Unfortunately, even though I had plenty of spare time in the lockdown, the bad weather thwarted my plans to go hiking as much as possible. For a couple weeks the sun was seen pretty rarely, as snow and rain prevailed for most of the time. So when finally a weekend full of sunshine was predicted, I couldn’t restrain myself and went for three days in a row. :) Don't worry though, as this blog post will deal with the first day only. :) Having studied the weather forecast the evening before, I decided to do a hike close to Olten that I had done several years ago in spring. The main reason for that was sunshine. While my preferred hiking spots in Central Switzerland would be surrounded by thick fog, the sun was supposed to shine where I had planned to go. Sunshine for once was essential, as the temperatures would remain below zero for the whole day and a strong wind was blowing, which made it even colder. Setting out early on a grey Saturday morning, I made my way to the village of Hägendorf, where I started my hike. Leaving the train station, a look in the sky wasn’t too promising, as there was an excess of clouds as well. Hoping that the sunshine would come later on, I walked through Hägendorf and soon had reached its outskirts. For once, right there, I already had reached the first attraction of today's hike. :)
The devil’s gorge it was called and a sign about rock fall that could happen in the gorge at any time basically marked the entrance. Following a wide gravel path that led me into the forest, I wondered where the gorge had its name from. Well, apparently, the legend says that the devil took a bath in the creek which runs through the gorge and liked it that much, that he wanted to stay there forever. The people from the nearby village weren’t happy about that of course and so they called for a priest from the monastery in Olten to help them driving the devil away again. Today, when I walked through the gorge, there was neither a priest nor the devil, just a few other hikers, Mother Nature and me. :) Apropos Mother Nature, once more she showed herself from her best side, covering the first rock walls that appeared with loads and loads of icicles. Together with the lovely creek, the scenery simply was spectacular and there were so many beautiful sights, I mostly didn’t know where to look at. :)
Luckily, the gorge and its surrounding trees also shielded me from the strong wind and therefore the coldness was absolutely bearable, even though the sun was still hiding behind the clouds. To be honest with you however, the gorge wasn’t what I would call a perfect example of a gorge. For that, there were too many trees around, giving time and again the impression that I was walking in a forest rather than in a gorge. But that didn’t bother me at all and coming to the latter half of the devil’s gorge, some firs and moss covered rocks from an old rock fall, just added to the beauty of the scenery.
Approaching the end of the gorge, a short ascent led me up to the main road, where I fortunately only had to cross over to go straight back into the forest. Continuing my walk along the creek, it was difficult to say, if that upper part still belonged to the gorge, but in the end that didn't really matter, as I just enjoyed the walk along the now ice covered creek bed.
Not too much later though, the creek disappeared and for the first time I stepped out of the forest onto an open plain. Boom! The wind instantly hit me with an icy fist. In the forecast yesterday, they had said that the temperature with the windchill factor would feel about 10 degrees colder (somewhere around -12° C) and I think that that prediction was perfectly correct. Blowing right into my face, it started to hurt in no time and I was glad when I came upon a turnoff shortly afterwards and was able to turn my back to the wind. :) Walking along the main road for a bit, another turnoff led me onto a side road and I struggled further upwards, all the time battling with the elements. Reaching the hamlet of Allerheiligenberg, I was happy to enter the forest again and while the wind was slowly subsiding, the steady ascending allowed me to warm up once more. Additionally, the sun had finally won the battle with the clouds and was now shining most of the time as well.
Heading deeper into the woods, the scenery once again changed. As it had been snowing a couple days before and because it had been too cold for the snow to melt, all the trees were still covered in white. It simply looked fantastic and even though the ground was full of snow as well, the walking on the sometimes fairly narrow path was no problem at all. Stepping onto a plateau once I was out of the forest again, I soon passed by a lovely wooden bench and when I realized that there was no wind at all, I spontaneously decided to eat a first part of my lunch. Sitting down for a while, it was time to enjoy the sun and the perfect winter scenery all around me. :) When I eventually resumed my hike, I soon had to descend into a gap, before I had to tackle the steepest part of today. Steps led up the hill towards the Belchenflue, but as the scenery became even more gorgeous, the ascent actually wasn't exhausting at all. :) As I had never seen anything similar in the lowlands of Switzerland, I took my time and just enjoyed it to the fullest.
Coming upon the end of the steep ascending slope, another short part through the woods awaited me, before I finally had reached the turnoff towards the summit of the Belchenflue. Five minutes later, a stunning 360° panoramic view greeted me on the top, together with the expected strong and icy wind. Looking around the lowlands of Northern Switzerland, I felt an intense happiness and neither the wind did bother me nor that the Alps in the distance were still behind a thick fog. Spending a good 20 minutes on the peak, I was surprised to see many other people tackling the summit as well. Obviously, I wasn’t the only one that didn’t mind the cold temperatures. :)
Heading down from the top, I found a sheltered spot on the hillside and decided to eat the second part of my lunch right there. Moving on once I had no food left, I retraced my steps to the end of the steep ascending slope, where I turned left and started to descend towards Olten.
Walking steadily downhill, trees had engulfed me once more and it took quite a while until I was out in the open again. Following another side road, I came upon a military area before long and as you know, usually when I walk by, they practice their shooting. :) Not today though and when the trail turned from the road onto a rise where the military normally was shooting at, I figured that today was my lucky day. :) Heading along that rise was a real struggle however. The wind was the strongest and iciest up there and repeatedly I had to turn my back to the wind, to give my face some time to recover from the coldness.
Due to the strong wind, the snow around my feet was drifting relentlessly and facing another steep ascending slope, it was the only time where there was no proper track. Pounding through the snow, head bowed down as low as possible, I made a mental note to finally purchase some better equipment for days like these. :) Well, I made it up that slope anyway and when I entered the forest for a last time, the worst was definitely behind me. Soon I had reached the Homberglücke and the final descent down to Olten was upon me. While the day so far had been pretty entertaining, that last part didn’t really add anything to it. :) It was a steady walk through the woods with no views at all and also without the spectacular winter trees or the icicles from earlier that day. It didn't really matter though, as it had been a marvelous hike overall. Reaching the outskirts of Olten, a bench in the sun invited me to sit down and eventually drink my summit beer. Once the bottle was empty, a walk through Olten brought me to the train station, from where I headed back home. Well, that for sure was a true winter hike and I was really looking forward to the other two of the oncoming days. :)
Highlights of the day: the stunning winter landscape and the view from Belchenflue
This hike is for you if:
- you’re looking for a winter hike that is always doable
- you want to scale one of the best viewpoints over the lowlands of Northern Switzerland
- you don’t mind to walk in the forest a lot
This hike is not for you if:
- you’re not sure footed
- you mind sharing the peak with many other people
- to gain 800 meters difference in altitude is too exhausting for you
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