Bad Bleiberg - Erlachgraben - Windische Höhe - Matschiedl Naturgut

SHORT ROUTE DESCRIPTION:

Stop Thermal Bath - Spa Center - north of Theresienhof/13 north of Terra Mystica - Fuggertal - Miggitsch - Maurer Schneidergraben/11 west of Erlachgraben - Farmer's district - northwest quarry - "Pepe Bankl" - Oberhecher / Dobratsch Circular Hiking Trail Stage 2 / 288 - Julius Kugy Three-Country Trail - southwest Badstuben - southwest Kerschdorfer Alm - Windische Höhe / 229 / 16 - Kreuzener Country Road L33 - Pölland - Matschiedl / Naturgut Gailtalerhof

DETAILED ROUTE DESCRIPTION

1. We hike gently uphill from the stop Thermal Bath (916 m) heading north, passing west of the spa center, to at the fork after about 300 m to turn half-left, northwest towards Farchach following the Dobratsch Circular Hiking Trail, the Stollenweg, and trail no. 13. At a right curve we leave the paved road and turn left, west – a path takes us below the Traninger wall to the Traningsleitenweg and further to a farmstead.

ALTERNATIVE: This variant 29b of the Julius Kugy Three-Country Trail can also be started from the Bleiberg-Kreuth stop. Here you can choose the entry to the JKDW variant and trail no. 11 between Fuggertal and Parzach (saves about 4 km and nearly 1.5 hours).

2. We continue west and leave the Traninger Weg after about 130 m and turn left, southwest on a hiking trail – after about 140 m we reach a hiking crossroad and go on a path, now with trail no. 11, half-right passing north of a property. After about 300 m we reach a nice viewpoint and then a short, rope-secured and easy path.

3. We cross trails no. 289 and D and go south of Legatenwand and north of Theresienhof or Terra Mystica to the "Sunny Side" – the Stollenweg leads us south of Feldkofel to the district Fuggertal. At the junction "Kirchweg" and the Kladnigkeusche we take the 1st break, 3.1 km, 937 m.

4. With the Dobratsch Circular Hiking Trail and trail no. 11 we leave the districts Bleiberg Kreuth and Parzach heading northwest and reach the Sattlergraben after about 1.8 km. We now hike south of Migitschriegel to the Mauer farmstead – here trail no. 11 branches off left and we continue to Erlachgraben and about 400 m later to Schneidergraben – here trail no. 288 comes from the right and accompanies us to the Gailtaler Höhenweg.

5. We go briefly south and reach a long-distance hiking trail (HWW), which we leave after about 100 m at a fork turning right, southwest – we hike on a very beautiful path into the Finstergraben and after about 400 m meet another HWW. We continue with trail no. 288 south past the village Erlachgraben and about 1.2 km west of the village Bauernschaft with the Hubertus Chapel and the farmsteads Ertl and Jost – ignoring a right and left branching path (2nd break, 8 km, 982 m).

6. We continue following the HWW south and hike gently uphill northwest of the quarry to the viewpoint "Dos Pepe Bankl" – after about 700 m we go south of the Oberhecher farmstead and pass through a cattle pasture (climbing over crossbars on both sides).

7. After about 500 m we make a sharp angled turn left on another HWW and immediately afterwards right and down to the Julius Kugy Three-Country Trail, the Gailtaler Höhenweg 229, and trail no. 16. We hike gently uphill to the right, northwest and after about 1.4 km straight ahead – after about 400 m and a right curve we take a rest at a trail junction, the 3rd break, 12.2 km, 1,050 m.

8. After about 600 m we leave the HWW after a right curve and turn half-left on a path to another HWW. Passing southwest of Kerschdorfer Alm, ignoring two right branching HWW, we reach the guesthouse Windischhöhe/Stefel after about 2.5 km near Kreuzener Straße L 33 – at the fountain of St. Antonius we take the 4th break, 15.6 km, 1,110 m.

9. We hike on L 33 northwest past the church of St. Antonius and down to the village Pölland – after about 2.3 km we reach the Gailtalerhof / Naturgut in Matschiedl, the destination of variant E 29 of the Julius Kugy Three-Country Trail (17.8 km, 870 m).

[1 alternative and 4 breaks]