Steinerne Meer and Berchtesgaden Alps July 2016

(written up on 19th August,the only wet day since returning from the trip and visits to Cambridge and Cropredy)
Another of my annual hut to hut trips to Austria with my pal Ernie who features as foreground in many of the shots. This year's walk was an anti-clockwise circuit from Berchtesgaden taking in most of the huts either side of the Bavarian/Austria border above Konigssee.
Link to photo album  https://goo.gl/photos/64ttJhrDoMHQ3weC6

A wet start from Wimbachbrucke but a straightforward walk up to Wimbachgrieshutte which was in a beautiful spot.Would like to have had an evening stroll to look around but ended up hunkering down out of the rain.

A drizzily, misty start the next morning for our walk to Ingolstadterhaus via the Trischubel and Hundstodgatterl passes,with some stretches across and down tilting snow covered limestone pavement.

Looking back down Wimbachgries

 

Hundstodgatterl

 

Normally in early July we miss the crowds but this being the 3rd week in July ,in a popular area with the school holidays started ,meant that the huts were much busier than on most of our previous trips .However we always got places in the matratzenlager without reservations and didn't have to resort to Notlager.

Some better weather greeted us the next morning for our walk to the Peter Wiechenthaler Hutte which was off the main circuit and set in greener Austrian scenery.

Ingolstadterhaus

Peter Wiechenthaler Hutte

Quite a few of the hut's occupants must have made it their weekend high point as there were very few on the return route back up to the Weisbachlscharte the next day.Quite glad that the overnight rain had washed away some of the snow as this made the route back over the pass less tricky than yesterday.
Very snowy on the path to the Riemannhaus where we had some welcome soup and beer at lunchtime before walking down through more vegetated landscape to the Karlingerhaus set in a spectacular basin.

Riemannhaus

aka Karlingerhaus

Monday at last brought with it some warm and sunny weather for our walk through the forests to Wasser-Alm high above Obersee in another hidden basin.We arrived in the quiet of the early afternoon but by evening the hut was brim full ,with a few people having to be accommodated in Notlager.Although the bed spaces have doubled the dining room is still as original but fortunately it was a warm evening where people could sit outside. A place with real character and a very simple menu.Plus beer of course!

Grunsee

 

Wasser-Alm before the crowds arrived

We were glad of the improved weather for Tuesday's long walk to the Carl von Stahlhaus which involved the longest distance and most ascent of any day of the trip, initially sidling through karst forest before climbing steadily up through high valleys and mountainsides past Seeleinsee and Windsharte to reach Schneibstein 2275 m before descending more steeply to the hut which is just on the Austrian side of the border.We met lots of walkers coming the other way who had either started from CvS and were doing the circuit the other way ,or out on a long day walk above this side of Konigssee.

Carl von Stadlhaus

Had the half pension with lots of nice dishes on Tuesday evening.A real treat to mark the end of the trip, followed by a short walk on Wednesday morning to the top of the Jennerbahn which we took down to Konigssee to catch the bus to Berchtesgaden then train back to friends in Munich.

Tiroler Grostl in Baierbrunn,Munich - having missed out on the opportunity a few days ago in the Peter W hut in the Tirol!