August 14, 2018
Eighteen years ago we brought our then nine and seven year old daughters on a three week trip to Europe. One of the highlights of our time was the hiking that we did in Switzerland. On two occasions we took short hikes to remote huts and spent the night. We entranced by the beautiful mountains and alpine scenery. So when we had the opportunity to take a longer trek in Switzerland, we jumped at the chance.
In this case, we chose to hike across the country, 230 miles in total, over a three-week period. The hike, by far the most challenging of our Trekking Europe adventure, crosses numerous alpine passes, alternating between climbing up mountainsides and descending to valleys. Over the first six days of the trek, we crossed three passes. Each one was different, and we quickly learned to take the passes one at a time.
Our Swiss Alpine Pass route
Starting Our Trek in Liechtenstein
Many people begin their trans-Swiss hike in the Swiss city of Sargans. Instead, we decided to start our trek in the small country of Liechtenstein, crossing the Rhine River into Switzerland. One of only two doubly landlocked nations (the other being Uzbekistan), Liechtenstein is the sixth-smallest country in the world. High above the capital city of Vaduz is the Royal Castle, home to the Prince of Liechtenstein. We climbed up to view its exterior, as the interior is off limits to the public.
At this point we saw the first of the signs marking the trail. Our path corresponded to the Via Alpina Green and the Swiss National 1 trails. I also bought a book that detailed a third variation, called the Swiss Alpine Pass Route. The combination of the book, Via Alpina and Swiss websites, plus the gpx track files downloaded to our phones, helped us with our planning and day-to-day route finding.
Crossing the Rhine River into Switzerland
Our first day of hiking was defined as a prologue stage from Vaduz to Sargans, Switzerland. The entire western border of Liechtenstein is formed by the Rhine River. So after crossing the Rhine River via a wooden covered bridge, we entered Switzerland.
The day’s hiking was fairly urban, with some road walking. Towards the end of the day, the path climbed into a forest and emerged near a castle in the city of Sargans.
Into the Mountains and Over the First Pass
From Sargans we joined the official route and began walking through the forest and into the mountains. The second day featured clear weather with glorious mountain views as we hiked up a valley towards the small village of Weisstannen.
That night and the next two nights were spent in similar villages, nestled in valley floors. We happened to have hotel rooms close to the town church in each case. Because the bells chimed on the quarter hour all night, earplugs were essential. Even so, it was hard to totally block the sound, making it a little difficult to sleep.
The book described our third stage of hiking as providing a clear indication of the days to come on the trek. What was to be an almost daily routine started us in a valley, had us climb steeply over several hours to a pass, and then spend the rest of the day descending down a different valley to another village below.
The weather on the third day was rainy and foggy, making the approach to the Foopass (7,293 feet), somewhat somber. Except for the cows that we occasionally encountered along the way, we were the only ones on the trail.
We walked in a light rain, keeping a keen eye on the weather to ensure that we would not encounter any thunder and lightning at the pass. Fortunately, the weather turned to drizzle and fog, so we continued with the day’s hike.
Another Pass and a Difficult Descent
The next day’s hiking featured a slightly higher pass (Richetlipass at 7,418 feet). Right before the final climb to the pass began, we came across a hut selling refreshments. It was located at the end of a bus line, so many day hikers were also there.
We ordered a 1.5 liter bottle of mineral water and a small piece of berry cake to split. It was good, but we were shocked to get a bill for 15.50 Swiss Francs (about $15.65). Since the hut was not that remote, we thought the prices would be more reasonable. However, the refreshments fortified us for the hiking ahead.
After a two hour climb to a saddle of a similar altitude to the pass, the trail dropped down about 400 feet to a large alpine meadow. Even though it was another cloudy day, we found it to be a beautiful setting to have our picnic lunch.
As we ate, the Richetlipass cleared above us, and we were soon back on the trail to hike up the 400 feet of elevation that we had lost to the crest of the pass. By the time we finally made it to the top, I was really tired.
The book had mentioned a steep and potentially slippery trail right after the Richetlipass. Since the weather had been wet, the path was downright treacherous, oozing with mud and sheep manure. Our feet slid with every step, and it took some slow and careful footing to hike down to firmer ground.
The entire descent ended up being very steep. In fact, that day’s 15.2 miles consisted of about 4,900 feet of elevation gain and 5,900 feet of elevation loss. Needless to say, our knees were sore by day’s end. We were happy to reach the village of Linthal 10 ½ hours after starting the stage.
A Sunday Hike to a Car-Free Village and Our Third Pass
Day five of our hiking featured two big climbs on a clear and warm day. The first was to the car-free village of Braunwald. After ascending a steep set of switchbacks through a forest, we emerged on the edge of the town. A small electric bus zipped by, followed by a carriage, pulled by two bell ringing horses. We bought a carbonated apple drink and peered down to the valley floor where we had just climbed.
Our ascent had paralleled a funicular, and it being Sunday, there were many day trip hikers arriving from below. There was festive feel in the air as we sat admiring the scene around us. We found it hard to tear ourselves away to continue our hike.
Finally back on the path, we walked along a ridge, eventually turning into another long valley. At the end of it we could see the next pass: the 6,404 foot Klausenpass.
Unfortunately, about halfway down the valley, we lost hundreds of feet of our elevation gain as the trail dropped down to the river and an adjacent highway. We had to make that all back up during our final climb to the pass.
One of the first passes in Switzerland to have a motorized traffic road constructed over it, the Klausenpass is a favorite route for motorcyclists. Watching them and the variety of other cars go by us kept our attention as we started up towards the pass in the late afternoon. The trail met the road, meandered away, then joined up with it again.
There was very little shade and a steep grade, so it was a tough climb. But our reward was that our accommodations for the night were just a 30 minute walk down the trail from the pass itself.
We stayed at the 100-year old Klausenpass Hotel, a type of mountain guest house with a restaurant and shared bathrooms. They called themselves a nostalgic hotel and touted the fact that their building was totally stable. But as we walked up to our third story room, you could definitely feel the unevenness of the structure.
In the room was our typical bedding arrangement in Switzerland, twin beds next to each other with separate pillows and duvets. Also included in our room were two sets of ear plugs. We soon understood why; the walls were thin, and we could hear two other people snoring during the night. But wearing our own earplugs helped blot out some of the noise.
The real highlight at the Klausenpass Hotel was eating dinner on the terrace. We enjoyed local beer and plates of pork. Darren had a grilled pork steak, surrounded by vegetables, and I had excellent schnitzel with French fries.
As the sun was setting, the light streamed into the valley below us. It was a beautiful sight to end our long day of hiking over the third pass of our trek.
A Long Way Down to A Rest Day
When we planned our hiking stages, we used the walking times given in the book and website as guidelines. It wasn’t until we had hiked a couple of days that we could determine how close our speed was to the durations stated. We found that we could hike uphill slightly faster than the suggested times. But our downhill speed lagged a little behind the book and website, partially due to my cautious nature with steep descending trails.
We had one more, mostly downhill, stage to go until we reached the city of Altdorf and a rest day. Tired and beat up, we took our time hiking the 13.1 miles, while losing 5,282 feet in the process.
With all the elevation change we had experienced during our first five days of hiking, we were definitely moving slower. Getting slightly off trail twice didn’t help as well. But even though we had to walk in the rain during the last part of the day, we still reached Altdorf in the middle of the afternoon.
Over our first 77 miles of hiking, we had gained over 18,000 feet of elevation and lost almost the exact same amount. Fortunately, with a trek of such a long duration, we had scheduled rest days to give our bodies time to recover. Altdorf was the location of the first of those, and it is best known for being the location where William Tell shot the apple off his son’s head.
During our first six days of hiking, we found that the Swiss Alpine Pass Route trek was living up to its challenge and beauty at each alpine pass that we climbed.
The next 10 day section of the Swiss Alpine Pass Route (about 90 miles) will take us through the heart of Switzerland, climbing to the highest passes of our journey. Our plan is to hike this section at a slower pace, enjoying the views and allowing for potentially bad weather.