Sunday 9th June: Weather: 12°C to 25°C: Sunny and warm, afternoon hazy
Kufstein to Riedenberg: 21k from 8am to 3pm: 7hrs
Accommodation: Gasthaus Wastler Riedenberg
Enough breakfast for 6 people
Church at Kufstein
Over, under and around fallen trees
Dreibrunnenjoch at 732 metres
E4/01 track is clear
Morning tea overlooking Mitterland
Beautiful meadows, forests and alps
Amazing timberwork
Blue skies, wide track, meadows, forests and mountains
Picturesque Hinterthiersee village
Cyclists on the E4/01 track
Lunch on a tree stump at 2.30pm
10 minutes later, seat for cuppa
Waiting for room Gasthaus Wastler
Checking with locals about routes
Highlight today was finding our own route through the Pendlinggruppe ridge when the locals told us the Adlerweg path was too high at 1400 metres and would be closed with fallen logs. We looked on Google Earth and found a track through narrow gap via Dreibrunnejoch at only 732 metres, which was also the National E4/01 Route - E4 is a national walking path and 01 is the National Cycle Route. The route turned out to be fantastic with hundreds of walkers and cyclists out on a beautiful sunny Sunday.
We’re awake at 5.30am and make a cup of tea, then get ready for a 21k day that may or may not work out. We’ve decided to have a go at the path via Dreibronnenjoch and if it wasn’t possible to return to Kufstein to take the bus to Landl and walk 7k to Riedenberg. We’re packed, showered and almost ready to go when breakfast arrives on a tray - enough to feed 6 people - 6 buns, 6 slices of cheese, 12 slices of dried meats, 6 tubs of jam and 6 pats of butter - with orange juice and coffee. We eat some, make a sandwich for lunch, and leave the rest in the fridge.
We leave Kufstein via the church, railway OBB station and under the motorway and join the E4/01 walking/cycling track on the edge of town. Its a beautiful track through the forest with views back over the Inn Valley. But we soon encounter heaps of fallen logs that we climb under, over and around deciding it still might be an OK route as there’s fresh tyre marks and footprints. After 40 minutes, sure enough there’s a sign stating the track we’ve just come up is closed. But we;re here now. We've been able to get through and the rest of the track looks good. It soon joins a wider gravel forest road and winds its way up a gully with ridges on both sides. There’s now many cyclists and walkers asking US how the track was below.
In less than an hour we reach Dreibrunnenjoch at 732 metres - not high by Grand Paradiso standards at 3,500 metres, but high enough when there’s been 10 metres of record snow falls through the winter that’s still hanging around low altitudes with thousands of fallen trees. Continuing on, the track is so busy with cyclists and walkers. Its very well sign posted - better than the Adlerweg, and follows the contours of the hills. At 10.30am we’re confident we’ll be able to do the whole track through to Riedenberg, so time to stop for a coffee overlooking the small village of Mitterland.
The timber farm houses are typically Swiss, with magnificent carvings and planter boxes, each house surrounded by freshly mown meadows. The cows are still indoors, probably until all the hay is made for the next winter. On and on along this wonderful track through more meadows with long stretches through pine forests. We want to make good time incase we strike a bad patch near Riedenberg where we leave the track, so it’s almost 4 hrs of continuous walking before we stop at 2.30pm for lunch. But there’s no seat in sight - just a tree stump - but that’ll do because we’re starving having had breakfast 7 hrs earlier.
Lo and behold, 10 minutes after lunch at the turn off toe Riedenberg theres a seat. The track ahead looks OK and there’s lots of hikers and cyclists doing this section so we stop for a cup of tea. Then down through the gully and up the other side to the 10 house village of Riedenberg. It’s 3pm when we arrive at Gasthaus Wastler where there’s a dozen day walkers sitting under umbrellas drinking beer and eating apple strudel - goes well together. I ask the staff about our booking, but after four workers look at me and shrug their shoulder, what booking?, I finally find Lydia who says our room will be ready in 20 minutes. Time for a beer while we’re waiting and a chance to check with some local dayhikers about the possibility of route closures over the next few days - they were keen to help but had no knowledge of the mountains we were crossing.
There’s no TV as teh antennae in the mountains hasn’t been repaired since the January storms, no WiFi, and no phone connection. So we have no idea who won the French Open. An hour later, our room is ready, and the staff sit down to eat their slab of apple strudel - must be their daily reward. It’s very comfy with a balcony in the sun - perfect for getting our washing dry. Showers, washing, sorting and feet up, we’re glad to be here after a 21k not too difficult, very enjoyable long day.
6pm we decide to buy 2 dark beers from the bar to have with a picnic on our balcony. Lettuce, tomato, ham, cheese and mayonnaise. A beautiful evening overlooking the pine forests and watching the cows being herded off to the milking sheds. We’re in bed at 8am expecting to wake up early.