🇩🇪 [GERMANY MONTH] - Saarburg to Saarschleife Mega Trail [38km] 🇩🇪

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IMPORTANT NOTE: This event is organised by Peter from the Hiking and Mountaineering Luxembourg group, I am reposting the activity but not personally attending to it. An option for whoever is free and interested in it 🙂 Cheers, Pedro

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Certified premium hiking trail in the Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park, Saarland and more 😃 The route leads through quiet forest passages, along the banks of the Saar and on the slope above the Saar. Picturesque views of the Saar valley and the surrounding countryside are highlights along the way.
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/saarschleifen-tafeltour-5c04925?u=m&sh=4kcjgp
Yepp you see that correctly, this is a 37.73 km 🥵 custom trail with 🔺 1329 m 🔻 elevation what I designed only for hardcore hikers. Shortcuts: sadly NONE 😈. We will be hiking ourselves through the hill structure opposite to the train, if someone gets tired the only way to abort is find a bridge (rare) across the Saar river and find a train station.
With a relaxed 4km/h pace and half an hour lunch break we can do this trail in 10 hours, same as the Mullerthal ones.
The observation platform, Baumwipfelpfad opening is 09:30 to 18:00 so we will not make it, however those who want to go up there they can the day after when we have the easy 10km burg loop:
https://treetop-walks.com/saarschleife/en/
You will not miss much except save 15 bucks on ticket because we will go by the old observation point, right at the base of the structure which will provide you with the same view for free 😄
Start time: 10:00, take train RE11 from GC (leaving at 08:33) towards Trier HBF, there we switch to RE1 towards Saarburg. There is only 10 minute connection time between the 2 which is as we know kind of risky for DB. In case we would miss the train the hike is still doable if we start at 11:00
End time: around 21:00, Mettlach. If we are lucky we will be in the town already to be able to catch the 20:53 train back, which gets back to Lux by 22:30. There are 2 more trains after that, the absolute last is leaving at 22:16. In case you want to do the hike on Sunday it's recommended to take a hotel or airbnb out in Mettlach (not a very popular town so expect low prices even in August).
The one week weather forecast shows that there will be rain on Friday which brings the temperature down, it will be just perfect for our hike in between 11-19C 🌥️, way better than doing this trail in 35 degrees. I will make an update on this the day before but this hike is fix, it will not be moved.

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🥨🌭🍻 August is GERMANY month. 🥨🌭🍻
We are going to discover some of the best trails of Rheiland-Pfalz and Saarland 🏞️. The paths lead us through mystical deciduous and coniferous forests as well as deep valleys with rugged rocks on which imposing castles tower steadfastly over mighty river bends. In the tranquil wine villages and small hamlets along the way, fun-loving and hospitable people await us, who will be happy to give us a warm welcome.
Since there are a lot of great trails in the area but the month is relatively short there might be a hike both days of the weekends to accommodate both causal and seasoned hikers :
Saturdays : long/more exhaustive hikes
Sundays : short relaxing hikes... Sunday strolls
Aug 15/16/17 : Assumption day, I'm off so as most of the people there will be NO hike 😐
August is one of those warm months when a little rain shower won't hurt us so the planned hikes will be kept regardless of bad weather ⛈️ , the state of Deutsche Bahn 🚄 (we take replacement buses) or how many signs up.
This leaves us with 10 great hiking trails. The order is NOT fix yet, only the hikes posted are guaranteed to be kept:

• Aug 2 SAT 🗼 Saarburg to Saarchleife Custom Megatrail (38km)
• Aug 3 SUN 🏰 Mettlach Besseringen - Sankt Gangolf - Montclair (10km) with possible extension to the observation point
• Aug 9 SAT 🛍️ Wasserbillig to Trier shopping hike (24km)
• Aug 10 SUN 🥓 Oberbillig Summer BBQ party (12km)
• Aug 19 SAT 🏞️ Itzenplitzer Pingenpfad (will be extended to 2x 15km)
• Aug 20 SUN 🌄 Römerpfad merged hikes (12km)
• Aug 23 SAT 🌉 Geierlayschleife (Geierlayloop) Premium Hiking Trail (7x3km will be extended)
• Aug 24 SUN 🥞 Saarburg Pancake Loop (13km)
• Aug 30 SAT 🍇 Mehring Zitronenkrämerkreuz (20km)
• Aug 31 SUN 🌻 Vom Leukbachtal auf den Kruterberg with some extension (15km) + Saarburg burg visit

Those who are familiar with this area know, that one of the best hiking area nearby, the Teufelsschlucht 🦕 is left out. The reason for this is that we can always walk over there from Echternach, matter of fact we can do this in September and with it we conclude the Germany hikes for 2025.
All the hikes are REACHABLE WITH PUBLIC TRANSPORT. Highly recommended that even if you only participate in 2 hikes buy the Deutschland ticket in advance (you will get ROI multiple times). Help is provided on the webpage at the bottom.
These are joint hikes 3 groups together + Trier Group + since the events are listed in Germany expect local visitors, the number of RSVPs may not reflect the actual group size.
Keep in mind: SUNDAY everything is closed in Germany (aside from bars/restaurants/some gas stations), make sure you bring enough food and drinks for the day
August is one of the months with the longest days fortunately, the last light is around 22:00 🌙 in this region, therefore we don't have to start any hike super early, except the first.
What to bring (this goes for all these hikes):

• At least 2l water
• Hiking sticks
• Hiking boots
• Snacks, food
• ID card (as we go into another country)
• Sun cream, sunglasses, hat
• Coming in long pants is highly recommended as we are going through dense forest areas and it is tick season 🪲

Disclaimer
This is not a guided hike. All participants are expected to have some hiking experience and must assess their own fitness and ability to complete the route safely. The organizer assumes no responsibility for any injuries or their consequences. Generic info for newcomers: http://luxoutdoors.cloudns.ch/