Here is a quick report of my recent mountain adventure in the Sengsengebirge. The „Sengsengebirgsüberschreitung“ is a very well known hiking route, but luckily not too overrun due to it’s difficulties. Most people do the 23km and 2400 vertical meters in two days hike with an overnight stay at a nice bivy hut. The path is well marked and not too difficult, only a few short steep sections secured with ropes. In summer there are only two spots where you can refill your water supplies (if you are lucky). The complete hike is in a nature park called Nationalpark Kalkalpen.
After the rain last weekend weather improved and forecast promised a sunny day. As I prefer to sleep in my own bed I decided to do this in a one day hike. This is no roundtour, so I needed some kind of transport to bring me back to my car after the hike. I decided to bike back the 20km, so I placed my mountainbike before I headed to the parking place. At 0700 LT I started the hike on a very nice path with a continuous ascent of about 1300 vertical meters to the first summit Hohe Nock OE/OO-209.
If you take a closer look at the second picture you can already see my next destinations. After the quick activation on 2m I was leaving the first summit that was already crowded at this early time. The rest of the day was very quiet, I only saw a handful of other hikers. Hiking down and the up again to reach the second summit for today, Rohrauer Größtenberg OE/OO-221.
For every summit I calculated a maximum of 30 minutes for resting, eating, activating. But on this summit I stayed a little longer, mainly to get @OE5FSM on OE/ST-437 in the log. I also worked @OE5SLE and @OE5MBP on OE/SB-119 from this summit. Unfortunately I missed @OE5DZL on OE/OO-019, but I chased him outside the activation zone during my hike to the third summit. Being a bit behind schedule I tried to speed up to make up the lost time.
But that’s not what you want to see after almost 2000 vertical meters. The ascent to Hochsengs OE/OO-215 was the most challenging part of the tour. But I made it and could successfully activate my third summit of today.
With the path getting easier and the last summit for today in sight hiking was rapidly getting a lot smoother. On the ascent to Schillereck OE/OO-224 I took a look back to the three summits visited today.
After the successful activation of the fourth and final summit today it was time to recap the sota day. I want to thank all the chasers for 42 QSO’s, special greetings go to @OE5FSL and @DL8MEK who worked me on all four summits. @OE5JKL, @OE5HDX, @DO1BEN and @OE5RSO made QSO with me on three summits. My APRS beacons were received by several I-Gates:
Back in the valley (where I placed my mountainbike in the morning) it was a few minutes after 1800 LT … so my total hiking time was a little over 11 hours. My GPS device summarized 23,3 km and 2380 vertical meters. After eating and drinking what was left in my backpack I got up on my bike to cycle the last 20km back to the car … just to find out after the first steep section that my legs did not agree with what I was doing right now. So I decided to stay friends with my body and take a „short-cut“ by taking the train.
73 Martin, OE5REO
P.S.: Joe, OE5JFE did this tour in 2018 going in the reverse direction … here is his video:
