Unterauerlinger Hütte - Peterer Riegel (via Peterer Alm)

Access to starting point:
Highway A2 Klagenfurt - Graz we leave at the Packsattel exit, and then we follow the signs for Auerling. Next follows some descent, and then we follow the signs for the settlement Unterauerling, and from there the signs for Liedel, cottage Schrottalmhütte, and cottage Unterauerlingerhütte. Higher up, the road splits, and we go right towards cottage Unterauerlingerhütte (left cottage Schrottalmhütte) and then drive to the parking lot near the mentioned cottage.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we walk to the chapel of St. Hubert, which is situated above the cottage Unterauerlinger Hütte and continue left by the chapel (straight to the cottage Knödelhütte). Next follows an ascent on a rough macadam road, and shortly after the hunting observatory, we veer slightly right from the road onto a marked path that cuts through a right turn. We quickly return to the road and continue ascending along it; after crossing a grazing fence, we leave the road at a left turn and proceed right toward the cottage Bernsteinhütte (continuing on the road leads to the cottages Liedelhütte and Schrottalmhütte). Next, we walk along a footpath that leads through the forest; we initially ascend a bit further, then follow a gentle descent to a junction at a small saddle, where we join the path from the cottage Knödelhütte.
Here we continue over the grazing fence, then turn left (straight ahead to Bernsteinhütte 1 minute).
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.
Unterauerlinger Hütte - Bernsteinhütte 0:35, Bernsteinhütte - south peak Hirschegger Alm 0:50, south peak Hirschegger Alm - northern peak Hirschegger Alm 0:50, northern peak Hirschegger - 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)