Hiking in the karwendel 9-16-11

After  getting off the cable car

Herzogstand  Peak above the Herzogstand haus former hunting of King Ludwig II of Barvaria

Bust of Ludwig II

Herzogstand haus biergarten

Kochelsee

Hikers

The ridge trail that we hiked

view from trail

Enzian

Hiker

Ridge trail to Heimgarten

Heimgarten summit 1800 metres

Break at Heimgarten hut

Tourist at the foot of the cable car.

The weather promised to be warm and sunny so we decided to drive to Walchensee to hike up to the Herzogstand  which used to be a hunting lodge for King Ludwig II.  Felix drove us thru the heavy traffic of Munich in the direction of Garmisch.  After arriving at Walchensee we took the cable car up to the trailhead.  It was a scary steep ride unlike any we have been on in Calif.  The cable car was packed with people of all ages, shapes and sizes.  Several dogs also enjoyed the ride.  We dropped Mac off at the hut to enjoy the sunshine and beer.
Felix, Magdelena and I then continued on.  The photos show the trail to the  Heimgarten summit.  It was a fairly strenuous hike with sections where one had to hang on to cables.  It was important to have hiking poles, good hiking shoes, to be surefooted and not suffer from fear of heights  In 21/2 hrs we reached to summit, climbed down to the Heimgarten hut and had the best Kaiserschmarrn to be had in all the Alps according to Felix.  Felix was also our guide since he knows the mountains like his back pocket.  After checking on Mac by cell, we started on our way to the valley where Mac, who had taken the gondola down, was waiting for us.  We had beautiful weather and we could see as far as the Zugspitze.  Again the sky was as blue and white as the Bavarian Flag.