Day 4 Hike in canton Obwalden

Lots to talk about today

I really enjoyed my hike today. I had ups and downs, amazing views, beautiful car ride, and amazing cows, as always.

I just want to point out, the purpose of the 11 days, 11 hikes, 11 cantons for me, is to clear my thoughts, enjoy nature, not be in my home for two weeks, and, if possible, learn something about the cantons, though, this is not my major driving point. So, I will talk about what I have learned about the canton, but all in all, like today, there may not be any pictures from the capital.

Part I: On to hiking... 

I love hiking. I feel like I have had an honest day after a good long hike. I feel like the only thing I took was memories of my surroundings. Providing I respect nature, there isn't anything but good that I get from these experiences.

Some logistics
Length of hike today was 11.5 kilometers and took me almost exactly three hours. I didn't stop more than the one time when I was at the halfway point, and I didn't sit at all. I am finding that when I take a seat I really don't want to get back up, and worse, I stiffen up. So, I decided to hydrate, enjoy the views, and eat a little while standing at the halfway point today.

The incline today was 820 feet. Not too much and for Switzerland, it was a flat day for sure. But, what I really enjoyed was that it was long and stead all the way up. If you look at the incline part of the map, you will see that it was steady up, then steady down.

I should point out, I had to manually route this because I had my GPS set to not auto log the points, which meant, it recorded nothing but my lack of common sense. So, I am missing some details on statistics, but this is good enough.

Sidebar, on the highway many times on my way to the other cantons, I have noticed a painting on one of the mountain sides, it is huge and on a flat rock surface. Today, while driving to my hike, I saw it so I tried to drive and snap a shot with my Nikon Coolpix. It didn't turn out all that great, but at least you can see it.

What should I be wearing, eating, drinking?
I would be remiss if I didn't spend a couple of minutes and talk about gear for hiking. I hope it goes without saying that you generally do not want to wear cotton because it will absorb the wet, which isn't all that pleasant.

For pants, I always like to wear something comfortable. Hiking pants for me are perfect because they not only breath, they have awesome pockets.

What I think is most important are the shoes and socks. First, if you have the best hiking shoes in the world, but wear the worst socks, you will have problems, and vice versa. I highly recommend investing in good boots. I wear Asolo boots and love them. I have had them for a few years and never regret the investment. At that time, I think they were about 285 or 300 USD but probably less now. I also have quality socks. I spend a lot of time looking for the ones that will not cause sweat and slipping in my boots. I cannot recommend a brand, but any retailer for hiking equipment should be able to point you to plenty of selections. If not, maybe you need to find another store.

Hiking poles. I have them and use them a lot. Partly because they help balance my rotunda, but also because they take a lot of the impact off of my knees and feet. I had knee surgery years ago and my knee bothers me a lot, so they are great for that, if nothing else. I see many Swiss hikers going into very difficult areas without them. I suggest it is a matter of preference.

I am not an expert on food and drink I generally carry a lot of water so I am always hydrated. I can tell today I did a good job of it because I didn't get a headache. By the way, I have heard that by the time you get a headache, you are well on your way to dehydration, and that you are already dehydrated before it kicks in. So, drink plenty of water. I do not drink things like gatorade, but they will probably be very helpful for replenishing what your body is expelling.

For food, well, I have some thoughts here. Some of you may already know, I have a green drink every morning before anything else after I brush my teeth. This really sets my day off right. I don't hunger as much, and seem to have a lot of energy. Today, I didn't have a green drink because I stayed in a hotel last night. So, I started my day with a couple of banana's. I don't like to bite apples (a Daveism, don't ask) so I didn't have any of them. I must admit, before I started hiking I also had a bread based snack while driving. This weighed me down and wasn't helpful. So, my suggestion is to start your day off right and all should fall into place.

I would really be interested in hearing what others fuel with before, and during hikes!!!

The hike itself
I do not get tired of saying this, the views in Switzerland are just amazing. Everywhere the eye turns it is another post card. Today, was certainly no different. With Titlis in view for the entire hike and just amazing surroundings, I was blessed beyond words.

The hike was in a valley between the mountains, with the small town of Engelberg as the base. Here is how it started. A beautiful view of the mountains, and a stream as I entered a small section of woods. I should tell you, from the night shots the night before, I had my settings on the camera way out of whack and completely forgot to reset them, so I tried to recover these in Photoshop, but not too successfully.

Shortly after this, I was on the riverbed side hiking for a bit.. it was really beautiful to see how the mountains were peeking out behind the trees and the colour of the water was perfect.

After coming out of that small wooded area which is where a small driving range was for golf, a gentleman was farming his land by cutting and fluffing his grass to be gathered for the cows. His house is beautiful, and I can tell you, over my shoulder and his front porch view is of Titlis. I don't imagine life getting much better than that!!

As I passed the farm and the gondola lift, I came upon a field of cows. Yes, I followed the path in the grass where they were mowing it down and filling their bellies. Like all other times, they just moved around and gave me the look of just don't bother me.  On the way back down and through them the second time, one was parallel to the path and standing there so I had a chat with him, then patted him on the side as I walked by. I love animals so much and really wish we treated them better.

Sadly, the farmer up on the hill on the left side, had three dead cows out alongside his barn. They clearly were either just put down for food, or died of something because they were not hanging up, but laying in the field with their legs up. I had a really hard time after seeing this for about 10 minutes. I felt very sorry for them for many reasons. I am certain you can understand why I did not take a picture of this.

Oh look, a nice view of Titlis. It is an amazingly beautiful mountain. Watching clouds formulate off of it, and then moving on, is really spectacular. Don't you agree?It is just beautiful.

As I was leaving this part of the hike, heading towards the mid point for my turn around, I stopped, and looked back to see the town of  Engelberg and took this photo. I can only imagine what it is like to live in such beautiful places. It reminds me of the old western movies from when I was a child. A man, his wife, and two children living on a farm, and being a single unit that works well together. Making their weekly trip by horse and coach into the city (which takes all day) for supplies.

I found it interesting to see two sets of elderly couples holding arm in arm and walking close to the mid-point. All the years have passed, they still have love for each other, and enjoy a nice walk. Life is Good!!

As I came to the mid point of the hike, I found the views to be amazing. There were waterfalls all around, beautiful water running below, and a perfect atmosphere, not to mention, a restaurant (no, I didn't go in).

Here is what I saw just as I was coming near the restaurant. I could see a few people through the trees sitting there and enjoying themselves.

Of course, I needed to look at the signs to ensure I was going the right way. I never get tired of how well the Swiss define their trails. I also like how they tell the time it will take to get to a particular location instead of telling the distance. In Switzerland, the distance has very little to do with the amount of time it takes because every hike is different, that is, unless you are hiking in the Obi parking lot and just doing laps.

A shameless plug by me for the restaurant. I cannot speak for the food, but they looked like very nice people and the water troth out front was perfect for me to freshen up a bit.

This is roughly the same view as the above picture, but this one is unobstructed. This place is beautiful, plain and simple.

Once I made the turn and started heading back, I could not help but to notice Titlis yet again, and as beautiful as ever. I wonder if the mountains know how much they give to the eyes of those who get to see them? I presume it sounds dumb but I'd like to give them a hug to say thank you.

After about 45 minutes into my return, I had a chance to take a memory of the mountains just to the left of Titlis one more time. Nothing more to say other than what the picture does already.

I feel it is important to remind everyone that I am scared to death of heights. I have no idea why, but I have noticed it has gotten worse as I ripen. I mention this now because as I took the picture above and turned back towards my destination, I found a small pulley device going up from where I was to a base camp if you will of Titlis. It was just a box and a couple of cables. I then played the game of how much would it take me to sit in that thing and ride up to the point.

I originally said a million CHF, then, I broke down the ride and it got ugly. First, I realized the box itself was big enough I could lay down and just not look. Thinking, ok, I got this, I can get up there, even if it starts swinging from the wind, I will just hold on, and not stress. Then, I looked closer at the box and realized it was only being held together by some bolts, it had a wooden floor and simple wooden slides. Certainly, half way up, the bottom would give out, then I would have to hold on the what is left for my life while it climbed up to the end. Knowing I do not have enough strength to hold the whole way, I then became certain of falling to my demise...  and it was at that point I knew 1,000,000 CHF wasn't enough!!!

I walked a little further to see the gondola going up on the other side of the valley. These cables are miles long and just swing and hang. I know they are safe as we never hear about problems, but like the older bridges in the US starting to have problems, like the one that went down in the Mississippi, I believe it is only a matter of time...............................

Overall
I believe it is important to enjoy nature, and get in tune with it, in the manner that fits you best. Life becomes understandable after one achieves this, through the good and bad. With my personal problems preempting this adventure, today was a strong day of reflection on what is happening. Missing my family, and not knowing when I will get to see Chu Chu or Sashimi Miso Kobayashi again, really is hard. I have decided to make a separate blog to talk about this stuff, as it doesn't belong here.

So, enjoy the views that I share with you. Imagine yourself in these places with nothing more than fresh air, friendly faces, and engaging nature. Now, as you are driving somewhere, as I am below to my hike today, picture yourself going out into nature and the rest will follow.

Have I mentioned... I really love my mini cooper. It is the best way to travel to any hike!

Part II: Let’s talk about the Canton Obwalden

I am not sure if you are noticing a theme from the canton pictures, but in case you have not, I will tell you, so far, they are all next to each other (which makes sense I know). I also find that while they seem small to me, they are unique in their own ways.

courtesy of wiki

Here is a surprise, Obwalden joined the federation in 1291, like the previous three (Schwyz, Uri, Nidwalden). While reading the demographics, I found some things quite interesting:

• There are 35,585 residents
• Of those residents, 45% of them were born in the canton. This tells me it has great roots
• As of the year 2000, 15,026 of the residents in Obwalden were never married. WHAT??? So, if you are single, this may be a good place for you to move, that is, if you are looking!!!
• In 2007 Obwalden replaced the former degressive income tax (lower tax rates for higher incomes) with a flat 1.8% income tax, which is the lowest in the country. This cantonal tax is in addition to federal and local taxes. (direct quote from wiki)

When you look at the image above of the canton, you will notice it looks like it is in two pieces, but when you look closer, you see it is connected by a thin line.

Below is a map of the places I have hiked so far:

Part III: Lunch Checks

Today I didn't stop for lunch and headed home. I decided to explain what they are. There is a company in Switzerland that has Lunch-Checks. The purpose of them is to supplement lunch costs for many working people. At the company I work, they are not provided to everyone. In fact, we have been trying to figure out who gets them. Our group get them because we work in a remote building that doesn't have a canteen which is accessible. It is ironic because on the main campus, I think food costs more than some places where we eat.

We get 340 CHF of lunch checks a month for the price of 170. So, at the start of the month we go and purchase them with cash and off we run. We can then take them to any restaurant that accepts them as a replacement for cash. Therefore, our lunch costs 1/2 price. On my hike, I have been mapping out the places that take them in each canton and then eating there at lunch time when my hikes are done.

Not sure if I clearly explained what they are, but if you look at the other blog posts or click on the Lunch-Checks link you can see what they look like.

In closing... thank you so much for reading this blog. I hope you are enjoying it. Today, 3 hours and 21 minutes it took me to complete this entry.