Civil protection workers make hiking trail fit for purpose again

The hiking trail from the Utigenhof in Walterswil up to the Neuheimer Meiacher was in poor condition. The climb is now once again a sweat-producing pleasure.

Anyone who wanted to walk from the Utigenhof in Walterswil up to the Neuheim Meiacher between the 7th and 11th September would have found himself faced by a prohibition sign, would have seen orange-clad civil protection workers and heard the Obwalden dialect. For five days, six recruits from the Zug and the Obwalden Civil Protection worked to completed the second part of their basic course on the short, but steep hiking trail.

As almost everywhere around the Baarburg and the Josefsgütsch, this slope is slippery. The trail has therefore suffered badly in recent years and was in a bad condition. Within a week, the twelve trainee civil protection workers, together with three superiors, made the way up there and installed the large quantities of gravel and wood that had been provided by the municipality. Step by step, the path now elegantly winds its way up the forest. At the top of the Meiacher, on Neuheimer ground, there is now a barbecue area – a beautiful, but not so well-known place.

A total of twelve civil protection recruits and three officers were involved.

The hiking trail was also new territory for municipal councillor Zari Dzaferi, head of the Security/Works department. Together with Edy Zumbach, Head of Works Service, he paid a visit to the civil protection workers from Zug and Obwalden on 10 September, and walked the path for the first time. The two did not come empty-handed: as a thank you for the efforts in favour of the Baar recreation area, the municipality donated a "Znüni" (snack). "The municipality of Baar would like to thank the civil protection workers from Zug and Obwalden for the work they have done," says Zari Dzaferi. "It is a sustainable project for our community, but also for civil protection."

"It's a win-win situation"

This is also confirmed by Oliver Füllemann, commander of the Civil Protection Organisation of the Canton of Zug. "It's a win-win situation. We can train for emergency situations, test our logistics and processes and do something good for the general public at the same time." It was motivating for the workers to see the finished work at the end of the mission.