From Innsbruck we were to take a train to Roppen from where we would begin hiking. Before we boarded the next train in Innsbruck, we did however have time to buy supplementary food for the following days - including mandatory Red Bulls for immediate consumption.
When we got of at Roppen (780 meters above sea surface) we were met with a humid wall of warm air with a temperature about 32 degrees celsius. We drank some water, repacked our rucksacks and fastend all the stuff that hung more or less loose on the bags. It was now around 14:00 in the afternoon and we were ready to set out on the first hike of our trip.
From the trainstation we had about 100 meters to the start of the Forchheimer Weg trail, which marked the beginning of our ascent of the Mutzeiger (2275 m).
The first hour the weather was cloudy, with small rainstorms passing nearby (although only one passed above us). We entered the forest almost right away, but there was no refuge from the warmth in the shade, as the high humidity kept us constantly overheated.
The first stretch up hill went easily with high spirits and all, but pretty fast the moderate but unforgiving incline was melting us down. During this initial ascent we saw a couple of motorcross motorcyclists, which were more the last people we would meet in the next 24 hours.
It took us about 3,5 hours to get to the Maisalm hut (1660 m) where we made dinner (freezedried chill con carne) on the primus and enjoyed the spectacular views.
From Maisalm we had a rather nasty incline for 1,5-2 km up to the Mutkopf (1990 m). This section took us quite some time to get through, as we were a getting bit tired. However we finally made it, with 1 hour of daylight still left, to pitch up our telt and explore the surroundings.
