Cinematic Trip to Auerspitz

The hike that Annette from DAAD FK organized started off disastrously, because most of the group got confused on how to commute to Spitzingsee and either left at the wrong train station or missed the bus. While the organizer was dealing with the issue, I decided not to stand around with the group and went to the nearest bakery to get a cake.

By the time I finished it the rest of the group arrived, so we started the hike. The initial walk was picturesque, going on the hillside along river Rote Valepp. As soon as we turned east towards the mountains, the trail changed completely, now going between riverbeds, hills, cliffs, and trees.

Around this point, climbing on a narrow trail uphill towards the Alpine huts, the group has started to stretch. The quicker hikers were waiting for the slower ones, and Annette was making sure that nobody at any point is lost. At one moment, a pair of international hikers approached our group and asked for some photos, so we had something to do while waiting.

We passed some shepherd huts and started climbing the steeper section of the route. We were getting close to the Rotwandhaus (1737 m), and it was nice to see some civilization when looking up. I suggested making a stop at the hut, but we already wasted an hour waiting for the group to gather initially, so it made little sense to stop at the hut wasting more time.

After passing the Kümpflscharte (1695 m) saddle and reaching the Auerspitz (1811 m) summit, some DAAD FK students brought out their cameras and started taking photos of the scenery. I kept my binoculars on me, so I started handing them out to others that wanted to see the surrounding mountains up close. We even saw Rotwand (1884 m) that I visited in September.

After relaxing on the peak for a bit and taking a group photo, we started heading down to Bayrischzell. Walking past a giant cliff which turned out to be Ruchenköpfe (1805 m), I was excited to climb it, but checking the map revealed that the route up is better attempted with a rope and climbing gear. Maybe, I'll be back for a faithful attempt in the future. At least I got to see Seebergkopf (1538 m) that DAAD FK went to in the past and Wendelstein (1838 m) I visited a couple of times.

We really split up while going to the Soinsee lake, so there was a longer wait ahead. I went up to and around the lake, passing some snow and mud patches on route. Thankfully, some people of the faster batch had cameras with them, so I spent time looking at them fiddling with camera setting taking pictures of the lake.

Eventually, we got to the crossroads and Annette decided to switch our target and head to Geitau. This section of the hike is just a dirt road, so we walked together without issues. We passed Segelflugplatz LSC Schliersee, a small airfield for gliders, and I was surprised to see some gliders taking off and landing there. The hike ended at the train station in Geitau, where we took the train back to Munich after having a snack in a nearby beer garden.

All in all, this is a great hike with a big variety of views and terrain. Medium-difficulty, with some steeper sections but no climbing on all fours. The way down to Soinsee is also fun, offering views of Seebergkopf (1538 m).