How do you plan a hiking day with a baby carrier and as little gear as possible?
Simple: First, you write a list of the essentials. Then you head out – and leave the list at home. From that point on, all you really need is one thing: improvisation. (Sometimes in very literal ways – like sliding down snow. Without a sled. But we’ll get to that later.)
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At 8:05 a.m., just 200 meters from the Waldschlössl, our neighbor Regina asked me:
– “Are you heading up to Marco today?”
And I honestly didn’t even know yet if we’d make it to the Naturfreundehaus Knofeleben.
The route? A Sunday classic: through the Eng, then instead of taking the Mitterberggraben turnoff, we went right toward the Lackabodengraben and continued on the trail toward Krummbachstein.
At the Krummbachsattel, the question arose:
➡️ Should we keep going toward the Schneeberg?
Or
☀️ Stay near Knofeleben, take it easy and enjoy a proper break?
Well:
👶 The baby was asleep.
🌞 The sun was shining.
🌡 The temperature was perfect.
🕙 And it was only 10:00 a.m.
So, we kept going.
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At the ruins of Baumgartnerhaus (10:45), L2 woke up. We found a wind-sheltered spot with some shade and had a quick snack break (🤱🏼).
15 minutes later: another stop – L2 was still not fully on board (🤱🏼). Since I wasn’t sure if the last cogwheel train really left at 3:15 p.m., there wasn’t much room for hesitation. We had to move.
The next stretch was steep and rocky – L2 was not impressed. But after five minutes of mild protest, he fell back asleep. By exactly 12:00 noon, we made it to the top – and I was honestly just relieved we’d made it past that section.
What followed was just a pleasant walk to the Klosterwappen (1:05 p.m.). Truly pleasant. Until we hit a small patch of snow (or rather, ice) just below the Fischerhütte. L2 woke up again – and made it very clear he would prefer to keep sleeping. With curious hikers watching, a slippery path ahead, and the decision came quickly: Sit down in the snow, grab the rope – and slide. Well, I slid. On my butt. L2 screamed. Two minutes later: back asleep. Win.
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All the planned stops (Damböckhaus, Fischerhütte, and Damböckhaus again) were skipped – L2 was sleeping too deeply. And just like that, we found ourselves at the final station of the Schneebergbahn at 2:05 p.m.
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On the train, no one guessed that we hadn’t just hiked down from the Klosterwappen –but had walked the whole way from Reichenau, with baby carrier and all. By 3:00 p.m., we were already waiting in Puchberg for the replacement bus.
I’d love to say that the last walk from Payerbach back to the Waldschlössl was the perfect end to the day – but honestly, those last 90 vertical meters felt more like crawling and silent mantras than hiking, especially three months postpartum. L2? Blissfully napping again.
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📍 Route:
Waldschlössl – Eng – Lackabodengraben – Krummbachsattel – Klosterwappen – Fischerhütte – Damböckhaus – Hochschneeberg mountain station
📏 16.7 km
📈 1,650 m ascent
📉 400 m descent
🕒 6 hours (including two short breaks)
👶 1 baby in the front carrier, backpack in the back
🎒 0 sled
😅 1 slide on the butt
❤️ 100% memories