Scaling the impressive Wildhuser Schafberg

As I usually have a day off during the week, I try to use them for hiking as much as possible. Of course that mostly depends on the weather, but even though the summer wasn't too nice so far, I still managed to sneak in a hike every now and then. :) Like on a Tuesday beginning of July, when another bad weather front was announced, but I decided to go anyway, as the rain was about to hit the western part of Switzerland first and would take some time to get across to the eastern part, where I intended to scale a mountain that was on my list since I had seen him last year. An impressive sight from the valley below, the Wildhuser Schafberg reaches like a spire 2373 meters into the air. To make things perfect for today, there were two trails to get up to the summit and I was able to combine them into a lovely circular hike. Another reason why I chose this mountain was, because the hike would be a short one and for once I try my best to also keep the blog post as brief as possible. :) Arriving in the rural village of Wildhaus after a rather long journey, I made my way along the main street towards the Gamplüt cable car. Passing by the short queue, I took the trail next to the cable car station, entered the woods and started to ascend. That first part wasn’t that beautiful however, as I mostly ascended in a ravine full of debris and therefore wasn't mad at all once I had brought that slope behind me. A massive mountain wall had appeared at the end and knowing that I had to get up there somewhere, I wondered where the trail would lead me next.

Impossible to tell where the trail would go through :)

Well, at first it led me right onto a wide tarmac road. :) Haha. Luckily, the next turnoff was just a few meters away and before long I had a proper hiking trail under my feet again. Heading towards the massive rock wall, the trail soon started to lead along the wall and turning around from time to time, the first views into the distance eventually appeared.

Looking back to the tarmac road with the Churfirsten mountain range as a backdrop :)

Ascending steadily, I made good way, coming upon an alp with loads of cows rather sooner than later. Passing them, another gorgeous sight came into view ahead of me and taking a short break to have a snack, I absolutely cherished that I had all this to myself. :)

Especially the blooming flowers made this part pretty spectacular

Resuming my hike, it didn’t take long anymore and I came across a huge snowfield. As the slope was very gentle however and the snow quite soft, walking on it was no problem at all. At the end of the field, I instantly found the trail again and heading up much steeper than before, I had to use my hands for a first time today. Scrambling slowly upwards, there was no snow until I reached a turnoff that I missed by a hair’s breadth, just because most of it was still buried beneath the white mass. :) Turning left, I could see that I had to cross another snowfield again, this time though it was a bit more difficult, as the slope was a lot steeper than before. So whenever possible I stayed on the rocks next to the snowfield or on the rocks that popped out of the snow like tiny islands in the ocean. :) Meeting the first other hiker after a scramble onto a huge rock, we quickly exchanged our experiences of today, before she carried on trying to get to the Altmann, while I moved on to cross the last part of the snowfield.

Taking a look back at the snowfield. It definitely was more difficult to cross than it looks on here

Once I was safely on the other side, another junction appeared and with it the most stunning views of the day so far. Taking a right turn at the turnoff, it was about time to conquer the final slope up to the summit. Obviously it was a steep one, but luckily a herd of sheep on the trail gave some entertainment and a good excuse to pause to catch my breath. :)

Just a top notch view! You still can see the herd of sheep on the hill to the left of the picture

Actually, the Wildhuser Schafberg has two summits, a “pre” summit and the official summit. To get from the first to the second one, I had to climb down a rock wall and it was a perfect practice to get used to that sort of thing again. :) The ascent on the other side was an easy one and standing on the summit around noon, the whole Alpstein unfolded ahead of me. Still having a blue sky and a shining sun, I was able to see everything: the Säntis, the Churfirsten, Lichtenstein and even the Alps of Austria. What a spectacular sight that was!

The view towards two Alpstein icons. :) The Säntis to the left, the Altmann to the right

Spending about 30 minutes on each of the two summits, the time as usual passed way too fast and before long I was back on the trail again. The bad weather front had reached the western part of Switzerland and was moving eastwards by now, so I couldn't really stay any longer. Retracing my steps to the junction, I took another right turn and started to descend. Well, to be honest with you, the descent was definitely not the best part of today. Most of it was amazingly steep and as the trail wasn’t in the best shape as well, descending on it wasn't only arduous but also tricky. Having left behind a first steep slope, I turned right again and faced an even steeper slope, where the only positive thing was, that I didn’t choose to hike this way up, as that would have been a real pain in the ass. :) Naturally, I made it to the terminal of the Gamplüt cable car and as the worst was behind me now, I decided to also walk down the last part to Wildhaus. Looking back at that exhausting descent, I guess the only thing that will remain in my memory was the view, as for most of the time it was pretty perfect. :)

One last magnificent outlook towards the Churfirsten mountain range. The building you can see in the middle of the picture is the terminus of the Gamplüt cable car

Even though some clouds had appeared in the meantime, the sun was still shining when I was back in Wildhaus and sitting down with a beer to wait for the bus, I was happy I had made that effort today. It had been a rather tough hike and the legs were aching quite a bit, but in the end the joy over the stunning views and the surprisingly good weather definitely prevailed. Hopping on the bus a little while later, it didn’t take long anymore and the bad weather front had arrived. Looking out of the window at the rain lashing against the bus, I couldn’t help but smile, as for once everything had worked out perfectly. :)

Highlight of the day: the views from the Wildhuser Schafberg

This hike is for you if:

- you’re looking for a short but intense half day hike

- you want one of the best views over the eastern part of Switzerland

- you don’t mind a little scramble

- you want to try yourself for a first time on a blue and white alpine trail

This hike is not for you if:

- you mind very steep ascents and/or descents

- it’s your first hike in the mountains

- you’re looking for remote trails

Not too much to say about this one. :) The marking was good enough and there wasn't really a problem to find the way, even though the path was buried beneath some snow every now and then. Usually, this trail should be snow free in summer, but if you go early it can happen that you still have conditions like I had. Be careful when walking through the snow, especially when the slope is as steep as the one I had to cross below the summit. If you want to shorten the hike, use the Gamplüt cable car, as you basically can do the same hike from the terminus and save yourself some ascending and descending at the same time. :)