Lofer – Gasthof Hirschbichl

Finally, I could bend my knee again in the morning. It was still sore, but I could at least move it. Otherwise, I’d have had to give up, but now I could make my way into Berchtesgadener Alpen towards Gasthof Hirschbichl.

After the thunderstorms and rain throughout the night it was really damp as soon as the sun was out and my clothes were immediately wet. The trail was nice and narrow leading through forests and pastures up the mountain.

As I made my way further up the mountain the scenery changed and a lot of rubble and big rocks lay in the way. At Laimbichlgräben several waterfalls and streams flow out of the mountain I had to pass.

At the most western creek I was looking for the trail and realized it had been completely washed away. I put on gloves and took my chances and climbed the rocks. It was a lot of loose gravel and several times the rock I wanted to hold did not hold.

After thinking about turning back several times, I finally made it over. My shoes, shorts, and gloves were muddy and my heart was pounding. Looking back I wouldn’t try it again.

I hoped that the rest of the trail would be ok, otherwise I might have been stuck. There were some more instance where parts of the way were washed away but nothing as risky as before. After five hours I arrived at Gasthof Hirschbichl directly on the German–Austrian border.

It was still pretty early in the afternoon but compared to the long hikes the previous days, I finally got some more rest and relief especially for my sore knee.