Exploring Gesäuse mountains (liveblog)

As one of the mountain groups located in the region that I live, Gesäuse has always been interested me. As it was very close to where I used to live until the summer of 2021, I visited many times the eastern subgroup of these mountains (Eisenerzer Reichenstein 2165 m, and Gößeck 2214). From east it is reachable from Leoben. From the west side they are neighbors with Admont, with its famous monastery. The highest peak of the Gesäuse is Hochtor 2369 m.

So this year I decided to explore the region. With a aim of doing a long trip visiting multiple peaks in an activity of several days. There are already some really interesting multiple-day routes in the literature.

In this blog post I am summarizing all the acitivities that I do during the summer of 2022.

June 19, 2022: Wald am Schoberpass - Lahnerleitenspitze - Speikkogel - Hinkareck - Zeiritzkampel - Kalwang

I took the train at 6:26 from Graz to arrive at 7:53 in Wald am Schoberpass. It was sunny at kind of hot. The first couple of kilometers were passing through asphalt or car roads. However later slowly the path led to a nice hiking trail. I was passing by or through some streams. So I became also sure that later when I descend from towards Kalwang from the next valley I won't have water problem.

The trail was steep, but very enjoyable to run. In the 7th km I arrived a pass called Jungfernsprung (or Jungfrauensprung). There is also a ridge around Graz with the same name. In km 10 I was at the saddle called Leobner Törl. Continuing to left, I would climb the peak called Leobner. But I did a sharp right and continued on a ridge which brought me to Lahnerleitenspitze 2027 m. The view was beautiful. I could also see the descent and the ascent to the next peak (Speikkogel 1992 m).

I was running on quite alone on these trails. I encountered some hikers. But there were not many. The trail was still quite runnable. It was not that hot. I was feeling very good. The next peak was Hinkareck 1932 m. From km 15 I started the climb to the last and highest point of today's run: Zeiritzkampel 2125 m.

In the last meters to the peak suddenly the ridge became quite narrow, with a very short secured section. At the peak I stopped to enjoy my solitude and the view. A hiker was approaching the peak from the direction that I was heading to. When she arrived we saluted each other. The ridge section right after the peak was very exciting. You can also see in the images how narrow the ridge was. However it was not hard to cross.

The later kms included some improvised downhill runs, tripping to a root and falling, suffering from severe heat, missing the train by literally 15 seconds, and in the end a very delicious Wiener Schnitzel.

Yes, I missed my planned train back to Graz by only seconds. I had to wait 2 more hours at Kalwang to catch the next train. Actually it was not a bad idea. I was exhausted by the heat, so at the completely empty train station I recovered a bit by lying on a bank, taking off my shoes and socks. And later I went to a restaurant to have lunch. So everything went fine.

Gear:

- My brand new Ultimate Direction Ultra 5 running vest. It is a good vest. It does not get wet by sweat like my Salomon vest. It is very lightweight, and the stuff fit perfectly and do not jump around while running. 

- Two 0.5 lt Source water bottles. They did the job.

- The other standard mountain running gear: Poles, water bladder, food, salted Haribo gums, running shoes.

Note: During the last very steep downhill sections I admired again my La Sportiva Bushido shoes. I am always amazed how good they perform.

One of the streams that I encountered during the first kilometers.

A look back on the trail, probably I was at Leobner Törl. Großer Ödstein and Hochtor are visible.

A look back on the climb to Rotwandköpfl. Further away most probably Admonter Reichenstein, Sparafeld and Admonter Kalbling are visible.

The Styrian Matterhorn, Lugauer.

The climb to Lahnerleitenspitze. I love this.

The trail ahead, and the next peak (Speikkogel) from Lahnerleitenspitze.

A look back to Lahnerleitenspitze from Speikkogel.

The highest point of the run, Zeiritzkampel. Looking back from where I came from.

The ridge ahead of me from Zeiritzkampel.

July 3, 2022: Mödlinger Hütte - Admonter Kalbling - Riffel - Mödlinger Hütte

The impulse for this activity came when I was in Ljubljana, walking in the city center full of people. I thought about those calm and exceptionally beautiful evenings when I was at a mountain hut. Enjoying the last minutes of sun, meditating about the hike/run that I did that day, or I will do the next day. I missed that feeling so much. So I decided to book a night at the Mödlinger hut, which one of the major huts at the Gesäuse.

Getting there requires an approximately 6.5 km (with around 800 m elevation gain) hike from Gaishorn am See. On Saturday (July 2, 2022) afternoon I got to the train (same connection as the first activity). As I arrived in Gaishorn around 6 pm, I started my hike which took exactly 1h24m until I reached the hut. The weather was not hot at all. This weekend was perfect for mountain activities because it rained the day before and the weather was substantially cooler. There were people sitting outside when I arrived in the hut. I checked-in, put my stuff in my room and got out to enjoy the exact thing that I was longing for: calm evening at the mountains, watching the mountains, thinking.

The hut was very clean, I was thinking, maybe even cleaner than my own apartment. Hikers sitting outside were talking very calmly, not to disturb the calmness.

I had a Kaspressknödelsuppe, two Frankfurter and a beer. I spent some more time (until approximately 9:30 pm), and then I went to my room. I did some reading before falling asleep.

I woke up at 6:30 am the next day. I put my stuff together, filled my water bottles, ate the sandwich that I bought the previous day from Graz, and headed out.

The first 2 km have around 300 m of elevation loss. After that the trail becomes steeper and steeper. The trail until the Klinke hut passes through some streams, which made me slow down. The actual enjoyable section started from the Klinke hut (1486 m) with around 2.7 km and 700 m elevation gain. The path to the first and the highest peak, Kalbling 2196 m, was quite technical, with some exciting traverses. The path leads to a saddle, where turning left is the climb to Riffel, and left leads to Kalbling and Sparafeld. After the saddle the trail is quite easy (only steep).

I reached the peak of Kalbling 1h40m after starting from the Mödlinger hut. At the top a hiker joked with me asking me if I am the guy who writes the estimated times on the road signs in the mountains. 

From Kalbling a fast downhill and short uphill run brought me to Riffel. From there I came back to the Mödlinger hut.

At the rocky sections, after the Klinke hut, it was quite windy.

On the way from numerous locations it was possible to get water. 

Running gear: same as the activity on June 19, 2022. Additionally I took stuff necessary for my stay at the hut (including a hut sleeping bag).

After the run I took a shower, put my stuff together and came to the terrace. As a lunch I had Grießkockerlsuppe, Hausgröstl, and a Apfelstrudel. After the lunch I started my hike back to Gaishorn, which took around 56 minutes. At the train station I waite around 25 minutes until the train arrived.

The hike.

Admonter Reichenstein from Mödlinger hut.

Großer Ödtsein from the terrace of the hut.

I drew my evening view. Kalbling, Sparafeld, Reichenstein.

My room.

Beautiful evening.

Night.

The view of the mountain that I was going to run to on the morning.

Kalbling from Klinke hut.

The path to the saddle.

The path to the saddle.

The path to the saddle.

On the last climb to Kalbling after the saddle.

The view of Kreuzkogel from the top of Kalbling.

Looking towards east from Kalbling.

The view of Riffel on the way coming back from Kalbling.

The view of some buildings around Admont. Admont itself is behing the rock.

Looking towards east on the way from Riffel.

Last meal at the hut: Hausgröstl.

Looking back one last time: Mödlinger hut.the

Two races in four weeks - one wrong and one correct approach

May and June. Two months of the year 2022. In these two months I lived and worked in Ljubljana, Slovenia. A very different time in my life. As someone who establishes a strong emotional connection with his city and his neighbourhood, moving (although only for two months) was not easy. I was consoling myself by reading history, thinking about great travellers, people who had to leave their hometown, and reading great literature (e.g., Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, or Dante's Divine Comedy). In the last months before moving I was dealing with some personal problems. I always had this thought in my mind that I'm not living my life in its full potential. I was feeling that I'm missing something, I do not do enough things to have more pleasure in my life, I do not sit in cafes and enjoy life more. The fact that I knew these feelings and anxieties were all made up in my mind was not helping. And when I was thinking about the fact that I will move to Ljubljana, I was getting even more anxious. Now that I write about those times, it is hard to express what exactly I was feeling. But whatever it was, it was not pleasant. Then some changes happened. First crucial change was that I changed my training schedule. I started to do my runs in the morning before going to work (fasted, without breakfast). This modification did so many good things in my daily life... Maybe people who exercise regularly could relate to this. Another change happened when I became more familiar with stoicism. It brought such a relief to my life. Stoic philosophers, those great people... In March this year I saw Marcus Aurelius' original statue in Capitoline Museums in Rome. He is a great influence for me since that time. The philosopher king of the Plato's perfect form of government, aristocracy. His wisdom is still saving people's lives from darkness and despair. Finally, the third change happened in my point of view, when I heard from someone with whom I was speaking about my thoughts. That person told me that "the home is me", wherever I go, I carry my home with me. 

Let me not get too much distracted from the purpose of this post. The above-mentioned changes brought some motivation and purpose in my life. I became more active, and the result of being more active for someone like me is that he starts to think about new running projects. So that is how it all started. That is how I decided to register for the Innsbruck Trail Running Festival.

Do you know what do most runners do right after a race? They check the dates of the possible next races. And that is how I decided to do the 50k in the Hochkönigman race. I decided to do that race while I was in the train back to Ljubljana, dealing with painful muscles which went through 60k of running.

Saturday 8:30 - May 7 2022 - Innsbruck Alpine Trail Running Festival 65k

This race was exactly the type of race that I would want to do, as a re-start after almost 2 years of stop (due to coronavirus). For the distance, it has fairly low elevation gain (only 1800 m), and it is not technical. It is a tour around Innsbruck. Three days after considering this race, I did a long run (40k, to Schöckl from home and back). My criteria to register myself to the race was finishing this run in a good shape. If I was going to do this run without any huge problems, then it meant that I was fit enough to run 60k in Innsbruck. The result: yes, I was quite capable.

Having a company on the race weekend is a great motivation. I mentioned this race to my friend, Shadan, and asked if she would like to join me there in Innsbruck. She was kind enough to accept it. She is a very skilled and motivated climber, so on the race day while I was running around Innsbruck she was climbing in one of the most prestigious climbing halls of the world.

I arrived in the afternoon of Friday May 6 in the hotel, and later we went to the event area. I met with Martin and his family there. It was a great feeling to finally get together with so much runners again. The weather during the whole run was perfect: cool and a bit of rain (not annoying at all). We started the race very fast, maybe even a bit too fast. For me it was OK. I didn't care about slowing down. I was feeling very well and stupid. Later, around km 25 I started to have problems in my stomach. I could not keep up with the runners that I was running with. I had to stop three times (the third one in the km 31) to do the number 2. Overall it wasted 10, 15 minutes of my time during the race. I couldn't eat my snickers bars that I had with me. The only thing that I ate were some cheese, crackers and gummies from the aid stations.

Between km 50-55 I had to go through very strong cramps in my muscles. Sometimes I had to stop to let them pass. This was the hardest part of the run for me.

In the last kilometers something incredible happened: I started to feel so good again, that I was feeling like I was flying. I put my music on again. And with the same feeling I finished the run. And at the finish line, as soon as I stopped, all the cramps rushed back to my leg muscles.

I spent relatively long time at the finisher area. Sitting and watching the finishers, having drinks/snacks, contemplating what I just did.

Preparation run: I did a 40k run (from my apartment in Graz to Schöckl, and back) 4 weeks before the race.

Wrong approaches: I didn't study the route. I did not give attention to what I ate and drank during the race week. Psychologically I did not get in the mood of running even on the day before the race. I did not do any visualisation of the route. I did not sleep enough during the race week. My race nutrition was not correct. My equipment were not well prepared.

Accommodation: Marmota Hostel. Very nice and clean place. I would book the same place again.

Food in the night before the race: Tiroler Gröstl (never again).

Food and drink during the race: I took 4 Snickers with me but could eat only one. At the aid stations: a lot of Haribo gummies, cheese, cakes, water, isotonic drinks.

Gear: I had my La Sportiva Bushido II shoes on. These might be my definite favourite shoes. I don't have anything negative to write about them. They never disappoint me. But their leanness makes me a bit unsure whether I can use them in rocky alpine trails.

Lessons: Don't ever repeat the mistakes mentioned above.

The dinner on the night before the race

The last night before the race

View of the northern mountains of Innsbruck from our hostel

Saturday 7:00 - June 4 2022 - Hochkönigman Marathon Trail

For me this race was more important than the one in Innsbruck. Because of many reasons: it is more technical, with more elevation gain (3000 m compared to 1800 m). It is more low-key than the Innsbruck Trail Running Festival, there are less runners registered. It is a true mountain running event, in addition to the 50k distance that I participated, there is a Skyrace (part of the original Skyrunning Federation World Series), and also a longer version of my distance (85k). The event is being organised in Maria Alm, a small village in Salzburg with an amazing view of the mountain range located at its north, with Hochkönig (2,941 m) as its highest peak. During the race weekend the whole village is about mountain running. Most of the people are either runners, or their family/friends. Cafes and restaurants are full of fit people in running clothes having beers and carbo-loading. 

As I studied the route well, I had some idea from the things that I was going to see. There were no crazy sprinters like we saw in the Innsbruck race. The route starts right away with a climb. And the runners were paying respect to it by running it slowly. They knew their limits, and they knew what they were doing.

I will not explain the whole route with the names of the places and the peaks, because it is already been done here. 

I really enjoyed uphill sections. I was fighting, but it was not as painful as running downhill in the last section of the race. Everyone (including me) were using poles. There were two relatively short and not-so-steep uphill sections before the actual uphill started. My plan was to run these sections in a lower tempo. I knew that I will break if I burn myself early in the race. I was drinking water quite often and much more than the Innsbruck race. In the second half of the run, we ascended to the highest points of the route. We continued running on a ridge, visiting peaks on the way. At the highest point of the run (Hundstein, 2117 m), it was quite discouraging to see people with e-bikes riding comfortably while we were struggling :) From the highest point (approximately km 32) it is mostly downhill until the end. There are only around 300 m more elevation gain. Last downhill kms were so painful to my feet and upper legs that I had to slow down or even sometimes walk. 

Preparation run: From Mixnitz to Hochlantsch and Rote Wand (22k, 1700 m elevation gain) two weeks before the race. In addition, I did all my trail runs with my poles, no matter how many elevation gain.

Correct approach: I took care of my hydration, nutrition and sleep during the whole race week. I analysed the route thoroughly, watched the videos made by other runners who ran there in previous years. I tried to visualise when should I slow down and when can I run faster etc. I prepared all my equipment 2 days before my departure to Maria Alm.

Accommodation: Sonnberg Lodge. Great place, but a bit far away. I managed to go and come back with bus.

Food in the night before the race: Pasta from the carbo loading, bananas, cheese and bread.

Food and drink during the race: Haribo gummies, salted peanuts, salted water (I added salt to my water for the first time in a run, after I listened to a podcast where they recommended it, and I have to say it was definitely a good idea). At the aid stations: Haribo, salt, some bananas, cakes, a lot of isotonic drinks and cola.

Gear: I had the poles (inevitable). I used them almost during the whole race. Only in the last 2, 3 km there was no need for them. My shoes were Dynafit Ultra 100. I bought these shoes two weeks before the race. I did not have time to do longer distances with them. I decided to buy these after I did a 22k (with 1700 m elevation gain) training run to the Hochlantsch and Rote Wand with my Altra Timp 3 shoes. I realised that these are definitely not suitable for longer and more technical trails.

Lessons: (1) A quite basic thing but I should remember to lace up my shoes quite well. Later in the downhill section it can be painful for my toes. (2) Adding salt to the water is a good idea. (3) Running downhill with the poles brings a lot of stability, especially in the final section where the legs and tired and the risk of tripping is high. (3) Apply sunscreen (again, a basic lesson). (4) Cyclist caps make you look like an idiot. (4) I should do the registration and booking of the accommodation early.

Pasta party

The breakfast on the race day

The view was so amazing that I had to take this picture. After this point it was all downhill.

The first meal after the race

View of the mountains that I ran. The day after the race.

The Hochkönig mountains

Leoben - Mixnitz (Bike), FKT Steiermark Sprint Route (Run), Mixnitz - Graz (Bike)

After the previous week's 40k run, I was feeling alive again. The next week during my runs I didn't feel any excessive fatigue. That's a good sign. At the same time I had three things in my mind: (1) the next weekend is going to be a long one again, (2) the weather is going to be excellent ("wolkenlos"), (3) I need to bring my mountain bike from Leoben to Graz. 

Also, I was playing with this idea of running the FKT Styria sprint route again. The first and only time that I did that route was in June 2020; such a beautiful, technical route, around 25k with approximately 2000 m of elevation gain. In 2020 I didn't take water with myself in that run (an indication of "easy run"). So during the week I had this plan: on Sunday, November 31, go to Leoben by train, take the bike and ride until Mixnitz. Take a "short" break there and run this route. And continue riding until home. 

For this run I decided not to do the same crazy things I did the previous week. On Saturday I almost didn't do anything. I did a short run. Afternoon I was at home, reading, watching series. I ate well. Slept apparently enough. This time I was "really" gonna enjoy my long day.

How naive I am.. Still.

I took my hiking backpack with me. I put my running equipment (water bladder, running backpack, gloves, food, etc) in this backpack. I also took extra warm clothes to wear them after running. I didn't dare going too light, as there were many unknown parameters for me during this day: Such a high volume of running and bike riding in a single day was new for me. It was fall with all its cold/fresh weather and short days. It was Sunday, no open supermarkets easy to find. No water sources that I knew. So I preferred to take more clothes, rather than risking it (in the end it turned out I took just enough of everything, nothing was too much).

Session 1

In the morning everything went as planned. At 9:18 am I reached Leoben, mechanically I did everything I was planning to do. Started to ride towards Mixnitz. I know the way until there, as I have done it by bike multiple times. I was feeling well, listening to some music, not pushing too much. I knew I am going to need my legs for the run. My plan was to push harder on the way to Graz, after the run. But I was not worried of being too late that I had to ride in darkness.

 

Session 2

I reached Mixnitz. Parked the bike at the parking place. I took my running equipment out. I was careful not to miss anything, to take everything with me. I also took 1,5 lt of water. After double checking everything I started to run. The first km went easy, after that all the hassle started.

My legs were feeling extremely heavy. My pack was also heavy. I thought I am taking too much water. The first time I did the same route without water, why would I need 1,5 of water now? So I started to drink early to make my pack lighter. But it didn't help. I was very slow. The trail was rocky, making it inefficient to run. It was more efficient to hike. So I was trying to find some balance between running and hiking.

The first climb, which happens to be also the biggest climb of the run: 7.8 km, 1250 m of elevation gain. It reaches the highest point of the run; 1713 m, Hochlantsch. Such a beautiful view, such a beautiful place to be. After this climb a downhill section starts, which leads to Teichalm, which is basically a lake on a plateau. From there another climb starts. This climb also marks the half of the route. So one should be happy to be here: only around 13 km more to go, with only around 650 elevation gain.

The thing is, I was already feeling very tired. Every jump from tree roots and stones on the trail were getting harder and harder. It was a neuromuscular problem. Accumulated fatigue makes muscles harder to function. So I had to be even more careful not to trip and fall; which also meant I needed to go slower.

The uphill led me to the Rote Wand. Unable to run, I was just trying to "move" fast. At some point on a flat trail covered with grass I tripped to a small rock and fell. I was embarrassed.

After the Rote Wand starts another downhill section, and the final uphill starts to the Röthelstein. The beautiful peak which is visible from my train commutes between Graz and Leoben. I basically hiked that uphill section, and when I arrived to the top I was just forcing myself to move. I didn't know what was wrong with me.

I knew that after this peak the last downhill of the run is ahead. I remember that the first time I spent unexpectedly too much time on this section, because it was just too steep. Steep trails, scree (veeery fun to run down), and the section which was secured by metallic chains. I spent again a lot of time here, until I reached to the normal trail leading me to the start.

I reached to the starting point, which is in front of a Gasthaus. I went to the Gasthaus to drink a big glass of mineral water with lemon. People there were looking at me in a weird way. I was unaware of the mess on my face. 

 

Session 3

After finishing my "Sodazitron", I finished all my energy bars and started to ride around 16:15. My expectation was to ride as fas as I could. But after the exhaustion of the run it was not possible to ride fast. I was 3, 4 minutes slower in every 5 km than my estimations in the morning.

I was not completely familiar with the bike road from Mixnitz to Graz. I had done it only once, around 3 years ago. And in that time I also had difficulties to find the right way. Another bad news: it was getting dark. I put my head torch in front of my bike. But my back light didn't have battery. So I was just hoping to ride forward as much as I can until a police car stops me. I also prepared a lie for that case: "It should have been turned off during my ride without me realizing it."

Riding in total darkness, with only a fake bike ride illuminating the couple of meters ahead of me was a new, and very strange feeling. Every city on the way was like a checkpoint for me, so that in the worst case I can ride back and go to the train station and wait for the train to Graz. I was exhausted, didn't have light, and was tired of trying to stay on the bike road, and not to miss the right turn at every junction. So the idea of riding the train was attractive. 

Another bad news: my head torch decided to alarm me that it is running out of battery. Great! Murphy's law was working. When I reached Gratwein I stopped to check the train hours. There was one in 35 minutes to Graz. I hesitated for a short time, but in the end I decided to continue to ride. It was only around 15 km to Graz from where I was standing. In normal situations this distance wouldn't mean much to me. So I decided to stop the negative thoughts, and to just move forward. 

Finally when I reached my street I was almost crying: from happiness from keeping my promise to myself, being loyal to my initial plan.

Conclusion

I am very glad to have humbling experiences. I hope I can have these kinds of lessons in the future too. These are the actual days that make difference in ones long-term progress towards becoming a better endurance athlete, or a better self. I could also call these lessons "adventures" but I don't want to. I don't like this word, as it is being used by the people calling their boring life events, the people who I do not associate myself with. If tourists driving their luxury cars to get to the mountains, while doing a hike and take nice photos of themselves with mountain backgrounds for Instagram call their experiences adventures, I would happily call my long days "activities".

Starting point of my activity. Main square of Leoben.

The first bike session was fun.

View of Röthelstein for the first time.

It is not easy to run when there are rocks this big on the trail.

Hochschwab mountains from Hochlantsch. I still have an unfinished story with this mountain range.

Beautiful view from the last meters to Hochlantsch.

I was somehow following my shadow. Hochlantsch.

From Hochlantsch, Teichalm is visible. This is my downhill destination.

On the way to the Rote Wand.

Summit cross of the Rote Wand.

View of the railway and the road from Röthelstein.

The last downhill section.

My face after the run.

Riding in the dark. Not the highest quality photo, but it gives an idea of how it was feeling.

Happiness when I arrived my home.