Fascinating personal high-mountain impressions are promised by the crossing from the Sernftal valley via the Richetli pass into the Grosstal valley between the Kärpf massif and the Hausstock. The hike begins at the Elm bus station. Start off walking through the little village or “Dörfli”, as the locals like to call their little village centre of old wooden houses. The route turns right from the signpost at the church and climbs continuously after crossing the cantonal road through cool woodland, steep mountain meadows and varying landscapes to Ämpächli. This section can also be covered with the cable car. From Ämpächli, a mountain wood and alpine road runs past the Hängstboden alpine settlement under national protection, over flowering meadow slopes to the ski hut in Obererbs. The trail first continues on damp cattle tracks through infertile alpine pastureland, crossing a lively mountain stream and then climbs out from the uppermost corner of the Chüetel in well-structured bends to the panoramic Erbser Stock ridge. The descent to the marshy Wichlenmatt plateau begins in the midst of extremely varied flora. From the Matt Hut, the markings follow the Mattbach stream in the direction of the Richetli pass, which is finally reached along traces of a path. The terrain is also mountainous on the other side of the pass. Sheep tracks lead down the steep slopes to the Schäferhüttli hut, changing to the right above the Werbenrus ravine and running on a pronounced mountain ridge towards the valley. On leaving the ridge, a chain takes the edge off a downhill rocky passage before the trail opens into the Hinterdurnachtal valley at the water inlet. The massive Hausstock mountain rises majestically above the valley’s end. The next section must be covered on the little goods trail before the stream trail turns left at Stalden down into the wood and leads to the Solsteg stream. From there, it is not far through the lower village to the old sulphurous spring of Bad Stachelberg and to the train station of Linthal.
(Glarner Wanderwege)

 

Linthal
Linthal, located in the uppermost valley basin of the Glarnerland region at the foot of the Ortstock and Chilchenstock mountains comprises three villages, namely: Ennetlinth on the left-hand side of the valley, Linthal Matt on the talus of the Durnagel and Linthal village with the nearby farmsteads in the meadowland at the foot of the Chilchenstock. The valley mouth is formed by the mighty, ice-carpeted Hausstock, Selbsanft, Bifertenstock, Tödi and Clariden mountains standing at over 3,000m. However, this area not only has the picturesque location to thank for its economic upturn but also industry. As early as 1836, H. Kunz established a company for cotton spinning, dyeing and bleaching here. In 1853, the Woll- und Kammgarnspinnerei owned by C. and F. Becker, today known as Firma Bebie, followed suit. The construction of the Grosskraftwerk Linth-Limmern (electricity power station) thereupon brought the village welcome additional income. A considerable level of importance was also attributed to the Schwefelbad Stachelberg (sulphurous baths), built in 1830 by alderman G. Legier and situated close to the valley station of the Braunwald funicular. The guest book of the time contains many names of prominent personalities, such as Napoleon III, field marshal Count Moltke, General Dufour and Count Zeppelin. In 1915, it was closed due to insufficient use.
The Chilchenstock has on various occasions given the villagers cause for concern. The situation became particularly critical in late autumn of the year 1930. Fortunately however, the rock masses moving downwards at the time did come to a standstill. In 1905/06, the old Catholic church at the foot of the Chilchenstock was abandoned due to its badly dilapidated state and a new one was built as a replacement in Matt. The flooding of the Linth river in the 18th century had caused such heavy damage to the old Reformed church in Ennetlinth that it was also abandoned and in 1782 a new church had to be established in the village.
Candidacy for UNESCO World Nature Heritage
Since 2002, the border area of the cantons of St. Gallen, Glarus and Graubünden has been preparing to be included on the UNESCO World Nature Heritage list. Its main attributes are the good visibility and distinctiveness of the overthrusts fault plan on the terrain, the beautiful formation of the geological structures and the extraordinarily important role played by research into the origin of mountains. Alongside the Glarner main thrust fault, this selected UNESCO World Nature Heritage site offers many other particularities: untouched landscapes, a rich alpine plant and animal world, the oldest resettled ibex colony in Switzerland, highland moors and flood plains of national significance and an unusually high density of geotopes. Geotopes are sites that deserve protection as they are witnesses to the Earth’s history, for instance the Lochsite, the Tschingelhoren with the Martinsloch hole, the copper mine on the Mürtschen Alp, the landscapes marked by Ice-Age glaciers in the upper Murgtal valley or the Segnas plains.
(Schweizer Wanderwege)