Martin

With this round I would like to head for some beautiful places around Rottweil and the surrounding area, which I mostly know individually, but have never considered as a whole.
The start is a parking lot between Lauffen and Bühlingen, from where it is very attractive to the Eschach valley.
You can reach the center of Rottweiler from above and reach the high tower via the city park. From there follows the section of the Neckar Valley, which locals also know as the "powder hole", where you get a fascinating mix of historical and modern times and where culture and lost places shake hands. Unique.
Steep and direct, you climb in the footsteps of the former Bernburg up to the thyssenkrupp test tower and back down the valley along Balinger Straße, which is much less traffic thanks to the north bypass.
An inconspicuous path leads into a fascinating area, which I only got to know thanks to geocaching and which I would never have guessed in the form. You circle the Au and reach below the Viaduct to the Neckar, the course of which you follow a good way.
Shortly after reaching the transition from the Prim to the Neckar, you cross the water and hike between the railway track and the river towards the Bühlinger Stallberg, which you cross.
From there you finally reach the Eschach and a short time later the starting point.
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Komoot specifies the lap as 6.5 hours, which experience has shown to be a very comfortable pace at which you have enough time to take breaks and enjoy the surroundings.
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I don't have a fixed date yet, but in principle the tour is relatively independent of the weather, unless it would surprisingly lead to exorbitant snowfall.

While in Hechingen the snow sank in the hazy gray of the surroundings and the freezing cold was more like a cyclone than something cheaper, I braved the weather and bravely drove to Margrethausen and found myself only a wonderful winter day around. Cold, but the sky to the horizon in bright blue, the light of the sun glaring in the snow, the breath crystallizing in smoky flags. Better conditions are not expected in this season. So I laced my mountain boots (which don't really want to break in) and followed the path steeply up the mountain towards the forest, briefly traversed on the plain to bravely go into mountain running training.
The icy path under my feet left nothing to be desired on an incline and challenged me on my way up to the plain, which - released from the shadow of the slope - received me warmly. If it hadn't been for the snow, I would have enjoyed spring, the sun glowed on my back. Well tempered from the climb, I removed the outer shell and went to the Muli memorial stone and the nearby eaves. The fog lay thickly over the valley and shone in the sun. As beautiful as the eaves are here in the summer months, they also have their special charms in winter.
The path over the Muli path then went downhill again, the monastery church firmly in view, back to Margrethausen.

The free Thursday afternoon paired very well with the autumn sun over the Schmeiental and invited me for a small round of sightings.
I have known the Schmeiental for a long time, when I was still driving professionally and motorized to the sleepy villages.
Today you can do it on foot, without stress and full of enjoyment. Recently on the other bank, I preferred the route west of the brook today. Beautiful rock overhangs right at the beginning confirmed me. Unfortunately, part of the way was blocked due to tree felling, which brought me a few meters in altitude. Back at the level of the river bank, the floodplains of the gently splashing Schieie colored themselves in warm evening light. How nice it must be here in summer. With the great rocks that protrude left and right from the meadow, the great Donefelsa.
Here I switched to the other side of the stream and visited the water cave. A closed grid suddenly slowed my drive to act. Prevented me from walking through the dark depths, which irritated me immensely.
In the meantime, in the shade, I fought my way to the eastern eaves with my direct uphill through the undergrowth method and caught a little residual heat at the top towards the fallow deer enclosure.
With the sun behind me, I hurried back through a beautiful beech forest to the starting point of my little hike and reached my car before the last light left the valley.
It was nice and with some anticipation I would like to wait for the summer when I walk here with a few loyal followers through blooming riverside landscapes.

After 3 days of thunder on the slopes, our last day of stay was again an ambitious training session. Originally aimed at: climbing the top of the moon from the Bürserberg. That would have been more than 1000 m and the limbs tingled with lust and temptation. Due to a lack of local knowledge, after careful consideration we chose the safety variant, borrowed snowshoes and climbed from the unicorn over the charming Tschengla plateau towards Furkla-Alpe. The weather went out of its way to give us a wonderful winter hiking day. Unsurpassed blue in the sky and in the middle a sun that served perfectly as a radiant heater. Many a shady section on the frosty path made it easier for us to climb the steep slope with more bearable temperatures. We had to tackle almost 500 vertical meters in one sentence, until we were cunning and happily caught a piece of free bench on the Furkla-Alpe and held our red cheeks a little in the sun.
The paths were well paved up here and the moon tip easily accessible. On the other hand, the Frööd lured with a comfortable path and the prospect of a short stop with jager tea and vanilla strudel. Having lunch also needs to be trained. So it went there.
Surrounded by imposing mountain peaks, we hiked the sweet break through a magical snowy landscape. Giant conifers impressed with their massive trunks and powdered branches. Occasionally small watercourses run through the white in small cases until the trickle is lost in ice sheets. Up to the hustle and bustle on the Burtschasattel, the oversized gondola and the multitude of sled drivers on the modern Alp "Frööd", which gave us a place on a sunbed.
Strengthened, the strenuous part of the hike behind us, we descended for a while through unprepared terrain and deep snow. Quiet, loneliness, just the crunch of snow below us, we passed wild terrain, tamed ski slopes until we came back to the unicorn along a narrow path through the forest. A last look up the valley of the Ill, at the end of which the Hohe Riffler towers over everything like a white wall. Directly above us is the Zimba with its wild top. In us, satisfaction after a strenuous march.

Traditionally, I am one of the first on New Year's Day to enjoy the silence and loneliness in a sleepy world even better.
The first hike of the decade was also intended to prepare me for the upcoming 24-hour run. Right at the beginning of the year you should follow good intentions and duties 😇
And when it came to loneliness and tranquility, I made the perfect choice along the Schmeiental.
I started my hiking day with "Frau Buch", the imposing rudiment of an oak tree that had long since passed away, lashed down in frost and shade and thanks to the lack of a network (after all, we are in Germany) on the map a few hundred meters before the start of my recorded route.
I soon reached the plateau in blazing sunlight. Haze of vapor hung over the shady depressions. A mystical forest that had to be walked through, with deep sinkholes and some amazing rock formations along the way. I struggled hard for myself through forest paths blocked by broken wood until I reached the fields on the plateau again and my mind and soul could breathe freely.
I approached Kaiseringen. A pretty path that sinks deep into the foliage through the woods, flanked by green boulders. Beech giants rooting around stone towers symbolize the urge to live in nature, which knows how to use even adverse conditions to their advantage.
A little path finding exercise in the open field led me to the crash site of a military aviator almost 40 years ago. Only a modest stone, like a moldy wooden cross remind of the tragic accident. A place for quiet thoughts.
Leaving the sun, I steered my way for a while into the light-flooded forest. Angel light emerged from dark trunks and spread a little spring mood with its warmth.
On the way down to the Schmei, a rock rose imposingly and illustrated the highlight of the day on the stream bank. Beautiful and my recommendation to the fellow readers.
Only 4 kilometers separated me from my daily goal, the train station in Storzingen. I decided to continue along the rushing brook, the ice-frozen courtyards on its banks. The play of colors between the banks of the shadows and the sun delighted me in the last few meters, which led me again to a small hill above the place peacefully in front of me. I paused again on a lonely bench, let my eyes wander over the roofs of the village, felt budding anticipation for the next section of my way. Sometime this winter, when the sun and blue sky and the desire for exercise accompany me on the way down to the Danube.

A day in the favor of the weather god
You could describe the day in a similar way.
The idea was: a) I was free, b) I wanted to put my new trekking clothes to a stress test c) I was invited to a barbecue in Ergenzingen, at the entrance to Rommelstal.
The sum of a, b, c drove me out of bed in the early morning. Having a quick breakfast, pouring the tea into the new thermos, preparing a snack and then off we go. The thermometer leveled out just below 10 degrees below zero, which also motivated me. Thanks to the lack of wind, it was already very warm on the outskirts of the village and I found time to hold the morning hour with my iPhone.
The meadows frozen, the twilight layered in warm colors in the east, the world around me rigid and calm. Only deep inside did my soul rejoice over happiness, nature, the beautiful weather and life in general.
Cheerfully it went down into the Eutingen valleys. Even darker outside the growing season. Shady slopes poured into ice. No one was on the way at this inhospitable time, I climbed up to the castle ruins, but did without a (repeated) detailed inspection and walked down the pretty path back down to the valley floor to find the way up to the plateau in the small clearing, which in none Map is drawn, although it is accompanied quite nicely in the rock by a rustic blade.
Once at the top, the morning sun greeted me in all its glory. The fields and trees around me glittered silver. Haze rose from the valley, mingled with the shadow of the trees and the glaring light of the sun in wonderful play of colors.
Past the Mühlen grill hut, which was already looking forward to a little rush at noon, there was actually an old path down into the valley. Serpentines at the entrance marked an astonishingly deep, steep white incision. Great terrain.
So we went uphill through the forest to Rohrdorf, past the pretty and little-known Urnburg with its only remaining tower.
Once back on the plateau, the sun could no longer escape. Frozen, the ground under my feet, I preferred frozen meadow paths on the route towards Liebfrauenhöhe instead of the right-angled tiled, field-cleaned asphalt. So after a while I reached the monastery and looked at the monastery garden, the cemetery of the Mary Sisters for the first time, before I descended the Way of the Cross down to the entrance of the Rommel Valley, where the grill was already heated up, the embers were blazing and I subjected a swing of vegan sausages to an in-depth taste test (was okay ☝🏻). I paused for an hour, fought with other outdoor freaks for the best place on the grill, and then I was pregnant with smoke and half frozen, and decided to move on.
It had to be an extended lap in the direction of Wolfenhausen before the clock, as the low sun already warned me to start on the way back.
I hiked north towards the evening along the Aischbach. Unfortunately, a lot about rock-hard paths that should burn my soles for a long time. In return, the evening light rewarded in its warm blush, the haze over the fields, the fabulous shadow play over icy fields, until in the last light of the day the silhouette of my home town stood out against the last red in the sky.
A nice day ... and when I am very quiet, I can still hear the jubilation from the bottom of my soul ☺️

The day left me little time and a business project led me to the Nagoldtal. But I should stretch my legs a little and saw the laundry stream as an entertaining goal.
From a parking bay, I first crossed the Nagold, following the course of the river for a few meters, past the Pfrondorfer Mühle, up the laundry brook.
Following the inconspicuous entrance, I approached the calcareous water past a small quarry. The slope rose steeply to the left and right. In between, the brook ripples quietly, pausing in small pools, as if it had all the time in the world on its way down to Nagold.
When the little gorge opened in orchards, you could already hear the rustle of a small waterfall, which was furrowed by hand, flanked by a small limestone tuff on the side, gushing down the slope.
I followed its course uphill. The narrow gutter, safely guided by human hands on its way, used to serve as a source and drinking trough for agricultural businesses on both left and right. A small group of poultry still enjoys the lively water today.
Dreamy like the stream down its path, I strolled up the path, lost in thought. Crossed bridges and meadows, left the village and finally reached the top of its spring before I went back to my car - almost by the shortest route.
Even the small village lost itself in a sleepy winter rest, showed me a few more gems, so that I never got bored.

Wind and rain as a motivating factor for a short Sunday walk. In good weather everyone can 😉. I didn't feel like it in this gloomy weather. But my larger project takes no account of lust and weather. So I started my training with a small climb, which - well steep - was enough for this uncomfortable December morning.
As always when running, the desire for a route sets in after just a few hundred meters. The mild temperatures quickly brought me to operating temperature and the gusty wind swept pleasantly through the (remaining) hair, but especially through the soul of the nature lover ☺️. The prospect of a warm room is more tempting in adverse conditions. But there was still a lot to hike. Without a plan I walked up onto the plateau in the south of the Priorberg.
The clouds blown by the wind gave a clear view of the Albtrauf, whose contour line emerged on the horizon as a great panorama from the Achalm to Lemberg. Always beautiful and full of memories of hiking experiences. Freshly inspired, I descended a few meters across the plateau towards Glatttal and reached the Rapphof in its idyllic solitude. It is quiet, only the rustling of the wind in the tree tops and the raindrops on the hood accompanied me on my way back through the forest, the abandoned fields and meadows, down the small paths into the Längenental, until I was satisfied again with my morning at the car was standing.

Irresistibly, the sun was shining through the slats of the blind on my desk, as if to warn me not to forget my free afternoon. How could I. The Alb so close, the plateau on the Heersberg in mind, a sea of rocks oriented to the south. Exactly where I enjoy the sun and this sets the beautiful, surrounding landscape in the most beautiful scene.
A place with "guaranteed success"
I started at the hiking car park Heersfeld in the icy coldness of the blue radiating blue and followed first the meadows up to the small hill, with their sparse stock of coniferous trees lined with some beeches. Park landscape on the rough Alb, winter-like spellbound by the frost on the hard-frozen ground. While the Albtrauf lost in the south in the hazy air, the Braunhardtsberg proudly shone in the east.
His eyes fixed on him, past a series of unusually curved beech trees, it was towards the eaves. A narrow path led down the ridge of the Heersberg down to Muli-Weg.
My enthusiasm for this exposed rock landscape is unbroken even after years. The heart beats to me at the view of the bizarre boulders to the neck and my astonishment is always great, I recognize with what force the Buchenwald seeking claw claws into the rock. A bank in a prominent location invites you to pause, but is left to the left.
Steep, rope-secured in some places, one struggles down remnants of former steps, finally reaches a broad path and returns to the forest normality. Getting some air is announced. Passing steeply rising pinnacles, the Castle Lautlingen and its narrow degree over to the "salad rock", a charming little bench in the shadow of his "guard". Soothing terrain before nature staged again - even more spectacularly.
"Only for experienced", a serious indication at the entrance to the narrow path that leads the steeper the exposed way up into the sea of rocks. Again, one enters, into a world of formations of white Jura, which words are not really fair. Deep furrowed stone, with small winding niches and caves, moss rugs climb the rock. Illuminated by a golden sun, which announces the early evening and now exhorts me to leave the rocky sea, forest and eaves. However, not without heading back to the viewpoint on the mountain spur to settle on the bench and the last warming rays of the setting sun
capture.

All weekend haunted on the training, it drove me on the winter afternoon but still outside. The Merkurberg was quickly reached by the congress and the putting on of the hiking boots is well practiced. I hesitated for a moment when considering whether to go with my complete hiking equipment (ie packed backpack) or just with my mobile phone and jacket. I opted for the savings option and was already uphill on the way. Sporty the increase in novembertrübem Advent weather. Even though the temperatures were around freezing, I sweated quickly and was up at the Merkur Tower in an acceptable time.
I did not have much time for an in-depth look at the sights. Once around the round, hesitated at the station and considered whether the train ride to advanced hour would not be a better option. I decided to run ... Well, that was the second wrong decision of the evening.
As soon as I had distanced myself from the train station, Waldtraud (ie the lady who steers me through Komoot friendly but determined through the area) could not properly orient and sent me here and there once ("You have left the path, please ... "🙄). I did not want to indulge in deeper glances into the app, because the battery was already used up. I thought wistfully of the two power banks and the at least 5 pocket and headlamps in my left-behind backpack 😩
Now I stumbled courageously through the rapidly falling darkness on just-to-be-recognized paths downhill. Occasionally, I wriggled and twisted awkwardly in the glow of my garmin, out of the brambles, whose disgusting qualities did not subside even at night. While Waldtraut persistently tried to make the rails of the mountain railway tasty, I trusted only the arrow on my GPSlogger and arrived at the foot of the Merkurberg in the dead of night.
A fabulous adventure with a memorable value. Who would have expected that two hours earlier?