COWS AND MORE COWS
VIA ALPINA DAY 12 – FRIDAY 3 JULY 2026
FEISTRIZER ALM – NASSFELD
DISTANCE HIKED: 32.5 km
ELEVATION GAIN: 2,065 m
TOTAL DISTANCE HIKED: 301.6 km
TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN: 16,235m
A cool wind greeted us this morning. By the time we finished breaking camp, the wind got stronger and colder. Good to start moving to get out of the wind and warm up.
After leaving the grassy slopes and the cows of Freistrizer, we descended through lovely and silent pine forest. About an hour in we could hear voices behind us. It was two French trail runners who passes us yesterday after our nail biting climb back on track. Nice to see how easily they moved over the landscape while we followed at what felt like snail pace.
Looking at the map we decided to continue going up along a dirt road rather then more of the rough goat-track trail we’ve experienced yesterday afternoon. The road walk was longer but was very enjoyable in the cool of the morning. We had fabulous views back towards Slovenia and it craggy peaks.
The extensive tree felling that we’ve seen so far, looks so very destructive. Coupled with the cows and cow pats just about everywhere has not made the hiking all that nice at times. The tinkle of the cow bells is a constant sound as we hike.
On the way to Egger Alm we had one awful uphill section of trail that was very overgrown with weeds and blackberry bushes. Once we got out of this section we could see that it has been extensively logged and the weeds must have come in after.
We made it to Egger Alm by lunchtime. I’ts set in a wide valley and appears to be a popular destination for visitors. We passed a few family groups foraging for wildflowers in the open fields.
The one restaurant in the small village was our destination. Since we are in Austria, Hammer had to have a schnitzel, which he enjoyed immensely. With full bellies we headed back on trail. The sun was quite fierce by now which made hiking out in the open quite uncomfortable.
The afternoon hiking was a doozy. The Slovenian landscape of limestone and narrow trails with steep dropoffs returned. Nervous and slow progress for me while Hammer skipped along. Even the flora was the same. We crossed a couple of boulder filled gullies which were tricky to navigate. Some had steel spikes, chains and cables to help the traverse.
With this section behind us we commenced what felt like a never ending climb up a ski lift. This climb so late in the day nearly finished us. We descended towards Nassfeld.
Being close to the skifields, the town had quite few apartment buildings and very expensive accommodation. We walked a bit further out of town and since the Italian Austrian border was so close we walked into Italy and found a hotel for the night. So nice to finally stop, have a shower do some laundry and have a lovely dinner. Exhausted but happy with our efforts today.
