Day 63: Surenenpass Day Hike

With everyone at work during the weekdays I decided to pull the boots on and go for a day hike.  I originally planned to do a bunch of overnight hikes while I’m here but the weather has been absolutely shite.  Appears I missed summer by a day and it’s been cool, cloudy and rainy every day since I’ve been back.

In a short break in the weather I headed down to Central Switzerland to the small village of Aldorf, near the southern end of Vierwaldstaettersee (Lake Luzern).  My plan was to hike from there over the 2291m Surenenpass, one of the last major mountain passes in Switzerland without a road running through it.

To make it day-hikeable I caught a small cable car from the bottom of the valley to Bruestli.  From there it was a three-hour walk west uphill along a mountain ridge to the pass.  The views were outstanding – numerous 3000+m peaks and glaciers, rolling green fields, the lake below – and the scenery was topped off with the continuous tinkle of Swiss cow bells.

Once I reached the pass I stayed a while eating my lunch and enjoyed the views further west, towards gigantic 3228m Titlis, 3198m Gross Spannort and other mountains.  The rest of the hike was a gradual descent down the valley to Engelberg, where I caught a train back to Luzern.