Sunbathing at Simetsberg
When I was browsing OsmAnd for cool hikes around Walchensee, I kept looking at Krottenkopf (2086 m), but at the time it seemed like too difficult of a hike. When I looked around this peak, Simetsberg (1836 m) caught my attention, and it seemed like a good option for a DAAD Freundeskreis hike.
When we got on the train, we met an acquaintance of mine taking her brother on a hike to Herzogstand (1731 m). The brother never showed up, so she decided to depart herself. I offered her to join our route instead and she happily agreed. Getting to the spot was not very easy. It takes quite a walk from the lake to even enter the trail. Once we did, we quickly moved uphill along a wide road, passing some huts on the way, and even a Shrek-themed village toilet.
Soon after the huts the wide road ended, and we had to take a small overgrown trail instead. It was clearly not used very often, but that didn't stop us from moving forward. The trail is quite narrow and windy in this area. At first, we were following the route nicely, taking turns upon turns.
Next, every loop of the trail between turns became steeper, and the hike became considerably more difficult. While the DAAD FK members were more or less keeping up, my acquaintance wasn't as comfortable. We started taking more and more breaks, making the hike noticeably longer.
During one of those breaks, we were passed by a mountain biker going down the same trail. It was an incredible showing of skill to look at. His arms were shaking, his pumped legs trembling, but he continued to carefully go down the trail, jumping from one rock onto the other. I would need years to get anywhere close to that level.
When we reached a hut quite close to the summit, my acquaintance said she couldn't continue and decided to sunbathe on the slope instead. We agreed to meet back up in the same spot, said our goodbyes just in case, and parted ways. The rest of the group at that point was also quite tired, and it seemed some of them made suboptimal clothing choices.
Simetsberg (1836 m) is a very appealing mountain. While there are multiple ways to climb it, each one offers great views in all directions. To the south, you can see Soiernspitze (2257 m) and Hoher Kranzberg (1391 m). And in general, it offers a great view towards the border, including Westliche Karwendelspitze (2385 m) and Wettersteinspitzen (2305 m). To the north, you can see Walchensee and surrounding mountains, including Herzogstand (1731 m) and Jochberg (1565 m). Towards the west, you can spot Krottenkopf (2086 m), Wank (1780 m) and even get a tiny sneak peek at Zugspitze (2962 m).
When we started getting close to the top, we came across a few other pairs and small groups of hikers going up and down. We reached the top, took a bunch of photos and enjoyed a small lunch with the snacks we brought along. With the great views around us, we took our time on the summit, but eventually it was time to go down.
When we reached the hut we passed on the way, my acquaintance was laying there enjoying the sun. We talked a bit about what we saw, but didn't linger for too long, since the sun was still high and we wanted to cool down in the lake. The treck down took us quite some time, but at the end we made it to the parking lot at the bottom of the mountain. We then walked along the road all the way to the lake and enjoyed swimming in it until the sun went down.
To sum the hike up, it's definitely an interesting and rewarding experience. A bit annoying to get to, so I'd either suggest combining it with a swim in Walchensee like we did, or take a car to the bottom of the slope. Another option would be to start or end the hike Wallgau, where the trail is a bit more accessible.