Trans Swiss Trail, Stage 21/32

Mule track, main road, Gotthard Railway, motorway, NEAT building site... by the latest in Erstfelden, the Urnertal seems like a transit corridor. Silenen, Amsteg: of symbolic note on the old mule track. Good views of Wassen’s hilltop church and the helical tunnel.

From Erstfeld railway station, the yellow-waymarked hiking trail leads out of the railway village. Beyond the Jagdmatt Chapel, meadows and woodland alternate; near the Rietli Chapel, the route approaches Silenen. The Church of St Albin forms a striking focal point in the village before the trail continues across open slopes and through wooded sections to Amsteg.

Beyond Amsteg, the long ascent through the Reuss valley begins. Rather than taking a direct route along the valley, the trail repeatedly loops across meadows, through woodland and past scattered houses. After Gurtnellen and Wiler, the surroundings become more wooded again.

In the final section, the trail reaches the Reuss and shortly afterwards the Pfaffensprung reservoir, running directly along its shore. From there, it climbs steeply once more to Wassen. After around six hours and 19 kilometres, the hike ends at about 900 metres, also its highest point, near the Wassen, Dorf bus stop.