E5 Stage 10.2: Poka to the People

Braunsweiger Hutte to Zwieselstien

Sunday, July 28

In the morning we ate breakfast and were some of the first hikers on the trail. With the beautiful view of the glacier behind us, we climbed along the left side of the basin, where the Braunsweiger Hutte was stationed.  It was just another day to the top of the mountain pass. However, even though the trail was well made, the slopes were steep enough to be dangerous, so we were careful as we continued to climb to the ridge like pass.  Towards the top, we passed along a snow-covered ridge, up through a jagged rocky trail, alongside the edge of the bowl, and up to the highest point on the E5, Pitztaler Jöchl, at 2995m/9,826ft.  

At the top, we were met with a brilliant view of valley below, another snow covered pass below, and other hikers celebrating their victory to the top.  We celebrated with another group picture with strangers :-). 

After talking with some of the hikers, it was time to head down the steep snowy hill.  Dad took the well used snowy path, while I went  straight down the slope in my skiing/jumping/sliding method.  It was a lot of fun.  

At the bottom of the snowy slip and slide, we found ourselves descending into another valley, which included an unused skilift, as well as another glacier on are far right.  The descent was steep and led us down more rocky paths, across a rapid stream, and a long a steep, sloping dirt road.  The road gave way to cows and sheep, who were grazing alongside of the stream.  

Eventually, we passed a main road, but instead of going down, that E5 route took us up alongside the mountain.  We were hoping to get to our destination sooner, but followed our long path nonetheless.  Coming down from the alpine region, the path became more forested and surrounded with pine trees. We went under a few cable cars continuing south alongside of the steep mountain. Eventually we came across a restaurant called Löple Alm.

We decided that we had hiked for long enough and needed a break. So we sat on the shaded deck overlooking a panoramic view of the valley below. We ordered beers and a cheese pastry like cake. 

We found out there was live music from a local trio of musicians. So we extended our stay, enjoying the sunshine, blustery wind, ad spectacular view around us. My dad got to talk with some of the band members about sound equipment and then we enjoyed their local, Austrian, Poka style music.  The musicians were playing guitar, electric bass, an accordion, as well as wireless vocal mics for each player.  I couldn't understand a lot of what they're singing about, but they seemed happy. The guitarist was joking and seem to dedicate a few the songs to us; the Americans.

We ended our break and said farewell to the musicians, then continued on our route. The trail continued to guide us through grassy pastures, past other restaurants, and eventually to a dirt road, which brought us down a steep zigzag pattern through hay pastures.  The dirt road turned into a steep climbing trail that led us down further and further into the valley. 

After arriving at the bottom of the valley, we hiked along a road that was parallel with a huge churning river. It was a milky white river and had a very strong current.  We continued to walk on a gradual downhill path, until about 1 hour later, we came to the town of Zwieselstien.  Since the DAV Hutte was not open until later, we decided to stay at Gosthof Noue Post Hotel.  We spoke with the manager about a room and he provided one across from the main hotel, where we had our own room, sink, and balcony to dry clothes.

That night we both enjoyed a great dinner of local cuisine. I had a goulash soup, Veal medallions on kebab, with a side of rice and gravy.  My dad enjoyed a dish gämse, which is the local version of chamoix (mountain deer), along with berry sauce and spätzle (potato pasta).