From Gasthof Hofmann at the roundabout at Lake Grundlsee, walk towards
Toplitzsee into the village of
Gößl. 150 metres after the small church partially clad in wooden shingles, turn left at the trail marker “
Zur Pühringerhütte über Lahngangseen” (no. 214). Go uphill next to several houses, then right over the Dorfbach Stream and then immediately left again. Now hike uphill along the narrow Breuer-Franzl-Steig path through very steep forest slopes (“
Hagl”) and past a water reservoir. At the Elisabeth-Breuer-Bench, enjoy a view back down to the church, then soon ascend next to a small stream and cross over left to a forest road. Above this, the path becomes somewhat slippery. At the junction of the path from Schachen, turn right and pass the meadow of the
Gößler Schwaiber (1113 m, view of the Reichenstein Mountain) and continue over the next two forest roads. After the meadow at Kanzler Moor, the trail winds up through the ancient forest (“Blitzschlag-Materl”) to the
Draußengatterl (1380 m). Behind this rock cleft, you briefly descend next to an overhanging wall (steel cable safeguard), then comes the ascending traverse of the very steep and gullied slopes below the Graswand (impressive views down to the Vorderbachalm). Finally, the path leads through a hollow behind the little-defined Schafbühel to the
Vorderer Lahngangsee Lake (1494 m) To the right, the rugged
Neustein (1870 m) rises above the often emerald waters, while the
Salzofen (2070 m) peeks out next to the
Graswand. In the background, the 2261-metre Rotgeschirr Mountain can be seen. 2:15 h
The ”Ausseerweg” leads to the left around the lake and continues to the small Lahngangalm Meadow on the northern shore. This was a so-called bridle path which was built in the 19th century for blue-blooded hunters. Some of the passages of piled up stones lead through the impassable terrain like levees. To the right is the Hintere Lahngangsee Lake in a 100-metre-deep forest and mountain pine basin. After a rain, you can even hear the roar of a waterfall. Between the Salzofen Mountain and pyramid-shaped Elm (2128 m) rising to the east, you reach the wooden huts in the Elmgrube (1622 m). 30 min
There you leave the trail to the Pühringer Hut to the left (sign “Am Abblaser – Albert Appel-Haus”). Now you hike along path no. 201, a section of the Northern Alpine Long-Distance Trail 01, up through mountain pine passages to the Abblasbühel (1869 m). In this saddle below the bare rock of the Hochkogel (2091 m), there is normally a bubbling spring. After a (often dried-up) pool, a trail to the 2062-metre Wildgößl turns off to the left. Its crossing is quite rewarding but requires at least an additional hour of hiking. The shorter route is path no. 201 to the right, which leads through the hollow “In den Wiesen” to the turnoff of the Grieskarsteig path in the direction of Lake Almsee. From there, you continue left and around the Wildgößl to the Wiesenlacke pool, which often lies empty of water between grass and rock (the Wildgößlweg joins there). The trail now heads another 4 kilometres west, always gently ascending and descending through sometimes rocky, sometimes grassy terrain, which is overshadowed on the left by the Hinterer Bruderkogel (2031 m) and the Wildkarkogel (1950 m). To the right, the pine green Großer Woising (2064 m) can be seen. Finally, the exactly 1900-metre-high Redender Stein, an “echo rock”, with its large summit cross appears in the distance. Hidden below is the Albert-Appel-Haus (1660 m) in the Henarwald, an expansive and quite untouched larch grove. Opened in 1928, the shelter hut belongs to the Austrian Tourism Association and was named in memory of its founder and first chairman. This very hospitable alpine hut is served by a 6-kilometre-long material cable lift. 3:15 h