Esthaler Brunnenweg - Palatinate Forest

On Saturday, I hiked the Esthal Fountain Trail. As the name suggests, the trail leads past quite a few fountains, many of which were used as washing fountains or watering troughs for livestock. There's also an audio tour for the western half of the trail, which I hadn't downloaded beforehand. So it wasn't too bad that I hiked half the way in the opposite direction to the audio tour. This meant I had pea soup about halfway through while listening to the Palatinate anthem. Otherwise, the Wolfsschlucht Hut would have been just 2km from the end.

Inspired by hiking friends from the Palatinate, we finally made it to the furthest corner of the Palatinate Forest today. We had planned this for a long time, but to be honest we couldn't imagine that you can get there by public transport in a reasonable way (except for the Kuckucksbähnel, which runs to the neighboring valley every few weeks). But there is actually an hourly bus from/to Neustadt and Lambrecht! There are currently a lot of construction sites in town, and a few stops have been relocated. You should take that into account on the return trip, we shouldn't have been 10 seconds later! The weather today was perfect for this area. Lots of sun, but not too warm and rather hazy on the flat (but beautiful light in the sparse forest). On the northern slopes we still had a few spots with ice and hoarfrost, on the southern slopes it was pleasantly warm (the first crocuses can also be seen now). The hike runs in a star shape around the village, the signage is clear. You could shorten or stop at any time. The climbs are mostly pleasant, you don't really notice the 400 meters in altitude. Since you almost always walk on forest floor, it is very foot-friendly. The many fountains are not extremely spectacular, but there is a lot of variety. So the title of the predicate hiking trail is really appropriate! The hiker's hut is only 2 kilometers from the end of the hike (with one final climb) so it's great to plan. The range of food is not particularly large, but perfect for hikers. The prices are typical for the Palatinate and the food is good. A big surprise was the hand cheese (with music), which I ate for the first time today. I was expecting something extremely hearty (which is why I had never tried it), but then - despite the appearance that matched my expectations - a very tasty piece of cheese (very mild, but pleasantly spicy) came! I will eat this more often in the future... All in all, it was a very round hike, we were not in the area for the last time!

Today on the last summer weekend I decided to do the Brunnenweg tour: https://www.tourenplaner-rheinland-pfalz.de/de/tour/wanderung/brunnenweg-praedikatswanderweg-in-esthal/1524480/ For Curly because of the many fountains that she has also tested. The tour was quite varied over partly new paths not listed in Komoot, but also exhausting with the temperatures. It was much warmer than yesterday in the cool valleys around Pirmasens. We had a late stop at the Wolfsschluchthütte.

A wonderful route with lots of nature and tranquility. You have to drive deep into the Palatinate Forest, but the tour is worth it.

Today I was out with my favorite hiking group and Natalie was also at the start. It was a bit of peeping and yelling until we finally got to the hut, but of course that was a great theatrical performance by my fellow hikers, who challenged me as a hiking guide to my best :-) What a beautiful, entertaining, funny day! The 15 km long Brunnenweg leads around Esthal. Many of the historic fountains were previously used primarily as cattle watering and washing fountains. I was particularly impressed by the gold fountain. I first removed the leaves and then you could see the water pushing up through the sand. Almost as good as finding nuggets :-) Thank God we were able to enjoy Palatinate hospitality in the idyllic Wolfsschluchthütte. It was a nice end to a great tour. Thanks to everyone who was there!

Nice partly exhausting tour from a certain age. But you can make two tours out of it. We moved the starting point a bit because of the parking lot.

Before heading home, I made a detour into the Palatinate Forest; the Esthal Fountain Trail has been on my list of planned hikes for a long time. Esthal lies sleepily in the heart of the Palatinate Forest. The hike, a constant up and down, leads, as the name suggests, along a series of historic fountains, which were formerly used mainly as watering troughs for livestock and washing. The trail leads mostly through the forest, which at this time of year doesn't have much to offer (except that I didn't have to see the gray sky 😉). At the beginning of the hike and at Esthal Monastery, I was able to admire old, dead, and gnarled trees.

We dared to do the tour today - despite the weather forecast - and didn't get wet. On the contrary, it was a very nice tour. Very well signposted (we just couldn't find the starting point in the town straight away). But the paths are very varied, and there is a place to sit at every fountain for a short break if you like.