Alp cows and also horses where lying or standing there, just enjoying the sun or grazing the grass. The sound of cow bells was actually rather joyful.

After going up for quiet some time, one reaches a kind of plateau where your legs can relax somewhat. Unfortunately the trail is horizontal only for a short period. Follow the sign for the Tschafon Hutte. You will encounter a cement road, which is the fastest way to get to the hut but presumably also the toughest way as that road is so steep, it is barely doable (that road is used to supply the hut). Luckily there is another track that goes to the hut as well.

The Tschafon Hutte is situated at 1737m. We made it!
After a huge glass of lemonade and an omelette with speck and salad, we have to take the same route back.

One is rewarded with beautiful views over the mountain ranges in the vicinity. The Rosengarten mountain range (Gruppo del Catinaccio) can be seen in the background on the right picture.

Be sure to take exactly the same route back (so don’t follow Track 4A to Wuhnleger) but return the way you came until you reach a road again. Turn left here towards a pool of water. This piece of land is called the Wuhnleger. You will have an amazing view towards the Rosengarten. Especially on a clear and sunny day the view must be thrilling.

As to show how enormous this landscape is, just have a look at this picture.

After having enjoyed that view make your way forward (track 4A) to St. Zyprian.
The trail is steep but goes downhill. It gives a tremendous view over the area. Deep down in the valley you can see Hotel Dosses, but don’t let this image fool you (like it did to us). It is still about 45 minutes to 1 hour back to the hotel.

At the Tschamin Schwaige our GPS stopped working due to empty batteries, so from that point either take the route to the Cyprianerhof or follow the track into the forest (the fitness trail) or you could opt to follow the paved road but that is the longest route to get back to the hotel.

Upon entering the hotelroom we noticed that Elgar was still asleep.

More stunning walks can be found in this booklet which unfortunately only is available in German, but which we can certainly recommend.

And don’t forget to buy a map of the region. Despite the GPS it is always a good idea to have a map with you as well.

Everywhere you look you will see beautiful butterflies and small insects and of course hear lots of birds. While we were enjoying this nice view towards the township Tires (Tiers) with its eye-catching church tower, we also saw two small salamanders. Cute creatures trying to escape our digital camera, but luckily one picture turned out to be rather good.

Then the track goes into the forests where you can escape the sun and your muscles can relax somewhat as the path is going horizontally for quite a while. Near the Volsegger Bild (a small chapel) Elgar decided it was time for something to drink. And that gave us the time to take a look at the map once more.
We decide to keep on following track 6U till Schonblick (a small cafe/restaurant). Along the way there are some nice viewing points a.o. towards Bolzano (Bolzen).

At reaching Schonblick we continue by following track 7. It climbs steeply for the first few hundred meters, but after that the track becomes easier and you will reach the so-called Hammerwand. Track 7 goes along the foot of a mountain (this part is more or less horizontal) and takes you all the way to the Teufelsschlucht (free translation: Devil gorge). We are at 1490 m altitude and have to climb up to 1940m. (Do remember that we started from the hotel at 1080m !). The climb in the beginning is very very steep. Along the track wood carvings try to cheer you up and are good spots to catch one’s breath again.

Suddenly the rocky ground changes into a small wooden bridge (not really a bridge but not sure how to explain it better) which is build in the gorge itself as to cross the water coming down the mountains. There is even a small chapel carved into the rocks, which can be reached via a ladder.

After this so-called bridge the path is becoming rocky again and still goes up rather steeply, until finally......................we arrive at the Sesselschwaige. A hut at 1940m and luckily for us it had just opened up for the season. We drank a huge glass of lemonade (more than 1/2 a liter).

Now all we had to do was going down the Baerenfalle, at least that is what we thought. But it turned out we indeed first had to go down, but only to discover later on that we had to go up again to 2070m (oh No !) before we reached the Baerenfalle, an enormous steep descend of more than 900 meters.
Elgar was eager to go down immediately but we took some time to enjoy the surroundings and its peacefulness. A pity that meanwhile it had become clouded but nevertheless a nice spot for a short break.

Via small bridges and wooden stairs we slowly make our descend back into the real world. The track is steep and can be slippery as it is a rocky path and is strenuous for the knees. We heard some thunders and therefore just kept on moving because this is certainly not the place to be when it starts to rain. The last picture is taking somewhere halfway on the track.

We survived the Baerenfalle and finally arrive at the Tschaminschwaige, a restaurant/cafe at the base of the mountains. Now it is only about 15 to 20 minutes back to our hotel. Tired but proud on what we achieved today we reach our hotel room. oooh.....a hot shower can be such a reward, although Elgar does not agree to that.

More stunning walks can be found in this booklet which unfortunately only is available in German, but which we can certainly recommend.

And don’t forget to buy a map of the region. Despite the GPS it is always a good idea to have a map with you as well.

Gerendal is also know for its wild orchids which flourish well on the chalk grasslands; the only place in The Netherlands actually where they still exists. The Orchid Garden, maintained by Staatsbosbeheer, is open to the public during May & June and really worth a visit when you are in the neighborhood.

After visiting the Orchid Garden our track brought us via small forests and agricultural areas to the small river De Geul that meanders through the landscape.  Oh....maybe you can discover our naughty Moose in one of the pictures. He wanted to prove to you that he was indeed with us all the time.

Via a small township called Stokhem we had to climb up a hill again which provided a nice view over Wijlre and its surrounding areas. This path eventually took us to a track that is part of the St. James Way (or St. Jakobsweg in Dutch), a pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela (el Camino de Santiago) in Spain.

After stopping at a cafe in a town called Scheulder to get some ice-cream (yum yum, very refreshing with this heat), we returned to the Gerendal, but now seen from the other side of the valley. This cow wanted to have my ice-cream I believe, but I was much quicker than she was.

We are almost there.......and then saw this very peculiar fungi. If anyone knows its name - we tried to look it up but this turned out to be more difficult than we thought it would be - then please let us know. With a last look on the landscape, we end this walk. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

They have very small eyes with eyelids that blink like lizards and even have visible ears. They shed their skin in patches, instead of the whole skin as snakes do. A slowworm can reach an age of about thirty years and in captivity can even live much longer (around 50 years).
In The Netherlands the slowworm has been granted protected status, so they are rather rare and thus we were lucky to see one.

Oh...forgot to mention that Elgar the HikingMoose itself was not with us on this trip. Why? Because he did not fit into the backpack anymore. But as you can see when looking closely at this picture we do wear the one and only HikingMoose T-shirt. Along the track there is ofcourse lots to see. Underneath also a few highlights of this walk.

And this picture shows the biggest bog pool called Elfenmeer (Lake of the Elves). This sunbathing butterfly, the Peacock Caterpillar (in Dutch the Dagpauwoog) enjoyed the warm sunbeams as much as we did. Spring is now really coming fast.

With a last glimp of one of the smaller bog pools, we go back to our car. Definitely worthwhile to go back here when summer has arrived.