Hiking in the Bernese Oberland
Gantrisch Berg – the stubby peak to the left – approx. 2200m
Sometimes you go out with the mind to visit a particular place but then end up somewhere else – for us it was planning to climb Mt. Gantrisch and ending up instead hiking through a marshy forest, crossing brooks and streams, and finally ending up at a little waterfall.
When we got to the starting point there were big mounds of snow still melting, the air was crisp and the temperature had dropped from almost 20C down to 7C – needless to say we were not prepared for cooler temperatures than that – and it would get colder the higher we went.
So we drove back down for a couple minutes until we spotted a little wooden shed on the side of the winding road with a small cleared area where we parked the car, then off we went into the mountainous forest.
Due to the winters snow melting the ground was layered with inches of moss, and beneath that lots and lots of water, so it took a few minutes to figure out where to step to keep our feet as dry as possible.
Bubbling and winding stream winding it’s way through the forest.
Almost immediately we were faced with several brooks and streams of fresh water bouncing over logs and winding around rocks. With the suns rays poking through the dense cover of pine and oak trees over head the sight was pretty magical.
For a few hours we blindly wandered, following this deer path and that stream and climbing down that embankment, when we reached a point where many streams met one another, and the ensuing small river met with another slightly larger river. Then following the now decently sized river we heard a loud rush of water – and looking down the river saw the ground simply disappear – jackpot!
It may not be Niagara Falls, but it somehow feels richer knowing that it’s something so tucked away that only those who literally wander just might find this gorgeous little spot. So that was the highlight to our hike – and it was worth the temporary disappointment of not being able to ascend Mt. Gantrisch. Here is to many more happy hikes! Prost!
