Wednesday, August 14, 2013

The Lake Königssee round

Continuing my training with my Transalpine partner, Gine, we spent another day in the beautiful Berchtesgaden Alps, home of the mountains around Lake Königssee.This is a beautiful glacier-formed lake tucked deep in the mountains (Germany's 3rd deepest!), with aqua blue-green waters reflecting the peaks above and white sandy beaches to take a nap on and enjoy the view. 

The plan: to run around the lake, starting and finishing at the town of Königsee, travelling through the mountains ringing the lake. The stats: 35km, 2600m+ elevation gain, around 8 hours of hiking, scrambling, taking in the views, enjoying a beer at the Kühroith hut and finally a good soak of the legs in the lake at the finish.

Hiking up to Hochgeschirr, a stony mountain pass:
  
Seeleinsee, a tiny glacier-formed lake tucked into the rocky peaks: 
Hochgeschirr pass: 
  
The descent down into the valley on the other side of the mountain pass - nice and steep! 
  
Obersee, a lake formed when a landslide cut off a part of Königsee, flanked by cliffs on 3 sides:
  
  
Peaceful mountain pasture next to the lake:
In front of Obersee: 
  
Quick water stop for Gine: 
Running along Lake Königsee towards the chapel of St. Bartholomew:

View from the trail above Königsee:
 
The town of königsee at the tip of the lake, a good place to soak tired legs: 

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