The four of us set off for Lake Eder on Friday afternoon after packing our gear and food. “We” are Lia, Grigori, Daniel, and the Shepherd. Our destination: the Urwaldsteig Edersee trail from Herzhausen to the Steinmühle area on the other side, just before Asel Süd. The hike was about 50 km long, which we completed in three stages.
After packing our personal belongings on Friday, there were still a surprising number of important pieces of gear left on the table: cookware, a stove, gas, food for three days, and lots of other small items. But somehow everything fit into our backpacks, and we were ready to set off.
After driving to Lake Eder, we started our hike around 5:00 p.m. with a short leg. We had about 5 km ahead of us and, after a nice start, arrived around 6:00 p.m. at the small cove directly across from the Steinmühle grounds. There we set up our first camp. Just as we were about to cook, it started to rain, so we pitched the tent first so we could prepare and cook our meal in the dry. Asian cuisine was on the menu: so that meant chopping vegetables, sautéing meat, and cooking noodles. We’d actually had to buy the meat along the way, since the meat we’d bought earlier unfortunately hadn’t made it out of the fridge back home when we were packing. There was more than enough food, but miraculously, only a small amount was left over, which served as a snack the next day. In the evening, despite the weather, we sat around the hobo stove facing the small fire, but eventually crawled into our sleeping bags at a reasonable hour. The next morning was cold (4°C) but pleasant, and after a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, bread, and granola, we packed up camp. Right at the start of today’s hike, we realized we’d have to pay close attention to the trail markers so as not to lose our way. The trail winds through the wooded slopes of Lake Eder and never ceases to amaze us with the beautiful spots right on our doorstep that can’t be seen from the car or even from the lake. As mentioned earlier, you should always keep an eye on the trail markers if you don’t want to get lost. Despite the abundance of signage, we discovered that at crucial points, the signs are missing. And woe to anyone who doesn’t have a compass and a north-oriented map. Without them, we would have easily ended up going the wrong way several times.
So the motto “Always head west, and we’ll cross the trail eventually” took hold early on. After a long lunch break in Nieder-Werbe, which Grigori and Daniel used for a refreshing swim (if you can call those few seconds in the water a swim), we headed back into the forests around Lake Eder. In the afternoon, we were able to enjoy the luxury of Hesse’s first cable car, which took us part of the way to Waldeck Castle, before we immediately set off again from the top, making long, sweeping turns down the mountain on the other side toward the dam. Later than expected, we reached the day’s secret destination—the dam—around 6:00 p.m. and rewarded ourselves with ice cream. We also enjoyed the sun and the break. Now all that remained was to find a suitable place to sleep. After our initial search proved unsuccessful, we decided on the spot to have a simple supper and postponed our actual dinner until the next day at lunchtime so we’d have time to look for a spot. Luckily, we found a lovely, quiet spot not far away, about 150 meters higher up: a beautiful meadow with old trees, where even a fox stopped by to say “good night” to us. As the last rays of light faded, we crawled into our sleeping bags, exhausted but happy. The next morning began with nothing but sunshine after a night where the temperature dropped to just 2 degrees. To top it off, we had coffee and fried eggs on bread. Who needs anything more than that? After breaking camp, we faced the final challenge—that is, the last day, the final leg of the journey. Naturally, and due to being out of practice, we were all feeling a bit worn out, and the occasional minor injury made itself known. Nevertheless, after a beautiful, if exhausting, morning, we reached the Steinmühle grounds on Lake Eder around 1:30 p.m. Exhausted and tired, but happy to have reached our destination, we set about cooking Spaghetti Miracoli—with plenty of extra cheese, plenty of bacon, and plenty of onions. Right after we finished washing the dishes, our shuttle arrived to take us back home.
All in all, we had a wonderful hike full of beautiful views and exciting experiences. Along with sore legs and tired faces, we’re taking home many new photos and beautiful memories from our local forests: winding trails, finding our way through the woods without a path using a map and compass, cooking over a fire of burning logs, the first Hessian cable car, plenty of ups and downs, and the realization: “Sometimes it’s uncomfortable, but if you keep going, you’ll reach your destination.”
Schäfer 
PDF: Hike Around Lake Eder
