Knödelhütte - Peterer Riegel (via Peterer Alm)

Access to starting point:
Highway A2 Klagenfurt - Graz we leave at the Packsattel exit. When near the mountain pass, we reach the old Klagenfurt - Graz road and turn left; shortly after at the pass, we turn left again toward the Knödelhütte cottage. Next follows driving on a slightly narrower asphalt road. A little higher, the road splits, and we continue on the right macadam road, beside which there is a gate. To continue driving, it is necessary to pay a fee of 2 euros (July 2023); then, on the macadam road, we reach the Knödelhütte cottage, where we park.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we first walk to the cottage, then cross a grazing fence onto the path toward the cottage Bernsteinhütte, saddle Peterer Sattel, and pass Salzstiegel. At first, we gently ascend through the pasture, then the path enters the forest, where it remains gentle. Further at a few smaller crossings, we follow the blazes, and when we reach a marked crossing, we go straight in the direction of the saddle Peterer Sattel (slightly right, the mountain hut Bernsteinhütte). Only a little further, we reach the next crossing, where we also continue straight (left, the mountain hut Unterauerlinger Hütte, and right, the mountain hut Bernsteinhütte).
Next follows the crossing of a grazing fence, and we bypass the mountain hut Bernsteinhütte on the left side. Next follows a moderate ascent by the edge of the grazing area, and the path a little higher splits once again.
To the left leads the path towards the mountain huts Görlitzerhütte and Schrotthütte, and we continue straight, where a few minutes higher, we leave the thin forest. Next follows a fairly steady moderate ascent on a panoramic grassy ridge, and when the path flattens, on the right side, only three minutes from the path, we notice a cross on the south summit Hirschegger Alm. The marked path bypasses the mentioned peak on the left side, and we quickly descend to the nearby saddle, where there is a marked crossing.
From the saddle, we continue straight along the grazing fence (left mountain hut Görlitzerhütte, right mountain hut Sauerishütte and the peak Seinerkreuz) and again start ascending. A little higher, another path branches off to the right towards the mountain hut Sauerishütte, while we continue in the same direction, ascending along a panoramic grassy ridge. Higher up, the ridge flattens, and we follow the path for a few more minutes to the indistinct northern peak of Hirschegger Alm.
This is followed by a short descent, after which the marked path from the village of Hirschegg joins us from the right.
We continue straight ahead and bypass the peak St. Leonharder Alm on its right (northeastern) side, continuing without major changes in elevation. A little further on, we pass a water trough; shortly after the traversing ends, we reach a junction on the saddle between the previously mentioned peak and Peterer Riegel.
Here we first continue slightly left in the direction of the mountain hut Petererhütte (slightly right leads to Peterer Sattel), after crossing the grazing fence we turn left and for a short time still follow the marked path, which descends slightly. When a few minutes further on we reach a grassy cart track, we leave the marked path and begin to ascend along the mentioned cart track. There follows a moderate and increasingly panoramic ascent; when the increasingly faint cart track bends slightly right, it gradually turns into a footpath which quickly brings us to the marked path that leads from the hut Petererhütte towards the summit of Peterer Riegel. Here we continue right and in a few minutes arrive at the panoramic summit.
Knödelhütte - Bernsteinhütte 0:45, Bernsteinhütte - southern summit of Hirschegger Alm 0:50, southern summit of Hirschegger Alm - northern summit of Hirschegger Alm 0:50, northern summit of Hirschegger Alm - Peterer Riegel 1:25.
The description and pictures refer to the condition in July 2023.

On the way: Bernsteinhütte (1559m), Hirschegger Alm (južni vrh) (1767m), Hirschegger Alm (severni vrh) (1871m)