WAB - Regional Route S part 2: Würflach - Hohe Wand - Grünbacher Sattel

Wellnesswelt Würflach car park and the entrance to Johannesbachklamm ravine (459 m)

Grünbacher Sattel

Continuation of Regional Route S starts at the Wellnesswelt Würflach car park. However, we do not take the logging path down to the Pfarrkirche, but turn north at a car park onto a hiking trail towards Johannesbachklamm. Upon arriving at the Johannesbach stream, we turn right into Klammgasse and follow this until we reach Hauptstraße. At Hauptstraße we turn left heading towards Willendorf and leave this route after around 10 minutes, veering somewhat right towards Dörfles. Continue along a field path briefly along the course of the Johannesbach stream, cross the Bundesstraße and follow the field path straight on until its end. We follow its course left along the Frauenbach stream and then turn right onto Birkenallee shortly afterwards. This is followed to Urschendorfer Straße before turning left and following the road through Dörfles and on in the direction of Netting. The road leads to a crossing, Hauptstraße continues straight on to Netting, and we veer somewhat left along Kienbergweg and slightly uphill (marked in red).

 

We keep right in the direction of Kienberg and follow a solitary hiking route through dense mixed forest and sparse pine forests. The summit of Kienberg is reached at 650 metres, from which we enjoy a view of the Hohe Wand and Schneeberg peaks. Now we go downhill. The rugged Irmasteig route takes us downhill to the crossroads on Kienbergwiese. We turn right at this point and follow the hiking route downhill towards Zweiersdorf. When close to the edge of the woods, turn right and then left onto the plains of the Neue Welt. At this point we cross Zweiersdorfer Bach stream and continue along the gravel track to the edge of Zweiersdorf. Head uphill via Hauptstraße and the cart track on the right-hand side of the meadow. Turn left at the top end of the meadow and follow the woodland path towards Huburtushaus/Springles. Red markings lead us to the start of the Springlessteig route, which we follow uphill to the Huburtushaus. There are secured sections in parts, and a ladder also has to be crossed. Be careful if out in the wet. Those who are less confident or are out and about with small children should only take on the Springlessteig route with a via ferrata set. Upon arriving at the Hubertushaus, we turn left and follow a well-signposted path (marked in red) slightly uphill to the Wilhelm-Eichert-Hütte. After a short break, we continue along the hiking trail marked out in red, head past the Waldfreundehütte cabin on a gravel track and then reach the highest, albeit inconspicuous point of Hohe Wand after a few minutes. Continue past the former Berghaus Plackles and head downhill along hiking and forest trails towards the Rastkreuz and Gelände sections. At the same time, we can find out what the Big Bang has to do with Grünbach. We continue along the trail towards the Geländehütte cabin along initially relatively simple paths with plenty of grand views, then come across stonier and steeper sections. The closer we get to the Geländehütte, the more we get to see the views. Whilst a bear fights with a Stone Age human some distance further down from the Geländehütte, we go past the cabin on the right and continue hiking towards Grünbachersattel. The first fork in the road to Grünbach (marked in blue) is ignored, but the Krumböcksteig path, which is marked out in red a few metres further on the left, is followed. We walk downhill along steep paths and reach the Grünbacher Sattel after half-an-hour. This means the end of the Regional Route S circuit.

 

At this point, there is an option to continue hiking from here to Regional Route R at Puchberg/Schneeberg, to take the bus from Grünbacher Sattel towards Puchberg or Grünbach, or to walk to Grünbach Kohlenwerk railway station.