A day on the Devil's path: Climbing up Tieflimauer

The Tieflimauer, originally also called "Tuifelmauer" (Devil's Wall), is an 1820 m (5971 ft) high, freestanding rock formation on the long ridge between the Kleiner Buchstein (1990 m / 6529 ft) to the west and the Tamischbachturm (2035 m / 6676 ft) to the east. In its immediate vicinity is the 1601 m (5253 ft) high "Luckerte Mauer", where, according to legend, the devil took a shortcut to win a bet with the priest of Johnsbach. The names of waypoints and hiking trails (Teufelskreuz, Teufelsteig) still recall this devilish activity high above the Enns Valley.

The Tieflimauer belongs to the Buchstein Group. Together with the Admont-Reichenstein Group, the Hochtor Group, and the Zinödl-Lugauer Group, these rugged limestone mountains mark the entrance to the Enns River's breakthrough valley, whose rushing, roaring, and thundering waters in this rugged landscape gave the region its name. The "Gesäuse", often called "Xeis" by locals, has been under special protection since 2002 and is now one of six national parks in Austria.

The hike to the Tieflimauer can be tackled from both the north and the south. This time, we start surrounded by the steep rock faces of the Gesäuse mountains, right next to the roaring Enns River, at the Ennstalerhütte parking lot in the picturesque little village of Gstatterboden. From here, the trail immediately disappears into the forest and leads past the Hubertus Chapel, continuing through the unspoiled woodland to the gravelly bed of a usually harmless-looking mountain stream. Consequently, crossing it is no problem. Hiking trail 608 continues through the forest, now becoming a little steeper, crosses a forest road, and finally joins it after a total of about 1.15 km (0.7 mi).