The village of Sattel nestles against a mountain range that is constituted by the summits of Morgartenberg, Chaiserstock and Hochstuckli. The landscape has been noticeably formed by moraines during the last ice age. The Mostelberg directly at the mountain station of the cable car has a very long suspension bridge that spans the beautiful valley of Lauitobel and is up to 58 meters high. In June 2013we plan on crossing the bridge, going on a walk and having lunch at one of the cozy mountain restaurants. Unfortunately, it was raining cats and dogs. But this didn’t stop us…
Checklist time:
- Roundway: yes
- Accessibility: Via car to Sattel, park at the valley station of the cable car (parking for free) and take said cable car to Mostelberg.
- Length: 5 km and 385 hm
- Strenuousness: Low
- View: Mystique if you pick foggy and rainy weather
- Loneliness: Turns out, if it is raining cats and dogs, hiking paths seem to be rather deserted.
- More information: Sattel-Hochstuckli (German only)
- When did I go there: June 2013
Here you see a very rough sketch on the trekking route (click for large image). The map is courtesy of Sattel-Hochstuckli webpage.
We crossed the suspension bridge (yellow) and then took the route number 4 up to Hochstuckli summit. It wasn’t raining yet, merely being cloudy and foggy, so I left my rain trousers in the backpack, which will turn out to be a bad decision.
Crossing the suspension bridge is quite an adventure. It is really long and you can see through the metal meshes on the floor down to the ground. It sways in the wind because it is hold by thick cable wires. It also sways when people are jumping up and down on the bridge. It was fun for me although I guess people without a head for heights would be a bit daunted. Can you spot the bridge in the next picture?
Once we crossed the bridge, it was half past 10, which is a little early for lunch and the idea of having second breakfast has never really made it into Swiss hearts. So, we decided to hike up to Hochstuckli peak. By this time, the rain increased and we made our way along muddy paths and even around a herd of cows (plus their soaked left-overs). One cow even decided to follow us quite a while. Maybe she hoped that we would spare our rain coats with her or she mistook us for the farmer and hoped to be brought back to her shed.
Despite being wet and muddy, the view was still worth it. The Hochstuckli summit is opposite the Mythens (see my post for Hiking up the Grosser Mythen) and this time mystic clouds blanketed the ascending rocks which generated a quite arcane atmosphere. We didn’t stay long to enjoy it though. Remember, it was still pouring rain, so we had a quick mountain snack (tap water and cereal bar) and headed back to Mostelberg. I didn’t put on my rain trousers, so I was soaked at the legs when we arrived, but still dry everywhere else. As someone put it so nicely, there is no bad weather, only bad clothing (and next time I’ll definitely USE my rain trousers and not just carry them around).
At the restaurant we enjoyed our well-earned Alp lunch and one or two Kaffee Träsch. Kaffee Träsch is a coffee speciality well-known throughout Switzerland. It is very thin coffee with a certain type of schnaps (Träsch) and a large amount of sugar. I guess you drink it in Switzerland as the equivalent of mulled wine. Very good though and best to warm you up after a wet and cold day.
Spa and Travel 