July 13 –14, 2022

Scheibbs District, Lower Austria, Austria

Margit & Christian

It was mid of July and the weather went through a high-pressure period. So, the air was stable and since we longed for a hike anyway, we decided to go for a two-day trip to the Hochkar region which is a part of the Ybbstal Alps mountain range. Around noon on day 1 we checked into a room in the village of Göstling by the river Ybbs and to warm up we started with a rather small roundtrip hike over Steinbachboden to Stiegengraben. Lovely views, sunny weather and a good dinner completed a beautiful day. On the morning of day 2 we checked out and drove up to the huge Hochkar ski resort with its huge car parks and ugly ski huts, everything rather quiet and deserted when we arrived. Apparently, nobody or only very few people know about the region's beauty and perfect hiking trails in the summer. Well, good for us, because apart from many cows, a cow farmer (counting his 200 cows on his huge and mountainous property – a task he must do daily he told us) and his also friendly wife at their small mountain hut, which was open for hikers, we did not meet anybody during our 7-hour hike. First, we hiked Northeast along a ridge with some ups and down until we reached Ringkogel (with 1668 m altitude the highest point on our hike) and there turned Northwest to Schwarzalm (the beforementioned mountain hut) and back to the Hochkar parking lot. It was a long and strenuous but fantastic and beautiful hike in great summery weather conditions. We concluded the day at the Erzbräu brewery just outside Gaming on our way home.