ADELBODEN TO LENK - Sunday, 22nd September
All was quiet on a sleepy Sunday morning as we made our early exit from Adelboden for our 14 km hike to Lenk, via the summit of Sillerebuel at 1,972 metres and the Hahnenmoospass at 1,950 metres. We were soon descending from the top the of the village into the shaded valley bottom, where the bite of the morning air was soon nibbling at our fingertips, encouraging us to quicken our pace in an effort to warm up. We wound our way down over a wooden bridge and then followed the course of the river. No respectful Sunday silence here as the incessant clamour of the river made normal conversation impossible, and it was with relief we crossed over once again and climbed up into the peace and quiet of dewy pastures just being kissed with the first of the morning sun. As we had experienced on other mornings, a stiff climb was required to get us out of the valley, and we gained height, gently at first past farmhouses and fields, and then more sharply as the path veered upwards through the forest. Behind us we could look back into the Simmental Valley and just see in the far distance the cup shaped Bunderchrinde through which we had entered just a couple of days before.
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| Nearing Sillerebuel after the first pipe opener of the day |
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| "Admiring the view" - always a good way to catch your breath! |
From the Sillerbuel cable car station we could see our next landmark, the Hahnenmoospass, marked by a scattering of buildlings in the col at the end of the valley. The valley itself is a very popular skiing destination, connecting the skiing regions of Adelboden and Lenk, and host to the World Downhill Skiing Championships in 2014. There was plenty of building works and earth moving going on to suggest that preparations for this world class event were well under way.
After some of our remote hikes in the past week, the walk towards Hahnenmoospass felt oddly pedestrian. A sunny Sunday had brought the Swiss out to enjoy their wonderful mountains, and a lot has been cleverly invested to ensure that this wonderful heritage is used in all seasons. From Sillerbuel you could hire extraordinary scooters to ride down the steep winding descent towards Hahnenmoospass before catching the cable car up to repeat the experience, all day if you so desired, for the very reasonable sum of just 16 Swiss francs! Anthony, forever the "Boy Racer", was impressed and sorely tempted, but the thought of returning the scooter to Sillerbuel, to then turn around and hike back down to Hahnenmoospass took the
edge of it!
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| Just trying one for size - but very tempted! |
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| To Hahnenmoospass - the easy way down |
After some of our remote hikes in the past week, the walk towards towards Hahnenmoospass felt strangely pedestrian. Gradually ascending and then contouring around the valley sides, we passed groups of Swiss families, some walking their dogs, others just enjoying the mountain air and the glorious sunshine. We decided not to stop at Hahnenmoospass cable car station, but walked a little further on and found a bench looking out over the valley below for our picnic lunch. We have now perfected a very good system of changing our shirts as soon as we stop. Exerting ourselves uphill and with our back packs pressed against our backs, our shirts are soon soaked , and then we quickly become very cold when we stop. The solution is to carry a dry shirt, and another layer, and to change as soon as you stop so you are warm, dry and comfortable. We must have made a queer sight as we munched on our sandwiches like Darby and Joan, our shirts drying on our makeshift clothes line of a dead tree branch behind us.
Heading on, we began to descend slowly, passing many other groups of walkers making their way up to Hahnenmoospass for their Sunday outing. We stopped briefly at the Buelberg mountain restaurant, again, heaving with Swiss out to enjoy the September sunshine, and enjoyed the far reaching views down into the valley and towards Lenk, our final destination and a hiking haven being a gateway to a 600 km network of signposted hiking trails.
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| Our final destination of Lenk |
As we started our descent through the tree line below the Buelberg Restaurant, we could hear what can only be described as the banging of dustbin lids together. From our birds eye view of the town, we could see a large area of motor homes and cars parked in fields beside the village, and as we came nearer still, tiny figures could be seen moving in formation up the streets. Our anticipation grew as we continued our descent, the clanging noise growing louder as we approached. It certainly wasn't music - but what on earth could it be? As we came into the high street of Lenk, we were greeted with the wonderful sight of a Trychler festival - bell ringing Swiss style! Different regions were competing against each other, with well over fifty different groups represented, with ages ranging from 8 to 80. It continued on for a good four or five hours - and we spent a couple of bemused and amused hours watching this strange spectacle and following the parade.
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| National dress ..... and ear defenders! |
We enjoyed a peaceful night in Lenk, although I am sure that down in the fields around the village the bell ringers were painting the town red!
LENK TO LAUENEN - Monday, 23 September
It was an early start again this morning, and there is a definite pattern emerging to the start of each day. The pre-requisite for spending the day on a mountain side is the inevitable ascent from the valley bottom, and once again we found ourselves winding our way alongside a fast flowing river which formed the pretty Wallbach Gorge, and climbing up the valley sides towards the morning sunshine above. However, this morning we were lucky. The way up was made easier by the use of several flights of metal ladders which climbed up beside a waterfall, so we were very pleased to gain hundreds of metres in height by simply walking up stairs! The waterfall itself was extraordinary to see at such close quarters, each torrent of water falling in to a stone "mixing bowl", made ceramic smooth from years of swirling water, then as that overflowed, down it plunged to the next "bowl" and so on, until it reached the tumble of boulders beneath.
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| Stairway to heaven? The easy way to gain height. |
From here it was very easy walking through peaceful wooded areas, breaking out into open pasture land, then, almost with relief, returning to the shaded forests. The sky was an unbroken Wedgewood blue, and the sun was already warmer than on previous days. Eventually we were above the tree line and began our ascent, climbing steadily across high alpine pastures towards the Truttlisberg pass at 2,038 metres.
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| Not a scree slope in sight - the easy ascent to Truttlisberg Pass on a perfect morning |
Not a scree slope in sight! The pretty mountain pastures of the Ronewald beguiled us all the way to the top, and after an initially steep descent over rough hummocky ground, we were descending towards Luanenen, a good hour ahead of schedule now that we are walking fit and able to eat up the miles on easy ground.
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| Snow capped mountains, waterfalls ...... and cows! The perfect view of the head of the Luanental Valley |
Luanenen sits at the head of the very beautiful Lauenental Valley. A small and wonderfully unspoilt village within striking distance of the much more cosmopolitan Gstaad - our destination for tomorrow. Descending towards the village, this fairy story that is Switzerland continued to unfold. Just a few chapters ago, we were in the land of snow and ice, a real Narnia. Now we are in Shangri-La once again - the temperature feels like mid-summer, crickets fill the air with their chirruping, farmers are at work cutting their hay. A strange contrast appears from one field to the next, where a small tractor turns the cut grass in one field, while just metres away a man and his wife toil away in the hot sun turning the grass in the old fashioned way - with just a rake. This wonderfully beautiful and strangely surreal country casts such a spell - I half expected one of the drivers of these hand held grass cutting machines to be an Oompa-Loompa! Such is the spell that Switzerland casts - all is unreal, and yet quite believable all at the same time.
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| Turning the grass - the timeless way |
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| Forever summer? - a wonderful display of flowers surround a farmhouse |
Our hotel is wonderfully situated beneath the mountains, the cow bells are ringing in the evening air, and all is quiet now that the agricultural bustle has ended for the day. People are digging their potatoes, the farmers are gathering in their hay - whilst today holds such promise of an endless summer, the inevitability of autumn is also in the air.
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| Another fantastic view from our hotel balcony |
