Wild Thief route in Extertal-Silixen (circular route) – art and history in the Teutoburg Forest

The title already suggests that there is something for big 👫 and small 👦🏼. And indeed, today we had to catch the poachers in the act 🔍. In the extensive forests near the border 🌳 this should not have been uncommon at the beginning of the last century. Thus, the motivation for the entire route was almost taken care of. But from the front. We had planned the poacher route near Silixen in Extertal for a long time. It is an integral part of the local hiking guides 📚 and was only recently re-certified as a quality hiking trail by "Wanderbares Deutschland" (a.k.a. German Hiking Association). Because I already knew parts of it from biking 🚵🏼‍♂️, we kept thinking of a different route. But today should be the day! After the late risers literally drove us out of the sun ☀️, we drove to Silixen in the Extertal by car. We wanted to save ourselves the route in town, so we parked the car 🚗 in the western part of the town. The route was then quickly found because it was well signposted 🪧. There are essentially two climbs on the route. One goes up to Potsdamer Platz (yes...that's really what it's called), and the other to the Familienplatz above Tevenhausen, which is also well known to us. At both places we provided new energy with warm tea and "small snacks" (raisin snails, nut snails, cream cheese dip and bread sticks and much more....could run worse 😉). What was also well timed was the sunset 🌄 in the border triangle between Schaumburg and Lippe. In the truest sense of the word, a nice "borderline experience" for us! 😌 Unfortunately we didn't spot the poachers 👮‍♂️, but we did find one or two fresh footprints 🥾 on the paths, which motivated us to keep up the pace. Overall, we found the tour really nice and varied, with beautiful forest passages but also dirt roads. In some places you had a really nice view 👀 towards Lippe or Schaumburg. It is actually remarkable that you can move wonderfully between Extertal - Kalletal (both Lippe/NRW) and Schaumburg (NDS). In fact, a true paradise for wood thieves and poachers - and today for us!

We started at the farm site in the center of the village of Silixen and were allowed to park the car in the small Nahkauf parking lot. The poaching route follows in the footsteps of the Silix poachers and timber swindlers who, 100 years ago, covered their meat and wood needs in a not entirely legal way by poaching and stealing wood in the surrounding forests. Information boards tell interesting things about local history and there is a lot to discover. What was unexpected for us was the beautiful winter landscape. The family rest area with a fantastic view of the Kalletal is also great: we enjoyed our snack here. We then continued along the ridge path into the Möllenbeck Forest and finally through fields and meadows back to the starting point. The tour is very well signposted and varied along narrow paths and wider forest and field paths. There are a number of rest stops along the way, there are benches and several shelters in strategically beautiful places.

A beautiful tour with many great forest paths

Great tour; many different surfaces, many rest stops, lots of Schauinsland

On the search for poachers we made some borderline experiences and were able to catch many wonderful views on the way 😉 But from the front... The 🌞 finally lured us out and so this time we should go to Silixen, try a really good "hiking" route from the hiking guide. Due to a lack of time, we saved ourselves the small village and continued from the starting point along a natural path. You quickly reach a nice rest area by the stream. It must be wonderful in summer (toys are already ready 😅). In general, I found the entire forest with the small streams so beautiful - how wonderful it must be in spring! The path is very well signposted and is accompanied by approx. 20 information boards 📜, with information on the history of poachers and wood thieves and the surrounding nature. Really very well done. After a snack at Potsdamer Platz, we quickly headed towards Familienplatz (we already know it from previous other hikes). We saved ourselves the mud fight in the valley basin in front of it (and thus a steeper ascent in the forest) and chose the ascent via the usual access road. The panorama up there, just for 🌄, is incredibly beautiful. Incidentally, the route also crosses or corresponds in part to the "Path of Views" ;) And it is not surprising that we continue along the boundary stones in the 2-country corner. Because you also walk between NRW and NDS on these paths. By the way, we didn't meet poachers (and people in general). But the search alone 🔎 was enough motivation and fun for the boot dwarf 👦🏼🥾. Although we didn't take the shortcut to 8 km, the short one mastered this tour extremely well and without any problems 💪🏻. This is also due to the fact that the wide forest paths are comfortable and easy to walk, and there are hardly any and not steep climbs. The only thing I didn't like at the end was the short section on the main road, especially in the dark. 🌓&⭐️ then lit our way back. What a wonderful day of hiking!

Beautiful signposted circular hike through the Kalletal in the most beautiful Whitsun weather 🌞

Great hiking trail, not only because of the many beautiful trails and forest paths through deciduous and mixed forest. We found the signs along the path with descriptions of the history of the past and the way of life of the locals very interesting. Very nice hiking trail 🌞👍🤗

I once became aware of this hike 🥾 on a mountain bike ride 🚵‍♂️. In my mind 😶‍🌫️ I thought that I would do it at some point 😂. It was 27 months ago now ⌛🤫, I looked it up 🤭! But now it happened very quickly..., planned the day before yesterday together with the Lemgo hike I did yesterday and carried it out today (as long as the calm autumn weather 🍂 lasts...)! 💪😄 But I didn't start in Silixen 🏘️, where it usually begins, but at a hiking car park 🚗 in the Möllenbeck forest 🌳🌳 on the Lower Saxony side. The description of the tour: "The poacher route follows the tracks of the Silixen poachers and timber thieves who, 100 years ago, covered their meat and timber needs in a not entirely legal way by poaching and stealing timber in the surrounding forests. Silixen was considered a stronghold of these activities. On over 20 information boards, the interested hiker can learn a lot about local history: for example, where the field names (Friedenstal, Löffelbrink or Schweinedrift) come from or where the Silixen people got their drinking water. The path also leads past the "Königskiefer" (now probably the victim of a storm), the most magnificent example of its kind in Lippe forests, trenches from the Second World War and centuries-old boundary stones. So there is a lot to discover. Wonderful views garnish the route. A very special highlight is the family square with its fantastic views of the Kalletal. The poacher route has two routes. The small tour is eight Kilometers, the large one 13.2 kilometers long. The start is at the farm in the center of the village (crossroads). The first information board is also there. You should take a hiking map with you to be on the safe side. The start is the Bülter Weg. It goes through the village up into the Silixer Hagen, further into the Möllenbecker forest and finally through fields and meadows to the starting point. There are rest areas at Potsdamer Platz or in the hiking shelter in the two-country corner." It was a nice round 👍. And am I a poacher now too...?🤭😊