Hanskühnenburg: Hiking in paradise
Winter keep its pecker up this year. Even mid march temperatures are still single-digit and snow still falls into the lowlands. Whereas the white stuff only lasts until morning, the Harz allures with the picture of a winter wonderland. By nature, Brocken and Wurmberg secrete for a visit on the weekend, unless you like mass gatherings. Fortunately there are more interesting places such as a hike from Sieber to the Hanskühnenburg. And when the sun shines onto the powder snow, luck is on our side.
When the sole is on strike
As we start on midday we choose the shortest but also steepest path to the Hanskühnenburg. Our starting point is the place Sieber. On the way to the branch-off we ask a local for directions. The guy confirms our route. At the same time he points out that the path is quite steep. „So you plan to stay overnight up there?“ he asks. We let him know that we will return today. He looks at us skeptically. Does he think we are unathletic city dwellers? Just as we let him know that we have been at the Hanskühnenburg more than once, he is contented and wishes us good luck.
The path to the mountain hut begins right away with an ascent. The sun is shining and lets the snow on the trees melt. It trickles down from the branches onto our heads. When we breath deeply after 500 metres on a tarmac road Burkhard realizes that something is wrong with his shoes. A closer look confirms his notion. The soles are coming off on both shoes! We learn that even soles can be on strike! Assumedly the material got spongy over time. It’s pointless, we have to return to the car and change shoes.
Who am I?
Ten minutes later we are back on the track. The first part of the Harzer Bauden Steig is also a nature trail. Wooden boxes with the inscription „Who am I?“ are escorting our way. Being a kid of the eighties Robert Lembke comes into my mind with his namesake TV program and the well-known saying: „Which piggy bank would you like?“
The path is steeply rising. The higher we climb the more solid the snowpack becomes. Every steps crunches. Nature becomes more and more untouched. Only a few people could have passed here before. The big challenge hits us 2.5 kilometres away from our goal: deep powder snow. We have reached the legendary mountain wilderness of the Harz.
Through the deep powder snow
We guess that the snow is about 30 – 40 centimetres high. There is only a narrow footmark which we can follow. Right and left from it there is only untouched snow. From time to time we can hear the bluster of the river Sieber. We are struggling with the deep powder snow. Every step is stressful. We move on slowly and are sweating in the warm march sun. The path is still steep but we have our goal in our mind. On the final section of the deep powder snow hike a group of wanderers approaches us. Actually these are the three guys who cleared the way for us.
The final vertical metres are the most stressful ones. On the one hand we are tired from the ascent on the other hand the road is sleepery from the cross-country skiers that paved the way. Finally the mountain hut is in front of us. It is a quarter past three in the afternoon and it closes at four o’clock. Still enough time for a break. At the entrance the lessee stands smoking a cigarette. „Yes, the hut is still open. But there is hardly anything to eat left“, she tells us. Well, it doesn’t matter. We only want something to drink and to stretch our legs.
Inside almost all tables are taken. But there is still one for us left. Most of the guests are cross-country skiers. The chimney is lighted up, some visitors are drying their clothes on top of it. It smells musty in the cosy room, as odours from the meals and the bodies mix up here. Nevertheless, we are happy about the break and recharge our batteries for the return path. Fortunately the sun will be up in the sky until six o’clock pm., so we won’t run out of time.
Around four o’clock we are on our way back. This time we only descend. It is great how easy it it to walk through the deep powder snow by now. Warmed up by the sun we reach our car just an hour later. What a great day – maybe the last one this march.
