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Longbyt · #29 29.03.2010, 13:01

Hike –from Meilen to Küsnacht (Zürisee Gold Coast)

Time 4 1/2 hours, Distance 13 1/2 Km, Uphill - ca.430 m, Downhill - ca.430 m

Starting point Meilen ‘Friedhof’ (cemetery)

Link to GPS track and pictures.
This is an easy hike, uphill beside one stream, across the top of the ridge and down another stream on the same side of the Pfannenstil.

Public Transport at both ends. Excellent for non-hiking newcomers to Switzerland to try-out a new sport. If you don’t want to get your brand new hiking boots a bit muddy, it could easily be done in decent ‘gym shoes’. A snack in the rucksack is not a bad idea as there are no restaurants en route.

Net gain: one hiker, two llamas, several horses plus riders, about a dozen well-behaved dogs with their owners, a couple of bikers, one photographer; wild-life - no flowers in the woods except butterbur just poking through the soil, one pair of mandarin ducks, lots of frogs, masses of frogspawn and four dippers. (Very dark ‘blackbird sized’ birds with a brownish head and white ‘bib’ which sit on stones in the middle of fast-flowing streams and bob up and down)

We started just above the cemetery in Meilen (parking places Fr.0.50 per hour) and set off up the hill following the ‘Grüetzi Route’. It’s a good path for getting used to Swiss maps and learning to look out for the yellow rhombus of the walking trails as there is no real chance of getting lost. Steady uphill and the rushing stream is fascinating to watch. Turn left at the top of the hill (Güldener Höhe) and then follow the signs down the other stream towards Küsnacht.

In a couple of weeks there will be masses of spring flowers about so it will be more attractive, but it was a lovely peaceful hike and the number of man-made waterfalls was quite impressive.

The following 2 users would like to thank Longbyt for this useful post:
martin34, Mx2000