comfortable rucksack is an essential item but it’s more likely to be comfortable if the total load is only 6 to 7kg. It needs a waterproof cover. Stuff sacks within the rucksack might also help; they hardly weigh anything and impose a bit of order when things are getting packed in the morning.
Footwear should also be light. Remember a kilogram on your feet is equivalent to four on your back. Heavy boots in particular should be avoided given the long hot days on the approach to Venice. Many walkers (me included) have abandoned boots altogether for summer walking, opting for ‘approach shoes’ or fell-running shoes instead. Lightweight footwear means feet stay cooler, skin is less likely to blister and you can walk further without getting tired.
Finding your way
Approaching Dun (Stage 13)
For most of its journey the Traumpfad follows well-defined footpaths. The last section, from Belluno to Venice, involves some road walking but mostly on quiet roads with little traffic. There are occasional Munich–Venice (München–Venedig) signs but the route is not officially waymarked. It is, however, easy to follow and navigation should not be a problem.
Using GPS
Although most walkers now have a smartphone many still don’t use the GPS functionality but GPS is the cheapest and most effective way of taking the stress out of navigation. If you already have an Android or Apple smartphone you can download a GPS app and buy the required digital maps.
A key consideration, in choosing an app, is the range of maps provided particularly when the route travels through several countries. A good choice, and one used when doing the research for this guide, is a product called Viewranger (www.viewranger.com). The Viewranger website includes a map store and has a growing portfolio of maps from around the world including Germany, Austria and Italy. The route is covered by maps of a comparable quality to the paper maps (most are the same but a digital version) until just before Alleghe. From Alleghe to Venice ‘Open Maps’ can be used (follow the instructions on the Viewranger site for loading these maps). They don’t provide as much information as the paper maps but they are still useful.
In addition to a smartphone and a GPS app loaded with the right maps you need the route itself. This is available for free, stage by stage, on the Cicerone website at www.cicerone.co.uk/804/gpx.
If you haven’t used the GPS facility don’t leave it to the last minute before your trip to find out how it works. Smartphone GPS doesn’t use ‘data roaming’ so you don’t need to have that facility turned on. The battery on the smartphone should be adequate for a day’s walking particularly if you remember to turn off any features that you’re not using. (Phones permanently searching for a wi-fi connection are consuming a lot of energy.) If you are nervous about battery life then take a supplementary battery and recharge the smartphone as needed or, if walking with someone else with a smartphone, have a duplicate version of the GPS as backup.
The central Karwendel Ridge
Using printed maps
Some walkers will want the additional security of paper maps (despite the extra weight) and printed maps will provide more context for the journey. Acquiring a comprehensive set of maps for a route travelling through three countries is not, however, a straightforward task and there is no single publisher supplying maps for the whole route.
Section 1
Kompass Maps (www.shop.kompass.de):
180 Lake Starnberg – Ammersee and 182 Isarwinkel, Bad Tölz, Lenggries (1:50,000)
Freytag & Berndt (www.freytagberndt.com):
WK 322 Wetterstein – Karwendel – Seefeld – Leutasch – Garmisch Partenkirchen (1:50,000)
Section 2
Freytag & Berndt (www.freytagberndt.com):
WK 322 Wetterstein – Karwendel – Seefeld – Leutasch – Garmisch Partenkirchen (1:50,000)
WK 241 Innsbruck – Stubai – Sellrain – Brenner (1:50.000)
WK 152 Mayrhofen – Zillertaler Alpen – Gerlogs – Krimml – Zell im Zillertal (1:50,000)
Tabacco TK 037 Pfunderer Berge/Monti di Fundres, Hochfeiler/Gran Pilastro (1:25,000).
Section 3
Freytag & Berndt (www.freytagberndt.com):
Tabacco TK 030 Brixen/Bressanone, Villnössertal/Val di Funes (1:25.000)
WK S5 Grödner Tal (1:50,000)
Section 4
Freytag & Berndt (www.freytagberndt.com):
TK 015 Marmolada – Pelmo – Civetta – Moiazza (1:25,000)
TK 025 Dolomiti di Zoldo, Cadorine e Agordine (1:25,000)
TK 024 Prealpi e Dolomiti Bellunesi (1:25,000)
Section 5
Map Fox (www.mapfox.de)
Cartine Zanetti – 5 Vittorio Veneto (1:30,000)
Cartine Zanetti – 3 Conegliano (1:30,000).
If you need to ask the way, German is the language spoken locally in Bavaria, Austria and South Tyrol, with Italian becoming the dominant language on the approach to Alleghe. Signposts also include a third language, Ladin, in a small area to the south of the Italian border with Austria. Germans, Austrians and Italians all speak good English and indeed many Italians and Germans communicate with each other in English.
Using this guide
Alpine lakes below the Alpeiner Scharte (Stage 12B)
The 569km of the journey from Munich to Venice has been described here in five sections each broken down into a stage which correlates to a day’s walking. Sections begin with a brief introduction, overview map and summary information including your options for varying the itinerary. Each stage begins with an information box – giving basic data including distance, walking time and total ascent/descent – and a brief introduction to give you a feel for the day’s walking. Each stage also has a difficulty grading:
easy – essentially flat
moderate – could involve physical exertion but with no exposed walking
challenging – a head for heights required and could involve exposed sections.
There then follows a step-by-step description of the route including information about the facilities available along the route.
The route descriptions should be read in conjunction with the route maps which are reproduced
