The Day-trip Diaries - Part 7: The Chiemgauer Alps

October 30:

One of my good friends in the ward (and Elders Quorum President), Toni, asked me if I wanted to go hiking one Saturday in October. Of course I said yes.

So I met him near his home in Munich and we drove south-east into the Bavarian Alps near Chiemsee, the largest lake in Bavaria.

It was a beautiful autumn morning and we found the trail head and began our hike to the top of Hochgern. We had a great view of the valley below (see above).

The trail wound through thick woods...

At one point we came to a chapel overlooking the lake Chiemsee...

We peeked inside. Built in 1736, she was...

Chiemsee, also known as the "Bavarian Sea"...

Neat little villages and river below...

Depending on the side of the mountain and the elevation the leaves were either in full color or were already dead and gone...

As we climbed higher we went through several large (and sometimes quite deep) patches of snow. Luckily, I had my yak boots...

It was quite idyllic, and the temperature was such that I hardly needed a jacket, even in the snow...

We came around a bend to a stunning view of the valley below. Most of what you see there is actually Austria...

Toni studied the signs...

I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes. I saw the sign...

Finally we made it to the top of Hochgern!

We had a commanding view of the snow-covered Austrian Alps all around us...

And the gregarious Alpine choughs were flying about waiting for snack crumbs from hungry travelers...

Speaking of hungry travelers, Toni brought some smoked sausages and bread and we made ourselves a feast while enjoying the awesome scenery...

The visibility was excellent. Those mountains in the middle are over 50 miles away, quite deep into Austria...

Toni and I on the peak....

Perhaps it was the sausages, perhaps it was the bread, but as I sat on the steps of the small mountain chapel I found myself growing and growing until I was suddenly taller than the chapel itself. I attacked it...

The mysterious growing soon ceased and I returned to my normal height, though with slightly longer ears. We went back down the mountain taking a different route with the rugged mountains exposed to our view as we descended...

Dark clouds began to fill the sky, adding a fascinating atmosphere to the surroundings...

Before long we came to a hut overlooking the valley below...

We stopped in for some refreshment and enjoyed the mountain air on a bench outside...

In the distance we could see the Großglockner, Austria's highest peak. This mountain was also quite distant, considering it lies nearer to the Italian border than the German one...

As we descended through the trees we occasionally came across trail plaques such as this one: This fellow died from a lightning strike in this spot in 1920...

The snow under our feet soon turned to a fading green and we passed from winter back into autumn...

As the sun sunk into the West, its final strands of light illuminated the green valley below...

It was a beautiful day, a great hike, and a fun day-trip. It was also probably my last day-trip of the year.

Here is the map of all my day trips since May of this year. You can see where Toni and I hiked by zooming in on the bottom right marker...

View The Day Trip Diaries Map in a larger map

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