The Hochalm in the Heutal

So we tried hiking again. Like going upwards with a back pack and so on…

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Our target was the Hochalm at Heu valley (Heutal). Our very nice landlady did not only have tipps for our tour but also a parking ticket for the parking lot so that we did not have to pay.

There are two possibilities to get to the Hochalm. a) from parking lot 1 comfortable along the forest road or b) through the forest on a small path from parking lot 2. We took b.

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So we drove in the direction of Heutal and passed parking lot 1. But where is parking lot 2? The signs are not really helpful. So we drove on. Parking lot 2 will appear, will it? Oh a sign! Parking lot 2 to the right! Halleluja! It is not only parking lot 2 but also a huge climbing wall and there is a pond with a bench. And there even is a toilet. Perfect service!

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So we started along trails 19, 19a and 20. 19 is the road. Then we went through a nice gate. Here the trails 19 and 19a part. We took 19 a. You walk a little bit along the forest road and then a small path detours. The sign is quite small and can easily be missed.

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The path is nice and small and curls upwards. Each curve offers a stunning view. Really pictorial. Finally you reach the forest road (20). Follow this road until you can see the Hochalm. Mountain taverns are always marked with a flag!! Easy!!

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We arrived! The walking time from the parking lot was stated with 1 1/4 hour. We needed 8 minutes more, because we had to take a picture at every corner…

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The tavern is run by Klaus and they are right now in the finals for the Salzburgs best mountain taverns. So we got an ballot paper and a pen. Such a marketing campaign we would like to see more often.

In the hut there is an old wooden oven on which Klaus actually cooks. For the photos we had Kaspressknödel (cheese dumplings), a Brettljause (a cold snack with bread, butter, ham and cheese served on a wooden plate) and a Kaiserschmarrn (a kind of pancake torn apart). Burp! We should please talk about eating up the photo models afterwards…

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You could sit and watch for hours at such an alpine hut and drink and eat and drink a Schnaps and talk to other hikers and drink some more and take pictures around the hut and talk to the inn keeper and put a stamp into your summit log book…. But eventually you have to walk down again…

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Of course there is a completely different view when walking downwards so you have to stop very often and take photos. We needed an hour to get to our car.

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The perfect tour for the beginning. If you like you have many more possibilities for further hiking or one or the other summit tours at the Heutal.