Walking to Italy - Day 5 - Scharnitz - Hallerangerhaus

Day 5: Scharnitz to Hallerangerhaus

We had headed more or less south through Bayern; now, to go around rather than through Innsbruck, we veered east for a day. Our destination for Day 5 was an alpine "hut"--the Hallerangerhaus. "Hut" gets quotation marks, because the huts in the Alps are frequently a glamorous far-cry from what we think of as huts in the U.S. The Hallerangerhaus is managed by the Deutscher Alpenverein (German Alps Society), and is of the bring-your-own-sheets variety, with the luxury of pay-showers for visitors who want to go all out. We carried Hüttenschlafsäcke (hut sleeping sacks) with us for the entire hike, although we only spent one night in a hut; not a problem, since these sacks typically weigh less than ~9 ounces.

Our route from Scharnitz followed the Isar River up the valley.

Start-of-hike shot of the Isar 

Stick figures please note: this-a-way to the Ursprung (the mountain spring that is the source of the river), that-a-way back to Scharnitz.  

The waxing crescent moon was up and big and bright, although casual cameras rarely capture the moon well: 

Snack time:

I'm not generally a fan of hey-look-what-I-built cairns. Unless cairns are intentionally marking essential points on trails, they're like graffiti; they muck with the ecosystem, and they contradict the "take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints" ethic. At least along the Isar on our Day 5 route, people limited their cairn-building mostly to one spot.

At last, the Isar Ur-spring. See those two small cave-like holes below the signpost? That's the first of two springs from which the Isar bubbles out of the mountainside.

We left burbling of the Isar behind, and continued up the trail.

We paused at an Alm for Kuchen and Apfelschorle (half apple cider, half seltzer), and Alm's cows strolled by to check out the many sweaty hikers and bicyclists enjoying snacks.

After refreshment, we left the main trail and continued up, now more steeply, to the Hallerangerhaus. The creek that burbled down the hill beside us was the Hallerangerbach (Halleranger Creek), which empties into the Isar just below the Isarursprung. 

Looking back...

Looking ahead...

Almost there...

A welcome sight, the Hallerangerhaus.

There were many directions to choose from once we arrived.

The porch dining area, where we tanked up on hot chocolate, coffee, and our second pieces of cake for the day, offered an excellent view.

Before dinner, of course, we went for another hike, delightfully backpack-free, choosing a route through wildflower-filled meadows above the hut.

The red paint says "Isar Quelle" (Isar spring). This is near the end of the Hallerangerbach, so we assume it's the Ursprung of the latter, but since the Hallerangerbach pours into the Isar 1,800 feet below, "Isar Quelle" works for us.

The creek pours forth under the rocks...

...and thar she flows:

The wildflowers were delicate and abundant.

Hard to imagine a more scenic spot for a small chapel. The yellow flowers are Trollblumen (globeflowers, Trollius europaeus).

Hiking boots and outdoor shoes were not allowed on the lovely wood floors inside the hut, so hikers and bikers stored their shoes in a drying room in the basement. It was...potent.

We lingered outside after dinner to enjoy the sunset.

Ta da! 14.25 miles hiked, ~3,100 ft elevation gain. A gorgeous day for gorgeous hikes.