The Sunday Stroll to Majinsee
If the Lammenhüutte is too strenuous for you there is an easier option. A walk to the Majinsee and back, via the Thermal gorge. This is an easy hike with 300m of climbing and descent on wide gravel paths rather than narrow hiking paths. It takes you by a cold water lake before taking you through a vertiginous gorge that is not for those that suffer from a fear of heights.
What makes this hike stand out is that you see beautiful wooded landscapes as illustrated in the photos with the Komoot track I included with this blog post. This is not a demanding walk, with 300m of climbing and descending and a restaurant along the way for a quick coffee before continuing on. If you time it right you could even have an entrecôte.
When we arrived at the lake a group of four people were changing into swimming costumes, and then went into the lake one by one, before swimming from one side to the other. I was surprised by how easily they got into the water. I would struggle as it is cold and I like to be warm.
I was surprised to see so many people skimming stones on the lake. It’s a small lake and one person consistently skimmed them across the entire lake. Behind the lake is a small waterfall. There is little to no shade around this lake so it’s good to have a hat or other protection against the sun.
For the way back you continue along the same track, before turning left, crossing a bridge and then continuing down. If you see the danger cyclist sign, go left and down, and you will get to the gorge path where being comfortable with heights is good, The gorge is spectacular, especially if this is your first one.
Due to how narrow the path is, it is sometimes good to wait, and let people pass, before continuing on. One bridge is suspended and bends with the weight of people crossing. At another point you have a rope and bucket. You can bring the bucket up from a pool of hot water and back via a rope system. I don’t know how warm the water is because other people wanted to “play”/experiment.
Within a few minutes you are back in Leukerbad.