After redoing a couple hikes that are already covered on my blog, I decided that the time had come to leave the canton of Zurich to do a hike that I haven’t done before. My choice fell on a peak called Stöcklichrüz in the neighboring canton of Schwyz and with some more peaks in the vicinity, I even had the chance to add a second one if the time and my legs would allow it. Even though the Corona restrictions were recently loosened a little bit, I still avoided the “rush hour” in the morning and as usual took a train after 8 o’clock. My starting point was the village of Einsiedeln and arriving there at around half past 9, I started to walk straightaway. Having been in Einsiedeln a few times already, I made my way to the monastery first and as in normal times that place would be teeming with tourists, I took the chance for a couple pictures without another single soul in it. :) Passing the monastery, a path led up the hill behind it and after a short ascent I enjoyed a good view over Einsiedeln and the surrounding hills.
Moving on, I followed the trail towards Lake Sihl, but instead of heading directly down to the shore, I opted for a little detour to a viewpoint called Vogelherd. Cows were grazing in the nearby meadows and a beautiful view towards the lake opened up. As I just had started walking, there was no need for a break and soon I was back on the track that now led me down towards Lake Sihl. To get to the peak of Stöcklichrüz, I had to cross the lake somehow and according to my map, it should have been possible to walk over a nearby bridge to reach Willerzell on the other side. I wasn’t entirely sure however what was awaiting me in reality and so I just prayed that there would be a sidewalk that I could use. Approaching the bridge, I had to find out that my prayers were futile. There was only a lane for cars, but as I couldn’t see a sign that forbade walkers from entering or crossing the bridge, I thought that maybe it was possible to walk over anyway. Basically there was no other option, as the next bus was due in a couple hours only and a walk around the lake would have taken up too much time. While I stood there considering if I should risk it or not, a woman came along and walked upon the bridge without looking left or right. Assuming that she was a local and knew what she was doing, I took the chance and just followed her lead. :) She was much faster though than I was, also because I made use of the opportunity to shoot a couple pictures when no cars were passing by.
Despite the nice view, the walk over that bridge wasn’t the most pleasant part of today. The lane was pretty narrow and there weren't only cars, but also some small vans and a bus going from Willerzell to Einsiedeln. They all took care however and it seemed that they were used to walkers on that bridge, but I was happy anyway when I had reached the other side after a longish walk of 20 minutes. Unfortunately there still was no sidewalk at the other end, so the first thing I did was to escape the road and the only possible way led me down to the shore of the lake for a quick rest. The views so far had been very lovely and knowing that an ascending slope was about to follow, I was curious for the sight from higher up. Well, they turned out to be absolutely striking. :) A proper hiking trail led up the hill and soon I had a good view towards Lake Sihl, Willerzell and the Alps at the horizon. It got more and more beautiful with every step I took and so I had to stop every couple hundred meters to admire the scenery around me. :)
Once the ascent was behind me, the trail leveled off and as I entered a forest, the views vanished for a while. Emerging from the trees, I passed a farm shortly afterwards and the gorgeous panorama was back for good. With the Alps in the back and the cows on the meadow in front of me, the whole scenery looked like Switzerland out of a picture book. :)
Joining a dirt road a bit later on, Stöcklichrüz could be seen in the distance already and it didn't take long anymore to reach the final ascent. It was a short one and so I arrived on the peak without having exhausted myself too much. :) From the top, views opened up in every direction, not only towards the Alps, but also towards Lake Zurich. It was the perfect spot for lunch and so I sat down on a bench to rest for an hour.
Quite a few other people were there as well, it seemed as everyone wanted to enjoy the good weather for a last time before the forecast rain would take over for the rest of the week. As a harbinger of the bad weather, clouds had appeared in the sky and I was glad that I had taken my sweater with me, as it was rather cold without the sunshine. Having enough time and still feeling good, I decided to do a second peak. The choice fell for the Etzel, as I could follow a panoramic trail from Stöcklichrüz to reach it. That turned out to be a very good decision. :) While the trail followed a gravel road for some time, a tiny beaten path led away from it once Lake Zurich was back into view at the horizon. Actually that path wasn’t the way I should have taken, but I was curious to see where it was leading to and as a beautiful panorama of the lake unfolded ahead of me, another break was necessary to enjoy the splendid scenery.
Checking the map, I saw that I could rejoin the panoramic trail without retracing my steps and so I followed the tiny path until it joined a concrete road, on which I walked for a couple minutes. Soon though, a little ridge could be seen and as there were some other people up there, I thought I check it out as well instead of walking along the road. It was another very good decision, as I found one of the best views towards Lake Zurich that I ever had. And when the path at the end of the ridge directly met up with the panoramic trail, that whole little detour had just felt like perfection. :)
The path now led through the countryside, always with Mount Etzel in sight ahead of me. It was a lovely walk and the bottom of the ascent was reached soon. Entering another forest, the ascending slope was steep and as it was way longer than the one up to Stöcklichrüz, it took some time and sweat to reach the top. :) Compared to some other peaks in the area, the view from Etzel was certainly not the best one, but it was still good enough to take another 45 minutes break on the terrace of the closed restaurant.
For the descent I had quite some options, as a few villages with a train station were in the neighborhood. Choosing Pfäffikon at the shore of Lake Zurich for various reasons, I started descending and soon came upon a crazy steep slope in the woods. Losing a couple hundred meters in altitude within a very short distance, civilization was upon me once the slope had ended. Mainly walking along a main road for the rest of the descent, that last part was a "necessary evil" and didn’t devalue the rest of the day at all. Arriving at the train station in Pfäffikon at around half past 5, I also had managed to be late enough to avoid the “rush hour” in the evening. As it had been my first time in the area of Stöcklichrüz, I was happy how the day had turned out and I guess it wasn’t the last time I spent that peak a visit. :)
Highlights of the day: the view over Willerzell and Lake Sihl during the ascent after the bridge, as well as the view over Lake Zurich from that little ridge before Mount Etzel
This hike is for you if:
- you want to scale a couple peaks that have some good views towards the Alps
- you’re looking for panoramic views over Lake Sihl and Lake Zurich
- you want to get a taste of the "real" Switzerland :)
- you don’t mind many other people on the two rather popular peaks
This hike is not for you if:
- you mind walking over a bridge that has no sidewalk
- you’re looking for some real mountain feeling
- you want an escape from civilization
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