Often, the first time that you do something, it seems like exploring. Whether it is to do something you have never done, or to go somewhere that you have never been, it is stepping into the unknown. Even if others have already gone there, it is still new for you. You don’t know what it will be like, or even if you will succeed, until it is almost done. But the second time is different. Success is assured, and you can feel confident enough to experiment. That’s how it is with baking a cake or making a casserole, and it is also like that with a good walk. The first time, it is a case of getting from A to B successfully. But the second time there is a chance to check the best routes, and refine the journey.
And that is what I am doing with my walks around Basel canton. I now know that there were days on the first circuit that I didn’t pick the best route, so now I have a chance to refine it. And there were days when the weather was bad, and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I might have. And of course the seasons change, so stretches of the route that I saw in Spring I might now see in Autumn.
And of course some bits of the route are more interesting than others, so I can now indulge myself and leave out the uninteresting parts, and cherry pick the best bits for walking again.
So it was that I started out from Kaiseraugst in the early morning. There had been rain in Basel the day and night before, and the early morning was fresher than many mornings had been for a while. The way was familiar this time, so I was faster onto and following the pathway out of town. Soon I was on the road to Giebenach, and then at Zelglihof turning onto the quieter trail. This time I went into Giebenach, avoiding the main road.
And on the way out of Giebenach, where the last time I followed the road, this time I took the forest track: quieter, easier on the feet, and less hazardous. The forest track is a waymarked route, and it soon brought me back onto the familiar Schofraibordweg, and into Stift Olsberg just as the church bells were chiming eight o’clock.
From there to Olsberg itself was easy, and familiar, so I was quick on that route. I went up the road that skirts the cantonal border to Sennroeid as before, and on to the waymark point at Blauenrain.
My route went on from there through the forest to Hersberg. The last time, I went off the waymarked trail to the east of the village, so this time I followed the trail into the village itself. It loses height this way, and it misses the oldest border marker I saw in my treks, but it was different, so it had to be done. And then I went back up the hill to the main Sissach road.
The last time I came this way, I took the road all the way from Hersberg to Nusshof, but this time I went by the forest trail. It is longer, and involves some ascent through the forest, but it was worth it for the views coming into Nusshof.
When planning this day’s walk, I had decided to look for a different way from Nusshof to Magden. The last time I came this way I went by the ridge, following the border almost exactly. But the route was difficult, and not one I would recommend to any inexperienced walkers. So this time, I took a different route through the forest. It is about three kilometers of forest walking, but on a wide smooth track. And just when it seemed to be going on forever, I emerged onto the open hillside above Magden.
The route through Magden was familiar, and I kept going quickly onto the Önsberg where I had my first views of the destination for the day, the Sunnenberg and the village of Maisprach. I took a different and shorter route to get onto the trail going up Sunnenberg, and was soon greeted with an amazing sight. The owner of an orchard on the hillside had bordered his entire plantation with roses. The border must have been over 500 metres long. I was reminded of Robert Browning’s poem and the line “There were roses, roses, all the way.” But where the poem ends tragically, I was optimistic.
And so I came to the waymark point at Chlei Sunnenberg. It gets steeper then, and I was feeling the strain of having walked so far, and the midday sun now beating down. But I got to the summit of Sunnenberg quickly enough. With thunder rumbling in the distance, I didn’t hang around, but immediately started down towards Maisprach. I had missed the centre of the village last time, so it was nice to find out how pleasant a place it is, all decked out in the sunshine.
All that was left was to take the bus homeward. And as I sat on that bus, I felt that walking these paths a second time was no less enjoyable than the first.
Finally, my step count for the day: 45102
Walkingman 