Wednesday 12th June: Weather: 15°C to 20°C and back to 14°C. Hazy, sunny then cool in late afternoon
Bayreutherhutte to Maurach: 8.15 to 3.45: 7h 30m: 19k: to almost Krahn Sattel, then forest track to Maurach
Accommodation: Pension Steinboch 93 Dorfstrasse Maurach
Leaving Bayreuther Hutte
Looking down on the Inn Valley
Forest walk from Bayreuther Hutte
Barn demolished in winter storms
Whistling marmots
Heading up the Krahn Sattel
Coffee at the ski hut
Coffee with a view at ski hut
Someone arrives to take our photo
Group of 5 scrambling across slopes
Arriving in Maurach near Achensee
Flipping top with new opener
Views Achensee, Pension Steinboch
Our highlight today was "almost" getting to the top of Krahn Sattel before having to turn back. The weather was perfect with blue skies and our aim was to climb from Bayreuther Hutte at 1600m to the Krahn Sattel at 2000 metres then descend to Maurach vian the Rofan Cable Car. We’d checked with the hut warden who said others had been there on teh weekend, however after 3 hours of climbing and trudging through snow patches, we encountered massive land slips which had obliterated the track. After scrambling over four of these slips, we decided to turn around and descend 1200 metres to the valley below to Maurach. Better safe than sorry! But still fantastic scenery on a warm sunny day.
The 5 person dorm had 2 other in it as well as us, but it was very quiet with no snorers. We’re awake at 6am but lay quietly for an hour before getting up to pack and go down to breakfast at 7.30am. We’d pre ordered breakfast - Ian had muesli and yoghurt, I had two slices of German bread with jam - and coffee so strong the spoon almost stood upright. We asked around a few other hikers, but no one seemed to have been to Krahn Sattel, despite the warden saying others had on the weekend. We had a plan to attempt the climb but turn around and take the road back down if it was too dangerous.
We left on a warmish 20C°C hazy day, walking along a contoured track through the forest, with views down over the Inn River. After an hour, we come to an open meadow with a farm house and barn which had been almost completely demolished by avalanches earlier in the year. Climbing higher, we can see the general direction we’re heading through Krahn’s Sattel and the snow didn’t look to heavy. But as we climbed higher, to a pocket, the snow almost completely covered sections of the track.
At 10.45, we see a hut with a table and bench seat. A good place to have a cup of tea and re think our options. We’re in the middle of our cuppa when and man appears at the steps. We ask him if he wants a cuppa but he tells us he’s come to check on the hut which belongs to a local ski club and he;d ridden his mountain bike most of the way to the snow line then walked. He told us it would be hard going any higher up, but we decided to check it out for ourselves. We’ve seen so few hikers in the past week, that we never had anyone to ask to take a photo of the two of us, so he obliged.
We could see the gap leading to Krahn’s Sattel and picked a path across the snow to the track, but we could see that the side of the mountain had some serious land slips and fter scrambling and falling over four of these shale slips, we decided to turn around and walk back down the road. No sooner had we turned back, than a group of five were coming towards us. We mentioned that we were heading back because of the slips, but they continued on. As we descended, we watched them slowly pick their way across the scree slopes. Good luck to them they were 40 years younger!
Having reached almost 1900 metres in altitude, we now had to walk back down teh forest road towards Weisling at 730metres - a descent of about 1200 metres. Taking it steady, it takes us 3 hrs to get to the bottom where we find a bench seat with no particular view to have a late lunch at 2pm of bread, cheese ham and tomatoes. Turning right to leave the Inn Valley, we follow a forrest track, the Notburgasteig, through the Achen Valley to Maurach, arriving there at 3.45pm after a long 19k taking 7hrs 30 min.
Ten minutes later, walking down Dorfstrasse into a cold wind, we arrive at the Pension Steinboch and are warmly greeted by Friedl, who speaks very good English and shows us to our room. It’s a large room with a balcony overlooking the Achensee. I have immediately have a hot shower to warm up and stomp on our washing in the shower base, wringing it out for Ian to hang on the balcony.
Walking back to the main shops, we go to the local SPAR, and buy a few things for dinner tonight as well as for the next three days when we’ll be in isolated huts. We want to buy a few bottles of beer, but we don’t have an opener. Previously we’ve been in huts or Air BnB's with kitchen facilities, but our hotel room doesn’t have one. We see a souvenir shop across the road but the owner is just closing up. He unlocks the door for us and tells us he’s closing early as he’s sent all his staff home because the Inn River has burst it’s banks causing traffic chaos. When we were in Innsbruck, the Inn River was a raging torrent of dirty water, but now after a week of warm weather, the snow from the heavy winter storms is melting, causing the river waters to rise dramatically. Very interesting but he doesn’t have a bottle opener. But the place next door does, and Ian chooses an opener emblazened with a photo of the Achensee as a reminder of our trip here.
Back to our cozy room, where we spread out our dinner on a small table covered with a towel. Ham, cheese, fresh bread, tomatoes, capsicum and green mace - small clover like leaves- and washed down with an Austrian beer. Then time to sort photos and email whicle curled up under the doona in bed. Lights out after a long but wonderful day at 10pm.