The Confident Hiker

October 2024

In January of this year we did a two day hike from Ederswiler to Delémont with a visit to the Löwenburg. The pictures I sent to my parents must have made an impression because both of them said, they would love to visit the castle ruin as well. And since I intended to do one of my pre-surgery hikes together with them, I eagerly looked for an alternative (and mostly also shorter) hike via the Löwenburg. The one we chose from the village of Roggenburg was relatively short and, coming by car, it was a perfect circular hike.

For Sam and me it was revisiting a lot of familiar places from the last time but in a completely different season, which always turns a familiar hike into a new experience. It was another wonderfully colorful autumn experience.

We parked our car in Roggenburg and started walking through the completely silent and seemingly abandoned village. Roggenburg is a small village with only 255 residents and is an exclave, being only connected to the rest of the canton by one point. It was clearly a Sunday and with the grey sky and windy weather most people were probably enjoying warm cup of tea in their livingroom. I on the other hand love this weather to be outdoors and especially with the colorful trees it promised to give us some spectacular pictures along the way.

We made our way towards Moulin Neuf over open pastures and trough a little patch of forest. The restaurant and Bed and Breakfast of Moulin Neuf lays right at the river and at the border to France. It is a picturesque place and surely a nice opportunity to take rest, eat a delicious ecologically sourced meal or even spend a night. But since we only just started walking we passed it by and promised ourselves to come back once for some fresh trout.

Our path now lead along the river Lucelle through the forest before turning left where we followed the Ruisseau de Bavalier. From here on the path was familiar to Sam and me, but doing it in reverse immediately made it feel like a completely different hike all together.

We left the little river below us and started a short climb through a meadow that invited us to look closer at the little things; the various mushrooms, the little bugs and caterpillars with great effort making their way through grass ten times their size. It was clear that we were in the middle of autumn, the season were nature changes, prepares for the time of rest.

We decided to deviate from the original path for a short section to walk over the beautiful meadow via a land route instead of along the forest edge; we passed by the groupings of old tall trees that already fascinated me last time and that I was truly excited to see again. There they stood, the variation of tree sorts of – to my untrained eye – scots pines, oaks and ash trees.

I have often written about those special places that just give you a very specific sensation that is kind of hard to explain or define. This is one such place that holds a strong energy to me. The soft green grass slowly moving in the wind, the gentle hilly ground, the white rocks protruding from the ground and most of all the tall majestic almost sculpture like trees stoically standing as if they were proudly protecting their sacred home no matter the season or the weather. I always feel a deep awe when standing in front of a tree, no matter their size or shape. Zora de Buono writes in her book “Das Leben der Mächtigen (the life of the powerful)”

We are small and not gifted with much time; our lifespan corresponds to that of an average birch tree, one of the shortest-lived trees of all.

And this to me starts to explain what my great fascination with trees is about. We know that we have seen and will see only a fraction of what many trees see in their long life. That is why we perceive them as wise and why they deserve all of our respect. They have been here long before us and will remain long after us. Zora de Buono continues to describe how she perceived the trees as personalities, as great beings that communicate with each other, interact with animals, fungi and plants. And she concludes, that while they may not speak with us, the have a lot to say. And I think that is describing the essence of trees so wonderfully. I had a hard time leaving the group of trees; I envied their calm presence, their stoicism.

Soon the old priory of Le Löwenburg appeared in our sight. The impressive structure in a late Gothic building style is nestled within green fields and surrounded by vast thick forest and rolling hills.

This time we went to visit the museum of the old priory, something we had to miss out on our last trip. And I am glad we did get the opportunity. Situated in the old cheese factory of the property, the museum can be accessed on one’s own. Very small and carefully curated the museum contains objects from excavations at the prehistoric site of Moulin-Neuf, the ruins of the castle Löwenburg and the priory itself. Notable is the big collection of flint objects.

After our visit of the museum and a little warming up, we continued the trail direction of the castle ruin.

I was very delighted to come back to this place and show it to my parents. It is funny how sometimes in those moments the little kid in us comes back. The excitement for them to see the place that Sam and me discovered a bit less than a year ago was great. Like last time we found ourselves completely alone in the ruins, which added to the atmosphere of it all. To walk among the crumbled castle walls was no less fascinating than last time.

The castle was first built in the 10th century out of wood and was rebuilt in stone shortly before 1200. It saw various destructions and rebuilds through its time. After being destroyed by fire in 1300, it faced another demolition caused by the big earthquake of 1356. In 1526 the whole property was acquired by the monastery of Lucelle who let the castle desolate and instead built the farm and priory, including the gothic chapel, Le Löwenburg starting from 1590.

Profiting from a dry and relatively windless moment, we took the time to enjoy an afternoon snack at the exact same place as Sam and me did last time, enjoying the view over the brightly colored landscape.

We continued to followe the old forest path towards Ederswiler. We passed the farm via Derrie le Tchété and greeted the friendly curious cows and enjoyed a beautiful view of the castle walls peaking out from the colorful ocean of leaves. And like last time – as if it was the beginning of a scheduled spectacle – the sun ever so slightly illuminated the castle walls.

And right there on the field, we walked past another tree that I remembered well from last time. Small and gnarly it stood alone, appearing to have been shaped by standing in the open field exposed to many a strong wind. Still resilient, not going anywhere.

Above the grey clouds we slowly began so see some bright blue sky, and a sunny Ederswiler appeared in our sight. The little village was just as quiet as Roggenburg. Save for an old couple walking their dog and a meowing cat roaming around the garden fence, we didn’t encounter anyone.

The walk from Ederwiler to Roggenburg took only about 20 more minutes and partially lead over the car road, which was luckily not very busy. With the grey clouds replaced by only a few light white ones, we now got to enjoy a beautiful sunny afternoon sky and a view over bright green fields of the Baselbiet, flooded with beaming light. And every hill, each forest, every meandering road seemed to call me to come explore. Much like the bright beaming light, I felt exhilarated for the many hiking possibilities this area still holds for me.

The drive home through this surprisingly wild and at times maybe slightly forgotten area was peaceful and I could feel the elation of every one in the car; the magic even a short hike can bring.

I am sometimes surprised where my thoughts take me as I write down a hiking experience; how the thoughts form themselves while hiking and then patiently stay there until I find the time and space to write about it. This time it was especially the admiration for trees and their inherently calm essence that stuck with me as well as the exploring together with my closest family, namely my parents; the people I know the longest and very well.

While I think the way I live for hiking now as an adult is very much my own, I do feel it is tremendously influenced by the love my parents had and still have for adventure and the outdoors. We went exploring often when I was a kid and it was always adventurous and often unpredictable – be it for getting lost along the way, underestimating the time and walking the last parts of the hike in the dark or just by going to adventuresome places. And that is something I keep doing now (including underestimating time or getting lost on the way…). It is a most crucial part of my adventures.

And I do think, these two elements – my parents and trees – are not coincidentally or randomly what stuck with me this time around. To explore the outdoors together with them and even in this case getting to show them something I have discovered before, gave me back a sense of childhood and with that of calm, safety and of belonging. Something I do feel with trees as well, even if maybe in a different way. Trees are like family too – now this might sound far fetched to you and trust me, writing about it now I can see how that could be the case, especially since this is yet another though that is not so easy to put into words. But when I stood in front of those majestic self reliant beings together with my family – my mother, my father and my husband – it sure felt like we were our own group of trees; we might not stick around for as long but we too are weathering the storms together and making our own little piece of history.

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Looptrail Löwenburg

Difficulty: T1 (Hiking Trail) Length: 10.58 km Duration: 2:46 h Ascent/Descent: 279m/280m

Some more useful facts about this hike

• There are few Refreshment options along the way. Both Roggenburg and Ederswiler have little to nothing in terms of restaurants or Cafés. However the BnB/Restaurant at Moulin Neuf seems very inviting. They are closed from November until March and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
• We didn’t look for dedicated visitor parking spots in Roggenburg and luckily found an unofficial spot to park. It might be worth to check ahead of your arrival where to park.
• The museum of the old priory is open daily from 9 am to 6 pm and is free. Explainig the various artefacts both in french and german.
• I can highly recommend the book of Zora de Buono. Sadly I don’t know if it exists in english. But her journey to fascinating unique trees around the world is very touching and in my opinion a beautiful way to bring awareness to our dear “wooden friends”.