Safe Return Doubtful

I’m parked up for the weekend close to the summit of the Katzenstein mountain, which means cat rock, and is named so as the summit used to resemble a cat’s head. Thirty years ago though, after it was deemed to be in too precarious a state due to weathering and erosion, it was taken away. Since then it has a legend associated with it popular with children, as after its removal a large black wildcat has been seen quite often in the area. There was even a posse of locals formed to capture it after it supposedly attacked a lone hiker ten years ago, but that failed, and so the legend lives on. 

Below the Katzenstein, the now decapitated black cat mountain, is the valley of the Schwarze Pockau river, usually just called Schwarzwassertal, which also gives its name to the nature reserve which covers the surrounding 25 square kilometres. It is one of the most popular of all German low mountain valleys, but not so much this weekend, as a steady drizzle has followed the heavy rain of yesterday, with a maximum temperature today of only 8C. 

A renowned trail brought me here, a twenty kilometre circuit that runs alongside the river as it meanders its way through a series of steep sided gorges then returns above it, on the Grüner Graben (or Green Ditch). This is an eight kilometre watercourse built in the 17th century that used to channel water to the silver mines near Pobershau. The Grüner Graben still carries water today and has been largely preserved in its original state. 

I arrived here in the rain last night just before it got dark, about 5:30 pm, and took Roja for an explore around the immediate area. Just a few hundred metres along the road is a pub / restaurant, the Bergschänke zum Katzenstein, so after the dog’s dinner we investigated. It was quiet due to the weather, but the landlady made us welcome, keen to speak some English, as she gives private English lessons also. They had locally brewed ale on also, not what I expected at all, a strong English type bitter (6%) and a dark ale (6.5%), reminiscent of something like Adnams Broadside, both served at room temperature though from a keg. They don’t open late, closing at 8 pm, good timing though to return to the van for Friday night rugby. 

We walked the trail today, and despite the drizzle it was at its best, with the Schwarzwassertal river not quite in spate, though still thundering through the gorge. 

Returning along the watercourse above the river in the forest was more peaceful. The trees give an aura of contentedness on these wet days.

There were several diversions due to the damage caused to parts of the trail caused by mudslides three weeks ago in the four days of rainstorms that broke national records.