As the threat of Corona slowly was retreating and a considerable loosening of our restrictions was announced, I thought it safe to venture further than ever before since the lockdown had started. At first I paid a visit to the Federispitz and looking from the peak into the valley below, I could see some mountains on the other side that I hadn’t really paid any attention to before. They looked lovely from afar and after a quick research back home, I knew where I wanted to go next. :) There were a few options in that area and I decided to try myself on a ridge walk between two peaks. For once, I opted to go on a weekend though and as there was no rush hour to avoid, I hopped on the train a bit earlier than usual to make my way to the village of Niederurnen, the starting point of today’s hike. In normal times there would have been the possibility to use a cable car to skip the first ascent, but that was of course no option today and I had to scale the 500 meters difference in altitude all by myself. To make it as short as possible, I ignored the hiking trail in the beginning and just took the fastest route to get out of the town. Rejoining the official trail once the outskirts of the village were behind me, I slowly started to ascend. Surrounded by trees, walking on concrete and facing one long and steep ascending slope for the best part of the next hour, I had to admit that that stretch was rather arduous. The weather didn’t really help as well, as the overcast sky made sure that yesterday's heat wouldn't escape the trees and so I was drenched in sweat after 10 minutes of walking upwards.
Fortunately, even the most arduous parts have an end and I was glad once the terminus of the cable car appeared ahead of me. Now the actual hike began and my first goal was a peak called Hirzli on 1640 meters above sea level. It was supposed to be a wonderful viewpoint and I was curious what was awaiting me. Well, at first, it was even more ascending on steep slopes through the woods. :) A brief respite was given when I reached a tiny plateau and I gladly used it to take a break. Not only did I get some lovely views from there, but right then the sky opened up and the sun made her first appearance today. Nice!
Moving on, I was soon back into the trees and also the slope just remained steep and somehow never-ending. Despite that, it was definitely a better walk than before as there were some views of the surrounding mountains or Lake Walen in the distance, the path I was walking on was a proper hiking trail, the sun kept on shining and two woodpeckers could be seen playing around a couple fir trees. The time basically flew by and once I had brought a few serpentines behind me, the trees receded to clear a space for the top of the Hirzli.
Reaching the summit shortly afterwards, a wonderful panorama spread all around me. There was Lake Walen and the Churfirsten, there were the Alps of Glarus with the well known Vrenelisgärtli and there was a magnificent view over the lowlands towards Zurich. As it was about noon, I sat down on one of the benches and ate the first part of my lunch.
What was noticeable during all my Corona hikes was that usually the trails were more or less empty, but as soon as I had reached the summit or the highest point, there were always quite a few people gathered around. It was no different today. In fact, there were so many pouring in after a while that I decided to leave the Hirzli a bit earlier than planned. :) Hoping that there would be less people on the second peak, I made my way down from the top and followed the trail towards the Planggenstock until I reached a turnoff. Taking the path to the right, I was looking forward to the part that was about to follow. Apparently there even was some scrambling to be found along the ridge and I was curious if it would be any difficult. Well, first of all I noticed that the way was simply gorgeous. There were so many good views into all directions, I repeatedly stopped to take some pictures and admire the scenery. :)
As for the difficulty itself, I was a bit disappointed. While the trail was very narrow and I was walking on a proper ridge, the only part where I had to use my hands was very short and secured with a rope. After what I had read online, I had expected a bit more than that, but as usual I was lamenting on a high level. :) Arriving on the top of the Planggenstock after that lovely ridge walk, I was happy to see that there indeed were less people and that the view was as splendid as from the Hirzli. So I sat down on the peak for another hour or so and enjoyed the second part of my lunch under the still shining sun.
Once more I had a few options for the descent and at first I decided to keep following the ridge as long as possible. That led me back into the trees shortly after I had left the peak and while the trail remained narrow and lovely, the views were gone for quite a while. When they finally returned, I came upon a turnoff and had to decide what to do. Another ridge could be seen further up ahead and after checking the map, I opted to give that one a try as well. So I kept walking straight ahead and as the trail in that ensuing part was not always clear, I had quite some fun to look for the right way. :) Soon I had reached another turnoff and it was eventually time to turn left to walk along the ridge that I had seen from far away already. Well, I had to notice that it wasn’t an official way as there also were no official signs except the one that pointed out that I was in a nature protection area and had to stay on the trails. Luckily, that sign was meant for winter only, to make sure the wild animals would not be disturbed and so I turned onto the ridge without a guilty conscience.
A fence was leading the way along the top and in the beginning there even was a beaten path, which led me to the assumption that I wasn’t the first one to walk that way. :) The path soon disappeared though and I thought it better to continue my hike on the other side of the fence. That turned out to be a good decision, but it remained an interesting walk anyway, as sometimes there was a path, sometimes not, sometimes there was a view, sometimes not and right when I thought that I must be in the middle of nowhere, a bench and a cross on a hill marked an unexpected viewpoint. There even was a summit book and so I had a little read while I took another break. :)
Moving on after a while, the trail led downwards most of the time and soon enough I had reached the Rossweidhöchi where I rejoined the official trail. That had been a fun detour and taking the path back towards the cable car terminus, I was happy to have chosen this hike for today. From the Rossweidhöchi the trail led once more through the woods and while I also descended a lot in that part, the path leveled off as soon as I came out of the trees again. Now it was a lovely walk along the bottom of the valley and I was back at the cable car sooner than expected. As I knew what was about to follow, I wasn’t really looking forward to it, but there was no other choice and so I took the same way through the woods, until I was back in the little village of Niederurnen. To be fair, the descent hadn’t been as bad as the ascent, but I was glad anyway once I was on the train back to Zurich, as my knees were hurting quite a bit after that long day of walking up and down. Nevertheless, it had been a fun stroll and somehow I got the feeling that I will pay these two peaks a visit again in the upcoming years. :)
Highlights of the day: the views from Hirzli and Planggenstock and the ridge in between
This hike is for you if:
- you’re looking for a panoramic view over the Alps of Glarus and the lowlands of Zurich
- you don’t mind to use your hands a couple times during the hike
- you like ridge walks
- you don’t mind to walk a few parts on concrete roads
This hike is not for you if:
- you have vertigo
- you mind really steep ascending / descending slopes
- you want the peak(s) all to yourself
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