Zillertal Alps

Schlegeis Reservoir and Mr. Riffler (3231m)

From Mayrhofen two roads extend up into two valleys.  Last night we rode the shorter one to Tux, noting numerous hotels and pensions for hikers and skiers.  Throughout this area of the Zillertal Alps, cable cars take skiers and summer hikers and bikers to the upper reaches of the mountain slopes.

Today we headed up the second valley to the Schlegeis Reservoir.  We stopped first at the little town of Ginzling (Lonely Planet calls this "authentic", and it did seem unrelated to tourists) to walk for an hour past farms and wildflowers.  On to the dam and reservoir, and a long hike along the shore to the far end.  Rob managed it all and I stopped 2/3 of the way. The day had warmed up, but plenty of hikers joined us on the trail.  Some showed definite signs of sunburn.  

Kimml Waterfalls

A late picnic with our meager fixings (the herring in mustard sauce hit the spot though), Rob's quick walk across the dam, and then departure back to Mayrhofen  and on to Zell am See for the night.  We did stop to admire the Kimml waterfall from a distance--more spectacular than the photo shows.  We recall Zell am See from a previous trip in 2002, and particularly for leaving behind our jackets in the hotel.  We discovered this error when we reached the .,.Glacier and it forced us to return to Z a S and take an unexpected route back to our flight in Vienna.  That trip of course was by car.  One doesn't leave a motorcycle jacket behind.  Rob also remembers jogging around the lake--quite a feat then and not a possibility now in his post-jogging years. But we did get in enough walking today to feel that we can still manage that pleasure for a few more years.