Destination: Perimukweg am Cheisacher, Jurapark, Aargau, Switzerland

Travel Diary:
It was supposed to be a beautiful spring day in the Middle Earth, and we wanted to go for a hike after the long, grey, foggy winter days. We had it all figured out. We found a hiking trail suitable for kids nearby. It was located in Jurapark, which is a nature park in between the rivers Aare and Rhine. The idea of this 4,3 kilometers long Perimukweg is to help the old Jurasaurier grandpa Perimuk find his missing grandchildren. The instructions and the route-plan were printable directly from the website. I figured the kids would love the idea, and it did sound like a real adventure, wouldn’t you say?

We decided to try it out! Only, the supposed-to-be beautiful spring day was not turning out to be that beautiful. The clouds were hanging low, blocking all the rays of the sun. It was cold like in the antarctic. Okay, maybe not quite, as I didn’t locate any polar bears marching around the house. But anyway, it didn’t match my idea about a beautiful spring day. We were not about to cancel our hike, so we packed our gear and drove off. Only after driving a few kilometers, we started thinking that we might need more clothes. And so we turned around and fetched some more warm clothes, just in case.

On a second try, after about half an hour’s drive, we ended up at a parking area that was located at Ampfernhöhe in the Jura mountain range, with a height of 579 meters above sea level. Grandpa Perimuk was greeting us at the parking area, and the sun was finally coming out. Even the wind was not that bad inside the forest. It seemed like it would turn out to be a good spring day after all. Our Sweet Little Princess was guiding the way. She was reading the route plan, and inside the forest we went. Following the path, we found an old bunker with a geocache located on the side of it. My geocacher-husband had accomplished his goal for the day!

Following the path forward, we ended up at the beginning of the Isegraben canyon. The story goes that this is where the goblins were baking walnut cookies. By knocking on the little stones, we were supposed to be able to find some kinds of fossils. Well, guess what. My dear husband went through the whole pile of stones but didn’t find any. The only thing that he found was the dog poop he stuck his hand into. Nice. So either someone took all the fossils with them, or we didn’t know what to look for.

Walking along, we entered the little canyon and, after a while, located the small forest goblins. Getting out of the canyon required some climbing with ropes. Out Sweet Little Princes found it cool and would have wanted to stay, just to go up and down multiple times. However, for little Prince Charming, the climb was a bit too challenging. I wrecked my jeans while instructing and pushing the little guy upward. It was not really in my plans to show any bare skin to anyone coming behind me, but naturally, I couldn’t let go of the little guy and just had to live with the embarrassment. At about the same time, a granny was trying to come downhill with another rope, following her grandkids. Unfortunately, she lost her footing exactly when she passed me and slid down a couple of meters. She seemed pretty embarrassed, too.

Then we located the first one of the Perimuk grandkids, Muki. She was taking a bath, and we left her to it. Somehow we managed to miss the cave with a second one of the grandkids but found the Cheisacherturm instead. It was an observation tower where you could climb up and look around at the beautiful scenery of the Jurapark. We decided to have a snack before going up. However, instead of observing the scenery, I ended up observing my son’s eyelid. It seemed like he had suddenly grown a new mole to it. Closer observation revealed a tiny tick stuck on his skin! Luckily my dear husband had his pocket tool kit with him. We were quick to remove the little bastard. Only I was slow to recover from the shock. The disgusting little creatures were already awake! Oh no!!!

We climbed up the tower and set our feet on the solid ground shortly after. It was not my favorite place to be. You could feel the tower rocking slightly because of the wind. After finding almost all the grandkids of Perimuk, we were ready to head back to the car. From the foot of the tower, it was easy-going, downhill all the way. The kids were happily running, and we were tailing along. The car was where we had left it, and we mounted our iron horse, ready to go home.

I ended up having quite mixed feelings about the whole Perimukweg. The surroundings were naturally beautiful. Also, the idea of grandfather Perimuk and the lost grandkids was funny. However, this kind of trail could use some maintenance. Either the maintenance crew was still in their winter sleep, or it didn’t exist. I do not know which one is the case. However, if you don’t mind such detail, this is a good afternoon activity for families with kids ages four and up. Just don’t try it out with a trolley or toddlers.

A Hiker’s Guide for planning a hike:

Location: Ampferen, 5237 Mönthal

With a car: Navigate to Ampferen, 5237 Mönthal. There’s parking space close by.

Public Transportation: The best way to reach the destination is with the car, as there are no busstops available. If you do decide to go with public transportation, choose one of the following destinations and continue on foot:

• Mönthal, Unterdorf: walking time 40 min
• Bürrersteig, Passhöhe: walking time 50 min
• Gansingen, Dorfplatz: walking time 1 h 40 min
• Sulz (AG), Mitteldorf: walking time 1 h

Check out the timetables from sbb.ch

Length: 4, 3 km

Ascents/Descents: 115 m

Duration: 2 H (average)

Technical / Fitness Level: Family Friendly / easy. Not accessible to baby strollers.

Cost: none. Voluntary pay for climbing the Cheisacher Tower.

Open: To our knowledge, year around. Accessibility due to weather conditions

More Information: click here. The website available in German only