Pfossental

17.09.2008

This was our last day in South Tirol - we had been changing our plans from a week of hiking on the swedish Kungsleden trail to day trips around the Merano area. We have not given up on the plans for Kungsleden, but we found those tours in italy a very nice alternative! 

The last trip led us back on to the Meeraner Höhenweg No 24 (the northern part)

We started from a parking lot in the Pfossental and went towards the "Eisbergspitze".

It was like this area wanted us to come back and make sure we have been not disappointed with the change in travel plans. I highly recommend this part - just look at the pics.

 

Ilfinger area - E5 to Kratzbergsee

16.09.2008

We used the Ilfinger Gondola and started another beautiful hike on the E5 - a long trail that starts in Germany and went down to italy for many hundred miles. From this side you can do the hike to Kratzbergsee and then continue to the Hirzer summit and down to the Hirzer Huette. Or you return from the lake and do some nice sidetrips before using the Ilfinger gondola again to go back into the valley. The weather had improved and it turned out to be just another very exciting tour. The whole area is of such a beauty! However, the first few kilometres are a little packed with people, but never to a level where it is no fun anymore to hike here.

Kratzbergsee

Flecknerspitze 2350m

15.09.2008

We followed our tour book and wanted to hike to the summit called "Fleckner Spitze". We started from shortly below the "Jaufenpass" at the "Enzian Hütte" (where we had a good soup just before leaving into the cold) The weather was much more uncomfortable then before. 

We had snow and ice and the view was very limited - on the other hand we felt great and proud - even if we looked like Ninja turtles a bit :-) 

There was also no awarding great outlook from the summit - just fog and wind. 

We stayed for a while but then left towards the "Fleckner Huette" - as usual, we had some food and a good glass of wine. 

Note: there is a really big black dog at the Fleckner Huette. He might run to you and if you are a little bit afraid of dogs, that might be frightening to you. Trust me - he only want's to play and is a nice boy!

Vellauer Felsenweg 22

13.09.2008

We took the bus to Vellau and then picked up the gondola and continued with the lift (Korblift) to the top of the Meeraner Höhenweg. A short hike gets you to the "Leiter Alm" - a nice place for a rest but since we just started, we turned to the right and followed this fantastic way. 

You can also turn to the left - you are still on tour 24 - the famous "Meeraner Höhenweg".

Leiter Alm

Vellauer Felsenweg 22

safety in the forrest

We followed the way until the Vellauer Felsenweg splits to the right. (Hochmuth Alm)

This way can be dangerous, especially in winter. (some people lost their lives here) 

So be cautious - we found it just great and not threatening at all. The weather however became bad now and it obviously looked like a lot of rain to come in the near future. We just finished the dangerous part of the way and entered the forrest as a strong thunderstorm hit us. Actually, we had been lucky - you do not want to have such a storm while you still are on the small and steep way down - very much exposed to the wind and rain!

Karer See

12.09. - 16.09.2008

We continued with a number of nice tours over the next days. We started with a tour by car to the famous Karersee and continued to the Sexter Dolomites near Cortina D'Ampezzo. The weather was not that good and we wanted to explore the wider area at least a bit. The Karer See is nice, but you can expect a large number of tourist groups dropped there for a short hike around the lake. It's not worth to go there more than once :-)

Karer See