Tyrol

September 15, 23 Pfitscherjochhütte > Ginzling

After an entertaining evening with Wolfgang and a good night's sleep, breakfast was another surprise. Everything your heart desires was available at the buffet. I left the hut in foggy weather and then crossed the border from Italy to Austria a few meters later. The sky became increasingly brighter and crowds of people came towards me. You can drive to Schlegeisspeicher Lake and then the Pfitscherjoch Hut can be reached in 2 1/2 hours. On the way I saw wooden canals lying along the side of the road. They were reminiscent of bisses, but they were only laid out in places. I then found out that they were only in impassable places and that their purpose was to serve as channels to make it easier to push the heavy e-bikes up. This route is also popular for mountain biking. Down by the lake the lake showed a very special color in this landscape. At the dam the path led very close to the wall down into the valley. The wall also serves as a via ferrata and bouldering wall. Further down I met a lot of mountain bikers, because the cyclist and the hiker have to share the path. Shortly from our destination in Ginzling, an older man spoke to me and wanted to know a lot about me, where I came from and much more. I then sat down with him and then he also talked about himself. He was a gamekeeper and had hunters from all over Europe as guests because he and his wife ran guest rooms. Unfortunately, she died and he was bored, so he spoke to the people who walked by to bring variety into his life. They also had guests from Switzerland; their name was Hürlimann. It was very nice to talk to him. The village wasn't that far anymore and found shelter in a smaller guesthouse. Had a good night's sleep and recovered well from the long downward stage.

September 16, 23 Ginzling > Rastkogelhütte

The next stage would have been very short and would have been along a road to Finkenberg. Then I decided to take the bus to Mayrhofen and gain a few meters of altitude with the Penkenbahn. I lost half of the elevation gain because the path led down to Mösl. I had the feeling that I had already been there on skis because it looked very familiar to me, especially the slopes and the chairlift. The climb to the hut was mostly along alpine roads. The alpine pastures were mostly without livestock and the farmers still brought manure and manure to the pastures. In this hut you had to put the hut sleeping bag in the microwave because of bugs that you brought with you from other huts. The hut team was in a good mood and the boss asked me about a small restaurant in Switzerland because he had now seen life in the hut. The people who come now have changed a lot and are more arrogant and selfish than before, and this has been the case since Corona. Steven is not the first hut owner to say that! Here, too, I spent the evening with a younger man named Felix, who is soon to become a father and is a business consultant and studied in St. Gallen. Good bed rest, fine food, everything was right.

September 17, 23. Rastkogelhütte > Kellerjochhütte

As usual in cabin life, you sit with those you spent the evening with. I had breakfast with Felix, who was in a hurry because he had to go back to work the next day. This led to a conversation with four men who had the same goal as me. They took a different route because they started from Hochfügen. I, on the other hand, took the original route of the Via Alpina. The weather was rather mixed, but the morning sky with clouds was like a painting. Short climb to the mountain ridge before going back down to the Hochfügen ski station. On the way I met an alpine farmer who was driving his cows to pasture. I said hello and he immediately started a conversation and asked me where I came from and where I was going. Since you can immediately tell from my language that I am Swiss, he simply said briefly and succinctly: The Swiss were right not to join the EU and I very much hope that it stays that way. The EU wouldn't have helped them in the mountains at all. How do you end a conversation like this? I just told him that I benefited from the euro and no longer had to take money with me for every country. That lightened up the conversation and we wished each other good health as we left. So I came to the Hochfügen ski station, where I was amazed at the number of lifts and snow groomers. I quenched my thirst briefly in a snack bar and continued through the blueberries and cranberries, where I enjoyed helping myself. I came to the Gamssteinhaus via pastureland and forest paths, where I had a view of the Inn Valley. After all, the Inn has its source in Switzerland. Now we have to tackle the last steep climb to the Kellerjochhütte, which was very steep and had a never-ending path full of tree roots and stones. Once we got to the hut, we first quenched our thirst, then took care of ourselves before dinner. At the end we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset before it was time to sleep at 10 p.m.

September 18th 23rd Kellerjochhütte > Schwaz

The morning started as usual with breakfast, clearing the warehouse and everything that goes with it. One thing was different, namely the weather. It had become cooler, it was cloudy and foggy but also very windy. Of the four men from yesterday, Uli and Johannes accompanied me for a while on my way. The path first took us uphill to the Kellerjoch Chapel and then all the way back down towards the Inn Valley. She went to Buch im Tirol and I went to Schwaz, which for me meant climbing down 1800m. The path through the forest and pastures was quite pleasant, but there was a lot of asphalt road at the bottom, which wasn't so pleasant. Didn't meet many people and there wasn't much going on in the town of Schwaz either. I arrived at the stayinn hotel dry, but the reception didn't open until 3:00 p.m. which meant I had to do a self check-in with a machine, which I finally managed!! As soon as I was inside it started to rain, and quite heavily. This rain was forecast and luckily it only came when I was under cover. There were jobs to be done in the hotel such as washing clothes etc. and also the hut had to be reserved for the next day.

September 19, 23 Schwaz > Lamsenjochhütte

There was no dinner in this hotel, but in the morning there was a rich breakfast with everything a hiker needs. I enjoyed it to the fullest. The weather, on the other hand, was still terrible but it was no longer raining continuously. So I set off in a gap in the rain, crossed the Inn towards the train station where I was amazed at how many trains were running here, of course Innsbruck is nearby! Further out of town I had to put up the umbrella and put on the rain jacket. By the way, Schwaz used to be the center where silver was mined and the city and region were associated with it. Uphill, first an asphalt road, then forest paths, the path led into a really remote area. The sun didn't show up at all, and luckily the rain also stopped. The Lamsenjochhütte is accessible by vehicle but only from Schwaz and is not open to the public. The hiking trails in the upper part are closed due to falling rocks, so you hike up to the hut on this very steep road. For bug-related reasons, the backpack had to stay in the basement and so you could only take the most necessary things with you to the camp. Now you can imagine this back and forth, because you were always missing something, be it soap or something else. The staff works with WiFi (cash register system) but it is not available to guests. Card payment is also not possible, so plan well and always have cash with you. Staff friendly and the food tasted good!

September 20th 23rd Lamsenjochhütte > Falkenhütte

In the morning before breakfast the back and forth starts again because no one wants to leave any of their things behind. The weather is still foggy but the sunrise was visible for a moment through the fog. It was a fresh morning and the path partly led through shady areas, so I decided to climb up to the sunny Hahnkampl, which was worth it because I saw capercaillies and chamois. What I didn't take into account was the descent from this hill because it was in the shade and very slippery from yesterday's rain and my shoes with the worn soles weren't exactly made for this terrain either. Once again on a good hiking trail, I walked past alpine pastures and stables to the valley floor where I treated myself to a little snack. Again, it's great to see that when a place like the Enge is accessible by public transport or privately, it's swarming with people! So move on as quickly as possible in the almost solitude towards my next destination. The Falkenhütte is about 3 hours away and there is still a climb of around 700 m and a scree crossing to overcome. A beautifully located and newly renovated hut awaited me. Here too, a new generation of hut keepers is in charge. They said they had passed the bug inspection here today, but the backpacks still had to stay in the drying room. You have practice and pick the necessary things out of your backpack. Ate well and slept well despite some young stoners! You do it very well and they didn't follow the thing about the backpacks either! But they weren't the only ones! That night I heard, I think for the first time, what it's like when someone really snores! My simple headphones from the mobile phone were of good use and I was still able to sleep.

September 21st 23rd Falkenhütte > Scharnitz

Stronger winds picked up during the night and lasted until morning. There is still no sign of the bad weather that was forecast for tomorrow. A long stage was planned for today, around 30 km. to Scharnitz. After a nice breakfast, the path went downhill from the hut where the wind soon died down and I was able to take off some clothes. Down past alpine pastures through forests on very beautiful hiking trails I came to the Ahornboden, which people told me was very beautiful there, which it was, except that the leaves hadn't yet changed color. Now came the climb to the Hochalmer Sattel, which was the only one that day. Only cyclists and no hikers were waiting for me at the top, which was confirmed later because the path was about 20km. The long Karwendel valley is a popular cycling route. So I started the route through this valley. First I stopped by the Karwendelhütte, where I treated myself to a blackcurrant juice and also looked at this beautiful hut from the inside, which was very worthwhile. Because there were rarely any shortcuts on the curves, the path led along the road most of the time. Luckily it is a dirt road, otherwise it would have been much more difficult to walk there. I also thought that if the money from every E-Bicke that came my way was mine, I would be filthy rich! Towards the end of the stage the sky became cloudier and the wind picked up again. When I arrived in Scharnitz, I quickly decided to take the train to Garmisch-Partenkirchen to take a day off there. The train journey then ended in Mittenwald and we had to change to a bus. I only realized that I had crossed the border into Germany when soldiers from the German Federal Army climbed on board. When I finally arrived in Garmisch I found shelter in the “Vier Saisonen” hotel.

September 22nd 23rd day of rest in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

As predicted, it started to rain during the night and the morning was cool. Perfect weather to buy new shoes, which I managed to do. At the tourist information center I was given the address of the laundromat and so I was able to complete my plans by midday. In the afternoon I walked with the new shoes towards the ski jump and climbed up to the take-off table and was able to view the facility and Garmisch-Partenkirchen from above. The impressive stadium that was built for the 1936 Olympics and has since been renovated. The old and new ski jumps are steel structures. I also visited the Zugspitze train station and was amazed at the number of trains that lead to the Zugspitze. The shoes passed the first test and so I was able to make a reservation at the Reintalanger Hut for Saturday night. Actually the path would first go to the Meilerhütte, but since there was about 15cm there overnight. Since there was snow, I decided not to go to this hut.

September 23, 23 Garmisch Partenkirchen > Reintalanger Hut

I set off in light rain, first back towards the ski jump, then into a valley where, surprisingly, there were a lot of people. Oh dear, I thought a lot of people had their sights set on the same hut! The reason was that the Partnach led through a narrow gorge. This gorge is called Partnachklamm and it costs 6.50 euros to walk through this gorge. I decided to take a detour around this gorge and had to climb very steeply up and then descend again at the other end of the gorge to get back on the path. The path is laid out to the Reintalanger Hut on the Partnach, so it is a river bank hike through forest and over side streams. A final climb led to the hut where I received a very friendly welcome. Since not everyone who registered showed up (due to bad weather), I had a very good place to sleep with lots of free beds to my left and right! The food in this hut is predominantly vegetarian and was very good!

September 24, 23 Reintalanger Hut > Coburger Hut

September 25, 23 Coburger Hütte > Wolfratshauser Hütte