Looking back along the Timmelsjoch

Dear Readers, the walk back down from the Timmelsjoch is the biggest challenge of this holiday. It links the Passeirtal and Oztal valleys, and has been used as a trading route for as long as people have lived in this area (possibly as far back as 6300 BCE). However, today the trick is to jump onto a 320 bus, let it take you to the top, and then head back down, culminating at the Sahnestuberl. The Timmelsjoch is at 2509 metres, and the Sahnestuberl is at 1650 metres, so that’s nearly 1000 metres of downhill. Quite the challenge for my legs and feet, but I’ve grown in confidence on the tricky rocky/boggy paths this holiday, so I was nervous but up for it.

Looking back along the path

And what a glorious day it was! Cool but sunny, and as we’d caught the 8.40 bus it was fairly quiet, and we even grabbed a quick cappuccino at the Rasthaus Timmelsjoch. And then off we went. The climb felt relentless, but on the trickiest bits my husband went in front so I had a helpful shoulder to steady me. Of course, this could have led to the pair of us sliding down, but as luck would have it we both stayed more or less vertical.

The Rasthaus, Timmelsjoch

You’ll see that there aren’t many photos on this blog – I didn’t want my camera dangling while I was concentrating on the downhill. But it is the loveliest walk, from the scree slopes high up to the meadows beside the river, and then the woods above the Sahnestuberl.

A little boggy stream

When we get to the Smuggler’s Exhibition, we know that we’re about half way through the walk, so it’s time to find a handy rock and munch on a banana. Though today, some people had already got to the bench.

The Smugglers Exhibition

By the time we got into the woods, my legs were feeling decidedly tired, but there were lots of Nutcrackers calling (they’re a kind of jay), and every so often we’d get a good view of one. The last quarter of a mile is relentlessly downhill, over slippery tree roots, but by now I could hear the call of the cake – the Sahnestuberl is renowned for its ‘cake of the day’.

Finally we collapsed onto a bench, and got stuck into an Almdudler, followed by a tea…

And today’s offering was peach, with a creme fraiche filling (it wasn’t as sweet as it looks) 🙂

And although the restaurant seems to have new, young staff, it still has a cat, who lounges under the benches like the queen/king that s/he is…

And so it’s home, and packing, and prep for our flight home tomorrow. Tonight the Obergurgl Glacier Run takes place, with people starting off at 2 a.m. to run 62km along some of the tricky paths that we have gingerly crawled along during this past fortnight. Good luck to them all!