Life has kept me busy this year, as I’m still right in the middle of a training course to become an official hiking guide. It’s been almost a year though, since I did the last hike that made it onto my blog and as this is definitely a bit too long, it’s about time to take up the writing again. :) Naturally, because of the education, I wasn't out and about as often as I wished to, but as we had a longer break in summer, there luckily was a bit of spare time to explore some new trails. One of them was the rather popular hike to the spring of the Rhine and as it turned out to be the perfect hike to blog about, here comes everything about that beautiful day. :) Deciding to set out at the Oberalppass, I arrived there as early as possible on a sunny Friday morning. Knowing the popularity of the hike, I knew I wouldn’t be the only one, but nevertheless, the amount of people that could be seen ascending in the slope ahead of me, surprised me quite a bit. Well, there was nothing I could do about it and so I joined the throng of people heading towards the Pazolastock, the first goal of today. Right from the beginning, the path was leading upwards, but as I wasn’t in a rush and wanted to take my time, I ascended slowly, enjoying the good weather, the blooming flowers and the views that were already quite superb.
Luckily, the people had scattered pretty fast and by now I was mostly walking for myself. Up and up it went, sometimes in serpentines, sometimes straight ahead, sometimes a bit steeper, sometimes a bit flatter, but all the time I was gaining altitude. The higher I got, the rockier the path became and a few times it was even necessary to hold onto a rock to step over some bigger boulders. Nothing too difficult though and using those minor challenges to stop and catch my breath, I beheld a panorama that got better and better with every step I took.
After ascending for a bit more than an hour, I suddenly met the throng of people again, as they all took a break at a turnoff somewhere below the Pazolastock. There were way too many people at that spot and so I kept on walking for five more minutes, taking a short break on a lonely ledge that featured the same fantastic view as everyone else had at the turnoff. :)
Serpentines started to lead the way once I moved on and before long the peak of the Pazolastock came into view. Interestingly enough, the official hiking path didn't include the summit, but that didn't keep me from having a look anyway. :) Coming upon a signpost, there was a well-trodden path leading to the top and when I had reached it a minute later, I was looking at an absolutely stunning 360° panorama. Sitting down, I enjoyed the scenery together with the still fantastic weather for the next 20 minutes.
Eventually leaving the summit and the throng that had assembled anew, I walked past the signpost and headed towards the Martschallücke.
As I now was approaching the highest point of today, I had to ascend again and since the slope was decently rocky, I even had to use my hands a couple times. :) Having reached the Martschallücke about 10 minutes later, I ignored the beaten path towards the Rossbodenstock, but instead kept to the official trail that led in the direction of the Badus hut. The hut could be seen from far away and looked pretty small compared to the towering mountains around it.
With Mount Badus in full view, the descent to the hut was a beautiful one and passed by in a breeze. As it was a bit too early for lunch, I didn't stop at the hut, but instead turned right at the next possible turnoff, heading towards Lake Toma, my second goal of today. A gentle downwards slope led the way and before long a rather unremarkable creek could be seen ahead of me.
Reaching the brookside about five minutes later, I followed it for a bit, before the trail led over to the other side. Usually, that creek most probably wouldn't even have gotten an honorable mention in my blog post, but as you can notice, there was something special about it. Well, that very creek was actually the beginning of the Rhine, one of the longest rivers that we have in Europe. :) And where I stood in that moment, is probably one of the only places where you easily can hop over, as afterwards that will quickly get impossible. :)
Lake Toma could also be seen already and as it seemed to be the more beautiful spot out of the two, I made my way to shore, sat down on a rock, ate my lunch and just enjoyed the gorgeous scenery. Naturally, there were plenty of other people that were taking a break around the lake and some of them were even brave enough to go for a swim. :)
Moving on, once I was fully rested, I followed the bank of Lake Toma until I had reached the other end. Right there was another turnoff and as I wanted to walk back to Andermatt and not to the Oberalppass, I had to take a right turn. Passing by the end of the lake, I walked along a mountainside for a while, then descended for a short time, before I faced another rise. The ascent wasn’t that long however and at the end of it, a plateau with some magnificent views awaited me, easily making up the preceding effort. :)
From the plateau, the trail led down into the Maighels valley, mostly following a wide gravel road. Enjoying the gentle descent with its beautiful views of Lake Urlaun and Piz Cavradi, I came upon the bottom of the valley before long and when I had reached the main turnoff, took a right turn to follow another wide gravel road. About five minutes later, I already passed the next turnoff and when I noticed that neither Andermatt nor the pass that I was supposed to cross were mentioned on the signpost, I stopped dead in my tracks. Hmm, what was wrong? Taking a look at the map, I noticed that I had missed my intended route by quite a bit. :) Retracing my steps to the main turnoff, I had to walk back about 50 meters on the previous trail, until I found a stone with the inscription “Pass Tagliola” on it. As that inscription could only be seen from one side, it was no wonder I had missed it before. :) Well, luckily, the detour hadn’t been too long and turning left, I started to follow the lovely and otherwise perfectly marked trail. Soon beginning to ascend again, the slope was pretty steep in places, but that didn’t matter, as I was cherishing the newly found silence to the fullest. Apparently, no one else was taking the route I was taking and after the hustle and bustle from before, the emptiness of the trail was very much enjoyable. :)
Walking along the mountainside for a while once I had left the steepest bit behind me, there eventually was one last rise to conquer before a sign announced that I had reached Pass Tagliola. Taking a final look into the Maighels Valley, I walked over the pass, which in reality didn’t look like a pass at all, but more like the entrance into a vast mountain valley. :) Continuing a bit further, I finally had reached the highest point and right there, decided to take another break.
By now, my legs were a bit tired and only once I had found my strength again, I began to walk along the shore of a river. About 10 minutes later, I could see two other hikers taking a break in the distance and at the same time could hear some loud grunts. Nope, they didn’t come from the two humans, but from a herd of yaks that had spotted us all and were now running towards us. Fortunately, we were separated by a fence and while the yaks kept on grunting at us from the other side, we were able to take some pictures without taking any harm. :)
Once they lost their interest in us, it was time to leave the valley behind for good. Instead of the anticipated descent however, I had to ascend again, the path leading out of the valley along a mountainside. When I was walking along that mountainside, I eventually could see the descent ahead of me and I wasn’t sure if I liked what I saw. While the beginning looked gentle enough, the trail vanished into a precipice at the horizon and a look onto the map didn’t make things better, as there apparently were a gazillion of serpentines awaiting in the ensuing slope.
Well, I can assure you, that the descent was just as hard as it looked. For about 20 minutes I walked down serpentine after serpentine in a super steep slope and not even the beautiful views were able to lift my mood.
Fortunately, all the bad things come to an end as well and I was glad once I finally had reached the last serpentine. About five minutes later, at long last, I stood at the bottom of the valley and taking a look back at the slope, the only positive thing that came to my mind was, that I was glad that I didn’t have to ascend there. :) Knowing that the hardest part of the descent was over, I started the long walk out of the valley, following another wide gravel road in the beginning. On and on I walked and while my feet began to hurt, I couldn’t imagine to walk all the way to Andermatt along that rather tedious road.
At least there was a beautiful view every now and then, but the real relief was only given when I came upon a turnoff that led over a bridge to the other side of the river. Finally being back on a proper hiking trail, I followed the bank for a few minutes before I took a last break. It was the perfect time and place to refill my energy and getting myself ready for the final part. Well, the newly found energy lasted exactly a couple hundred meters and then I suddenly saw another rise ahead of me... Oh come on, really? :) Luckily, it was a short one and afterwards the trail already led downwards again. While I had been a bit higher up since that ascent, a turnoff eventually appeared where the hiking path was heading steeply down to the river, while another path was heading straight ahead. Going down as I didn’t know any better, the trail at the bottom just led upwards again to reconnect with the path I had been on before. Haha, thanks for nothing. :) Continuing to lead gently upwards, I eventually reached a vast plateau, where once across it, the final descent to Andermatt awaited me.
It was a lovely walk down on a wide gravel road and passing by the church on the outskirts of Andermatt, I soon found myself in the center of the town, heading towards the railway station. Arriving there more or less on time to catch the train back home, I was happy how today had turned out. The scenery and the weather were absolutely fantastic and easily made me forget my tired feet and the throng of people on the first half of the trail. :)
Highlights of the day: Lake Toma and the view from the Pazolastock
This hike is for you if:
- you always wanted to stand in the middle of the Rhine :)
- you don’t mind to share the trail with other hikers
- you’re into beautiful mountain lakes :)
- you want some magnificent views over the Alps of Central Switzerland and Graubünden
This hike is not for you if:
- 20 kilometers of walking in the mountains are too much for you
- you’re looking for remote and secluded places
- you mind a steady up and down
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