Via Alpina 1 Stage 4: Brüsti to Engstlensee

Morning is brilliant blue and it doesn’t take as long as on previous mornings for the light to shine, it’s the first time on the trip that I don’t sleep on the valley floor. I couldn’t arrange for tree cover overhead for the night but my shelter is dry nevertheless. Surenenpass is still there and it’s my next milestone.

Trailstar in the meadow, Surenenpass at the far end

Silnylon slipping down the grass, my bivy sticking out the door

An alpine climb in the cool of the morning in brilliant, calm weather is among the best of prospects and I depart in good spirits. The route takes a somewhat awkward course along a secondary ridge instead of the high valley floor in the approach to the pass. The latter looked like the most natural way but the Via Alpina takes the former as it links the climb to the pass with the top station of the cable car and a stuffed hut along the way.

The latest stretch before the pass is the most rugged terrain en route so far, if only for the rockfall slope.

Surenenpass eastern side

Surenenpass is beautiful with great mountain scenery all around. On the new side, a perfect, grassy basin below with pointy mount Titlis and its glaciers closing the scene in the background.

Surenenpass west view, mount Titlis in the background

Similarly to previous passes, the wilderness feeling doesn’t last long as the trail reaches an alp location and turns into a wide track. Blackenalp is charming in the mid morning sunshine and I indulge in a round of Koffee und kuchen while white-bearded elderly guys smoke a pipe in the other table. You couldn’t get more Swiss than this.

Blackenalp

Down from the alp the terrain hides the saddle area and it’s time to only look and think ahead. The scenery is nice along a narrow valley flanked by high, massive rock walls, Titlis to the west, getting closer. The alp at Stäfeli sells cheese at a time when I can already justify getting some. I feel like I’m getting the hang of Switzerland hiking.

Stäfeli

Stäfeli alpkäse

One final narrows section before the valley opens up into the upcoming, main north-south drain. Engelberg town awaits.

Looking back up the valley

Down towards Engelberg

Engelberg is nice, albeit very touristy (everything is touristy here) but lively, fully serviced but not too massive. I cool my feet off in a downtown trough, eat my snacks and move on.

Engelberg downtown

I’ve managed to start the final climb of the day earlier than on previous stages and I’m feeling better than I used to at the equivalent point in space from days past, yet climbing steep in the afternoon heat is a sure recipe for heavy sweat. I go over an initial escarpment onto a flat terrace with wide views.

Fence post to the selfie rescue

I relive the previous day’s situation when I arrive at the base of the main valley wall to the bottom station of a cable car. This time I feel very minor regrets about sticking to the trail, even though it zigzags right below the damn thing at times.

No cheating

The top of the cable car marks the end of this leg of the climb. As I go over the edge, the trail spits me out onto a flat, hanging basin with a lake, the Trübsee. The place must have been magnificent before it was all surrendered to urbanization. In a September evening it looks rather eerie with barely anybody around. I march on.

The Trübsee was only a respite in the wall, there’s one final climb, this time over less steep terrain to reach Jochpass. I walk to nice views of towering Mount Titlis:

Mount Titlis, glaciers and summit buildings

Jochpass is a softened version of the Trübsee below. The pass area is part of an alpine ski domain serviced by cable cars and chairlifts on both sides and it’s mostly built up with two large buildings. The setting sun still shines here as I walk along and it makes it appear to me more cheerful than the sombre Trübsee did before even though the scene is equally odd with zero people around. I leave without any idea whether it’s inhabited or not.

Jochpass

I climb down from the pass towards Engstlensee in a course due west along a motionless chairlift while trying to integrate the setting sun in my pics.

Engstlensee chairlift

The Engstlensee, closer and cleaner view

The Engstlensee stands out as a protected area, never mind the hotel and chalet area immediately behind. I hold my doubts about where to camp for the night, in between getting away from the lake but not too close to the buildings. It is then to my surprise that I see a group of tents at the far end of the lake, among them, lo and behold, a 6 side mid.

The domes belong to a family with children, the mid to a British lady who’s also thru-hiking the Via Alpina 1. She tells me it should be fine to camp for the night as per the information she gathered from the berghaus hotel nearby. I set the Trailstar up a bit further back from the water, if only just in case while at the same time seeking shelter under the trees to avoid the impending condensation fest.

Camping in company

It was very nice to meet another thru-hiker. It’d be the only other one that I would identify along my trip.