Mittenwalder Höhenweg

Date: July 17, 2017

This hike has been on my to-do list for a couple of years now. Since I prefer hiking uphill rather than downhill (saving my knees!), we did this tour in the opposite direction - most people on the trail that day had taken the Karwendalbahn up, completed the Klettersteig and then hiked back down to Mittenwald via the Brunnsteinhaus. 

Our route started in Mittenwald. The path starts out with an easy grade through the forest. It takes around 2 hours to reach the Brunnsteinhaus. The hut is really nice with great views. We stopped for a drink and to pet the donkey (he was luckily in a good mood when we met him). 

After the hut the trail gets steeper for the remaining 700 m of elevation gain up to the start of the Klettersteig. 

At the start of the Klettersteig, we asked a woman who was finishing it from the opposite direction how it was. "Stress free" was her answer and she was right. This is a great klettersteig for beginners. While it is slightly exposed in some sections, for the most part I did not need to even use my Klettersteig set. That being said, I was happy to have it in a few places. Namely the section nearer to the end of our tour consisting of only boards hanging over thin air. My legs got a little shakey at that point. 

Doing this route in the opposite direction as we did does require stamina as it is almost 2000 m of elevation gain. We had planned to hike back down to Mittenwald, but the route is extremely STEEP so we went with the seilbahn. It costs 17.50 Euro per person but it's really worth it after a long day. 

This was my favorite hike of the year so far. Definitely recommend it for anyone who's looking for an easy klettersteig and awesome views!