotted two chamois! Or rather, Urs spotted them, as he is good at that.

VIDEO

Two chamois walking on the snow high on the hillside

Heading along the Grialetsch Valley we came across this small lake, where we had our picnic lunch. 

Picnic lunch and a rest stop at a small lake high above the Grialetsch Valley

VIDEO:

Finding our way across a water course

Behind us is the small lake on the left, and the mountains of the Flüela Valley

Also behind us is the Flüela Road which heads east 

Ahead of us the first of two large regions of fallen rock. These take longer to cross than regular trails. 

Crossing large regions of fallen rock

By this time there was some cloud cover, so I was glad for a small window of sunshine to photograph the back of this valley. The jagged peak on the right is called Piz Grialetsch, from which the valley gets its name. And the stretch of snow below the peaks is the Grialetsch Glacier

Getting to the Swiss Alpine Hostel of Grialetsch took us about three hours, not the two hours claimed on the trail marker at the Pass! But the 1-1/4 to Dürrboden from here is about correct. 

The Grialetsch Hostel is undergoing a full renovation and is closed this year, which might be the reason that no one else was on the trail. We might have stopped here for something to drink. 

Continuing on to the next pass, the Fuorcla da Grialetsch, where the descent into the Dischma Valley starts

A look back to the Grialetsch Glacier. Here we are on the pass called Fuorcla da Grialetsch, at 2537m altitude

We were originally going to catch the 15:30 bus at Dürrboden, but by now we knew we weren't going to make it, so we took a long break near this lake at the Grialetsch Pass.  

Marmots were scampering along the hillside!

At the back of the Dischma Valley is the Scaletta Glacier. It's really not very big. Will probably disappear in a few years. 

Near the Scaletta Glacier we noticed an avalanche, which had most definitely been caused by that large boulder leaving a track and stopping in the middle of the mountainside.

The back of the Dischma Valley

As we descend from higher elevations, we see more flowers and other vegetation

The entire hillside here was covered in alpine roses

Also, more marmots!

Finally, rounding a corner we get the first view of the Dischma Valley which stretches Northwest to Davos

Down below is the farm called Dürrboden, which is the end of our hike. It is the final bus stop at the back of this valley.

VIDEO:

The beautiful Dischma Valley and Dischma River

And a landscape covered in Alpine Roses

A look back up the Dischma Valley. On the right is the Scaletta Pass, which we plan to cross another year, and on the left is the Scaletta Glacier. The whole valley bottom here is covered in alpine roses, although the colour is hard to see on this photo

The farm at Dürrboden. We got here at 16:20, with 40 minutes to spare for the 17:00 bus to Davos. We were going to have French Fries and Ice Cream Sundaes, but they had neither, so we waited near the stream instead.

A final look to the back of the Dischma Valley as we crossed the river onto the farm

Waiting near the river for the 17:00 bus

VIDEO:

Waiting at the Dischma River for the 17:00 Bus

The turquoise line shows our hike from the Flüela Pass to Dürrboden in the Dischma Valley. Last year (2020) we walked to the Jöri Lakes and down the Fless Valley to the Flüela Pass Road, and we also walked along the Dischma Valley. 

From the bus, a look up the Dischma Valley. 

We spent the night in Küblis in the Prättigau for easy access to the hike we wanted to do the next day. Before retiring, we did a little walkthrough of the village

Village of Küblis, where we spent the night.

Our hotel was actually right at the train station, so we had only a minute to get to the bus the next day. Here is a Glacier Express run heading through Küblis

The area of the Flüela Pass and the village of Küblis where we spent the night. 

Loop Hike on Axalp near Brienz: The Woodcarver's Trail and Small Lake Hinterburgsee

Sunday July 18, 2021 -- We had actually taken the week off so we could maybe spend a few days in a new part of Switzerland and get to know that better, but other than the first weekend in Brig, and Monday morning on our local Mountain Rigi, the rest of the week was so wet and rainy that you couldn't even do anything locally.

That left only this past weekend, and things were looking up, but they didn't pan out. We planned a big hike for Sunday, not wanting to go to the Valais again (although seriously, that's exactly where we should have gone) and went instead to the Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen area to do a mountain hike which we thought might be less traveled.

Sunny forecast for the day in that area turned out to be mostly in the valley bottoms, as the peaks all around were hidden in clouds. So we got as far as the cable car station in Isenfluh (a small mountain hamlet near Lauterbrunnen which you reach by bus on a road which cost 10 million Swiss Francs to service 60 houses!!!) but as we watched the cable car disappearing into the fog, we changed our minds and walked one hour back down to the valley bottom -- as usual making it to the train station with a few minutes to spare -- and headed back to Interlaken.

Our spur-of-the-moment alternate choice was to take a bus from Brienz up to a high mountain resort village called Axalp, an amazing 40-minute bus drive covering 1000m of altitude. From there, a 2-hour and 20-minute round trip along what is called the "Schnitzlerweg", or "Wood-Carvers's Trail" took us to a lovely lake (Hinterburgsee) embedded in a deep cauldron, where we enjoyed some sunshine before heading back in the rapidly-gathering storm clouds.

The best part of this trail -- which wasn't actually that "easy" although it is recommended for children -- was the variety of carved figures which adorned the paths. Brienz is known for its carpenters and wood carvers, and back in 1998/99, when a storm destroyed many trees in the forest, the local wood carvers converted many of the stumps into figures, of which there are currently about 100!

We started on the lower trail admiring the figures, and returned on the higher trail above the lake, but in retrospect we should have done the loop in the opposite direction, as we would have seen the lake in the sunshine from above. (We had not expected overcast skies so quickly). Nevertheless, this is a hike which we would not have made an extra trip for, and we are glad to have experienced the Woodcarver's Trail.... And with the other "hike" near Lauterbrunnen, in the end we walked 3.5 hours anyway.

NOTE: Here is a link to photos of all the beautiful carved figures and their names: https://www.tofahrn-foto.de/bildersammlungen/schnitzlerweg/

The road from Lauterbrunnen to Isenfluh was of interest to us, as it makes a 360-degree loop in a tunnel below the village, and cost 10 million Swiss Francs to construct, just to reach those few houses. From there we would have taken a cable car part-way up the mountain, but the top of the cable car was in the fog.

We decided to descend to Zweilütschinen to catch the next train back to Interlaken. The sign says 1:20, but we did it in 45 minutes. The train was leaving in an hour, so we had to hurry! Also, it was a descent of 450m altitude on a slippery trail, so we did well!

The valley at the back goes to Grindelwald. We're on our way down to Zweilütschinen which is at the entrance of both the Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen Valleys. 

The whole way down was in this "tropical" forest, very damp and wet from recent rains. We made the descent in record time because we didn't want to miss the train

As we got to the valley bottom, a look up shows no sign of the clouds dissipating. There is no fun in climbing mountains in the fog.

Heading from Interlaken eastward to Brienz on Lake Brienz, we see the mountain where we had wanted to hike up, as well as the others, in the clouds.

From Brienz on the North side of the lake, a large bus takes us 1000m up the mountain on the other side of the lake, to a large high plateau with surprisingly many houses, not visible from here. 

Climbing higher and higher above the lake. The street is narrow, and many cars had to back up out of the way of the bus

From near Axalp, a look down at the town of Brienz on the North side of Lake Brienz. The peaks there are also in the clouds, including the popular "Brienzer Rothorn" with its steam engine station

Heading out now to the Hinterburgseeli along the Schnitzlerweg, or Woodcarver's Trail

Our alternate excursion for the day: A loop trail from Axalp to the Hinterburgseeli lake. It was almost 2.5 hours altogether to walk. And there were indeed many children, although I find a total of 400m ascent is quite a lot. 

A look down at Axalp, the lower part. There are surprisingly many houses up here!

A real mountain hike for us after all

One of the first carved figures we came across is this really fun one!

And I am always happy to see Valais Black-Nosed Sheep!

A sampling of the many wonderful carvings along the Woodcarver's trail. Some of these are 20 years old! Apparently, the carvers come up here every year at the end of July and you can watch them work. 

The lady with the umbrella was particularly good.

This one is my favourite, the barefoot traveler!

The happy hiker, barefoot! (The name of this figure is actually "Hans im Glück", i.e. Happy Hans)

We had to look hard to actually find a bear!

Information about the woodcarver's trail

Winds and avalanches caused many trees to fall in 1998/1999 and the local woodcarvers turned a bad storm into something beautiful

Heading down to the lake

The backdrop of the lake!

First glimpse of the lake.

We came down at the back side of the lake. On the other side is the trail we need to take to return to the bus

Here's something you don't often see in Switzerland: Buffalo bathing in an alpine lake!

This was our view from our picnic spot. We at least had a couple of hours of sunshine.

Heading to the "front" of the lake for the climb up the hill. Water level is high here too. The normal trail along the lake is under water. 

It took about 1 hour to get to the lake, and another 1h 20 min. to get back to Axalp 

The last of the sunshine. Clouds moved in quickly. This is why we thought we should have come down to the lake from this side instead. 

A look at the lake as we climb higher on the trail

The little lake Hinterburgseeli

Lots of uphill!!

Finally made it to the level trail

Oh boy, those look like rain clouds!!

Had the weather stayed nice, we would have skipped a bus and stopped here for an ice cream sundae. But it got cold, and there were too many people anyway, so we rapidly made our way back to the bus stop

From the restaurant we had to descend back to the original trail. This is another look down at Lake Brienz, and Axalp on the left (although the bus stop was higher up)

We wish we had come up this way (instead of taking the lower trail) while the sun was still shining! On the lower trail toward the little lake, we did not see the lake like this.

Passing my favourite figure on the way back! There is so much joy in that face! Also, the figures almost look better when the sun is not shining on them. 

Here's one we missed on the way to the lake! There was actually a whole other section of the Woodcarver's trail (another loop) which we could have followed on the way back, but we might have missed the bus. 

And this is on the way back down by bus. The bus driver told us that the hillside here is full of these huge maple trees which are very old and protected. The farmers are not allowed to cut them down. 

On Google Satellite Maps you can see the road that goes up to Axalp. In green is the loop trail to the little lake and back. Amazing the roads they build here.