Lindauer Hütte -> Douglasshütte – Keeping Switzerland to the left

13. August 2025

 

 

11 km

730 m up

490 m down

4:50 hrs.

 

The last day of our hut-to-hut trek had dawned, and this is what Mapy predicted for us. We had booked the Douglasshütte, located right at the top station of the gondola to Lünersee, with the idea that it might be nice to spend one more night at higher altitude and experience the lake in a quieter setting.

 

I had once started a photo series called “Jesus Everywhere”, and this time I was able to add a very special specimen to it. The man at the Alpe didn’t know why this figure was designed with a hanging arm—only that it had always been that way.

 

 

At first, I set off in good spirits, but soon my mood darkened—or rather drifted away. It was hot, the path went uphill, I was sweating, and I started to feel a bit dizzy. To the left and right there were ponds, small streams, and cows.

 

 

 

But eventually we reached the Öfapass, where a large rock offered a patch of shade. Sitting there, my spirits and good mood returned—especially with such a beautiful view. Hardly anyone seemed to be heading in this direction that day, and we only met people coming the opposite way much later. There was no real sign of “civilization” anywhere around, and those are exactly the mountain moments I love so much.

 

 

 

With lighter steps we descended to the Schweizer Tor, where a former border hut still stands. I couldn’t help but wonder what it must have been like back in the days when the border was still guarded. We, however, kept Switzerland to our left the entire time and continued on to our last pass, the Verajoch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the way down, I thought to myself how truly beautiful it all was—the rock walls, the varied stone formations, and the wide meadows. Even though many of the alpine flowers had already faded, there were still a few colorful patches brightening the scene.

 

 

 

 

And then Lünersee came into sight.

 

 

 

 

We had been looking forward like crazy to an elderflower spritzer at the lakeside hut, but it was closed—apparently only open on weekends. Instead, we found a lovely spot to rest.

 

The loop around the lake dragged on a bit, but we passed the time with stories from the past. That’s the nice thing about a boring wide path—you can easily chat along the way.

 

The hut itself was a bit unusual. During the day, it served mainly as a large restaurant for all the gondola visitors. But you could also stay overnight, and quite a few people did. Some of them didn’t really look like they were on a hut-to-hut hiking tour or used to mountain life. Huts are sometimes very strictly organized, and this one definitely was.

 

A friendly man arrived without a reservation, but too late for the official dinner hours. He still got a bed, though. He said his experience was that someone always cancels, and that’s how he usually managed to get a spot—which, for him, worked out pretty well. Or, better said, pretty well for hiking. Dinner, however, was just “emergency rations,” a goulash soup. It wasn’t enough for him, so he ordered a second. He wanted to eat it outside → not allowed.

 

A rather peculiar-looking woman in a dirndl bossed her team around in a sergeant-like manner, and it was clear that this was not a cheerful or relaxed working environment. A pity.

 

Still, the food was good, the bed comfortable, the shower cold, and the lake rather chilly. I went for a short walk there in the morning. That was basically the end of the hut-to-hut tour, but Karla had rented a holiday apartment where her husband would join in two days, and I was invited to stay for two nights.

 

Since I learned a bit more about the area there, had time to reflect, and because there was a moment of tension between us, there will be one final blog post.