STILL IN AUSTRIA
VIA ALPINA DAY 31 – WEDNESDAY 22 JULY 2026
NEAR WOLFRATSHAUSER HÜTTE – WEISSENBACH am LECH
DISTANCE HIKED: 25.35 km
ELEVATION GAIN: 755 m
TOTAL DISTANCE HIKED: 787.15km
TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN: 41,160m
There was a brilliant sunrise just as we were breaking camp. It was surprising cold considering that at 1,750m we were not all that high in elevation.
The morning started with a return to the closed hut followed by a steep descent on a series of switchbacks. The steepest narrow section of the trail had wire cables fixed to a rock wall, for handholds. But the trail was reasonably well made so the wire holds were not really necessary under todays conditions.
We were in the shadow of the mountain and it was so cold we couldn’t wait to get down into the valley and hopefully some sunshine. Our wish was realised as we did a U-turn at the bottom of the descent and started to go backup a nearby pass. The mountains with their perfectly flat layered strata were being illuminated as the sunrise progressed. We were still in limestone mountain country, the Lechtal Alps which are a part of the Northern Limestone Alps of Austria.
With the sun at our backs it was a slow steady climb. Hammer commented – at least it’s gentle grade – well it was, untill it wasn’t. The trail was well trodden by cows and at times hard to follow. Rocks with red dots kept us on trail.
A cold wind at the summit meant we didn’t linger. However the summit offered fantastic views to nearby mountains and for the first time we had a glimpse in the distance of the flatlands of Germany.
This did not appear to be a popular route. We had not seen another hiker until we started to descend towards Berwang. We met a super friendly local woman from a small village, Bichlback down in the valley who confirmed that the trail doesn’t get tourists and is really a popular route for locals. She mentioned that we should really visit the beautiful lakes not far from her village. And she seemed surprised that the Wolfratshauser Hütte was not open.
Soon after meeting her we passed another couple of hikers going up soon followed by a big group coming up who were hiking a circuit up and then down on the other side of the ridge.
Our destination for the day was the village of Weiamback am Lech. We followed a slightly longer route through Bichlback stopping at a cafe to have coffee and a delicious donut before continuing on busy cycle paths to Weiamback. A section of the cycle path seems to be on a route for long distance cycle touring judging the loaded panniers on the bikes we passed.
We made it to town and checked hotel availability online. Everything seemed very expensive so we approached Hotel Kreuzeck who gave us a much better rate then advertised and it included dinner and breakfast.
With laundry done followed by a luxurious long shower, we put our feet up and Hammer watched the Tour de France in German.
Our bodies are holding up well. I’ve taped up my knee with Kinesio tape and with taking extra care on the descents, it’s been feeling great. The kilometres are slowly adding up.
