When I looked on the weather forecast for the weekend, it said that there supposed to be rain and snow on Saturday. Not really good hiking weather. Sunday looked quite good though and not thinking it over too long I decided to head towards Flumserberg for a nice day hike. When I got out of the cable car station at Maschgenkamm, the starting point for my hike, I first had to get out my jacket and my woolen hat and hurriedly put them on. There was fog all around, snow laid next to the path I intended to take and it was bloody cold. Definitely not what I expected. Well it was early morning and there was enough time for the conditions to get better. To get warm I started moving and I was glad that it went upwards straightaway so the coldness left my body soon. Reaching a viewpoint 15 minutes later, the fog split up for the first time and revealed a magical scenery of mountains, plains and snow before me. I kept on walking and when I reached a crossing some time later, the fog was gone entirely. From there the trail led more or less straight ahead towards the mountains at the horizon. The view I had now was simply gorgeous. On the mountains laid a small layer of snow, where the snow ended green fields started, tons of cows were lining the path and if there were no cows in sight, there was a steady tune of their bells in my ear. Above all that, the sun broke through the clouds every now and then and enlightened patches of grass or snow. It looked terrific and with that postcard sight ahead of me the struggle of the beginning was completely forgotten.
After one hour of steady walking I reached another crossing. There I turned right and headed off in the direction of the mountain Spitzmeilen. Here the path started to change. Whereas before it was mainly muddy and with no snow around it, it had more rocks and gravel now and it was white all around the trail. Funnily enough there was no snow on the path itself, so the going was not difficult so far. The scenery stayed spectacular wherever I looked and it took me quite an effort not to pause every minute to take some pictures. :) It also went upwards now and when I reached the pass of Wissmeilen I was breathing quite heavily. From the pass the way led along a ridge and luckily also on this part was no snow on the path. So even if it was quite steep and I had to scramble over rocks a couple times I had no difficulties to move forward. Where the rock was wet I took my time and placed my feet carefully so I reached the peak of Wissmeilen pretty soon. On the peak I took a break and marveled at the surroundings. Because there were clouds and also fog that reappeared every now and then, the whole scenery stayed breathtaking, as the view changed almost with every minute. From Wissmeilen I also had a good view of Spitzmeilen, my actual "goal" of today and I wondered if I had a chance to get up there.
About 20 minutes later I stood below the final ascent to the summit and I was as unsure as before. I knew already that there would be ropes and that I had to climb up to get to the top, but the first part looked quite steep and I was not sure if I would be able to get down again. So only once I checked out everything carefully and climbed a couple meters up and down I decided to attempt it. Leaving my backpack behind I started to climb and once I passed the difficult first part the rest was a piece of cake. Surprisingly there were already two other people on the peak and as there was not much space it was basically impossible not to have a chat with each other. Unfortunately the view was still obscured, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. As I had no food with me I stayed on the top only for about 15 minutes and as the sun was not shining during this time, I was frozen to the bone in the end. I was lucky that I had my gloves with me, otherwise my hands would have been too numb for the descent. But going down went better then expected and arriving at the bottom again I grabbed my backpack and headed off along another ridge towards the Spitzmeilenhut. When I reached a spot on the ridge where the sun was shining, the time had come for a well earned lunch break and some sunshine to shake off the cold. Once I had my strength back I carried on and descended to the Spitzmeilenhut.
Deciding that I will have a beer later on, I passed the hut and kept on walking. The trail led steadily downwards now and looking back to Spitzmeilen I saw that the snow almost entirely melted away. It was indeed warmer now and I hiked the rest of the day without my jacket. Reaching Alp Fursch I sat down on the terrace of the restaurant and enjoyed the sun and a cold beer. From Alp Fursch the way went upwards again until I arrived back at the Maschgenkamm. Sitting down for a second lunch I let the day pass through my head again and I had to say that this was a truly amazing hike! The weather was so special today, that it felt like I walked through all the four seasons in one day. :) Thanking mother nature for this brilliant trip I left Flumserberg with a huge smile on my lips.
Highlight of the day: definitely the scenery with the changing weather
This hike is for you if:
- you're looking for a stunning landscape
- you like to hike in an area with tons of different trails to take
- you don't mind a bit of scrambling and climbing
- you want a panoramic view of Flumserberg without cable cars or chair lifts in it
This hike is not for you if:
- you don't like to walk on ridges
- you don't like a constant ringing of cow bells in your ear
- it rained or snowed the day before and you don't have any experience with hiking in wet and muddy conditions
P.S.: the climb up to the summit of Spitzmeilen is difficult anyway, also in good weather. So this is suitable only for experienced hikers/climbers!
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