August 16 –17, 2022

Scheibbs District, Lower Austria, Austria

Margit & Christian

It was mid of August, a month after our Hochkar hike and we wanted more. So, we decided to conquer Dürrenstein mountain. With 1878 m altitude clearly below the 2000 m altitude limit it did not look much of a bigger challenge than our Hochkar hike. But at Dürrenstein the steep parts are steeper, and the trail itself is more uneven, has more stones and roots and hence is generally much more difficult to walk on. It’s also part of the “Dürrenstein Wilderness Area”. We decided to hike during a 2-day high-pressure weather window. Heavy thunderstorms in this area a day before we arrived and a day after we left proved that we chose well to use those 2 days we did. We parked our car in the lovely village of Lunz which is beautifully located by its eponymous lake and surrounded by the hills and mountains of the Ybbstal Alps mountain range. We hiked up the steep but gorgeous and almost solitary Lechnergraben with its never-ending crystal-clear water springs. We reached the Ybbstalerhütte, a mountain hut just in time to have dinner, enjoy the incredible sunset and go to sleep. On the next day we continued to hike up to the peak of Dürrenstein, sweating all the way, but happily! The views were beyond beautiful, the sun smiled with us. Back downhill we hiked a different route than our way up the day before, our tired legs carrying us via the jewel of Obersee back to Lunz and its refreshing lake, into which we dived right away! On our way home, you can guess, we made a stop at our beloved Erzbräu brewery again.