chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
The Harz Mountains is a highland area in Northern Germany that rises to a height of over 1000 metres from the surrounding plain. The name Harz derives from the Middle High German word Hardt or Hart (hill forest) and the whole area is deeply forested giving rise to an amazing network of gravel forest roads. During the cold war the border between East and West Germany ran right through the heart of this area and the highest peak in the area, the Brocken lay in the Soviet East and was home to a Soviet listening station.
My route starts in the town of Goslar, which lies on the edge of the Northern German plain and the lower slopes of the Harz and after a gentle few metres it's straight into climbing mode as we start to gain height rapidly. Over the next 10 kilometres I gain nearly 500m over gravel forest roads. Views are already opening out to the West of me as I climb higher.
As I get near to the top of my climb, I can hear the sounds of heavy machinery and in the forest immediately around me there is some large tree felling going on, most of the spruce around here is being grown commercially and there is extensive felling work going on. Unfortunately the foresters have only placed closed signs on some of the trails and I'm approaching from a different direction. I stop as a large machine is hauling a trunk onto a lorry and wait to be waved through as they look at me. The trail finally starts to level off and we roll along quite quickly on mellow roads.
All to soon though the tarmac gives way to gravel and the start of a 7km descent. What should be fun and fast soon turns into a nightmare. The heavy machinery that has been up here logging has destroyed the ground and it's kilometres of muddy quagmire that I'm faced with. I'm soon completely covered in gooey mud and the bike is skating around all over the place, it's all quite frustrating.
At the bottom of the next valley there's a series of reservoirs that feed the nearby cities and I'm relieved to be riding on tarmac for a short stretch. There is a segregated path and I'm riding along and enjoying the views across the water as plenty of folk are walking around.
After a couple of kilometres I'm again turning away from the road and onto gravel as I follow a deeply wooded valley for a few kilometres. I'm completely alone out here as I slowly gain height again. The sides of the valley are forested with spruce and occasional patches of oak, which bring some autumn colour to the steep sides. I take a rest next to the stream that accompanies me on my journey and have a snack and drink.
Eventually we reach the head and the path rises steeply, climbing up out of the valley. The last kilometre is a steep hike a bike section over rough broken ground. Crossing the road at the top and we're straight back onto a gravel descent bringing me down toward the path that runs around the Oderteich Reservoir. It's incredibly scenic around here and the riding is superb I'm loving every minute.
The stretch down the side of the reservoir is an amazing section of techy single track requiring concentration on the gravel bike. The reservoir is one of the honey pot sites and lots of folk are here, the car park is full and there is a buzz of folk. Looking across the water is a stark site, the water levels are perilously low from years of drought, but worse still is the forest behind. The forests here are heavily managed, but in recent years the droughts and storms have served to batter and weaken the spruce's. This has enabled the bark beetle to move in and infest the forests to plague levels. Millions of acres have been infected and whilst strong healthy trees can fight the infestation, the weakened trees can't, the corpses of the trees litter the landscape all around.
I turn from the crowds and head back into solitude, the next hour is an amazing ride. The gravel road contours around the side of a valley which falls further away the further I ride. The forest slowly turns from the infected spruce to more hardy deciduous trees, like Sessile Oak and Beech, which are glowing an amazing colour in the Autumn sun.
The afternoon is drawing on and I'm in a real happy place, after the last big descent, followed by ascent, we are back onto a lovely gravel road that rises and falls gently through broken forests, the high hills of the Brocken and the Wurmberg are visible through breaks in the trees and we pass over a section of the infamous "PanzerPlatten" which is a subtle reminder of the past and how we have crossed into the old East Germany.
I shortly ride into the town of Benneckenstein and can see the old soviet inspired architecture of the apartment blocks, renovated in bright colours, a short ride away is a building proclaiming to be a museum to old DDR transport, sadly it's pretty dilapidated and shut. I'm entering the last kilometres now and plunge onwards on gravel roads to my overnight spot. Wild Camping is strictly prohibited in the Harz, so I'm not carrying a tent with me and instead I'm heading to a hut I've heard about. These German forests are full of open huts where you can take a break and if need be, bivy for the night. For the most part they are three sided with rough earth floors and frankly not that appealing. Occasionally though you come across one like the Kapitelsberg Hütte, which is something else.
Not only is this fully enclosed with a stone floor, but the walls are insulated with lambs wool. As well as tables and chairs inside, it has a barbeque area outside and hanging on the wall of the hut is the metal grill. The place is beautifully clean and tidy and overseen by a local village, who implore you look after it. I settle in for the night and make a lovely meal of pasta with a homemade tomato sauce with capers, olives and sun dried tomatoes. I was just missing some wine to wash it down!
Overall I've covered 68 kilometres and 1330 metres of climbing.
My route starts in the town of Goslar, which lies on the edge of the Northern German plain and the lower slopes of the Harz and after a gentle few metres it's straight into climbing mode as we start to gain height rapidly. Over the next 10 kilometres I gain nearly 500m over gravel forest roads. Views are already opening out to the West of me as I climb higher.
As I get near to the top of my climb, I can hear the sounds of heavy machinery and in the forest immediately around me there is some large tree felling going on, most of the spruce around here is being grown commercially and there is extensive felling work going on. Unfortunately the foresters have only placed closed signs on some of the trails and I'm approaching from a different direction. I stop as a large machine is hauling a trunk onto a lorry and wait to be waved through as they look at me. The trail finally starts to level off and we roll along quite quickly on mellow roads.
All to soon though the tarmac gives way to gravel and the start of a 7km descent. What should be fun and fast soon turns into a nightmare. The heavy machinery that has been up here logging has destroyed the ground and it's kilometres of muddy quagmire that I'm faced with. I'm soon completely covered in gooey mud and the bike is skating around all over the place, it's all quite frustrating.
At the bottom of the next valley there's a series of reservoirs that feed the nearby cities and I'm relieved to be riding on tarmac for a short stretch. There is a segregated path and I'm riding along and enjoying the views across the water as plenty of folk are walking around.
After a couple of kilometres I'm again turning away from the road and onto gravel as I follow a deeply wooded valley for a few kilometres. I'm completely alone out here as I slowly gain height again. The sides of the valley are forested with spruce and occasional patches of oak, which bring some autumn colour to the steep sides. I take a rest next to the stream that accompanies me on my journey and have a snack and drink.
Eventually we reach the head and the path rises steeply, climbing up out of the valley. The last kilometre is a steep hike a bike section over rough broken ground. Crossing the road at the top and we're straight back onto a gravel descent bringing me down toward the path that runs around the Oderteich Reservoir. It's incredibly scenic around here and the riding is superb I'm loving every minute.
The stretch down the side of the reservoir is an amazing section of techy single track requiring concentration on the gravel bike. The reservoir is one of the honey pot sites and lots of folk are here, the car park is full and there is a buzz of folk. Looking across the water is a stark site, the water levels are perilously low from years of drought, but worse still is the forest behind. The forests here are heavily managed, but in recent years the droughts and storms have served to batter and weaken the spruce's. This has enabled the bark beetle to move in and infest the forests to plague levels. Millions of acres have been infected and whilst strong healthy trees can fight the infestation, the weakened trees can't, the corpses of the trees litter the landscape all around.
I turn from the crowds and head back into solitude, the next hour is an amazing ride. The gravel road contours around the side of a valley which falls further away the further I ride. The forest slowly turns from the infected spruce to more hardy deciduous trees, like Sessile Oak and Beech, which are glowing an amazing colour in the Autumn sun.
The afternoon is drawing on and I'm in a real happy place, after the last big descent, followed by ascent, we are back onto a lovely gravel road that rises and falls gently through broken forests, the high hills of the Brocken and the Wurmberg are visible through breaks in the trees and we pass over a section of the infamous "PanzerPlatten" which is a subtle reminder of the past and how we have crossed into the old East Germany.
I shortly ride into the town of Benneckenstein and can see the old soviet inspired architecture of the apartment blocks, renovated in bright colours, a short ride away is a building proclaiming to be a museum to old DDR transport, sadly it's pretty dilapidated and shut. I'm entering the last kilometres now and plunge onwards on gravel roads to my overnight spot. Wild Camping is strictly prohibited in the Harz, so I'm not carrying a tent with me and instead I'm heading to a hut I've heard about. These German forests are full of open huts where you can take a break and if need be, bivy for the night. For the most part they are three sided with rough earth floors and frankly not that appealing. Occasionally though you come across one like the Kapitelsberg Hütte, which is something else.
Not only is this fully enclosed with a stone floor, but the walls are insulated with lambs wool. As well as tables and chairs inside, it has a barbeque area outside and hanging on the wall of the hut is the metal grill. The place is beautifully clean and tidy and overseen by a local village, who implore you look after it. I settle in for the night and make a lovely meal of pasta with a homemade tomato sauce with capers, olives and sun dried tomatoes. I was just missing some wine to wash it down!
Overall I've covered 68 kilometres and 1330 metres of climbing.
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