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Village to village hiking in Austria

We are interested in hiking village to village (or hut to hut) for 3 nights in Austria.
We will be driving from Munich the first day so the northern side of Austria is preferable.
We do not want to carry bedding/food/etc. so we are looking to stay in small pensions or "full-service" huts. We are reasonably good hikers but not intend to rocks etc.
Off the beaten path is preferable.
Cable cars, cog train, boats would add to the experience!

Thanks.

Posted by
5835 posts

I've done UK inn to inn walking holidays with luggage forwarding service but no personal experience with similar walking tours in Austria. That said, the following websites may be a start for trekking resources:

http://www.austria.info/us/activities/walking-hiking

http://www.wanderwegholidays.com/home.html

Village-to-Village: Self-Guided Tours A great value for the hiker
who prefers a self-guided tour. You sample multiple resorts in one
week as you hike from village to village. Your luggage is transferred
from inn to inn, leaving you footloose and fancyfree to enjoy the
adventure.

https://www.sherpaexpeditions.com/Walking/Self-Guided-Walking-Holidays/Austria

Posted by
183 posts

Generally huts in Austria require you to bring your own sleep sack (schlafsack). These are very lightweight, cotton sleeping bags with an extended end to cover the pillow. Huts that are owned/controlled by the Alpenverein provide a blanket and a pillow. Some huts might sell you a sleepsack, but don't count on it. They are quite inexpensive--10 to 15 Euros--in outdoor shops and come with a small stuff sack.

Alpenverein huts will always provide hot food for most of the day, but not late in the evenings. Shower facilities range from zero, to cold water, to hot water (often coin operated). Toilets may be pit toilet only or flush toilet. Any or all configurations are considered 'full service' in the mountains.

You should make reservations at the popular huts in the high season, although they are obligated to put you up if you show up late in the day. Although late arrivals with no reservation usually end up sleeping on benches in the dining hall.

For locations, there is an interesting place up from Kaprun you might look at: Mooserbodensee. There are two artificial lakes there--water storage for power generation. You park your car at the bottom and buy a ticket to get up. The ride is a bus part way up, thru tunnels, windy roads, then off the bus, ride a flat lift up a steep part, then on another bus up to the lake. There is a visitor center there and most people stop there. But you can walk across one of the dams, then up a trail to the Heinrich Schwaiger hutte. (Actually this is a German Alpine Club hut, but essentially the same system). It's steep, but not technical and you have views of the valley and mountains all the way up. Lots of wildflowers, too. It's not particularly remote, but it is very quiet up there since no public traffic is allowed up into the valley. Sunrise is magnificent on a clear day.

Link to their tourist website:
http://www.verbund.com/tm/en/kaprun-high-altitude-reservoirs

Posted by
183 posts

Edgar, the silk ones are of course also good. Bigger investment, too. ;-) Abt 3x the money here.

Posted by
5835 posts

Re sleep sack material. Less (weight) definitely cost more. Our hut to hut skis in Norway were self-contained so minimizing weight and bulk was worth the price.

Material/Weight/Thermal effect +F
Silk & Ripstop Silk 160g +5,3°
Silk-Cotton 220g +4,8°
Egyptian Cotton 260g +3,9°
Cotton 410g +2,9°
Organic Cotton 460g +2,9°
Flannel 530g +6,7°