This Labor day weekend we are off on a challenging, thrilling, and exciting weekend ahead. John, the ski club president, planned a hut hike trip and opened it up to the ski club. He tries to do a hike in the Berchtesgaden area each year. There are so many trails and multiple huts to stay at along the way, so you never have to repeat a trail which is great. Sometimes the unknown is much more thrilling.
Jeremy and I are in and have our backpacks ready with everything that we will need for the next three day adventure! Our group includes our friends, Chris and Liz, Lo and Judy, with a total of 14. Good size, with an interesting variety of people.
Friday is our travel day to Berchtesgaden and we all plan on meeting at the Gasthaus that we will be staying at for one night before the hike begins. We have dinner reservations at Augustiner Brau that night in Salzburg, Austria. This is an old brew house with a cool feel the minute you walk in, you have to grab your mug and wash it out on with tap water on your own before filling it up with beer. Then they have cafeteria style food options, with different varieties of meats, cheeses, breads, and desserts. We all enjoyed each other company in the large beer hall style tables.
The next morning we are all up early to breakfast, before our planned start time as a group- 0900. We had approximately 3km walk to the Konigssee Lake where we take the boat across the lake to Salten. There the real hiking begins.
Day 1 started with the boat ride along the gorgeous Konigssee Lake with a guided tour. The Konigssee Lake is the deepest and cleanest Alpine lakes in all of Germany. The lake is about 5 miles, 8 km, long and rather narrow. It was carved by glaciers. In fact the boat that we rode on is electric powered, to not pollute the water with gas. There is no swimming in the lake. The tour guide on the boat ride over spoke both German and English, pointing out important sites and history of the lake. Approximately, halfway across the lake we approached the very steep alps to either sides of the lake, at this point the guide played his trumpet since the Alps resonated the sound, echoing each note back to us from the mountain walls. Amazing, Jeremy loved it! We did make a stop at the picturesque St. Bartholoma church, letting off passengers as we continued further to Salet. St. Bartholoma Church was originally built in the 12th Century, then remolded in the 16th Century using a domed style influenced by Ottoman architecture. The hunting lodge is now a restaurant and we did eat there after our hike was complete on day 3 before riding the boat back to Berchtesgaden. The trout and whitefish, is served fresh from the lake during the summer months. No other fishing is allowed on the lake. Once we crossed the lake, we walked along the trail until we reached the steep uphill climb, with multiple switch backs and approximately 12 miles of hiking that day. The climb up was tough but definitely worth the incredible views from the top. We were above the pine trees, looking down at Konigssee Lake, and the Alps high above in every direction you look. We arrived at our first destination- Wasseralm hut at around 1600 that day. There were no showers that night but hot soup, and cold drinks. We played bocce ball and cards until bed.
Day 2 surrounded by the mountains, pine trees, nature, and sunshine we ate breakfast outside and packed up to start hiking again. This day started at a gradual uphill pace to the highest summit, 1790 meters that we would reach this weekend. At this point with sunshine again today we could see for miles. Gorgeous panoramic views. After the tallest summit we thought it would be a nice downhill coast to our hut but it was a lot of uphill, downhill. We passed by two crystal clear lakes, pretty wildflowers, and of course the mountains in each direction. The hike continued until we came to a clearing to see this amazing hut, the Karlingerhaus, where we will stay the second night. There were smaller separate rooms and hot showers at this hut.
Such a great weekend, rewarding once we completed this! We would love to do this again next year, the weather was wonderful despite the rain we had beautiful days before that. Even with the rain it was magical and mysterious. A little sore the next day but well worth the challenge. We love the outdoors, hiking, and exploring new areas. Plus with the huts we did not have to backpack with our tent and sleeping bags. We had the luxury of someone else cooking a hot meal for us and cold beer. What more can you ask for. I highly suggest the hut hike, book ahead though it does fill up fast!
