See Wikiloc trail here !
The famous Feldberg is the highest peak of this area at almost 1500 m and it’s just too far to reach in a loop from Hinterzarten, so we use free public transport passes to take the train to Bärental and from there the bus to the Haus der Natur at the bottom of the ski slopes of the Feldberg. On the train and bus we meet a different kind of people than the elderly of the hotel: young people with funny clothes and snowboards or ski’s. In the Haus der Natur we inquire about the trails in the vicinity but decide to stick to the original route we have planned on the map. We buy a small book with information about what kind of spoors the animals in this area might leave, so we can finally recognize some of the tracks we’ve been seeing in the snow.
We leave for the Feldsee around eleven, taking the short route (‘gefährlich im Winter’) down to the circular lake. Since we want a nice view of the lake we decide to hike around it, expecting to find a bench or two that we could use for our lunch break. It takes us a while to realize that any benches out here are completely covered in snow so deep that they become simply lumps in the narrow strip of flat land around the lake. We pick one of these random lumps to sit on for lunch and it turns out to be the back support of a bench, which makes an adequate seat if covered with the butt-protector mats. The sun is out, there is not a cloud in the sky and there is no wind, so ideal for a picnic. I take a perfect picture of Arne on the hidden bench with the sun reflecting on the frozen lake. Good thing I brought the polarized filter.
From here we make our way down to the Mathisleweier: we meet some cross country skiers, a guy on a fat bike with snow tires and some farmers with work horses, but mostly we’re alone. If you look at the animal tracks in the snow, we must be surrounded by wild life, but we don’t spot any actually following or crossing the trail. It gets foggy once we get to lower altitudes and the temperature drops and the paths are getting icier and a bit slippery, my toes are cold because my socks are wet. Back at the hotel around four, same evening routine, asleep around ten.
Febe writes 