Trans Swiss Trail – Towards the Gotthard

Awakening with David Bowie

Reaching for the iPhone and the iTunes database is always the first action, even before the system is booting up.

Every morning the Random selection allows the surprise of the day, today it's David Bowie. This song, however, recorded shortly before his death in early 2016, is not exactly inspiring an optimistic start to the day.

David Bowie-Black Star

It's one of his best, but also saddest songs in his extensive catalog of memorable songs. I've watched the video countless times and every time I fall into a kind of end-time mood. It's full of angst, about the end of life, about death, dark and full of sadness.

Bowie looks very ill, at the end of his strength, close to death. But the music is overwhelming. Especially the drums (apparently he got the support of young jazz musicians) are worth a closer listen.

Someone commented the video: If you ever feel sad, know that the earth is 4.35 billion years old, and you were born at a time to listen to David.

That's all there is to it.

Of course, this is not an optimistic start to this day, which will probably be one of the most strenuous of the whole tour. But let's see, I'm not superstitious.

At least the tour guide gives me better ideas:

Mule track, cantonal road, Gotthard railroad, freeway, Neat construction site... At Erstfeld at the latest, the Uri Valley resembles a transit corridor. Silenen, Amsteg: symbolic places along the old mule track. Good view of the hilltop church of Wassen and the helical tunnels.

 

A treacherous river

The first kilometers are the add-on from yesterday. One hour and 40 minutes to Erstfeld, and then the proper stage begins. At least the path follows the Reuss, which today presents itself in a reasonably calm and leisurely state. You would have to be blind not to realize that the river can also do otherwise. That it can flood the entire valley when it feels like it.

For example in October 2020.

Such natural events will become more frequent, climate change sends its greetings. A lot of people still haven't realized that the Alps in particular will be hit hardest. There will be more serious events, and on the other hand, the water supply will change significantly due to the disappearance of the glaciers.

But as already mentioned elsewhere - we carry on as before, and if something finally gets done, it's far too slow.

Humanity is digging its own grave.

 

Surprisingly, the path soon leads into a dark tunnel, rather unexpected but not undesirable. A bit of variety is always good, especially when it takes the eye away from the constant beauty of the surroundings and leads you into the dark deeds of man.

However, I must admit that this sinister work just traverses a tiny short section underground. The reason for this is that the path is blocked by a steep slope descending to the river.

 

 

Another distraction - the Gotthard truck stop, where trucks are stopped and checked to make sure they are in perfect technical condition (a breakdown or worse in the Gotthard tunnel might be fatal, see 2001). And if the trucks aren't overloaded (which seems to be quite common) or the drivers didn't respect their resting times (which, frighteningly, is even more common).

All of which are reasons to take a very close look. Any trucks that do not meet the requirements are detained. Sometimes the driver is forced to take rest breaks, sometimes the vehicle has to be repaired before it is allowed to continue its journey.

Imagine what might happen if a truck with bad brakes causes a problem in the Gotthard tunnel. The tunnel as it is today is run in a single tube (a second one is under construction at the moment), which means that vehicles cross each other. A small accident leads to catastrophic effects.

It's better not to imagine it.

 

 

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Planes is a bit of an exaggeration, although the occasional white streak in the sky is evidence of upper activity.

But I like the title because it's reminiscent of a 1987 comedy film of the same name with Steve Martin and John Candy. A must see, very funny (especially when their car catches fire) but towards the end it points to a tragic story, of course positively resolved in good American fashion.

On the other hand, the undeniable presence of trains and cars is not exaggerated.

The entire European north-south traffic runs through this narrow valley. Every year, several hundred thousand trucks cross the Gotthard, not to mention the cars. Although the so-called Alpine Initiative originally intended to shift road traffic to the railways, the number has not changed much.

In addition, on certain holidays (Easter, Whitsun) or at the beginning of the vacations, the bottleneck of the tunnel causes traffic to jam for many kilometers, imposing on motorists a waiting time sometimes exceeding two hours.

However, the narrower the valley gets, the more traffic routes compete for the limited space.

On the one hand, there is the highway crossing the valley in numerous bends over countless bridges. There is the railroad, the old line, which enters the tunnel just after Wassen. There is the normal traffic road away from the highway.

And last but not least, there is a hiking trail squeezing through on the way south. This is the path on which I happen to be.

 

The Gotthard Railway

A word about the train connection: the old railroad tunnel (see picture) was, after all, the result of a century's achievement regarding tunnel construction.

The 140 year old Gotthard tunnel was built as a crest tunnel beneath the peaks of the Gotthard massif in a north-south direction. It was the central structure of the Gotthard Railway in Switzerland. The 15-meter-long railroad tunnel consists of a single, double-track tunnel tube between the towns of Göschenen in the canton of Uri and Airolo in the canton of Ticino. The tunnel was drilled and blasted around 003 at an altitude of 1880 meters above sea level. The access ramps meander through the Reuss valley and the valley of the Ticino to this altitude. The tunnel is surmounted on average by about 1150 meters of mountains. (Wikipedia)

That is a thing of the past. Since the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016, the old railroad line has been degraded to a tourist attraction. It still runs periodically, but its future is uncertain. Apparently there are considerations to include the old Gotthard railroad into the UNESCO cultural heritage, other studies that are still in progress go in the direction of a reactivation as a traffic axis for freight transport. The reason: the much slower freight trains in the base tunnel massively slow down passenger traffic.

We will see. But when you see the once proud railroad, sadness sets in. It deserved more than its current fate.

 

 

  

 

Now the ascent begins

In Amsteg, the last village before the ascent towards the Gotthard begins, I peacefully drink a coffee and nibble an almond croissant in mental preparation for the coming efforts. The village seems to be deserted, only an occasional car has lost its way into the village and drives past me at a snail's pace.

The sky, or rather the weather, performs the usual caprioles. One moment the sky is shining in deepest blue, only decorated by a few cute clouds. The next moment it covers itself with dark overcast, the sun disappears, is forced to retreat.

 

 

Now the more arduous part of today's stage begins. The river stays below me, now you can see its actual nature as a wild mountain brook. One has to see to believe what raging monsters mountain brooks can become.

It takes a heavy thunderstorm or prolonged rain to swell creeks in minutes. Ignorance of this has already caught one or two swimmers.

With deadly consequences.

 

 

The valley now becomes truly narrow. The noise of the highway mixes with the gurgling and roaring of the river, sometimes supplemented by the whizzing of the train rushing by somewhere hidden. The noise level, a permanent companion through the valley, becomes louder, more insistent.

Although you think you are in the middle of nature, you are surrounded by civilization and its effects. Concrete. exhaust gases. Noise. Destruction.

 

 

 

 

But all of a sudden you are reminded of your impermanence, even if it's just by a weathered bench. And suddenly you feel your muscles and tendons, the effort, the age and thus - anything but desirable - the insight into your own mortality.

 

 

And then finally - the famous church of Wassen

Even the longest stage will eventually come to an end. Today's end is indicated from afar - the famous little church of Wassen. It has a long history.

After the Gotthard Railway opened in 1882, the Wassen church became a landmark on the journey south. Due to the spiral tunnels, train passengers see the church three times from a different side.

Thus a tourist attraction of the first order. Today (see above) a past thing.

 

For me it means taking a deep breath, drinking a beer, putting my feet up, not thinking about anything. Or everything...

 

Matching song: Bob Marley - Concrete Jungle

And tomorrow the journey continues ... to Andermatt