A hike for everyone that visits Lenk im Simmental :)

My parents told me once, that the hikes I write about on this blog are mostly too taxing for others to do them as well. Thinking about it, they might have a point, as I kinda lost sight on what is an easy hike for me, but could be a hard one for someone else. When my time in the eastern part of Switzerland was over, I headed to the western part and spent two weeks hiking around the Bernese Alps. Most of the time I did exactly what my parents had pointed out: too long, too much and more often than not with a wild camp in between. So, on my last day in the area, I decided that it eventually was time for a hike that I can blog about and even more important, is doable for everyone. :) Having followed the long distance trail "Via Alpina" for a while, I ended up in the lovely village of Lenk im Simmental and one of the major attractions there, were two easy accessible waterfalls that could be visited on a gentle half day hike. Leaving my campsite in the early morning, I took the first available bus to the Iffigenalp and while Corona hadn't really been a topic on my "Tour de Suisse" so far, the public transport always served as a reminder of the ongoing crisis, as it was mandatory in the meantime to wear a mask. As much as I don't like that thing, it makes totally sense when the bus is as overcrowded as the one I entered in Lenk that morning. There wasn't even a seat available and so I stood in the gangway for the length of the trip. The ride itself was quite spectacular, as the road up to Iffigenalp was steep, twisting and mostly unpaved. Luckily, the bus driver knew what he was doing and brought us there safe and sound as it would be the most normal thing in the world. :) Stepping out of the bus, I was glad to see that there were many different trails to take and so the people had scattered within minutes. The route that I was about to take, first led me back along the road we just came from until I reached a turnoff and turned right into the direction of Alp Langermatte. Cow meadows lined the way, a river had to be crossed and before long I started to ascend.

A picture taken from the bridge just before the ascent began

The slope was steep, but also pretty short and at the end of it, I took a quick break to have a first look around. Unfortunately, there were quite a few clouds in the sky and so the views were rather limited. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the fresh air and the light step, as for once I didn't have to carry all my gear up the hill. :)

At the end of the slope, looking back towards the Iffigenalp

More cow meadows followed after that first ascent and when I had passed the Alp where the cows belonged to, the trail went upwards again, but way gentler this time. It led up to a vast plateau, on which Alp Langermatte resided at the very end of it. Crossing the plateau, the turnoff to the Oberlaubhorn appeared before long and as I had enough time, I chose to do that short detour. Turning left, the way ascended once more and walking upwards on a narrow trail in the woods, it didn't take too long until I had reached the peak. Unfortunately, the clouds hadn't lifted yet and as they obscured most of the panorama, I could only imagine the gorgeous view one must have on a sunny day. There also would have been a second viewpoint, but with the conditions I had, it made no sense to go any further and so I took a longer rest on the top of the Oberlaubhorn instead.

Basically the best view I had during my time on the Oberlaubhorn. :) The second viewpoint would have been at the end of the ridge ahead of me

Retracing my steps to the turnoff after the break, I passed the Alp Langermatte and started to descend towards the Simmen valley. The descent very much reminded me of the ascent before, as it was steep as well and more or less in the woods except for the occasional cow meadow in between. From far away though, I could already see some impressive cliffs with countless waterfalls tumbling down from them and I started to wonder where the trail would lead me to.

Despite the clouds, the view was just formidable :)

Arriving at the bottom of the valley, the way at first led along a river, before another turnoff directed me over a bridge, from where it was 10 more minutes until I stood in front of the first major attraction. And what a beautiful one that was! It was a waterfall called "Sibe Brünne" (which means "seven fountains") and there was so much water flowing through, my mind was quite blown for a while. :)

The gorgeous seven fountains :)

Apparently, "Sibe Brünne" was a spring as well and I definitely had never seen that much water coming out of a spring. However, when I read a nearby information sign, the truth was revealed to me: it wasn't an actual spring. :) The waterfall is fed by a glacier of the surrounding Karst mountains and as the water is making its way only through their inside, they call it a spring, because "Sibe Brünne" is the point where the water eventually comes into the open air. According to the sign, the water flow is more or less the same throughout the whole year and I wondered how massive that glacier needed to be to achieve that. Well, that mystery remained unsolved and sitting down for an hour long lunch break, I enjoyed the waterfall and all the hubbub around it. :)

A closeup view of the "Sibe Brünne"

When the time had come to leave, I started to follow the river Simmen, while continuously descending on a wide dirt road through the forest. The trail was actually that wide now, that also a few cars passed me on their way upwards, but despite the overcrowded road, it still was a nice walk with some lovely viewpoints. Coming to the Barbaralücke, a path along the riverside would start from there, but unfortunately, it was closed on the day of my visit. Guessing why, the only reason that came to my mind was the rushing water. There was so much of it, that if you stood on the Barbaralücke Bridge, you were completely wet within seconds. :)

So much water! For once you actually can see that on the picture as well :)

Carrying on, the road led me all the way down to the bottom of the Simmen valley and to the second major attraction, the Simmen waterfall. Again I was blown away by the amount of water that was flowing through and for another 10 minutes I marveled at the beauty and strength of Mother Nature.

The stunning Simmen waterfall

As I had to do my laundry later on, I couldn't stay any longer and as I just had missed the bus, I opted to walk back to the campsite. It meant an additional four kilometers all along the river at the bottom of the valley and taking another short detour at the end, I also passed by the lake of Lenk, which had the honor to be the last lovely attraction on this beautiful half day hike. :)

Highlight of the day: definitely the seven fountains

This hike is for you if:

- you want to take your family with you

- you're looking for a simple half day hike

- you want to check out some of the major attractions around Lenk

- you don't mind the occasional steep ascent and descent

This hike is not for you if:

- you're looking for a demanding challenge

- you mind to share the trail with many other people

- you don't like waterfalls :)

This hike is pretty straightforward and it will be hard to get lost, especially because there most probably will be many other people on the trail as well. Of course the detour to the Oberlaubhorn is optional. It will be another 100 meters of altitude difference from the turnoff, but if the weather is good, I think it's worth the additional effort. On the map, I left out my stroll to the campsite, as there is no need to walk all the way back to Lenk. The bus from the Simmen waterfall is only going every hour though, so maybe you have to pass the time with a drink in the nearby restaurant. :)