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Today you will hike past the Widderstein, at 2533m the highest peak in the Allgäuer Alps, but – alas! – unless you are a glutton for punishment you won't climb it, because doing so would take an extra three hours.

This will happen again and again on the H2H -- you'll see beautiful peaks but you won't climb them. The reason is simple: if you are to be down from the high Alps before the snows begin in autumn, then you will have to ignore most of the peaks you pass... and to be content with passes and peeks... <pause> ...sorry, couldn't resist.

Anyway, you leave Germany for good today, first climbing over a high saddle, then dropping down to follow a dramatic balcony path with spectacular views of the main Allgäu ridge, before a long descent at the end of the day into the little village of Schröcken.

Route
Today's hike takes the same trails as the Via Alpina from the Mindelheimerhütte onwards. From the Fiderepasshütte take the trail south over the Fiderescharte (2214m) to the Mindelheimerhütte (2013m). From there go via the Obere Widdersteinhütte (2009m), Körbersee (1656m), and Batzenalpe (1567m) down to Schröcken.

Alternatives: none really, at least none that make the day shorter or safer. If the weather is bad take a rest day. If you are thinking of going along the Mindelheimer Klettersteig, you might want to reconsider, for two reasons. First, it is quite difficult and you probably won't have the appropriate and necessary Klettersteig gear with you on the H2H. Second, it is very popular and thus prone to traffic jams at tricky passages that can add several hours to a traverse. If you do risk it, start very early and plan on the hike being between one and three hours longer than via the standard route.
Map: K-3 Allgäuer Alpen.

Journal
The House to House blog... stage 15.

Photos
<A couple of representative photos from this stage will be added here after the hike>
In the meantime, click here to go to all of the H2H photos on Flickr.

GPS Track
<To be added during or after hike>

Room and Board Options
Lunch: have an early lunch at the Mindelheimerhütte, or a late one at the Obere Widdersteinhütte, or picnic in between.
Dinner and overnight: there are several places at which to stay at in Schröcken (for a complete list, see here.

Getting There and Back
Fiderepasshütte: from Oberstdorf, where there is a railway station, take one of the frequent buses to Mittelberg in the Kleinwalsertal (for bus schedule information, see here, and for train schedule information, see Die Bahn). From there take the trail via Höfle and the Wildental up to the hut (4.5h, 6km, +950m, -100m).
Schröcken: this is not an easy place to get to or back from. There are buses, but they are infrequent and take a couple of hours to get to anywhere with a railway station (for bus and train schedule information, see the ÖBB).
ViaMichelin Road Map and Driving Directions: centered on Mittelberg, centered on Schröcken.

Background Information and Links
Many and various...

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