My original plan for the day was to go hiking with friends at the Chiemsee, but as the bad texter I am, I missed the part where they had rescheduled and didn’t notice until I was already at the train station. To be honest, I only realized it when they sent a screenshot of the chat after I had shared my location. The next train leaving nearby was heading to Kufstein, and since I always enjoy running there, I decided to hop on.
On the way down, I looked up routes and came across this FKT. The length and elevation looked perfect for the day, so I decided to give it a try. Shout out to Carina Mackinger for highlighting some great trails!
When I arrived in Kufstein, I walked from the station to the parking lot where the route starts and began the run. It was much warmer than I expected. Munich had been gray and cold that morning, but Kufstein was sunny and clear. I was overdressed in pants and a light jacket, so I took the jacket off early and ran the rest of the way in a T-shirt and pants. The trails were in great condition for November, and the scenery was stunning. It was muddy in spots, but careful foot placement was enough to avoid most of it. The leaf-covered roots only tripped me up a few times on the descent, so I count that as a win. The highlight of the trail was the winter sunlight hitting the snow-dusted peaks of the Wilder Kaiser above the valley, something I never get tired of. I also saw a few mountain goats along the way!
I was more than prepared for this round. I had my Salomon bag stuffed to the brim from my original hiking plan. I brought one liter of iso drink and two Carbs Fuel gels, one caffeinated and one non-caffeinated. (I had secretly planned to run after our hike anyway 😉.)
It turned into a great day, even if it started by accident. I’m honestly surprised to be the first guy to complete this route on here, and I hope to see others go after it since it’s such a great loop. Hope the effort today set a nice target. Happy Trails!