Traumschleife Baybachklamm
For quite some time now we've been wanting to go out an explore the Traumschleifen Saar-Hunsrück. The thing about it is though that it's just a bit too far away for us to just go there spontaneously. We're planners. So this weekend we had planned to finally drive out to the Baybachklamm.
Unfortunately the weather didn't quite want to fit our plans. While driving it was dark and grey outside, and especially a lot cooler than the last few days. We decided to pay the weather no heed though and just continued on.
After close to one and a half hours of driving - a lot of it on the Autobahn and the last stretch through a bunch of really cute small villages - we finally reached the parking lot near Heyweiler. And it was packed!
We hadn't expected that due to the not-quite-perfect weather.
We found a spot to park our car and got out. Not quite sure anymore if the decision for short pants and T-Shirts was the right one, but on the other hand we always get warm when hiking.
The trail starts with a Infoboard giving an overview of the trail and some about the surrounding region. Then you get to pass through an archway proclaiming "Traumschleife Baybachklamm" and right after the path splits im two. You can either walk clockwise, the suggested option, or the other way round.
We took the advice and turned left.
Right away the path descends fairly steeply into the valley. The path itself is small and winds down the hillside by bizarr rock formations, over roots and dead leaves. Definitely not one of the typical German forest roads and only for use by people walking. We loved it right away. The nature around here seems wild and intact and the small path nice to walk.
Once we reached the bottom of the valley we crossed a tiny stream and then went right back up the other side. There we came by "Steffenshof", a small farmstead/village before walking down into another valley. Here we finally reached the actual Baybachtal.
Afterwards the path follow the side of the river, passing by some historical sites mostly centered around the mining history of the region, and a few small caves. Those are all barred for safety and because they're actually a habitat for bats.
In a few places the path is really narrow or leads across rock plates. In all those places the path is secured by steel cables serving as handrails. That makes the trail even more diverse and probably a wonderful adventure for families with children.
We saw a bunch of other people on the trail - which had not been our intention since we're still trying to practise Social Distancing due to the corona virus. Fortunately most of them were walking the same direction we were, so we could just wait for a good spot before passing each other.
On the way through the Klamm there is a restaurant right in the valley called Schmausemühle. It's currently closed because of Corona, but it is really beautifully situated and since it's about halfways down the trail it's probably a great place for lunch in normal times.
Continuing on a bit further there's a small privately owned half timbered house which used to be another mill called the Heyweiler Bauernmühle. We expected it to be deserted, but there were actually people staying there. That made us a bit jealous. What a wonderful place to stay, right there in the middle of nowhere. With all the people walking by on the trail it's probably not as quite and secluded as you would think at first.
After that is another section following the river before finally ascending out of the valley. Here we came by a fantastic lookout point on a rock cliff. It's called "Barreterlay" and is one of the main highlights of the trail. Right before us was a whole group of people who were taking each others pictures on top of the rocky outcrop.
Then it was just a matter few more meters uphill until we were back up on the Hunsrück-Pleatau and the remainder of the trail was another short, flat section of walking back to the car park. Right before that there is one last change to catch a glimpse into the valley below in a small pavillion right by the path. It was unfortnately full of people when we arrived there, so due to Social Distancing we kept on walking instead of squishing in there, and returned to our car.
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