Seebensee and Drachensee
After my hike to X, I needed some time to recover and take it easy. Although I have a backlog of boring hikes for the "Web" category, I found an invitation from Stanislav from my Trainsjoch (1707 m) hike to visit Drachensee across the border from Garmisch. Without thinking much, I accepted the invite.
We started off quite steep, going through the forest towards the southern cliffs and approaching the gravel slope of the via ferrata. We were by no means early, because we were hoping for more hike participants, but the trail was even more crowded than we expected. Some hiking groups even brought dogs, although in retrospect I would not recommend that.
We took a break on a bench with a nice view, then hydrated and set off. The via ferrata itself wasn't particularly difficult or dangerous, I believe it's difficulty A, but the gravel under your feet makes it a bit risky to get hit with a rock on your way.
We got some scratches from the falling gravel, but nothing severe happened. After finishing the climb, we walked onto the valley between the surrounding ridges. The first thing we saw was Vorderer Tajakopf (2450 m) towering above. I was told there's a climbing route there from Seebensee. Next, I noticed the biking road going all the way to the lake, and a smaller hiking trail joining it. We followed the trail and ended up at Seebensee.
The lake was very crowded, with many tourists swimming or just enjoying the cool breeze coming off the water surface. There were tons of kids and dogs running around, making the whole atmosphere even more cheerful. We stayed at the lake for a bit, but then noticed the darker clouds and headed to our final destination.
The ascent was longer than it looked. The trip took us roughly 30 more minutes, and we were constantly fighting to stay on track while avoiding the hikers going up and down, running, falling, or chasing each other. Some droplets started falling from the sky, so we wanted to hurry up, which was impossible.
The path was rewarding though. Even before reaching the top, we saw Seebensee with Zugspitze (2962 m) in the background. Some people were taking the detour towards the lake, taking their clothes off as they went. Others put on rain jackets instead, covering themselves and their backpacks from the miniscule amount of rainfall. We just kept going, trying to get to the hut and grab some cold drinks.
We reached the hut and ordered our drinks (6 Euro per drink, by the way). Then headed outside to look at others trying to jump off cliffs into the lake or crawling to the beach. The approach is quite steep, so I would have done the same in their place.
On the way down, we merged with a bigger group of Asian hikers. It felt a bit uncomfortable walking alongside them, but I couldn't put my finger down on why. After a while I realized, that on my hikes inside Germany slower hikers typically let me through. This happened most of the time with German and Austrian hikers on this route, but not with Asian ones. Culture differences, I guess.
As we walked past Seebensee and started our descent along the longer route (Stanislav couldn't get down with his broken collarbone and elbow), we were approached by a group of 3 cows. A pair of hikers approached the cows and tried to pet them, but the cows got a bit aggressive towards them. I managed to keep my distance, so I avoided their wrath.
The way down was quite nice in terms of scenery, but the sun was scorching. We walked past Seeben Alm (1566 m) taking a toilet break inside, then headed down around the cliff drop towards the upper cable car stations. We met more hikers on the way refusing to let us through, although we did manage to overtake them eventually on a wider section.
The rest of the way between the higher and lower cable car stations was easy, just taking the gravel road (with some sections under repairs). As we reached the bottom station with the bus stop, we had 40 more minutes of waiting, so we went to a nearby restaurant to get some ice cream or beer.
Overall, it's a must-visit hike for all ages. If you take pets, children, or injured hikers, taking the longer way up might make more sense. I know it is a very touristy and Instagrammy spot, but I promise it's enjoyable even for the chronically offline people. Take enough drinking water with you though!
P.S. The whole reason I was overtaking people was to get back to Munich faster and go watch the Backrooms movie funded by A24. Great movie, not just mindless jumpscares.