Stage 03 From Glacier to Wine North Route Stoderzinken - Bad Mitterndorf

At the foot of the Stoderzinken we should visit the Friedenskirchlein before the start of our actual tour. Only a 15 minutes walk away vfrom the parking lot, it offers a spectacular view of the mountains of the Schladminger Tauern. Peter Rosegger, the most famous local poet and writer of Styria, wrote on the occasion of the visit to the Friedenskirchlein: "What should I write in these mountains full of sunshine - I can only be silent in devotion and blissful." Those who are particularly good to themselves will also tackle the half-hour climb to the Stoderzinken, one of the most beautiful photo spots in the Enns Valley. However, please remember that we still have a nearly 21 km long stage ahead of us.

On this stage of the hiking route "From Glacier to Wine", a part of the Dachstein Guttenberghaus - Stoderzinken stage is on the program for us at the beginning: the descent through a sparse larch forest to the Notgasse. The turnoff from the 618 path to the Notgasse is located in the valley floor below the Kimpflingsattel and is well signposted. From here we continue through a forest with beautiful clearings, where in former times charcoal was produced. On the way through the Notgasse, a very narrow rock gorge about 500 m long, we admire the old rock carvings up to 2,000 years old, some of which are already a bit weathered and some even unfortunately overdrawn. We follow this historic mule and smuggler's path, which is only 2 m wide in places and is accompanied by rock walls up to 60 m high, and reach the Brandalm via a subsequent new forest path. This route is identical to the Dachstein circular hiking trail, which is marked by clearly visible yellow signs, as it was on the Dachstein Guttenberghaus - Stoderzinken stage. On the so-called Bettlersteig, the trail now leads uphill through a dense high forest to the Viehbergalm, an alpine village located at 1,445 m above sea level, which offers several places to stop for refreshments. The Ritzingerhütte (Tel. +43 0685 22474 or +43 676 9459817) is particularly popular for its fresh Steirerkrapfen, baked in hot lard and served with Steirerkas. If the Notgasse should be displaced by windfalls or similar, the beautifully laid out path No. 618 (and subsequently path No. 28) from the Brünnerhütte to the Viehbergalm is alternatively on the program.

Via the Hochmühleck, which offers us a beautiful view of the lonely Kemetgebirge on the eastern edge of the Dachstein plateau, we continue parallel to the Dachstein circular hiking trail steeply downhill to the Goseritzalm. From here, the trail leads us through a beautiful forest ever so slightly downhill to a trail junction in the immediate vicinity of the Steinitzenalm (Tel. +43 664 75057479), where we leave the Dachstein circular hiking trail. We keep to the right and cross the Almgraben to reach the Grimming Therme in Bad Mitterndorf, our stage stop (Tourist Information Tel. +43 3623 2444) . With its range of indoor and outdoor pools as well as relaxation areas with views of the Grimming, the Therme is a welcome change and reward for our calves. The next day we have the choice: either we hike to the Tauplitzalm, our next stage location, via the main route or we take the variant via Tauplitz with the chairlift ascent to the Tauplitzalm.