Hütteldorf: lost in the Wienerwald
21 km into the Wienerwald, a dead phone, a gate that closes at seven, and the strangest return to a city I’ve ever had.
Into the Wienerwald
I’m moving well on a runnable climb. The trail is a broad gravel path, and I’ve met several day hikers. Two of them stop me to ask how far I’m going. “Around 21 km, with 600 m of climbing. It’s a loop into the Wienerwald, if I don’t get lost.”
Famous last words.
The climb goes on and on, taking me deep into the Wienerwald Biosphere Reserve. The first thing I notice is the air. After the Heiligenstadt run earlier today, it feels fresh, almost cleansing. The vegetation is denser and more varied than anything I saw this morning; it feels close to a temperate rainforest.
Deeper in
Clearing the summits high above Hütteldorf feels rewarding. Around the Kaltbründlberg, the views are wide and inspiring.
Further on, the trails narrow and the forest gently closes in. It becomes more intimate.
The water source just before halfway, at 9 km, is a welcome stop after around 6 km of climbing. I refill both flasks and push on.
Off the map
Not long after the refill, my phone dies. I’d been using it for the occasional navigation check.
Then I notice there are no day hikers any more, and I remember the sign at the entrance to the Lainzer Tiergarten: the gates close at 7 pm. It’s funny how bad news compounds once something goes wrong.
I don’t have the route loaded on my Garmin, so I take the forest junctions by instinct. Until I see a sign for Mödling.
Mödling. Hmm. My hotel tonight is in Mödling, ready for the third long run of the trilogy in the morning. I know then that I’ve gone too far south.
It’s been at least an hour since I last saw anyone, and I need to head north, back to Hütteldorf, to close the loop. At that moment the sky turns black, it starts to rain, and I suddenly feel cold and very remote.
I’m not staying in here tonight becomes my mantra. With my compass, what light is left, and the planes passing overhead, I find my way round the full loop and back to Hütteldorf.
Back to the city
It’s been a real adventure. And yet when I pass through the exit gate at Hacking, I step straight onto a suburban street, with people coming home from work, arms full of shopping. I feel like I’m returning from the wilderness. Nothing short of surreal.
The lesson I took home: on multi-day or multi-run adventures, always carry a charged power bank.
The full Hütteldorf route, with the turns I should have taken, is in T-RUN Vienna.
