8 miles ascent: 4429 descent: 1640
The heavens put on quite a show last night with enormous bolts of lightning and roaring thunder. Fortunately, the weather had settled into just a steady drizzle in the morning which was far easier to deal with. The kind staff at Hotel Zur Post bid us good-by and wished us luck on our adventure. We once again boarded the train, this time to Langkampfen, only a six minute journey. We walked the road from Langkampfen up to UnterLangkampfen and shortly into the forest where the drizzle stopped and some serious uphill began. The ascent was 2300′ in 1.8 miles and was slow going. The forest was dense and appealing. One could imagine gnomes hiding behind the rocks as we ascended.
As we achieved elevation, we had beautiful views of the Inntel Valley below.
Finally reaching a grass ridge, we could see that the first climb of the day was nearly over. Topping the hill, we had a pretty descent into Höhlensteinalm.
Often we have seen pleasing little chapels in the Tyrolean countryside and Höhlensteinalm was no different.
This attractive valley was home to Höhlensteinhaus which was full of ambiance and delicious treats!
After enjoying the aroma of freshly baked pastries and reading the posted menu at Höhlensteinhaus we had to stop for some delicious buttermilk torte.
We were bid “auf wiedersehen” by a snappy little couple.
The trail took us up and out of the peaceful Höhlensteinalm. An interesting fact, the valley was formed by a dried up lake. We followed a gravel road which ascended for sometime in a forest before opening up in lovely mountain meadows adorned with cattle.
Our rainy morning had definitely taken a turn for the better as we thoroughly enjoyed a leisurely walk along mountain pastures.
Nearing Daxerkreuz we once again gained far-reaching panoramas of the Inntal Valley.
Rounding the corner we spied our destination for the day, Buchackeralm.
We were warmly greeted by the couple who hosted us at the charming, immaculate gasthaus.
I arranged months ago to meet up with an Austrian friend, Ben, whom my family met nearly forty years ago and not seen since. We first encountered him at a road rest-stop, where we and he had paused for a break from our travels, and learned that he was riding his mountain bike across the United States, merely a section of the round-the-world bike trip he had undertaken – Austria to Austria. He then rode his bike to our home in Tennessee and stayed with us for a restful week. Knowing that he was now living not far from the Adlerweg trail, we arranged to meet up at Buchackeralm. To our delight he showed up, still riding his mountain bike, just as we arrived at that establishment.
The warm afternoon weather quickly changed as dark clouds formed and a cold wind began to whip through the trees. Ben headed off down the mountain to try and beat the oncoming rain. After a delicious Tyrolean meal, Nancy and I settled into a game of Yahtzee in the dining room and watched the storm roll by.
One thought