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As usual on this trip, we didn't get an early start - it was almost 9:30 by the time we left Stein. The first part of the hike took us uphill over a shady one-lane road. Occasionally, we had to step to the side and let a car drive by, which usually led to me complaining about how much diesel engines stink.
After about half an hour, the trail became narrower, and continued to climb. Our pace wasn't very fast, with Patrick and me leading the way while Jacques and Ralph followed a hundred meters behind. While we were still in the shade for quite a bit - either under the cover of trees, or because the sun was mostly hiding behind clouds - it was pretty warm.
We crossed a bridge that lead over a mountain stream, and then started climbing in earnest. By now we were above the tree line, but still lucky enough that the sun wasn't beating down mercilessly. Even though I thought that our pace wasn't the fastest, we still caught up with a group of hikers we'd already met the previous evening in Stein, and soon left them behind.
The closer we got to Gliederscharte - the pass into the next valley - the narrower and more exposed the trail became. While it was still pretty tame compared to what we'd already seen, the drop-off to the left was still considerable. To our left, across the valley, the Hochfeiler glacier came into view; or rather what remains of it... as is, one can only imagine how the upper reach of the valley looked when it was still covered in ice.
It was around this spot where the sternum strap on my backpack broke from where it was fixed on the shoulder strap. While it wasn't a critical gear failure - a broken shoulder strap would have been worse - it would still make the pack less stable. After some deliberation, I was able to reposition it with some cable binders that I carried, and while this solution wasn't optimal it was the best I could do without changing backpacks. So much for the build quality of the McKinley brand...
At around 12:45, we had finally reached Gliederscharte, at 2644m of elevation. Here, it was noticeably colder, and we didn't waste much time getting back down into the next valley. The scenery was much more sparse than on the North side of the pass - while the latter had still been quite green, with the slopes covered in coarse mountain grass, we were now walking among gray rubble. After losing a hundred meters of elevation, there was some moss, and gradually things got greener again. While I was just starting to get what could most likely be described as a mild case of "hikers high" - I wanted to keep walking, because walking felt great - the others opted for a break next to a small alpine lake.
After our break, we started to lose elevation pretty fast, hiking down steep switchbacks through short mountain grass. A few minutes past 2pm, we reached an "Alm", where we were served bacon and cheese. For some reason, the owner and operator treated Ralph like a long-lost relative.
We hit the trail again close to 3pm. From here on, the going would be easier, even if there was still a significant elevation loss ahead of us - around 850m. The sky was still mostly overcast, which meant that temperatures stayed tolerable even if it wasn't the best weather for photography. We were now following a valley floor that lead to Duner Klamm - a mountain stream that had made its bed in a narrow gorge. We didn't follow the stream though, but followed the trail that hugged the left side of the gorge.
By 5pm, we were at the upper reaches of Pfunders, and a quarter of an hour later we were in the town center. There weren't any beds in Pfunders, so we continued hiking down the valley on paved roads for a little while, and then stopped for drinks at a cafe near a bus stop. Since the next few kilometers that were ahead of us were over boring paved roads, we figured we might as well cover them faster (and more safely) by using public transportation.
In Mittenwald, we got out of the bus and checked in at our hotel at around 6:30pm. This was our most luxurious accommodation yet, as we were offered two double rooms. Dinner was plentiful, and we ended the evening leisurely sitting on the balcony outside our two rooms. (I only got a minor scare when the back of my plastic chair snapped off without warning.)
Written
Accommodation: HASH(0x1a811dc) (Weitental)
- Kilometres hiked: 17km (10.6mi)
- Ascent: 1100m (3609ft)
- Descent: 1500m (4921ft)