Barenschutzklamm

Tuesday, 9/29
Barenschutzklamm gorge - as I write this I am so exhausted from hiking this gorge that I can barely think straight. I had heard about this hike, and the website made it sound so cool, that we just had to do it!

The Graz tourism website says "The exciting ascent involves 164 wooden bridges and ladders along 1300 meters. This involves conquering 350 meters of altitude". By the time we hit number 135, it was no longer exciting.

First, you climb pretty steeply on a hike over very rocky terrain just to reach the beginning of the gorge from the parking lot.  Stop at the little kiosk and pay your €3,50. Then another hour or so climbing all these steps and ladders. Around every corner you think "surely that must be the last one"! Only to see another set of steeply climbing stairs and ladders to conquer. And again at the next corner, and again, etc. Some parts were so narrow, we almost had to turn sideways.  Finally  you make it to top and you hike another 10-15 minutes to a small cafe/hut at the top,where you can sit and gather your wits as well as have a snack before starting down the mountain. We could not believe how high we had climbed, but it was literally from the base to the top of the mountain.

The return trip is on a different path because the ascent is basically a one-way deal as there is absolutely no room to pass people on most of the trail.  And I think it would be really scary going down some of those ladders, especially the really steep sections. The trip back down takes 1-1/2 to 2 hours and is a steep angle down almost the entire way, over uneven, very rocky ground.

We did the whole thing in 5 hours, which is about average I think. We were glad we managed to accomplish it, but it definitely was a difficult hike and my knees and my pinky toe (large blister) are definitely unhappy about it tonight. I do feel it will be one of our most-talked about days of the trip though, just because it isn't really on the American tourist radar and also because we're rather proud we managed it.