Bachwinkl - Peter Wiechenthaler Hütte

Access to starting point:
Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive into Austria, then continue our journey on the Tauern highway. Further on, we drive through the Katschberg Tunnel and later the Tauerntunnel; we follow the highway towards Salzburg (also Solnograd) only up to the exit for Bischofshofen, from where we continue on a four-lane road towards the already mentioned town. From Bischofshofen, we follow the signs for the town of Zell am See and then for the town of Saalfelden. Through Saalfelden, we continue straight on the main road; a little before the sign marking the end of the town, we turn right onto a narrow road where signs »Pabing - Bachwinkel« direct us. While driving through the village, we follow the mountain signposts towards the mountain hut Peter Wiechenthaler Hütte. The signposts then direct us left onto a macadam road. We park on the large parking lot before the bridge.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue on a macadam road which is further closed to traffic. We walk along the mentioned road and at the junctions follow the signs for the mountain hut Peter Wiechenthaler Hütte. The road at the beginning crosses two streams and then brings us to a barrier.
Here we continue right onto a footpath and begin to ascend somewhat more steeply through the forest. Higher up, we rejoin the road for a short time, which brings us to a marked junction. At the junction, we continue left on the footpath following the signs »Peter Wiechenthaler Hütte - 412«; further along the road, the path leads to the alpine pasture Steinalm and path 412e (Seilbahnweg) to the mountain hut Peter Wiechenthaler Hütte.
From the junction, we then ascend mostly in zigzags through the forest from which views towards the town of Saalfelden rarely open up. Higher, the path turns right and then crosses the slopes towards the northeast. The path here constantly runs through the forest, and along the path there are occasionally benches to which names have been given. Such a path then brings us to a junction at an elevation of 1345 meters.
At the junction, we continue slightly right following the signs »Peter Wiechenthaler Hütte - 412«; to the left, paths 412a and 412d also lead to the mountain hut Peter Wiechenthaler Hütte, while to the right downhill path 412e leads back to the starting point. From the junction, our path still crosses the slopes towards the northeast for a while, then turns left and resumes ascending somewhat more steeply. The forest becomes somewhat sparser and views of the nearby peaks begin to open up from the path. Higher up, dwarf pines replace the forest, followed by a few more ascents to the hut.

Trip can be extended to: Ingolstädter Haus (3 h 30 min) , Schartenkopf (2 h 15 min) , Großer Hundstod (5 h)