Promoted via detours

Today was the LAST day....

...the last rainy day! After it rained continuously for what felt like the entire afternoon, evening, and night yesterday, a rainy Saturday was also predicted for today, but with a break in the clouds over lunchtime. And since we spent hours trying to overcome boredom with card games yesterday, we absolutely didn't want to spend another lazy day in the cabin. So, let's be brave, trade the sunscreen for rainproof hiking gear, and off we go in the car. After a 15-minute drive, we reached the Schafbergbahn in Gargellen. We took the cable car up to 2130m altitude in the worst rain. But there was no sign of a break in the rain. Alright, let's take a look for a few minutes...

And indeed, the rain started to lessen until it looked like it might stop. Oh well, let's just start walking. I had chosen an easy route that descended gently on a wide hiking path, doable in just over 1.5 hours. Without difficulties, obstacles, or challenging ascents.

It didn't take long for the sun to finally appear. It gradually dispersed the clouds, sometimes making the mountains look like they were smoking... a wonderful sight to behold. Along the way, we were overtaken by go-karts, three-wheeled vehicles. The path downhill was also a track where you could speed down the mountain with such vehicles. The people were really having a blast!

After a short break, André spotted a signpost pointing to the 'Kessl Hütte'. When I mentioned that I hadn't planned a hiking route to get there, that we didn't know what the path was like or what awaited us, he reacted very unusually with 'Never mind, let's just spontaneously do it, it will be awesome!'

Huh? What happened to him? But okay... let's go then.

The beautiful wide, smooth, and easy path now turned into a narrow trail, filled with gravel and roots, going up and down, offering puddles one after the other, and often muddy or slippery spots.

But thanks to the now fantastic weather, it was really fun to hike through the landscape, passing by mountain streams or crossing over the wooden bridge that led over a rushing creek.

After some time, we also reached the Kessl Hütte, a quaint little mountain tavern near a ski lift. In winter, this place must be really buzzing! Non-stop après-ski. But for us, a short stop for a refreshing beer was enough before we continued on our way. However, this time the path wasn't gentle, but quite steep downhill, and the rain started again, so we had to be careful not to slip on the gravel. After getting thoroughly soaked, we arrived back at the valley station after a good 2.5 hours and 7km. Now it was time for a proper lunch: a mixed grill for me and Leberkäs with fried egg for André, delicious!

There's not much to see in Gargellen either, which is why our stroll through the village was also short.

Now we're back in the cabin and we keep switching seats between indoors and outdoors every 10 minutes. Terrible weather!

But starting tomorrow, until the end of our vacation, there will only be sunshine and no raindrops on the agenda. We will definitely make the most of it, you can count on that!

Stay cheerful

Tina & André