DonauWelle: Alter Schäferweg – Im Tal der Lippach

When I dived into the fog towards the Danube valley this morning, I had doubts about the plan to walk the PWW Alter Schäferweg today. But they were unfounded, because the fog soon cleared and I was able to hike through the woods and over the juniper heaths in the sunshine. The Alter Schäferweg is not the most spectacular path of the Danube waves, and there was nothing to be seen of the Danube here. But there were some fine views and the paths through the autumn woods with rustling leaves were very picturesque.

I started at the hiking car park just above the mill, where I stopped at the end.

Very nice round with great paths and a fantastic view from the old mountain over the entire Alpine chain. Unfortunately a bit cloudy today. Sometimes there are also steep ascents and descents. I would not recommend the tour if it is wet. Otherwise an absolutely recommendable round. 👍👍👍

We have done this route many times before. And we have noticed again: You ALWAYS forget the many meters of altitude. And overall it is simply one of the most beautiful routes we have done. Varied, challenging, versatile, with great views and peppered with sights. And on the high Alb and with the deep valleys it is always very pleasant, especially in summer. But why again now. For the 4th time? It's simple: we have never done it the other way round and in retrospect you really ask yourself why? Why is the official direction this way? That way the climbs are more pleasant and the descents less dangerous! AND ABOVE ALL you walk through the town and down over tarmac while you are still fresh and want to look around. And then you go back down to the car park AND have the last big goal as motivation. A wonderful view and a pretty chapel to linger and catch your breath. You have really achieved something. But see for yourself! (The Lauffenmühle is still closed in August and September due to an operation.)

Drive to Mahlstetten Lippachmühle by car. From the WP we walked the "Alten Schäferweg", a hiking trail of the Donauwellen. Wonderful weather, with a light breeze on open ground made the 27/28 degrees bearable. My personal highlight was the beautiful "mourning cloak", of which I was able to admire two examples, https://www.deutschlands-natur.de/tierarten/tagfalter/trauermantel/

Nice round through mostly deciduous forests, a great view from the old mountain and 2 steep climbs. Also very impressive is the natural monument, the "Allenspacher Hof Linde" from 1450, which is considered the oldest and strongest tree in the Tuttlingen district. The stony descents in particular had to be taken with caution today, due to the previous rain.

That's an ugly hike... 😜 We're just saying that we have such a nice rest like today, with 2 degrees in the sun. At the beginning of March. 🙄 Pure sun and hardly anyone out and about.😎 But to be honest, we've gotten around... and today we occasionally had the feeling that we were experiencing the most beautiful hike in our region. Challenging, really endless paths and trails. Just so that you could think this lap lives only from the track. But far from it. There was also something to see, admire and marvel at every few meters. natural monuments. Spring. Leaking streams like you only know from the Danube. March mug. Huge juniper heaths. chapels. wayside crosses. landmarks. It's really impossible to list them all. And we don't want to reveal a few secret highlights just yet. 😄 As an exception, there are four tips today: If you park there and start where we started, it doesn't go up so brutally right at the beginning AND you can stop off halfway in the Lippachmühle. And after the BrückleBrünnele you have to climb the path on the slope to the right of the path. It's easy to miss, but it's worth it. Third, take a stick with you, or at least put on boots. And finally. In winter you can only go there when it's as dry as this year. It's safe to do it in the rain, but not on soft ground. Absolutely worth it. We would recommend to everyone. Pure nature but also a challenge!

We promised we'll be back. And here we are. Earlier than expected. And still second gear: It's one of the most beautiful laps we know. It could hardly be more varied. Even if it cannot come up with any outstanding sights in the true sense. And he's just wonderfully demanding. And halfway there is a restaurant that is worth a visit just because of the landlady and the beautiful rock garden. It's really tedious to list everything you can discover here. It's best if you just take a look for yourself. 😜🤪🥰 And what we liked after the second visit within months: How versatile this piece of earth is. At the beginning of March, the highlight was still early bloomers and today? butterflies! all the time! hundreds! All over! Countless species! Great. We are already looking forward to the next round. In the autumn. Later this year. Take a closer look at the great forests. 🧐 🍄 What remains? It was exhausting. Pretty even. But simply at least twice as beautiful! 🥰