Theme Tour 3 – Slate quarries and bats

This beautiful tour led along sometimes narrow and rocky paths through the forest, alongside many small streams and rills. In between, there were always beautiful views. Stark contrasts (healthy coniferous stands and the exact opposite). The last 5km were unfortunately very asphalt-heavy. If you want to walk the tour, I recommend doing the loop the other way around. The whole thing again in perfect hiking weather. 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️🌞🌞⚒️

Today I hiked the T3 themed trail from the Eifel National Park along the Wüstenbach and Püngelbach streams, starting from the Hirschrott rest area. The route to the Rothe Kreuz rest area is varied, sometimes following wide forest roads, then narrow paths alongside the stream. It would have been even more beautiful with more greenery. Unfortunately, the return route from the Rothe Kreuz rest area is mostly on paved or compacted forest roads, but it's downhill, which made the hike more bearable. All in all, a lovely hike.

Today I took on the next themed tour in the national park, starting in Erkensruhr from the Finkenauel car park. From there it goes deeper into the idyllic valley of the Erkensruhr in the direction of Hirschrott, the former starting point of this themed tour. Following the Erkensruhr you hike through the wooded valley until you reach the confluence of the Püngelbach and the Wüstebach, which together form the Erkensruhr. Continuing to follow the Wüstebach stream, you pass some of the region's historic slate tunnels, most of which serve as sheltered bat areas today. After crossing the Mühlenbach comes the most beautiful part of the tour - along narrow paths through the Wüstebachtal. I always like this section of the route with its slate cliffs on one side and the Wüstebach stream lying in its rocky bed on the other. After following this for a while, you cross the watercourse and climb a narrow path out of the Kerbtal. Now we continue on forest roads over the wooded ridge of Hollerscheid in the direction of Püngelbachtal. This can be reached at the Beckmannsweiher, from where the asphalt continues up to the forester's lodge and Rothes Kreuz rest area. Since you mainly walk on road surface from the pond and don't miss much next to the forester's lodge and new beech stocks between the prevailing spruce trees, you can consider saving parts of the road and following the pond directly to the right near the Püngelbach and so the take a more direct route back to the starting point. All in all, a nice tour through great valleys, with a clearly too high proportion of asphalt, it feels like about half of it is on the road. The area is nevertheless recommended to every nature-loving hiker! I can recommend the Creation Path or just follow your nose, there are some beautiful paths there.

On this warm and sunny day, I wanted to walk one of the official themed trails again, and since the description and reviews promised a lot of good things, this time I chose "Themed Tour 3 - Slate Quarries & Bats": Well...after completing the approximately 2km access path (partly on the Creation Trail) to the actual trail, a truly beautiful, even very beautiful(!) trail begins: An old tunnel, the rushing streams...very, very beautiful! Unfortunately, the fun ends after about 5km... You reach the hills, and shortly before the Rothe Kreuz parking lot, you first follow a wide farm track for about 1.5km. Then, from the forester's lodge, you "hike" directly on the asphalt access road for about 2km, finally ending up on a (former?) old paved access road. The game continues, with a brief interruption, all the way back to the start/finish... It might give you pause for thought when, from the forester's lodge to the finish, you encounter about 20-30 (touring) cyclists, but only 4-5(!) other hikers, and the route is marked with numerous traffic signs for cyclists... 70% asphalt/tar/wide farm track compared to 30% forest path/trails .-( Sorry...started off relatively strong...but then dropped off significantly! It's a shame, and I mean it seriously...I'm not talking about "hate," but about criticism, but this should be well known by now!

We did this hike in July. The route is challenging; hiking boots and good fitness are required! But in return, you're rewarded with a beautiful walk with many flowing mountain streams and countless butterflies in a variety of colors.

Today the "T3"... started in Hirschrott at minus 3 degrees and returned at 19 degrees. Mostly asphalted paths up to the Rothe Erde forestry house. Still easy to walk. Since I was already there, I had to stop by the Leykaul. The average speed is of course not correct! I don't know what Komoot is calculating...

Today again Püngel and Wüstebachtal in their colorful autumn leaves.

Off to the Eifel National Park south of the Rursee - this time with the best weather, a great mood and a fantastically beautiful landscape, lots of water and narrow, winding root forest paths 🤗👌🏻