Altes Almhaus - Salzstiegelhaus

Access to starting point:
Highway A2 Klagenfurt am Wörthersee - Graz we leave at the Packsattel exit (from the direction of Graz we take the Mooskirchen exit), and then we follow the road towards the town of Köflach and further towards Judenburg and the Gaberl ski slope. Still in the town of Köflach, we turn slightly left into the settlement of Maria Lankowitz, from where we then follow the signs for the cottage Altes Almhaus, where we park on a gravel parking lot.

Path description:
From the parking lot at the mountain hut Altes Almhaus we go on a macadam road, which has signs for Salzstiegel, Hirscheggeralm and Pack. The path at first leads along the northern slopes of the peak Wölkerkogel and with nice views gradually brings us to the western slopes of the peak. Next follows some gentle descent and from the left an unmarked path joins us, which leads over the mentioned summit, while we continue slowly descending on the road. Further on, we descend the shady slopes of the peak Schwarzkogel, and lower down we reach the saddle that separates Schwarzkogel and Rappoldkogel.
Here the path splits, and we choose the slightly left path which continues on the road (sharply left Großebenhütte, straight on a footpath to Rappoldkogel).
The path ahead leads us with nice views of Packalpe and other mountain ranges, later the path returns into the forest, where we cross an avalanche gully; here we need to be careful not to cross the spot when there is a danger of avalanche. Further on, the path leads us along a macadam road that continues with a few shorter ascents and descents; later we briefly turn slightly right onto a grassy cart track which, after a minute of further walking, reaches a junction where we join the path that comes over the summit of Rappoldkogel, and we continue on the macadam road in the direction of Salzstiegelhaus.
The macadam road we continue on first ascends easily through a strip of forest, then begins descending gently; when we leave the forest we cross an even wider macadam road at the pass Hirscheggersattel, from where the hut Salzstiegelhaus is only a few steps away.
The description and pictures refer to the condition in October 2024.

On the way: Hirscheggersattel (1649m)