This walking
tour provides us a great opportunity to cross the huge Dachstein plateau from
Krippenstein-Oberfeld to Guttenberg hut in Styria, taking in a wealth of sights
and experiences, full of beauty and wildness. We follow a historical path that
people have walked for millennia, farmers used to drive their cattle to the
high mountain pastures during summer.
So, we walk
through the spacious karst landscape "Am Stein", which was shaped by
the ice ages. The path winds up and down through wildly rugged Dachstein
limestone, mountain pine forests, shallower and deeper karst hollows and over
gentle hills that invite us to linger and take a long look.
Only
shortly before the passage through the Feisterscharte (2198 m) between Eselstein
and Sinabel the path steepens, so it is secured with ropes. That gives our tour an
alpine touch, which can be easily overcome on the climb. Then we get to the
Guttenberghaus (2146 m) with wonderful views down onto the Enns Valley and the
Tauern mountain range. It is the easternmost hut of the Austrian Alpine Society
in the Dachstein area and the highest one in Styria at 2,146 m above sea level.
After an
extensive rest in the hospitable hut we continue our way down into the valley.
In countless hairpin bends it goes on a gravel footpath through Tiefkar to
Lärchboden. At the Hotel and Restaurant Feisterer, offering organic products
from their own farm, our taxi bus awaits us and takes us back to Obertraun.
