Bodenwiese 26.4.2012

In the morning, I leave my mountain bike in Gloggnitz for a service, so I drive the short distance to Payerbach, where I start a walk up to the Bodenwiese.

My route: 7,3 km walk, about 650 m ascent and descent.

The walk starts in a lovely valley.

Here the branching off where I shall return from the left at the end; I turn to the right now.

Flourishing trees  ...

 ...

 ... these near a farm.

Steep ascent in this narrow valley.

First view over to Hirschenkogel and Stuhleck

I reached a viewpoint above a steep escarpment and look over to the Rax massive, far left the Heukuppe ...

 ... opposite is Sonnwendstein, Hirschenkogel and Stuhleck

Hirschenkogel and Stuhleck in Zoom

View down the escarpments to the valley where I started my walk.

Cowslips besides the path inside the forest.

The steep, rocky escarpent suddenly gives way to the huge plateau of the Gahns - massive, which extends from Ternitz up to Schneeberg. Last snow cornices from the last winter, which was very rich in snow. In the background the Waldburg - Anger - hut, to the left ..

 ... the view goes over the Bodenwiese, with its extent of 97 hectare the largest mountain pasture in Nether Austria. The long and narrow grassland stretched from here to the north nearly 3 km air line.

The grass still being brown, but first spring gentians are already out.

Waldburg - Angerhütte with the view to the south - Hochwechsel.

Sign post - here is the crosspoint of the boarders between the districts of depicted communities  (a modern kind kind of a "Three shires stone")

The Waldburg - Anger hut is closed - at this time of the year it is open only on week ends and bank holidays.

I don´t have the time to walk along the Bodenwiese, so I turn back for my descent, this time on a different route. From the Jubiläumsaussicht ("Jubilee view) looking over to the Rax massive.

180 ° panoramic view to the south from Jubiläumsaussicht. Far left in the background the Wechsel massive, then Sonnwendstein, Hirschenkogel and Stuhleck, the mountains north of the Semmering region and far right Rax. Down in the valley, the village of Payerbach to the left/center, Hirschwang and Edlitz to the right. Click here or into the picture for a larger version.

Zooming in on Sonnwendstein with the transmitter of the ORF, Hirschenkogel with its skiing slopes and Stuhleck.

Rax

On the descent: you wouldn´t believe that above these rocky escarpments is a large, lovely, smooth grassland.

Near the Hochberger I turn left to get back to my car. Last view of Rax.

Blooming trees near Hochberger.

Near the uppermost farm in the valley lots of Cuckoo flowers (Cardamine pratensis).

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