swiss.crossing - Stage 6/12

I leave my lover and Lucerne at about 9am. I start by going up to the city walls, the Museggmauer (Musegg Wall), which are marked by numerous (9) towers. Built around 1400, these fortifications are today considered as one of the longest and best preserved city walls in Switzerland (800m long still remain).

There is a clock tower, the Zytturm, in which I climb. You can observe the very old mechanism, which still works with a big stone that swings at the end of a rod, and huge toothed wheels that turn slowly, with the regularity… of a clock. Moreover, from the top, one can enjoy a beautiful view on the city.

I then run along the north side of ramparts, before crossing the Reuss river on the covered bridge Spreuerbrücke, which is more than 500 years old, is just as beautiful as the Chapel Bridge, even if it is a little shorter, it has the advantage of being much less frequented.

So I spent quite a bit of time playing the tourist in town, before tackling the climb of the Sonnenberg Hill.

It’s a tough climb, on more or less regular steps, which lead to a narrow and high castle, all white, worthy of a fairy tale but which gives rather a sinister impression. Castle Gütsch, now a hotel, dominates the city, and I enjoy one last time the panorama over the roofs of Lucerne.

Then I am in the forest, and it starts to rain, so I take out my K-way for the first time. The path continues on the side of this mountain of the Sonnenberg, mainly in forest, for 5 or 6 km.

Then it starts to go down, quite steep, and I even have the good surprise to cross some deep and very narrow gorges, the Ränggloch, hidden in the vegetation. I pass a concrete bridge, go up on the other side, then I am in fields, running in the high soaked grasses that whip my legs which are soon quite red because of my allergy to hay.

When I arrive in the valley and leave the meadows, I stop at the first farm and I take advantage of the fountain to wash my legs abundantly in order to avoid that the itching gets worse.

I am at the bottom of a rather wide valley, and I then start to run up the course of the Kleine Emme River, on its right bank, on a pleasant path of undergrowth. In this tributary of the Reuss, one can find gold, coming from the Napf Moutain Range, rich in this ore, which was exploited until the 19th century. Not having my equipment, I don’t stop to play gold panning, and I continue on this false flat rising, well arranged. I progress rather well, to the sound of an alpine horn, which I hear since I left the forest. And it is while passing under the bridge of a road which crosses the river that I see on the other bank, two men who repeat with their instrument, taking advantage of the resonance offered by the concrete bridge. Like what, there are always surprises…

I quickly arrive in Malters, then I continue to go up the river.

It’s raining harder and harder, and I’m torn between taking a little break, or continuing to move forward to get dry quickly. I stop anyway for a few minutes under a bridge around the 18th km, then I hit the road again in the direction of Werthensheim.

A short steep climb forces me to walk, and it’s here that I realize how much it’s raining. At the top of the small hill, a Franciscan convent erected in 1636 to welcome the pilgrims who came there in great numbers since a Dutch gold digger had an apparition in the area.

I go down a steep road to a covered wooden bridge (built in 1710), which I cross. This is the first time I cross the Klein Emme. The advantage of the covered bridge is that for about 50 meters, it keeps me sheltered from the rain which is increasing. 

Fortunately, I only have 2–3 kilometers to go to Wolhusen…

I cross the small city quickly, to go to the hotel, where I check-in thanks to an automat, it’s the first time it happens to me. Room rather simple but nice, I settle there to dry all my stuff and to enjoy an almost whole afternoon of rest…

And just out of the shower, the sun appears… cool, I can dry my running shoes.

Accommodation: Gasthaus Rebstock, Wolhusen

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To look at the planned route (zoom-in) for this stage, on the national swiss map, click here or on the map