May 2005

Summer comes!! After long waiting, the weather is finally good enough for hiking in the Alps! After a thorough research, my friend and I picked a 2-day-route to Herzogstand (1,575m) - Heimgarten (1,790m).

It must be a special gift for my first real hike in the Alps, the weather is almost too nice, that we have clear blue sky and.... too much sunshine (sunburned....). But, really nice to see the two lakes below (Kochelsee and Walchensee) and whole Alps mountain range!

First Day

It's around 2 hours by train+bus from Munich to the point where we start to hike. People can also take cable car from there (Herzogstand-Kabinebahn 800m). The 2.5 hours hiking up to the hut (Herzogstandhäuser 1,575m) is a bit tiring, but very very nice view and friendly people around. Staying in the hut is really wonderful experience, so peaceful and fantastic.

The Ridge

But.... the real challenge comes the next morning... we have to walk 1.5 hours on the ridge from Herzogstand to Heimgarten! Even with my new nice hiking shoes, even people say it's one of the best ridge in the Alps, even we read on the internet that even elephants can walk on it (It turned out to be "BABY" elephant I think..), I'm still scared!

I DID IT!!

There's a sign at the beginning of the ridge that, "Trittsicherheit und Schwindelfreiheit erforderlich" which basically means if you're firmed in every step, everything will be alright. I kept repeating this sentence to myself on the way, and... I MADE IT!! I overcomes my fear and enjoyed the very best view on top of it!!

And more...

It's incredible we saw nice nice bird and animals specially in the Alps in this trip. (Left: Alpenraehe, Right Up: Birkhuhn, Right Down: Gemse.)

It's amazing experience that I never expected before. I really hope I can use my words and pictures to describe how beautiful the place is, but I think the best is to see it yourself. Here're some useful links ,mostly in German, but pictures are very nice! Enjoy!