Four Headwaters Trail through the St Gotthard ... - Vier-Quellen-Weg

Table of Contents5 Four Headwaters Trail through the St Gotthard Massif7 Off to the headwaters!8 From the Oberalp Pass to the Source of the RhineStage 1: Oberalp Pass – Lake Toma (Sourceof the Rhine) – Maighel Pass – Vermigel Hut14 From the Vermigel Hut to the Gotthard PassStage 2: Vermigel Hut – Sella Pass – Piz Giübin –Lake Sella – Gotthard PassAll rights reserved© 2012 Four Headwaters Trail Foundation, AltdorfCONTENT M A P A ND TR A IL D ESCRIPTIONSJosef Arnold-Luzzani, SchattdorfD ESIGN A ND L AYOUTArmin Furrer, Furrer Graphic Design, LucerneEDITORIAL A ND PRODUCTIONEdith Jörg, pr-work jörg, LucerneTr a n s l ationTim Neville, www.timneville.netproduction a nd d istributionGamma Druck + Verlag AG, Medien-Atelier, Altdorf1 st edition 2012Printed in SwitzerlandISBN: 978-3-906200-49-120 From the Gotthard Pass to the Source of the ReussStage 3: Gotthard Pass – Lake Lucendro – Source ofthe Reuss – Lucendro Pass – Piansecco Hut26 From the Piansecco Hut to the headwaters of the TicinoStage 4: Piansecco Hut – Headwaters ofthe Ticino – Nufenen Pass – Obergesteln32 From the Upper Goms to the Source of the RhoneStage 5: Obergesteln – Gletsch – Furka Pass –Rhone Glacier (source of the Rhone) – Hotel Belvédère38 Rivers and Paths Shape DevelopmentThe Gotthard Region – A cultural overview52 Rich Diversity of Plants and AnimalsA natural history journey in five stages60 How Mountains Grow and RecedeA five-stage hike through geological history70 Reservoirs of Water PowerHarnessing water in the St Gotthard Massif76 Practical Information79 Appendix, bibliography and credits80 Acknowledgements

Four Headwaters Trail through the St Gottard MassifThe Rhine, Reuss, Ticino and Rhonerivers all begin in the Gotthard regionand that gave Paul Dubacher from Seedorfthe idea for the Four HeadwatersTrail. He’s something of a specialistwhen it comes to hiking trails and wasinstrumental, for example, in formingroutes like the “Swiss Path” around LakeLucerne and the “Railway Trails” of theGotthard region.In 2009 Dubacher got to work onceagain. That same year the Four HeadwatersTrail Foundation was foundedwith well-known people from the fourcantons that make up the Gotthard region(see page 78). The inaugurationfollowed in 2012.For more information please visitwww.four-headwaters-trail.ch.Mountain hiking in five stagesThe Four Headwaters Trail is a familyfriendlytrek of about 85 km throughthe alpine country where the Rhine,Reuss, Ticino and Rhone rivers begin. Itis broken up into five segments, each ofwhich with starting and end points thatare serviced by public transport.Hiking through portions of cantonsUri, Graubünden, Ticino and Valaistakes you through unique landscapesPaul Dubacher,founder and projectleader of the FourHeadwaters Trailand highlights the central role that waterhas played for man, animals andplants.Things to know about the GotthardThe hiking guidebook to the FourHeadwaters Trail includes trail descriptionsas well as fascinating backgroundinformation on the region’s cultural history,flora and fauna, geological phenomena,climate change and the harnessingof water for hydropower.In this way a hiker can make senseof and learn more about the area. Thebest bits of background informationwill become apparent: How have humansthroughout the ages impacted theGotthard region; why mountains arenever at ease; which plants are worth acloser look; and how important is it toturn the region’s water into power.4 5

stage 1From the Oberalp Passto the Source of the RhineThe first stage leads from the OberalpPass, past the source of the Rhineat Lake Toma and concludes at theVermigel Hut. The Maighel Pass marksthe highest point of this section of thehike where the idyllic Lake Portgereninvites visitors to linger.The stage in four sectionsINFORMATION ABOUT STAGE 1A worthy goal – the idyllic Lake Toma.EFFORT Distance: 14.5 km/Time: 5 hrs. 20 min./Ascent: 1100m/Descent: 1100 mD IFFICULT Y Continuous, mostly hiking on marked trails (SAC rating T1/T2).STA R T A ND FINISH Start at the Oberalp Pass. Finish at the Vermigel Hut.Route Oberalp Pass (2044 m) – Lake Toma (2345 m) – Maighel Valley –Maighel Pass (2421 m) – Alp Portgeren – Vermigel Hut (2042 m)PROV ISIONS Maighel and Vermigel SAC huts (during hiking season).ACCOMMODATIONS STAG E 1 Vermigel Hut, reservations recommended, Tel. 041-887-17-73 or062-534-00-35, vermigel@sac-zofingen.ch. Maighel Hut (about halfway through first stage):Reservations: 081-949-15-51, info@maighelshuette.ch.G E T TING THERE Train to the Oberalp Pass from Andermatt (Uri) or Disentis Sedrun (Graubünden).R E T U R N FOR DAY HIKES Walk to Andermatt from the Vermigel Hut (2.5 hrs.). Train and busconnections available in Andermatt.M A PS Switzerland National Map: 1:50,000 No. 5001 “Gotthard” (good for all five stages).See page 10 for map excerpts of stage 1 (reduced 15 percent).INFORMATION www.four-headwaters-trail.ch; Tourist Info Uri: www.uri.info;Andermatt-Urserntal Tourismus GmbH: www.andermatt.ch;Graubünden Tourism: www.graubuenden.ch; Leventina Tourism: www.leventinaturismo.ch;Tessin Tourism: www.ticino.ch; Train and bus connections: www.sbb.chThe Matterhorn-Gotthard Railway (MGB)runs to the top of the 2044-meter-highOberalp Pass from canton Graubündenfrom the east or from Andermatt in theUrsern Valley from the west.It’s possible to reach the pass on footfrom Göschenen, Andermatt, Sedrun orTschamut (see map overview, page 1).Get your bearings at the yellow hikingsign and head out on the trail towardLake Toma.Those who prefer a longer, moresporty variation to reach the lake canfollow the signs to the Pazolastock(2740 m). After a short, sloping sectionalong the pass road 1 a path climbsgently across the flanks of the Pazolastock.The imposing wall of the dammedCurnera reservoir is visible for a shortwhile to the south. At a fork in the trailat Trutg (2056 m) 2 a path winds upwardsalong a gravel road to theMaighel Hut 6 . The hut, at 2310 meters,is run by the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC)and offers room and board. But to completethis section of the hike continueto climb southwesterly for about 300meters up some switchbacks throughsteep pastures that become increasinglyThe young Rhine flows toward Tschamut.The source of the Rhine at Lake Toma.Lake Urlaun in the Maighel Valley.The Vermigel Hut, the first day’s goal.8 9

From the Oberalp Pass to the Source of the Rhine stage 1THE WAY OF THE R HINEAfter a long, 1,230-km journey the Rhineflows into the North Sea near Rotterdam,Europe’s largest port. Along the way, manytributaries transform the feisty little stream atLake Toma into a wide river that has becomethe most heavily used waterway in Europe.At Reichenau/Tamis the Anterior and HinterRhine join together to form the so-called AlpineRhine, which flows into Lake Constance.From there it becomes the High Rhine untilBasel, with the Aare River flowing into it atKoblenz. After Basel, the river is known asthe Upper Rhine, which runs to Bingen, Germany,and is joined by the Neckar and Mainrivers along the way. From there the river becomesthe Middle Rhine until Bonn, a stretchjoined by the Lahn and Mosel rivers thatflows around the mythical Loreley cliff nearSt Goarshausen. Finally the wide and placidLower Rhine begins after Bonn, flowingthrough the north German lowlands andforming the Rhine-Meuse Delta at the German-Dutchborder. It then eases through alarge natural region to spill into the North Seanear Rotterdam.tersects the access road just mentioned(2263 m) 5 . A few meters beyond theintersection a trail branches off to theright toward Lolen Pass (Pass Tagliola,2399 m), and a bit further to the south,a spur trail heads toward the manmadeCurnera reservoir.Stay on the access road that soonends with a well-beaten, often muckypath that leads into the wide, flat areaof the Maighel Valley and its many tadpole-chokedponds. The valley boaststhe typical flora and fauna of a wetlandwith cottongrass, sedges and yellow-orangeblossoming saxifrage. The moorsare green in summer and spring, yellowand brown in autumn. In a few12places peat has formed over the centuries.(For more on the flora and faunasee page 53).At the “Piogn Crap” (roughly translatedas “Bridge by the Rock”), behold amagnificent masterpiece of nature: aseveral-meter-deep gorge, narrow at thetop, carved by centuries of water flowingdown from the Maighel Glacier andthe Bornengo Pass. It is so narrow atthe top that one is almost lured intoleaping over it. Later the trail crossesthe terminal moraine that the easternMaighel Glacier left behind after its lastadvance around 1850.Soon the trail arrives at another forkat Plaunca Portgera (2374 m) and climbsto the right up to the Maighel Pass(2421 m) 7 , where the idyllic LakePortgeren twinkles. North Americanlake trout, brown trout as well as rainbowtrout make this a popular place foranglers. The view spreads to the northwith the Portgerenstock, to the southwestover the slopes of the Alp Wildenmattenand up to the Piz Giübin nearthe Sella Pass. The Maighel Pass marksthe end of canton Graubünden and theRhaeto-Romansh-speaking regions.Traditionally five dialects of Rhaeto-Romansh are spoken and written incanton Graubünden of southeast Switzerland:Sursilvan (in the AnteriorRhine region), Sutsilvan (in portions ofthe Hinter Rhine region), Surmiran (inthe Upper Engadine and Al bula valleys),Puter (in the Upper Engadine)and Vallader (in the Lower Engadine).In order to create consistency out ofthe truly different dialects for bureaucraticmatters, a standard dialect called“Rumantsch Grishun” or “Romansh ofLake Toma, or Lai da Tuma in Rhaeto-Romansh, at thebase of Piz Badus, means “lake behind the hill.”Graubünden” was developed and hasbeen used as the official dialect since2001. On the way from the OberalpPass to the Maighel Pass, one can learna few words of Sursilvan: plaunca(slope or flank), piogn (catwalk-likebridges often running along the sidesof cliffs), trutg (mountain path), crap(rock or crag).The route then zig-zags along a path(that’s also an official mountain biketrail) over alpine meadows, past pondsand down to a bridge over the UnteralpReuss river (1978 m). A short but steepclimb brings you to the goal for theday, the Vermigel Hut (2042 m) 8 .which can sleep 40 people.DAY HIKING This section can be done as aday hike by wandering down throughShy marmots are always around.Scheuchzers cottongrass,a common wetland plant.the tranquil Unteralp Valley for a good2.5 hours to reach Andermatt. Watch forchamois on the eastern slopes of theGafallengrat and the Gurschenstöckli,particularly during mornings and evenings.On the right you’ll probably seemarmots with their shrill whistles. Toavoid bike and vehicular traffic, you cancross the Unteralp Reuss near Heuplanggand wander through lonelymeadows, passing a rest area, to reachthe center of Andermatt directly. Save alittle energy for a visit to the MariahilfChapel above the village. After a hardwinter in 1720 the priest is said to haveattached a picture of the Virgin Mary toa tree. The townspeople started to puttheir faith in this small wayside shrineand in 1724 build a chapel there.13