Harzer Hexenstieg – PCT Reunion – Thruhikers: Renee and Tim

The Harzer Hexenstieg (Harz Mountains Witches Trail, in English), is an approximately 100 km (62 mile) trail that runs through the Harz Mountains, a low mountain range in northern Germany. The trail starts (or ends) in Osterode am Harz on the western edge of the Harz at 220 m (720 ft). The west side of the trail features conifer forests and old water canals that used to feed mines on the way up to the Brocken , the tallest mountain in northern Germany at 1142 m (3,747 ft). The east side of the trail features more conifer forests, deciduous forests, rivers, bluffs, and old mines on the way down to Thale, where the trail ends (or starts) on the east side of the Harz at 156 m (512 ft). The trail goes through many picturesque small villages with half timbered houses, restaurants, and hotels/hostels. Legend has it that witches gathered in the area in the past, so the whole trail is witch-themed, with witch figurines at restaurants, hotels, and houses along the route. The trail is relatively easy, and along with some remote stretches of dirt path, it includes a large amount of gravel road walking.

Resources:

Transportation: Osterode am Harz and Thale are both accessible by train.

Maps & Camping: The official website includes information on buying paper maps and booking places to stay. This blog contains lots of useful information about the trail, including information about ‘wild camping’.

GPX File: We did not carry paper maps. We downloaded a GPX file and uploaded it to the MAPS.ME and Google Maps apps on our phones. MAPS.ME works without cell service. The trail is well marked, and a majority of the trail has cell service. Here is the GPX file from our hike:

Download GPX of the route we hiked

Our Trip: April 19 – 22, 2019

Germany basically shuts down on the Friday before and Monday after Easter, so we took the opportunity to spend a long weekend hiking the Hexenstieg as a PCT reunion with our friends Mr. Freeze and Parmesan, who live in Switzerland and Hannover, respectively. April weather can be iffy, but we lucked out and had wonderful weather. (The weekend before it was snowing in Göttingen.) There aren’t many legal campgrounds along the route, but we learned that “wild camping” is somewhat common in Germany, and laws banning camping are generally not enforced as long as you don’t make a fire, a lot of noise, or leave a mess. The practice is even more accepted if you don’t set up a tent, and the Hexenstieg has shelters well-spaced along the route so we didn’t need to.

Daily Trail Journals:

Day 1: KM 0 to 24.5

We woke up early and took the train from Göttingen to Osterode where the HHS begins. We got there at 7:48 and intended to stop for coffee before departing on the hike, but all of the coffee shops and bakeries were closed for the Easter holiday. Our friend Parmesan met Renee, Mr. Freeze, and me and we hit the trail. The beginning was mostly uphill, but still relatively easy hiking. It was mostly road walking for the first 15 km, but after that there was a lot of maintained trail as well. The trail was pretty crowded all day–it is a holiday weekend and a popular tourist area. Just before noon we walked passed a campground with a Biergarten (km 12) and decided that it was a great place for a break. At 2:00 we had lunch. We all made ramen and added an assortment of veggies that we dehydrated for the trip. Spinach, beans, peppers, onions, garlic, cabbage, and more. We hiked on for a while and then found a nice hut near a spring and decided to camp there. It was only 4:00, but if we do too many km each day we’ll finish the trail too soon. We hung out for a while and then made curry rice for dinner. Then we played cards and Renee was the big winner. None of us could beat her! Finally, we set up camp in the open-air hut and went to bed.

Download Day 1 GPX

Day 2: KM 24.5 to 52

We are having tons of fun reminiscing about the PCT and just being outdoors with Parmesan and Mr. Freeze. This morning we woke up warm and cozy in our sleeping bags in a hut along the trail. Wild camping is not legal in Germany, but there seem to be plenty of other people out here sleeping in the huts along the trail as well. We started the day on a beautiful trail following old water canals that used to feed mines in the area. We stopped in the small tourist town of Torfhaus for some coffee. Then we headed to the top of the Broken, the tallest mountain in Northern Germany at 1142 meters. There were hundreds of other people hiking this section. On our way up, a guy on his way down noticed Mr. Freeze’s PCT hat. Turns out he hiked the PCT in 2018 as well. Crazy. His name was Dr. Pepper. He was ‘thru’ hiking the HHS in the opposite direction. When we got to the top we enjoyed a couple of beers. We headed down and found another hut to sleep in. We played cards and drank coffee schnapps and Schierker Feuerstein until dark.

Download Day 2 GPX

Day 3: KM 52 to 78

Another great day on the trail. It was really cold this morning so we got a later start. The first spot we hit was a beautiful overlook on some rocks. Shortly into the hike we hit a village (a Dorf, in German), so Parmesan, Mr. Freeze, Renee, and I stopped for espresso, a snack, and beer. Our bodies are all a little bit sore since we aren’t accustomed to hiking every day like we were on the PCT. We continued on through a nice river valley. There weren’t nearly as many people on the trail today as there were yesterday around The Brocken. We hiked through a few more villages before hitting camp at another shelter. While making dinner a couple training for the Appalachian Trail walked by, Bernd and Rjenke. It was fun chatting with them. Before bed another couple walked by that was looking for a place to camp, so we suggested that they set up their tent next to our shelter. They didn’t say much, but it was good to share the limited space. We ate Coconut Curry for dinner — one of our leftover meals from the PCT. Yum!

Download Day 3 GPX

Day 4: KM 78 to 100

Today was our last day on the trail. Tim woke us up per usual, and we enjoyed breakfast and coffee in our sleeping bags in the hut. We spent most of the day following different rivers. The landscape has changed from conifer forests to deciduous forests with beautiful river valleys and bluffs. We saw some entries to old slate mines. We passed through a few small villages where we enjoyed a few beers. We saw a neat fire salamander crawling across the trail. It was black with yellow spots. Eventually we made it to the end of the Harzer Hexensteig! 100 km across the Harz Mountains from the west side to the east side on the “Witches” trail. We all hopped on the train where we played cards and finished off our supply of liquor. Parmesan headed back to Hannover. Mr. Freeze came back to Göttingen with us before she heads back to Switzerland. Can’t wait for the next adventure!

Download Day 4 GPX

Stamps along the trail:

The Harzer Hexenstieg has stamp stations along the route that you can use to mark in your official log-book that you made it to the stamping locations. We didn’t bother buying an official log-book, but we had cash in our pockets that we decided to stamp as we hiked along!

Food:

The trail passes through many small villages with restaurants. We decided to carry enough food for the 4-day, 3-night trip though. We mainly stopped in town for beer and coffee. Vegan food options include mainly french fries and salad in small German towns. Here is what we brought:

For breakfast we made Cinnamon Sugar Oats and Chocolate Coconut Oats. On the trail we soaked the oats overnight. We also had plenty of instant coffee of course!

Renee and Mr. Freeze spent the day before the trail dehydrating beans, green onions, spicy peppers, garlic, greens, and other veggies. They were a tasty addition to store bought meals like ramen and pasta sides.

For lunch we brought ramen, which we supplemented with homemade dehydrated veggies. Three of the four days we cooked the ramen. One of the days we cold soaked the ramen.

For dinner we made Coconut Cashew Curry, Bibimbap, and Curry Rice. The Coconut Cashew Curry was leftover from the PCT. It was still good after a year!