Trip reports › Erzgebirgskammweg: three days from Olbernhau via Moldava to Altenberg

Erzgebirgskammweg: three days from Olbernhau via Moldava to Altenberg

The longest stage first, and starting at midday. On paper that looks like poor planning. It was deliberate.

Three days on the Erzgebirgskammweg, Olbernhau to Altenberg: 54.9 kilometres, 1637 metres of ascent, 1338 metres of descent. The track falls into three very different days — the long one up front, the high one at the end. Claudia and I with around 9.5 kilos each on our backs.

Day 1 — Olbernhau to the Kreuztanne, 22.1 km and 822 metres of ascent

We set off around midday, well fed. 22.1 kilometres, 822 metres of ascent, destination Kreuztanne — half a day had to be enough.

Two hikers with backpacks outside an inn in Olbernhau

Out of the valley the trail climbs steadily. No steep section that forces you to stop. That is why the LEKI MAKALU FX stayed folded up all afternoon — only in the last third does Claudia get hers out. A break at the Schwartenbergbaude, 785 metres, the highest point of the day. Open and windy up there. You can see what you made those metres of climbing for.

Mountain inn on the Schwartenberg with a lookout tower and a wooden bench in front

Information board for the Stoneman Miriquidi route on the Schwartenberg

Then the descent, a narrow path through tall grass already gone dry. Below, a village with a church tower between the hills. Places like this are what I like best about the ridge: a long view, without it turning into drama.

Hiker on a grassy path descending, a village with a church below

At the Kreuztanne we called it a day, and the stove stayed where it was. Two beers, one cordon bleu. After 22 kilometres with a midday start I call that a sensible decision.

Terrace at the Waldhotel Kreuztanne with two beers, a spread and bread

Day 2 — Kreuztanne via Holzhau to Moldava, 18.9 km

18.9 kilometres, 493 metres of ascent, highest point 788 metres. After that opening, a day that meets you halfway. Plenty of forest, soft paths. A new wooden bridge over a ditch, and behind it a short climb into the light.

Trail over a wooden bridge with a railing in deciduous woodland

In between, stretches through villages, asphalt, a road running towards a meadow rise with cattle on it. Nothing you have to photograph. But exactly the kind of ground where the kilometres pass without you counting them.

Village street with houses, behind it a pasture rise with cattle

Beyond Holzhau the route heads for the border. In the spruce forest a signpost: Moldava 3 kilometres. That was the day done.

Signpost in the spruce forest showing Moldava 3 km and Holzhau 10.5 km

Day 3 — Moldava via the Kahleberg to Altenberg, 13.9 km

The shortest stage, 13.9 kilometres, 322 metres of ascent — and still the highest point of the whole tour: 905 metres on the Kahleberg. A mountain day, but a very Erzgebirge one. The climbing comes in portions, not all in one go. At the top the summit is stony and open.

From Altenberg back to Dresden by train. When a tour ends like that, there is nothing you need to force on the last day.

Conclusion

The split is unusual, but it worked out: the long stage first, with a midday start and two nights as a buffer, then the quiet middle day, and finally the short one with the highest point.

And the weight. 13.27 kilos across 22 items — 10.18 kilos of that in the sleeping category alone. That is the honest weak spot. Tent, mats and sleeping bags for two are the pack, the rest is trimming: cooking 1.05 kilos, miscellaneous 940 grams. There is no need to talk about the 67 grams for the XFOIL Groundsheet 1.6 × 2.4 m, but the 1590 grams per Starlight II are worth a word. Here it did not get in the way — short stages, and twice we had a roof over us. Next time I will start with the sleep system all the same.

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