Pigniu reservoir is one of our very favorite places in Switzerland. But our first time there, we made a lot of mistakes. While one side is great for strollers, the other is definitely not! Since it was spring, we had to walk over huge sketchy snow patches. One bridge over a river gorge was missing its sides, the other bridge missing all together. Also there were big landslides covering sections of the trail.
But we still had fun and have gone back many times since, bringing friends and family. Just read my detailed post so you don’t make the same mistakes we did.
So pretty right? Now let’s see what went wrong…
Hiking Fail #1: The west side of the lake is not suitable for strollers. But we pushed on and did our best. What a mess!
Hiking Fail #2: Three times our trail was covered by a huge patch of snow (it’s covered with dirt, but it’s still about a meter of snow under there). It was a little tricky to cross and I was nervous about breaking through the crusty surface. Not recommended.
Hiking Fail #3: When we finally arrived at the waterfall, we had to cross this scary bridge with no handrails. It dropped down about 10 meters to a roaring river. Since then, this bridge has been repaired and is fine to cross.
Hiking Fail #4: In early May, this bridge was missing. There was no way I was taking the stroller back the way we came. So we had to walk through the icy, fast moving river, about a foot deep, to continue the loop trail. I carried our toddler in my arms through the river and my husband brought the stroller over. Not recommended! The bridge is rebuilt every summer but not sure the exact date.
Hiking Fail #5. One time, the bridge was missing but there was a huge snow pack over the river. Lots of other hikers were crossing over the snow. But I was so nervous about breaking through the snow and falling in. After my husband and son crossed, I slowly followed. Then my foot broke through the crusty top layer of snow and dropped down about 20 cm, spraining the tendons in my foot. My husband cut my sock apart and fashioned a make-shift compression wrap, found a walking stick for a crutch and I hobbled 2 km back to the car. My foot spent the next 4 weeks in a brace. Boo hoo.
Hiking Fail #6. If you go before hiking season opens, then the trails haven’t been cleaned up yet. It’s common for landslides to cover trails and other debris to cover the trail after months of being under snow. We were amused to see this entire tree and its roots to be sitting in the middle of the trail. We just climbed over the obstacles but it would have been a little harder with a stroller.
Moral of the story: Turn back if it looks unsafe!
But don’t be scared off! Pigniu a wonderful place and we’ve had many happy times there, including epic mud fights in the lake. Just read my detailed post so you know how to get this beautiful pic!
