Mountainmaniac

The Hechlstein (1814 m / 5951 ft) lies on the southern edge of the Warscheneck Group, part of the Totes Gebirge mountain range, whose highest peak, the Warscheneck, rises 2388 meters (7834 ft) into the sky .  The Totes Gebirge (dead mountains) is located on the border of Upper Austria and Styria and is the largest limestone karst area in Central Europe, which drains largely underground through an extensive cave system. This is one of the reasons why vegetation on the central plateau is rather sparse, making the name "Dead Mountains" unsurprising. However, the Hechelstein doesn't quite fit this image. The Hechlstein is often combined with the ascent of the Gwendlingstein (1645 m / 5397 ft) from Tauplitz, but on this tour the full attention will be paid to the Hechlstein, whose summit can be tackled starting from the car park at the Wörschachwalderhof in Wörschachwald. Initially, the trail leads up the mountainside along the paved village road. At the end of the road, afte...