Week 4: Maria Niederrickenbach
4.75 km, 640m ascent, 1h:45m
The hiking group was smaller this time: only 14 people, which is a much nicer group size than 40. This was the most ascending we had done yet. Parts of it were quite steep (averaging almost a 15% grade), but I did well. I hiked in the vanguard and was able to rest and catch my breath during regular pauses to wait for stragglers to catch up. The weather was cooler (cold at the beginning), which I appreciated. We took a decent length break at a shelter midway up.
This was a one-way hike. Most of the group stopped for lunch at the mountain restaurant up top before taking the cable car back down.
Sheep grazing on the mountain.
A view of the convent that was our destination, taken as we neared the top.
Selfie with sheep cheese! This region is known for its sheep’s milk cheese, so I bought some from a self-service kiosk (basically an unattended refrigerator and a box for cash).
Route map from my watch (the gap is from when I forgot to resume the workout after our break):
Training hikes
This week I fit in two training hikes.
Wirzweli from Dallenwil, 4.5km, 650m ascent, 1h:30m
This hike left from the opposite side of the valley from Tuesday’s Niederrickenbach hike, but in profile the hike was very similar. I hiked this one by myself. The weather was warmer this day, and I was sweating profusely and drank a lot of water.
Mostelberg from Sattel, 5.5km, 450m ascent, 1h:40m
I hiked this Sunday morning with my son. This hike is from the bottom station of the Sattel gondola to the top station. (The previous weekend we hiked in the same region but started from the gondola top station.) This was a pleasant hike but not as pretty as others I have done recently.
