To escape the heat wave from Africa that has overtaken Europe, we decided today would be a good day to visit a mountain top. We started by sleeping in until 7:30 (but when your room is 25° C (75° F) there’s not a whole lot of sleeping happening.) After breakfast, we caught a bus that took us to the gondola that took us to the cable car that took us to the top of Pilatus where the view was hazy and the sun was… hot.

Once at the top we didn’t know where to go. So in an attempt to follow the signs to the bathrooms we ended up walking through a dark, cool cave with window cutouts. At the end of the tunnel the trail continued up along the side of the cliff. Not knowing exactly where we were, we just continued forward until we reached the top! From the top the views were beautiful; in one direction snow capped mountains in the distance, in another direction Lake Luzern and its surrounding cities, and in a different direction green rolling hills. Despite the hazy skies the views were fantastic.

Also from up top, we were able to get a sense of how to navigate around the top of Pilatus and see where all of the various trails went. So, we picked another peak, Esel, and started our walk over. On the way, we were treated to an alphorn performance.

After listening to a couple songs we continued up to our second peak of the morning, Esel. Lots of steps and a cache later, Carson learns that there is another cache (with a high difficulty rating) at the far end to the long and winding trail that leads to the top of the third peak. We are both hot, wearing tennis shoes, and the trail is along a steep and rocky cliff, what could go wrong!

A mile later we finally make it to ground zero and begin the hunt. After twenty/thirty minutes, we concede the find and continue up the switchback trail to the top of this peak. Once again, the view up here was impressive, but could have been better if the haze wasn’t quite so bad. From here, we hike back the mile and head straight to the cave trail we previously walked to cool down a bit.

By now it was time to head down the mountain and continue on with our day. This time we took the cogwheel train down the 48% slope to Alpnachstad where we grabbed some ice cream and started our train trek into Lucerne. We had previously talked about spending the afternoon exploring the city, so why let a little mid-90° heat keep us from our plans!

Our first stop was the Chapel Bridge where we found the answers to a letterbox cache that we would attempt later. From here, we walked through town to the Lion Monument for another, wait for it… you guessed right! Another cache!! (Insert Amber eye roll here…) now it was time to find the final for the letterbox from before.

For finding this final, I think we subconsciously wanted this one to last as long as possible. To achieve this goal, Carson put the coordinates into Google Maps and we started on our way… straight into a private drive. So we re-evaluated the map and ended up in another private drive. So we re-evaluated the map and decided this time to stick to the larger roads and take the long way around the big fortress wall to the tower at the top of a hill. With the cache finally in hand, we headed back to the hotel for a couple of sorely needed cold showers.