Sankt Ilgen (Der Bodenbauer) - Sackwiesensee

Access to starting point:
From the border crossing Šentilj we continue driving on the highway towards Gradec / Graz and forward towards Linz and Salzburg. We soon leave highway A9 and continue driving slightly right in the direction of Vienna, proceeding along the expressway S35. Near the settlement Bruck an der Mur, we reach highway S16 and follow it in the direction of Vienna. A little further beyond the tunnel, we leave the highway and take the exit for Kapfenberg, then follow the signs for the mentioned town. We soon reach the main road 116, and from the nearby intersection, we turn slightly right toward the settlements Thörl and Mariazzel. In the settlement Thörl, we turn left toward the settlement St. Ilgen, then follow the road to the inn Der Bodenbauer, which is located at the end of the Alpine valley. We park in a large parking lot just before the inn.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we walk to the inn Der Bodenbauer and bypass it on the right side. Behind the museum, which is located behind the inn, the path splits for the first time, and we continue straight towards the summit of Hochschwab and the mountain pasture Häuslalm (left Hainzleralm and Josersee) along a gently sloping macadam road closed to public traffic.
After a few minutes, the road splits again, and this time we continue slightly left following the signs for Häuslalm (slightly right Hochschwab), continuing along the road with beautiful views. A little further, yellow hiking signposts direct us slightly right from the road onto a marked footpath, which higher up crosses the forest road a few more times. At an altitude of approximately 1200 meters, we cross a poorer road for the last time, continue through the forest for a short while, and then the forest begins to thin, revealing increasingly beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and cliffs. Further on, the path transitions into a band of dwarf pines and continues through an indistinct small valley. During the ascent, we can admire Buchbergkogel on the left and the cliffs of the mountain Zinken on the right. When we reach higher to the mountain pasture Häuselalm, we pass by two cottages (from the first, an unmarked path branches off straight towards Buchbergkogel, and another unmarked path bypasses the cottage Häuslalmhütte, being a minute closer than the marked path that goes past the cottage), after which we quickly ascend to the cottage Häuslalmhütte, from where a view also opens up towards the west.
We bypass the cottage on the lower left side (here a path branches off to the right towards Zinken and Hochschwab) and begin descending on a cart track or a marked shortcut. During the descent, the previously mentioned unmarked shortcut quickly joins from the left. A little further, a path from the settlement Oberort joins from the left or leads towards Plotschbodnu, but we continue slightly to the right and proceed along a cart track, which further guides us along the edge of an ample and, in its central part, swampy meadow. A gently sloping path that leads across the mountain pasture quickly brings us to the cottage on the mountain pasture Sackwiesenalm.
Behind the cottage on the mountain pasture, we ascend along a newer road or a marked shortcut, then reach a small saddle, from which we begin descending, and at the start of the descent, the path splits.
From the road, we turn right and, after a few steps, turn right again towards the lake Sackwiesensee, which we reach in a few minutes of descent along a grassy path.
When we reach the lake, we can continue to the right and then circle the lake. In approximately 20 minutes, we return to the crossing at the point where we left the road.
Der Bodenbauer - Häuslalmhütte 1:55, Häuslalmhütte - Sackwiesenalm 0:10, Sackwiesenalm - Sackwiesensee 0:15.
The description and pictures refer to the condition in July 2023.

On the way: Häuslalmhütte (1526m), Sackwiesenalm (1458m)