Game park, dripstone cave and coffee (Wiehl) – hiking fun in the Bergisches Land

Small after-work get-together, extended into the dark hours 🌕🌚🌠.

Meinerzhagen Christmas market and handball at VfL Gummersbach🤾‍♂️🥅 were the afternoon's program. Before that, hiking and swimming in the GUMBALA🛟 was on the agenda - so it was time to get up early again! Therefore, the start took place in the immediate vicinity of the stalactite cave in Wiehl at dawn🥾🥾. After an initial climb through deciduous forest, it turned out that the animals in the game park above are not early risers. I didn't see any wild boars🐗, fallow deer or mouflons - or did I just not spot them in the dark😁? On the following path downhill, I passed a mighty old border tree before I reached the first foothills of Wiehl. After crossing the Wiehltalbahn route🚂, I soon turned into the Wiehlpark, which had been redesigned with great effort. First I passed the ice rink and swimming pool before walking along the Wiehl in the city center🏙️. I crossed the river twice, passing directly by the Protestant church. Various newly designed play and seating areas meant that I hardly recognized the area that I used to visit more often😃. I left the Wiehl valley again over the tracks, whereupon it went straight uphill. After a short cross-country passage, I reached the Bismarck Tower🗼, which was lit up for Christmas but not accessible, so the question of climbing it did not arise. The course continued through meadows before I entered forest terrain🌳 for the first time. At the height of the Faulmert, individual blue patches appeared in the otherwise largely gray but precipitation-free sky🌌. I circled the town of Großfischbach, above which I had great views of the town of Wiehl and its surroundings on a slippery passage over meadow paths👍. I was now on a section of the Bergischer Panoramasteig, where I zigzagged through beautiful forest to the highest point of the circuit💪. From there, a narrow path led me down into the valley near the town of Elsenroth, where I crossed the K27 and then walked along rustic paths down to the village of Stockheim🦶🦶. The course continued downhill on slippery but extremely idyllic paths along the Stockheimer Bach, which was well filled after the rain of the past few days💦. A short climb took me for the first time to the foothills of the town of Bierenbachtal🏡, which was basically the center of the second half of my circuit. Soon, however, I arrived down in the Bröltal, which I followed for a while on a freshly asphalted cycle path🚴🏻‍♀️ - a not unpleasant change after the numerous muddy passages. In a small village called "Unter der Hardt" I had to conquer a few more meters of altitude🥵 before I hiked along meadow paths on the slope again, enjoying beautiful views of the village of Breunfeld opposite😊. I touched the village of Gaderoth, from where I had to complete a longer climb🥾🥾. The subsequent descent brought me back to the edge of Bierenbachtal, where I crossed the Bierenbacher Bach and then scrambled in a straight line uphill towards Hübender😝. At the top I was rewarded for my effort with a few rays of sunshine that shone on me after my third encounter with the foothills of Bierenbachtal☀️. Once again I had to tackle a final climb up to near Appenroth before beautiful forest paths🍂🍁 took me downhill to the destination at the bus parking lot below the stalactite cave. Even though there were a few fallen trees🪵 to walk around immediately before the finale, I looked back on a very successful round. I will certainly pay more visits to the beautiful landscape of the Oberbergischer Südkreis in the summer months😀. Conclusion: Successful Advent hike🕯️🕯️ in pleasant December weather!