Mt. Pilatus's namesake comes from the Pontius Pilate who was allegedly buried there. There is also a legend that a dragon once lived on the mountain. In present day however, Mt. Pilatus is a high volume tourist destination in Switzerland.
All in Attendance: Just Kristen!
I took the train to Olten from Baden and then to Lucerne. Right outside the train station, I saw the boat docks. I decided to take a boat (12.50 CHF with halbtax) from Lucerne to Alpnachstad, one of the towns at the base of Mt. Pilatus.
Being on the boat is still very exhilarating for me since I’ve probably been on one less than ten times. I was being a picture-taking fiend on this boat but the Swiss scenery is still very fresh and new for me. It was so beautiful. I would highly recommend taking the boat rather than another train to Alpnachstad.
One negative thing (or positive, depending how you look at it) about Swiss mountain peaks is that a lot of them provide motorized transportation options to the summit. Basically you can take a cogwheel train or gondola to the top of Mt. Pilatus. This is nice for travellers who don’t have a large window of time or for people who aren’t physically able to make the hike but honestly, everyone else shouldn’t be so lazy.
The camp Cadicasu counsellor in me believes that the first time you reach the top of the mountain should be because you hiked it. I couldn’t believe that from the full boat of people, only four set out to hike it, especially because most of them were wearing hiking boots.
I read that the hike was 5 hours long at a leisurely pace. Now everyone knows that I’m no mountain man but maybe the Rockies have toughened me out more than I realized. The hike took me just under 2 hours 45 minutes. It is inclined but in no way do you have to scramble, use your hands or fear slipping. It is very doable so I will be sorely disappointed if anyone I know visits Pilatus and takes the train up it.
The views from the hike are amazing and not all of them are visible from the top. There’s plenty of shade (until the last 30 minutes) and plenty of good places to rest with great views. It was beautiful and ineffable. Everyone physically able to should do the hike if they go to this mountain.
There were also a lot of Swiss mountain cows too. They all wore bells. I suspect that they are at different pitches depending on the ownership or perhaps all bells were unique. But because of the bells, you have a sort of ethereal wind chime symphony to hike to during the last hour to the summit. It's very unique to what I'm use to.
The top is riddled with tourists who wore hiking boots but took the cogwheel train to the summit. Women in full hiking gear but carrying Louis Vuitton purses. People with hiking poles but in flip-flops. Thank goodness we don’t have this nonsense in the Rockies.
There's also hotels and restaurants at the top which is a bit of a buzz kill when you're hiking. Don't do anything foolish, like think you should eat there unless you shit diamonds or have a stock of buried gold (A side of fries was 7 CHF). It's ridiculously expensive; even more so than usual Switzerland. You can also see some Swiss towns/cities from the top which also takes away from the mood. But honestly, the natural views you can see really do make up for all this and then some.
The view from the summit is very overwhelming. I was taken aback by my emotions from it. I can honestly say that this is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. There is real awe when you realize something like that. For this reason, I know that this is definitely somewhere I will come back to again in my life (quite possibly this year).
I am so very glad I discovered how refreshing it is to go hiking by yourself. I highly recommend it. There's more focus into what you are seeing and feeling. It's so great to be with your thoughts in somewhere so sublime.
I can't wait to go hiking somewhere more remote!
Things I learned:
- Always ask Korean or Japanese tourists to take your picture when traveling alone to ensure a good photo.
- Europeans will always think I'm Japanese
- I can plan a trip by myself and not get completely lost
Things to do when I come back:
- Hike from Pilatus to the many other hiking trails that branch out of it
- Paraglide
- Bring someone to share its beauty
Update, Aug 31, 2011: I have since learned that I lost it so bad on the hike because I haven't been desensitized to Switzerland's natural beauty yet. I just saw Gordon's hiking photos and now I'm convinced that the best has yet to come.
