The third and fourth days crossing the Alps from Germany through Austria to Italy, were going from high to even higher, walking along the changing landscape of the gorgeous Achensee at 929 meters to Mayrhofen in the Zillertal valley and from Fügen to Hochfügen around the Spieljoch at 2000 meters.
This is the second part of the journey crossing the Alps hiking through them, or as it’s known in German, die Alpenüberquerung, and you can read the initial post with an overview, and also the first part hiking two days from Gmund am Tegernsee to Bad Wiessee and Kreuth to Achenkirch.
You can read the first part of this Alps crossing here, from Gmund am Tegernsee to Achenkirch.
Third day: everlasting lake walk
The next day I had a shuttle taking us hikers to the north shore of the Achensee, in Tirol, Austria. It was very early and the fog blocked most of the fantastic views that we would have later. I definitely needed to start early today because it was going to be very hot.
The Achensee is already at 929 meters above the sea level. It’s called the “Fjord of the Alps”, and with 133 meters depth, is the biggest lake of Tirol. It has a staggering number of 16 affluents and its waters are absolutely pristine.
I hiked along its shore going at times right next to the water—which unsurprisingly, it’s cold—and other times going up to appreciate its beauty from above. After 5 km or so of starting the trail and being high above the lake, I already reached out an Alm at the shore of the lake. So I descended to the Gaisalm to have a second breakfast. I tried a Buttermilch, allegedly something typical from Austria and Germany, sweetened with a berries marmalade. I can tell you it was amazing.
After some resting we continued right next to the water. I wish I had a bathing suit, I would’ve jumped in right away. What I found interesting is how changing the shore of the lake is. There were some areas really rough terrain, others next to the lake covered in stones, others like a small forest next to it.
Now, here’s the funny parts: I fell twice next to the lake. Fortunately not in the water, although that could’ve been good due to the heat. What I found funny is that once, I fell standing. I was making a photo in the area covered in rocks, and somehow some of them slide under me and I lost balance and fell. I was able to cover the camera and I wasn’t injured. The other fall happened in a terrain with a lot of tree roots, one of the tricky ones, because with humidity they all get slippery. I moved to a side to let a mother with a daughter go through a better portion of the path, that was half ground, half tree roots. I stepped on the roots and quickly slide and fell.
💡 Tip: the passages are narrow as can be seen in the photo above, and towards noon it will get crowded with other walkers, from hikers to families. Some of them are people who, understandably, can’t walk fast in this terrain and need to be careful. To avoid most of this you should start early.
At some point I reached Pertisau on the lake shore. Honestly, I really disliked this place. Don’t get me wrong, there are great views and direct access to the lake. However, it was very loud, full of cars and incredibly crowded like any mega-touristic place. Thankfully this wasn’t my destination. Even though our route pointed to walk on the lake shore, I found a trail going up the Zwölferkopf next to it and we went up. It was peaceful and I walked on it until I got to the small town of Maurach. Again, there’s nothing here. I just needed to take a bus to Jenbach.
In Jenbach, I had to take a train to the even smaller town of Fügen. Now, here’s a tip: there’s a train that costs about 30,80 € per person and another that costs 4,60 € per person. Both are the Zillertalbahn and have the same trail, so you should ask when buying the tickets and get the cheaper one. And what’s the difference you might wonder? Well, the 30,80 € is a steam locomotive. It’s slower, noisier, and pollutes more than the current modern train.
In the end I arrived to Fügen buuuut… As I was going down, I got stung by a wasp! It was at the bottom of my backpack and as I lifted it I grabbed it and it stung me. This was the first time in my life stung by one. I have been stung by several bees, spiders, ants, scorpion. Nothing hurt nearly as much as this wasp. Thankfully, I don’t have allergic reactions to insect bites so a cold pack and a cream for the pain worked great.
In the afternoon I went to up to a restaurant, a… 30 minutes walk away, no less, as if I hadn’t walked enough. During the Alps crossing, I carried a pair of barefoot shoes to use in the towns and give my Salomon hiking boots a rest. This type of shoes are very light and they worked great to walk this long in the town. From the restaurant we had a great view of the Zillertal. This valley was formed by ancient glaciers and rivers that carved their way through the Alps, leaving behind a wide, fertile landscape surrounded by beautiful mountains. From the table you could see the traditional farms on the slopes with cute villages, green meadows, and forests, making it a beautiful part of Tirol.
This was an extremely long day as you can imagine from this write up. And extremely hot too. If you’re going on these days, make sure you carry enough water and you replenish your body salt either with salt capsules or with electrolytes on your water.
Fourth day: going up
We started again early with a walk towards the Bergbahn in Fügen that would take us up to the Spieljoch Bergstation. We forcefully couldn’t start the day earlier because the first ride departs at 9:00.
In the early hours there’s not so many people, so you can get a whole gondola to yourself. The ride saves you a big steep climb and gets you quickly above the Zillertal with a great scenic view. On the way to the Spieljoch Bergstation the lift passes a middle station, where many people hop off to start an easier hike. I stayed in the gondola all the way up, since the route towards Hochfügen began at the top.
From there, I climbed upon a ridge, hiked on the skirts of the Onkeljoch, and was delighted by the impressive view of the Metzenjoch. But something made this day not the day to indulge in views. I was hiking fast so I didn’t even stop at the Alm that you’ll found along the way, the Gartalm Hochleger. The situation that day was that a storm was coming and you don’t want to be more than 2000 meters on a mountain with a storm. The path today was on very uncovered areas, and later through a small alpine forest. Both places have their challenges when there’s a storm.
It’s important to know about your options regarding severe weather when starting a hike. I checked that even before starting the hike. First, there was the Alm, so in case the storm was coming earlier than expected, we could take cover there. Second, if in my case, I managed to pass the Alm by and was far from it, there was a path that would quickly take me down the valley to safety. In the end I did a good time and didn’t need any escape. The beginning of the storm caught me already coming down to Hochfügen, a descend of around 250 meters. The hiking poles were very helpful to mitigate the weight of my body plus the backpack on my knees and feet.
I reached the accommodation in Hochfügen right when the storm was striking heavy and didn’t leave it until the morning. It rained the whole night, which made for a nice background white noise to listen to while falling asleep, waiting for the morning and the next trail towards Mayrhofen.
You can read the days 1 & 2 crossing the Alps, from Gmund to Achenkirch.
See you in the next part of this Crossing the Alps series with the days 5, 6 & 7, from Hochfügen to Mayrhofen to Sterzing.
