Austria

June 17 - July 14, 2009

July 2 - Harlisanger & Gaisberg: Harlisanger Cross

The Gaisberg has 2 crosses... the Harlisanger cross and the Gaisberg cross. We opted for the shorter route to Harlisanger which meant that we didn't pass by the Harlisanger church although we could see it from the trail below us. It was a beautiful day but we suddenly realized how much harder it is to hike up a mountain with the sun beating down on you! (not that we were complaining!)

Yay, a sunny day for a long hike!

It's the "Sam"erhof! (Sam's farm)

Hmmm, Samantha seems a little too relaxed for a big hike!

The Kreuzjochlsee and the Anna Chapel on the hill.

Snack break... Christopher enjoys watching the cows.

Splat!!!!!! (or as Sammy's song goes to the tune of London Bridge: Diarrhea's falling down, from the cow, from the cow, Diarrhea's falling down, you don't want to miss it!)

Samantha at the Kreuzjochlsee.

Finally we get to see the lake with some blue sky!

Samantha with a field of cotton tails.

A little alm hut.

Watch out dogs, this is cow territory!

This is the first time we've walked on this side of the Gampdenkogel mountain...
the Gaisberg is up ahead.

Looking back we see the imposing Rettenstein peeking up over the cow pastures.

Christopher is smiling as usual... he enjoys all this hiking in the mountains!

A bunny rabbit.

There were tons of these little salamanders in the pond.

Another stamp for our hiking booklets.

Wiegenalm (1507m)

The trail up the Gaisberg.

From the path we could see all the locals gathered
for the alpine mass at the Harlisanger church.

Lots of wildflowers along the path.

The ant colony among the wildflowers.

The steep and rocky path can get rather treacherous (especially on the descent)
so cables have been attached to hold on to.

One of the alpine flowers...
for more pictures see the Gaisberg Flower page.

A Hexenhaus (witch house).

Samantha at the Harlisanger cross (she beat Oma!)

Whew! Hiking in the sun is definitely more tiring!

View of the Harlisanger church from the cross.

View across the top of Gaisberg to the Kaisergebirge in the background.

July 2 Intro | Gaisberg Cross >>

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