The morning of our hike we awoke to cowbells and crappy weather, which ended up working in our favor -- less hikers and fog that, while unfortunately blanketing the beautiful panoramic views, lent a mystic quality to the hike.
If you've stumbled across this post as your searching for hikes in the area, know that it's completely doable! Purchase a trail map of the area and then follow the signs to the hut. It's easier than you think.
We set off for the Schachenhaus alpine hut, a 4 hour hike uphill to one of King Ludwig's hunting lodges with a nearby bunkhouse:
(It looks like this. I couldn't get a good picture because of the thick fog. www.schachenhaus.de)
The hike begins at the Winter Olympics park, featuring an insane ski jump that made me nauseous just looking at it!
We made our way to the Parnachklamm gorge, following the signs and other hikers on roads bordering horse farms and barns. For a small fee, you can enter the gorge and walk through a trail cut into the side of the rock (or you can bypass the gorge and walk above it, which we did on the way back down. But go through-- it's incredible!)
Annie's not so good with the picture-taking...
I found this hike because I pinned it on Pinterest a year ago-- check this one off the traveling bucketlist1
Upon exiting the gorge, we followed the signs up to the "Schachenhaus." There are two ways to get there-- the longer, flatter way, or the shorter, completely uphill hiking route. We chose the latter, and while it was slow going and I wanted to chop off my legs at times, it was completely worth it.
And if the fog had decided to let up, the views would have been unreal.
Stopping to take pictures was really an excuse to stop walking to catch my breath. Annie, on the other hand, hiked like a champ and even carried our one pack the whole time. I referred to her as my sherpa.
And like I mentioned in my previous post, I could not get over these stinkin' alpine cows!
Because of the fog, you heard their bells way before actually seeing them. It was eery, in an enchanting sort of way. 30 or so cowbells gently rang as the cows grazed, some braving steep hillsides for better grass. You knew you were getting closer; all of the sudden the path would be blocked by the massive things. Do you walk by them? Push them out of the way? Will they kick me in the face?
We couldn't stop giggling.
What do you want me to do? You're blocking the road, you heifer!
We reached the hut, just missing the window for going into the king's hunting lodge. I read that it was beautiful on the inside, but the outside was anti-climatic and laced with scaffolding.
Plus, the dang fog obliterated the supposed fantastic views. Lame.
Over beef stew and apple strudel we had a decision to make. Do we stay here for the night (it was only 5 pm) or do we hike another hour and a half to a higher, more dramatic hut?
My feet said, "Stay," our hearts said, "Go." So we left.
(Yes, I'm wearing thick hiking socks and Chacos. It beat agitating the blisters on my heels from my not-yet-worn-in boots.)
The sheep mafia came to greet us on our way up. It was creepy-- they appeared out of nowhere and gave us a stare down. Their bells even stopped ringing.
The hike was slightly harrowing, with sheer cliff on either side at some point. A completely feasible hike if you are relatively healthy, even if it's slow-going.
We made it (!!) and were greeted by a kind older lady who lives at and runs the hut. She was in the middle of cooking dinner for the guests, so we changed and hunkered down for the night in the common room (where it was warm) sipping broth and beers (but not too much, because we were silly and didn't bring enough money, forcing us to ration what we had left!) The room was filled with other hikers (all German) and we expected everyone to come together in a friendly, let's-play-games-and-talk-about-life kind of way, but no one intermingled. It was strange. So we went to bed and woke up early to catch the non-existent sunrise.
Just to give you an idea of how far we hiked-- impressive, right? I was proud of myself for making it without falling off a mountain, getting eaten by sheep or losing toes.
On the way back down, the sheep mafia completely ignored Annie. But when they saw me, they all started running towards me! It was hilarious... and kind of scary. Can sheep be ferocious?
We hiked back down to the first hut with the hopes of eating a cheap breakfast. We only had enough money for coffee and split a cliff bar. No big deal, right? Except we accidentally took the long, 6 hour hike home. Generally one needs fuel for that kind of physical activity.
But we made it.
And had the best lunch ever, once we found a place that would take a debit card.
Fried noodles smothered in cheese for me, please. Calories burned= canceled.
Prost!
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