09^Jun Mon
06:05

5) please be punctual. Train couild be packed and would be nice to sit together!

Dear buddies, let´s use this Monday, finally sunny again for a long hike in green Allgäu!! A hike that has interesting geographical highlights and for sure the green Allgäu peaks plus the view towards Tirol and Vorarlberg don´t disappoint at all!

We start our hike from the hamlet of Birgsau, the second most southern town in Germany. The use of the access road with motorised vehicles is only allowed to residents. We move further south towards Einödsbach, the most southern town in Germany. There is still an Alpe, the Buchrainer Alpe, the southernmost building in Germany with address actually.

We hike along the beautiful Rappenalptal surrounded from high walls of Allgäuer Hochalpen till we reach Speicherhütte. From here we turn east to reach famous Schrofenpass (1688m). The climb to the Schrofenpass is located exactly on the border between Germany and Austria. The way over the pass was once a Strain path. During the Second World War, parts of the Schrofenpass were blown up to prevent the advance of foreign troops. These are now the places that can only be overcome with the help of metal ladders mounted on the rock face. For hikers, the tricky passages are easy to tackle. Different story for the bikers who come long in the company of their bike, quite difficult. The Schrofen Pass is located in fact on the mountain bike Transalp from Oberstdorf to Riva del Garda and is one of their highlights. We cross the flank below Biberkopf (2599m), which represents Germany's southernmost summit. We proceed now southwest towards first peak Gehrner Berg (1936m) that is often overgrown with mountain pines on the last few meters. We then get to a very important sign, i.e. the border between Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Bavaria marks the border between Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Bavaria. It is therefore a regional, state or Länder tripoint as well as being on the border between Austria and Germany. In 1986, on the initiative of Vorarlberg, a granite column was erected there to replace the old boundary stone. The original boundary stone from 1844, was taken to the Bavarian State Surveying Office. We hike further till the actual corner, where the border course turns right at angle and the boundary stone 148 stands. Finally Haldenwanger Eck, 1931 m above sea level, on which the border stone 149 is located between Bavaria and Vorarlberg.

We then cross to Koblatpass and small Sterzer See. Beautiful waterfalls fall down from east side of the mountains. We reach Obere Gemstel Alpe that is an ideal place for a short rest with view. On the right mountain scenery of the Zwölfer, Elfer and Geißhorn in view, on the left side Widderstein massif, the Bärenkopf and the Walmendingerhorn. We cross Gemstelbach through a bridge and we get to the alpine slopes of the Alpe Schönesboden. We follow Gemstelbach along the trail, we cross a woodenbridge above the Breitach river till we get at the end of Gemstelweg to Bodmen bus stop.

I plan to catch the bus in Kleinwalsertal at 17,34, so that we catch a direct train to Munich. Especially the first 7 easy straight km we try to keep a fast pace in order to have more time to enjoy especially the central and the final sections of the hike, the most spectacular ones! We might stop at Gemstelalpe before the end of the hike for a short break according to the timing but it is anyway almost at the end of the hike, no huts before so carry enough food and drinks with you because our lunch break will be on the way in beautiful Nature! :)