Unterschächen

After returning from the Sustenpass I decided to have again a short walk in the Sittlisalp valley in Unterschächen.

At the end of the valley is the cable car station, going up to Sittlisalp. Maybe next time I will do this and go there.

Sustenpass

In the night to Sunday the real rain began. In the van each rain drop falling on the roof sounds like a drum beat. Some people might be annoyed by this, but I do really enjoy this sound. I sleep very well, and since in the morning there is still a strong rain, preventing any sightseeing, I keep sleeping.

But after 10:00 am I think that it is time to get up and out.

The clouds seem to open once in a while. There has been very strong rain fall in Ticino, south of Gotthardpass. Am glad that I did go already on Friday.

Today I plan to head a bit more towards West, because there is supposedly less rain. So I will take the Sustenpass towards Meiringen, then continue towards Bern.

The Sustenpass has a gorgeous scenery, which of course can be best enjoyed in good weather. But also in the murky rain it has its appeal.

For a while my Garmin navi did warn me about a tunnel, with a limited height of 3.20 m. I had programmed the navi with the data of the camper: length, width, height, weight. So the navi provided a warning that I would have problems. But on the road there was no sight at all for this! There was one for a limited width of 3.20 meters, which is not a problem at all.

So for now I ignored this, and after reaching the top of the pass I continued downwards towards West.

And then there it was: the tunnel with limited clearance.

There is a sign in the van that its height is 3.14 m. This appeared to me too tight, especially because I would have to drive in the middle of the road, without seeing how much clearance I actually had. If there would be another person with me, then I could have dared it. But now I had no other choice than to return and abandon the plan of exploring Bern and other towns.

I headed back up to the Susten Hospiz Restaurant and got a nice Raclette with potatoes.

 

Hiking at Eggberge

On Saturday the weather is still supposed to remain OK, with occasional rain. I decided to go up the Eggberge for a short hike.

Breakfast:

Up to the Eggberge by cable car. Is right next to Remo-Camping.

View onto Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne) as the clouds briefly open.

Originally I wanted to walk up to Fleschsee and Fleschkiosk, but the weather seemed not to be too promising: it would rain soon. So I returned.

Attempt of Klausenpass

Not far from the campsite in Altdorf is the Klausenpass, a very scenic route which I have driven already previously with the LDV bus.

But as I approach the slope, there is a sign stating that the width is limited to 2.3 meters. My van now is at least 2.2 meters (width of box), but with the mirrors it is at least 2.4 meters. So this route is unfortunately out for me and the van.

There are very nice vistas in the town Unterschächen, where the actual slope up to the pass starts.

Here I am parking near the entrance to the Sittlisalp valley, off the main Klausenpass road.

Lukmanier Pass and Oberalp Pass

To come back to the camp ground base station I have several choices:

1. Return back over the Gotthard Pass. This time I would use the new road and make a stop at that kiosk with the gorgeous view.
2. Take the Nufenen Pass, then the Furka Pass. This would climb nicely high, to two very scenic views.
3. Take the Lukmanier Pass, then the Oberalp Pass. This is an easy road, also very scenic, passing one of the sources of the river Rhine.

I decide for the option #3: Lukmanier and Oberalp. Going back over the Gotthard would mean just one mountain pass today. And for Nufenen/Furka the weather looks too instable - I am expecting rain any time.

And indeed, once in a while there is a brief drizzle shower.

View into the Blenio Valley from the ramp up towards Lukmanier Pass.

From inside the camper one can choose the big-picture view by parking somewhere with a good view. Here it is just along the road, but when in a more scenic environment, one can have that gorgeous big-window view. Therefore, I have now decided to keep the rear as much as possible transparent. There will be a large plexiglass window front, providing an uninhibited view of the scenery, wherever I am.

For example here at the Oberalp Pass: view of the lake, not far from one of the sources of the River Rhine. 

Very important: the trophy stickers. They are only available on top of the mountain passes.

Unfortunately they had run out of stickers at the Lukmanier Pass... must come there again to get the sticker.