With the Corona restrictions still in place, I was slowly starting to run out of ideas where to go. :) Depending solely on public transport, the areas where I could go to for a day hike were rather limited. So when a new week began and the sun was about to make her comeback after some rainy days, I opted to once more head to the Zurich Oberland and scale the two peaks that I haven’t visited so far during our lockdown. One of them, the Hüttchopf, I discovered only recently and therefore would visit that peak for the first time. Whereas the Bachtel I had scaled a couple years ago and remembered it as one of the best viewpoints in the area. At that time though, the viewing tower on the top had been open, while I assumed that now it would be closed because of Corona. But that was no reason to keep me from going there and so I took the same train as usual to bring the now very familiar journey to Steg behind me. Knowing that little village in the meantime like the back of my hand, I started walking at once and made my way through the town until I reached the turnoff that I had used a month or so ago to head up to the Schnebelhorn. Today however, I didn’t turn left, but instead walked straight ahead along a pretty steep ascending slope. Once the steep part was over, the slope leveled off for a while and the ascent was more enjoyable. Walking through the countryside, farms and meadows lined the way and looking into the distance I could already see a couple other popular peaks of the area. Some rainfall had been predicted for the morning and taking a look into the sky, it seemed as it wasn't far away anymore.
The first drops started to fall a little bit later, but luckily the rain was never strong enough to get over a drizzle. So I just kept on moving and followed the trail that alternated between steep slopes and gentle ascending. Passing a little forest and a rather big farm, the drizzle had stopped in the meantime and when I had another one of those steep parts behind me, a nice view over the Zurich Oberland unfolded ahead of me. Even the Alps could be seen at the horizon and with a mix of clouds and sunshine in the sky, it was simply a magnificent panorama to behold.
A bit further up ahead, I could already see a peak and wondered if that was my first goal of the day. Coming closer, it turned out that it indeed was the Hüttchopf and I was a bit surprised to have reached it already, as it took me about an hour less than it was indicated on the signpost in Steg. Well, it didn’t really matter and once the final ascent was overcome, I sat down on the top to rest for a while. The view was brilliant, not only towards the Alps, but also towards the Zurich Oberland from where I came from.
When my eyes had feasted enough on the view, I descended from the peak and started to walk into the direction of Alp Scheidegg. There was a direct way from the Hüttchopf, but there also was a short detour over a hill nearby. Since that looked kinda promising, I opted for the detour, but regretted it almost immediately, when the trail turned into another steep ascending slope. :) Hoping for a good view from the top, there basically was none, as all I could see were the same mountains that I had seen from the Hüttchopf already. :) Beginning to accept that this detour had been absolutely unnecessary, I started to walk along the ridge towards the Alp Scheidegg. A tiny crest barred the view into the far distance, but I suddenly realized that the detour might not have been in vain. And yes, as soon as I overcame that crest, the view towards the Alps opened up and also Lake Zurich made a first appearance. Wow!
Unfortunately the only places to sit down were occupied and so I continued to the Alp Scheidegg restaurant and sat into the grass somewhere next to it. Eating my lunch and drinking the mandatory “summit” beer, two paraglider could be seen close by, trying their best to get up into the air and soar over the Alp Scheidegg. The wind was unpredictable however and they had to abandon their attempts after a while. So one of them came over and started to chat with me and within half an hour I knew everything about paragliding. :) He called himself a paragliding addict and when he told me that he flies around 250 times per year, I could only agree. :)
Wishing them good luck with their next attempt, I left the Alp Scheidegg slightly later as planned to head down to the village of Wald. It was a nice part that followed: a rather steep descent on a lovely hiking trail through the woods brought me to a hamlet and once I had passed the few houses, a walk through a beautiful ravine awaited me. Following a little creek in that pretty ravine, the time just flew by and rather sooner than later I had reached the outskirts of Wald. From there, I could have taken a couple different ways to get up to the Bachtel, but as I had walked quite far already, I decided that I would just take the shortest one. :) That meant I had to walk to the railway station first and from there the signposts reliably led me through and out of the village towards my next goal. Once again the trail alternated between steep slopes and gentle ascending, but this time it also alternated a lot between concrete roads and hiking trails. It was apparent from the beginning that the Bachtel had more civilization in the vicinity than the Hüttchopf.
Even so, it was a nice walk upwards, on one hand because the weather was much better in the meantime and on the other hand, because a little surprise was awaiting me a bit higher up, the Bachtelspalt. I had seen the name on the signs, but didn’t know what to expect from it, so once I was there, I couldn’t resist checking it out. Well, it was something that one would rather expect to see in the Alps than on a tiny mountain in the Zurich Oberland. :) It was a super narrow gap between two huge rocks and I could just barely slide/walk through. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a decent picture, but I assure you that it was definitely a worthwhile detour. :) With that little rush of adrenalin flowing through my vein, the rest of the ascent was a piece of cake. :) Arriving on the peak some time later on, the views opened up once more and with the Alps at the horizon and Lake Zurich in front of it, it was as beautiful as I remembered it. I had to admit though, that the view today was not as top-notch as last time. For that, too many clouds lined the sky and as the viewing tower was closed as anticipated, there also was no view from higher up. Nevertheless I enjoyed my stay on the Bachtel and took another longer break to regain some strength for the final descent.
Once again there were quite a few options and once again I decided to go with the shortest one. :) That meant a walk to Hinwil, which was the closest town with a train station. The descent mainly led me through the forest, sometimes pretty steep, sometimes not, with the only place without trees being the little village of Wernetshausen that I had to pass as well. Hinwil appeared soon enough though and I was happy to see that my train to Zurich was already waiting for me. :) It had been another lovely day with a couple nice surprises, but I think for now I've had enough of the Zurich Oberland and I was looking forward to see and do something entirely new. So let’s pray that everything goes well with the loosening of our restrictions and that we soon can roam our country freely again.
Highlights of the day: the view from Hüttchopf and the unexpected Bachtelspalt :)
This hike is for you if:
- you want to combine a rather unknown peak with a popular one
- you’re looking for two of the best viewpoints from Zurich Oberland towards the Alps
- you want the possibility to drop out of the hike in the middle
- you’re looking for diversity (peaks, ravine, forests, trails, roads, viewpoints)
This hike is not for you if:
- you mind going up and down a lot
- you want to walk solely on hiking trails
- you’re looking for tranquillity
Comments