A hike to the Pießling Source
- Thomas Mayrhofer
- Jun 5, 2016
- 3 min read
Some time ago I was thinking about a location for a new photo tour. A place I visited as a young boy about 25 years ago came into mind. In my memories it was a very nice little hike along a beautiful creek to the Pießling Source. I decided to drive down there and check out if it is as beautiful as I had it in my mind.
For this photo tour I took my Nikon D750 with the Tamron SP 24-70 F2.8 combined with the Hoya Pro ND 64 Filter, the Tamron SP 15-30 F2.8 and my Manfrotto 055 XPRO3 tripod with me. All, except the tripod, was packed up securely in my nwe shoulder bag, the Thinktank Retrospective 30.
About the location
The Pießling Source is one of the largest karst sources in Austria. On a normal day over 2200 litres of water per second exit the source through the 32 meters deep cave and rush down the wild creek into the valley. The starting point of the hike is the parking lot in the middle of the village Roßleithen in Upper Austria. On the way to the source you also have the opportunity to take a look at a scythe factory with an old scythe forge and an old mill. Furthermore there are some more hiking routes for example to the Gleinkersee (which I visited in fall 2015) and some other locations.
Now to the pictures
As mentioned before, I headed from the parking lot up the signed way to the scythe factory. I didn’t take a look at the modern factory, instead I followed the way to the old “Waldhammer” scythe forge. A very interesting looking old building, where I took my first stop for some photos.
I followed the way further alongside the creek and I noticed that there is now a water pipeline at the side of the creek, which wasn’t there 25 years ago. It didn’t look that good and blocked the view at the creek quite a bit. I tried my best to take the photos without the pipeline disturbing them to much. Also I found the crossing with the trail to the old mill. I decided to skip it this time due to the sign which said that the mill stood still and was closed. A bit later I also found a bridge across the creek where the trail to the Gleinkersee began.
After some time I arrived at a beautiful looking waterfall. It was a bit of a challenge to find a good spot for some photos due to the pipeline but finally I found some rocks where I could place my tripod with enough space left to stand and I was able to take the pictures.
I continued the hike and eventually arrived at the end of the trail, the Pießling Source. I walked down the stone steps and watched the water coming out of the mountain. There is also a small memorial which reminds of a young diver who died in the cave of the source.
Conclusion
The Pießling Source is a nice short hike and offers many interesting parts for photographing like the scythe forge, the creek itself, the forest on the way and the source itself. I walked about an hour and forty-five minutes for the way there and back again. Also you have many more choices of activities from Roßleithen as starting point like other hiking trails. Only the water pipeline was a bit of a let down because it doesn‘t fit into the landscape and doesn’t look good at all. But I am satisfied with my photos and maybe I will come back to this area for another hike in the future.
I also had luck with my timing, as an enormous thunderstorm started about 5 Minutes after I had finished my tour.
Cheers Tom
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