Enjoy a summer in the mountains

It’s Saturday morning, the sun is shining, the grass is still covered in morning dew and the sound of cowbells can be heard. The perfect day for a hike! We don’t hesitate for long; we pack our rucksack, prepare a little snack and lace up our walking boots. Then we set off for the ‘Unteres Älpele’ in the Zugertal. That’s where today’s walk begins:

Behind the ‘Unteres Älpele’, we follow the path, which leads across a meadow for a few metres. We continue along a wider, steep forest track through the woods, winding our way up to the ‘Oberes Älpele’ at 1,772 metres above sea level. From there, the path narrows again and continues uphill along a steep, zigzagging trail. Passing cow pastures, we venture ever deeper into the beautiful mountain landscape of the Arlberg. The grass becomes increasingly sparse and more and more boulders appear in the terrain. A short, final climb to the Gamsbodenjoch follows. These are the last few metres of ascent before we reach the beautifully situated Göppinger Hütte at 2,245 metres.

After a short break for a drink, we set off again towards Butzensee. The route takes us along the Theodor-Praßler-Weg, past the sun-drenched southern slopes of the Hohe Licht and the Braunarlspitze. Over scree and gravel, we follow the path – which is exposed in places – as it winds up and down until we finally reach the turn-off for the Braunarlspitze.

From there, it’s just a few metres of elevation gain to the Butzensattel. The view is breathtaking. Time and again, we stop to take in this wonderful experience of nature, consciously breathing in and out the fresh mountain air.

It’s a hot summer’s day, so we decide to cool off in the beautiful Butzensee. From the Sattel, we hike further down over rocks and through meadows until we reach the high-altitude lake. Having found a quiet, lovely spot, we don’t hesitate for long and take the plunge into the ice-cold water. We’ve successfully cooled off!

After spending a while by the lake, we set off for home. The route takes us past the Zuger Hochlicht and down below the Steinmähder mountain station onto a gravel path. We pass the Gipslöcher on our way to the Kriegeralpe. We turn right towards the Kriegeralpsee and continue through the Zugertobel to Zug.

A picture-perfect summer’s day! Mountains, fresh air, a dip in a high-altitude lake – that’s what a summer in the mountains means to us!