Went for a bit of mountaineering again the last two days, this time with my best friend. We've known each other since the 1st day in school, 33 years ago, and we're still as close as when we were kids. I consider myself very lucky to have such friends.
We went on a "
no wife, no kids" trip to the
Allguer Alpen to climb the famous
Heilbronner Weg. It's one of the oldest (established 1899) and most popular hiking trails in the north-eastern Alps. Due to its popularity it's a bad idea to do the tour during holiday season and on weekends, so we decided to use one of the last weekends of the season and do the tour on Friday-Saturday.
We started near
Birgsau (~900m) south of
Oberstdorf after a 3-hour drive at around 10 AM, weather was... sucky.
Despite the forecast the weather didn't really improve for the next two hours. Good thing was that we barely saw any other hikers. We wouldn't need to worry about a crowded refuge this evening for sure!
The route climbed steeply up to the
Enzianhtte (1804m) where we rested a bit for a hot soup. And a
Russe,
Hefeweizen with lemon soda.
We continued our climb and finally got to the
Rappenseehtte (2091m), our destination for the 1st day. After another short pause (and another beer) we decided to climb the "house mountain", the
Rappenseekopf (2496m). The weather by then had cleared up and we were rewarded by a nice vista. The Rappenseehtte can be seen below us.
We had a great evening in the refuge with (lots of) beer and excellent food until at 10 PM everyone crawled into their beds. Next morning we got up at 6.30 for a quick breakfast and set out at ~7.30.
View from the
Rappenseehtte back towards
Oberstdorf:
The day's first peak was the
Hohes Licht at 2651m. It's a bit off the trail but well worth the additional time needed to climb the summit. We got there at about 9 AM, time for a snack and to enjoy the fantastic views.
The
Heilbronner Weg basically follows the ridge line to the right.
View South towards the
Lechtaler Alpen:
Back on the trail, the famous "
Heilbronner Thrle" (Thrle= diminutive form of
gate). And yes, it's indeed quite narrow.
And the other side:
Fun with ladders:
Following the trail...
Climbing up the Bockkarkopf (2609m):
The trail ends in the
Bockkarscharte, from where we start our descent back into the valley. After a steep and treacherous stretch of the route we're happy to see the
Waltenberger Haus the oldest refuge of the DAV/German Alpine Club, built in 1875. Time for a break. And another
Russ.
On our further way down we spotted a couple of capricorns dozing in the sun.
Looking back from where we came. 1700m altitude of descent...
And the reward for all the toil after ~ 9hrs: a
Russenma . Nectar of the gods...