Partnachklamm - A Gorge-eous Hike

When Julie saw the pictures from Eibsee, she felt she missed out on some fun while obligated to the conference. Fortunately, we found an activity that was close and could be done after the last scheduled speaker on Tuesday. We planned to hike the Partnachklamm, a gorge that has been sculpted by the strong currents of the Partnach River for eons. The river has a distinct blue color due to the water's source - ice melt from a nearby glacier, Schneeferner (near the Zugspitze). The gorge can be leisurely visited during the day or guided by torchlight at night.

Path upriver on left

Sunlight near the end of the trail

Taking the trail back

The Partnach Gorge is located near the Olympia Skistadion - a location we struggled to find at first because we wrote "Olympic Stadium" as a directional reference. Our error resulted in a trip to the Eishockey Stadion, a gorge-less area. After finding out we were in the wrong location, someone helped redirect us to our intended destination - arriving at the ski stadium shortly thereafter.

"I guess we know why they call them rapids and not slow-pids" - Ned Flanders

Different angle of light at the end of the gorge

Glacier melt

The hike from the parking lot to the entrance of the Partnachklamm takes about twenty minutes and admission to the gorge is €3.50. The path runs along the roaring water, passing through small alcoves with little or no natural light. Walking through these caverns by torchlight would be most enjoyable on a night hike (especially in winter when icicles line the path), but the light of our cell phone flashlight was sufficient for daytime passage.

Would-be isicles if it were much colder

Beware of falling rock

Small window in alcove

We reached the end of the gorge and returned to the beginning within an hour - a perfect hike for a late afternoon adventure. Heading to the car, we stopped in the Olympia Skistadion to take a few more pictures. On our way back to the hotel we visited downtown Garmisch-Partenkirchen. A very charming ski town, but a very expensive destination. While the walking pedestrian area, we perused a Tracht store (Lederhosen & Dirndl) where I found a pair of 3/4 length Lederhosen for €900 - sans shirt, socks, shoes, and hat. After window shopping the remaining stores, we spent a half-hour looking for a dinner locale, but every restaurant was either closed or preparing to close - at 18:00 - apparently, still off-season hours. We returned to Edelweiss for dinner - passing the only open and crowded food-joint along the way - a Pizza Hut.