Snow in August

It’s an open secret that life gets interesting whenever you step out of your comfort zone. That’s what I did this week, going on a 6-day hike that brought an incredibly diverse August to an end and a fresh September to begin.

Six days, Four Swiss cantons, two seasons. The Four Headwaters Trail we hiked this week had a lot to offer. Our bad luck was that just at the beginning of the hike, a cold front brought a lot of rain and snow at higher elevations. This was not very motivating at first and did not make the departure from the comfort zone any easier. But the trip was booked, the huts and hotels reserved and there was no turning back. Monday afternoon I boarded the train in Basel to arrive 3 1/2 hours later in the pouring rain in a gray and cold Andermatt, where we spent a night in a hotel to be able to start early on the first hiking day.

Day 1

Andermatt – Vermigelhütte

Since the weather did not improve and it continued to rain and snow, we decided to change the day’s tour. Instead of crossing the snowy Maighels Pass, we hiked directly up through the Unteralp Valley to Vermigelhütte. On this tour I noticed quite quickly, that the weather has no influence on my state of mind. By wearing the right clothes, the cold, wind and rain were easy to bear. And nature is just as beautiful in such weather. Everything presents itself in a different mood, which I found very beautiful and harmonious. Fortunately, the rain stopped quickly and only wind and cold remained constant companions today. It was then all the nicer to end the day in Vermigelhütte with a good meal and raclette before going to bed early.

Impressions from day 1

Day 2

Vermigelhütte – Oberalp Pass – Gotthard Pass

Today, a tour to the Gotthard Pass was actually planned. But because of the snow this was not safe, we did the hike originally planned for yesterday backwards: from Vermigelhütte over the Maighels Pass to Graubünden, there to Lai da Tuma and further to Oberalp Pass. From Oberalp Pass we then took the train down to Andermatt and from Andermatt a bus that took us up to Gotthard Pass.

After a few meters of altitude we dived into the white, silent winter world and found ourselves surrounded by more snow in August than I had seen all of last winter. But again, it was a very special beauty that I enjoyed.

After walking through the Maighels valley, we climbed up to Lai da Tuma, Lake Toma, which is considered the source of the Rhine and was lying dreamily surrounded by the snow-covered mountains in front of us. It’s hard to believe that just a few days earlier, I had been swimming in the Rhine to escape the August heat.

On Gotthard Pass we spent the night in the hospice. This old building, where even Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once spent the night, was recently renovated and has beautiful rooms.

The low clouds, which blocked our view during the last days, finally disappeared in the evening and I could enjoy the second full moon of this August before going to bed. The first one I saw at the ocean of Cherry Grove and it seems to me as if that was an eternity ago.

Impressions from day 2

Day 3

Gotthard Pass – Capanna Piansecco

Finally a start into a new day with sunshine, even if the temperatures were still fresh. Past the wind turbines on Gotthard Pass and the Lago di Lucendro, a reservoir that also serves to generate electricity, the way went up through Lucendro Valley to Lucendro Pass. And back to winter.

Before reaching the pass we passed a small lake from which the Reuss springs, the second source on our way. After Lucendro Pass, we had to work our way through some minor avalanches before re-entering a greener and warmer environment.

The trail that followed was long and flat and comfortable to walk. I got a little lost in looking at the rocks, which were along the side of the trail. They come in so many colors and shapes and textures and they are full of inspiration. I tried to hold back – also because I then have to carry them around with me in addition to the already heavy backpack – but a few smaller ones I collected as a souvenir.

Shortly before Capanna Piansecco, our accommodation for tonight, our way rose again strongly around a rockfall we had to overcome. The polenta which we got for dinner at the hut, we had well deserved.

Impressions from day 3

Day 4

Capanna Piansecco – Oberwald

Even if the tours are exhausting, I feel very rested. In the evening I fall totally exhausted early into bed and I sleep every night 7 1/2 to 8 hours. I notice how this is helping me, after I have hardly managed more than 5 hours the last two weeks due to the heat. So I march off every morning rested and look forward to what there is to discover again.

Today this was first a descent from the alpine larch forests that surround Capanna Piansecco down to Foppe from where we then had to hike steeply back up to the Nufenen Pass. This area is considered the catchment area of the sources of the river Ticino, which gives its name to the canton we are in.

At the top of Nufenen Pass it was again cold, windy and inhospitable and we took our lunch break sheltered behind a big rock. There was also the transition from canton Ticino to canton Valais. It is interesting how the landscape changes when you enter another valley. The mountains, the flora, everything looks a little different.

With every meter further downhill it got warmer and at some point I would have loved to stand in the stream that we walked along on the long way down to Oberwald. In Oberwald there are some beautiful, old, weather-beaten wooden houses, that are so typical for Valais.

Impressions from day 4

Day 5

Oberwald – Tiefenbach

We started today’s hike with a bus ride. The day’s route would otherwise have been simply too long and exhausting. We drove 15 minutes up the valley in the direction of Furka Pass and then began our stage today in a place called Muttbach.

There is a railroad line of the Furkabahn, which transports tourists by steam between Oberalb and Realp through the valley. From the railroad line we first climbed steeply up to Furka Pass, the border between the canton of Valais and the canton of Uri. But we stayed in Valais for the time being and hiked back to the Rhone glacier from which the Rhone springs, the fourth and last spring on our tour.

I looked at the Rhone glacier with mixed feelings. On the one hand, there is still the beauty of the ice surrounded by the peaks of the mountains. But where the ice once poured down into the valley, a lake has formed or bare rock appears. I was at this place once before, 25 years ago and at that time this was a mighty glacier that still came forward to the end of the valley. It hurt me to see how much ice has melted away since then.

From the glacier back to the Furka Pass and now definitely into canton Uri and down into the valley of the Furkareuss. Accompanied by the rails of the Furka railroad we continued our hike until we came to our hotel in Tiefenbach. Tiefenbach however is located 200m above the valley floor along which we hiked, so also today we had to earn our dinner first.

Impressions from day 5

Day 6

Tiefenbach – Andermatt

The sixth and last stage of our tour brought us back to our starting point, Andermatt. It was another beautiful hike high above the Ursen Valley. Great landscapes, streams, small lakes and craggy peaks. In the field of vision we always had the complete mountain range that we hiked around this week. Even if today’s tour was not very challenging, it has again demanded a lot, which is probably also due to the efforts of the past days.

I was happy when we finally arrived in Andermatt and could board the train that brought me back to Basel. In my luggage I had a free head, a satisfied feeling, a deep relaxation and a heart filled to the brim with happiness and impressions full of beauty from which I can draw a lot of inspiration. For my art as well as for my everyday life.

Impressions from day 6

For all Photos of the week click here