Hiking on the Kreuzeck high trail
The Kreuzeck-Höhenweg trail is a tough one: the 52.8-kilometre route leads up and down the ridge of the Kreuzeck group - 3500 meters of altitude difference have to be overcome.
The terrain is rocky and then again quite shallow along the beautiful alpine meadows. However, the effort is rewarded with spectacular views and fine, small mountain huts.
Mountains we are coming
Together with my friend Leonie, I set off to cover two stages of this route. On the first day, we want to walk from the Feldnerhütte to the Hugo-Gerbers-Hütte. We spend the night up here after the ascent. It's a nice start, because you immediately feel like you've escaped the daily grind and can listen to the exciting stories of the other hikers. Only the night in the dormitory is not quite as restful, but with earplugs we only hear a little of the typical snoring and wake up the next morning feeling reasonably rested.
When you only see gray
Despite a good weather forecast, we look out of the window and see a wall of gray. We hope it's just a cloud and set off after a good breakfast. We have 9 kilometers ahead of us. The first climb is a tough one, as we first have to get to the ridge from here. We feel the weight of our rucksacks with every step and I'm glad I only packed the bare essentials. Nevertheless, you need a lot more equipment for long-distance hiking than for a day trip. For the first two hours, we are enveloped in dense gray and unfortunately we don't get to see much of the beautiful view. Instead, we can concentrate fully on the trail. This is also necessary when we come to the first rope-insured section. A few safe steps over the narrow ledge and we are already on the other side. Here the narrow path runs along the slope. We can guess that there is a steep drop, but the view here is only a few meters wide.
Look! How beautiful!
We motivate each other to keep going and know that a good mood is the best remedy for bad weather. Up and down we go. Other hikers emerge from the fog; we exchange a few words of encouragement with them too, they wish us a good journey and off we go. A long climb leads us to the highest peak in the Kreuzeck group, the Hochkreuz (2709 m). A viewing bench indicates that people usually like to linger here and enjoy the view, but we only stay up here for a short time. Our stamina is rewarded on the descent and a bit of blue sky finally appears.
"Look! How beautiful!" exclaims Leo, pointing down into the valley. The cloud cover does indeed lift a little and we can at least look down into the green valleys for the rest of the way. We can't get enough of this view alone. Now we can also see how steep the slope next to the path actually is. If you don't have a head for heights and are not sure-footed, you probably won't enjoy this path.
Sleeping places are rare
After five hours, we reach our destination for today: the Hugo-Gerbers-Hütte. We receive a friendly welcome and are first served a warm cup of tea in the heated kitchen. Incidentally, you won't find a hot shower the whole way. Instead, we wash ourselves in the ice-cold spring, which refreshes us and perks us up again. The phone often rings in the hut. Hikers want to reserve a place to sleep, but the hut is already fully booked for the next few days. There are only a few small huts along the way, which adds to the charm, but also means there are few beds. We're lucky today: there are only five other hikers at the hut with us and we learn that some, put off by the weather, have preferred to descend back down into the valley.
In the afternoon, I hike a little further through the beautiful high valley below the hut, listen to the rushing streams and am once again fascinated by the flora up here. If you take your time, there are countless species to discover. Scratchy thistles, soft lush lichens and mosses or the beautiful but poisonous aconite. The play of light and shadow also gives the landscape a special touch.
Marmots accompany you along the way
After today's stage, we fall into bed tired and content, despite the strong wind that is still whistling around the hut. The next morning, we are delighted when we see the first rays of sunshine through the window. After breakfast, we set off again well fortified. 13 kilometers and 1200 vertical meters await us. I only ever know these routes as an ascent to a summit and then a descent again. But today we can see almost the entire route ahead and behind us.
After the first few meters, we can already hear the marmots whistling. However, we don't seem to be a real danger to them, as they seem to be happy about the better weather today and remain sitting in the sun. With a view of the alpine pastures, we set off at a fairly relaxed pace today. Only after a while does the path become narrower again and leads us over rocky peaks and ridges, where we once again concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.
When the rain comes
The impressive landscape tempts us to take short breaks again and again to enjoy the view. The mountain range stretches along the horizon, mountain lakes and streams lie in the middle of green alpine meadows. We refill our water bottles at an ice-cold spring. From the Damerkopf, the trail leads over large boulders on which lichen has created small works of art over the centuries. They glow yellow, green and orange on the rocks. They are so-called pioneer plants that can colonize rocks and trees under the most adverse conditions and create the basis for new life. Even the strong wind doesn't bother them. Our motivation is challenged once again when we see a black wall of rain approaching us from the Zietenkopf. Fortunately, it's only rain and not a thunderstorm. I estimate that the rain will reach us in half an hour.
The Anna-Schutzhaus, our destination for today, is still around two hours away. There is no shelter, so we have no choice but to prepare ourselves internally and externally for the fact that we will soon get wet. I don't really feel like it, but it doesn't help. We get our rain jackets and rain protection out of our rucksacks. After all, kilos that have not been hiked up the mountain for nothing. A short, heavy shower passes over us. After a quarter of an hour, we are wet and the path is lined with puddles, but it's all part of long-distance hiking and isn't really that bad. Fortunately, the path is not slippery due to the rain and soon the sun comes out again.
Llamas and co.
Slowly but surely, we approach the Anna-Schutzhaus and, to our great delight, we are greeted not only by very friendly hosts, but also by a whole herd of llamas. Karl-Peter Schneeberger is a mountain hiking guide and is out with a group on a llama trek (http://www.dolomitenlama.at/?page_id=626), he tells us in his broad East Tyrolean dialect. Hungry, we tuck into the delicious Schlipfkrapfen. We strike up a conversation with two women at the table. They still have the whole route ahead of them and ask about our experiences. We are happy to share our experiences and impressions of the last few days. A lively conversation quickly ensues and we end the evening together at the hut.
People come together up here in the mountains. Without cell phone reception, computers and television, there's time for long conversations and a game of "Mensch-ärgere-dich-nicht". Somehow fitting, as it has also been our motto for the last two days. After all, getting annoyed about the weather only ruins the day and despite the limited visibility on the first day, we had a great time and will certainly remember this tour for a long time.
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