Sep 22, 2009, 13:38 GMT
Kirchlotheim, Germany - Unperturbable it lay, with yellow and black stripes and beady black eyes, in the middle of the path. Not even the hikers' footsteps could rouse the amphibian. It was the second day of hiking on the Urwaldsteig, a trail through virgin forest in the German state of Hesse, and already this was the third fire salamander to make the hikers stop in their tracks.
'Fire salamanders need absolutely clean water and they find it here in the national park. That's why there are so many of them,' explained Thorsten Daume, a park ranger.
More than 400 springs originate in Hesse's Kellerwald-Edersee National Park. Wetlands flank about half of the Urwaldsteig. The 68-kilometre-long trail encircles the Edersee, a large reservoir, created by damming the Eder River, about 40 kilometres south-west of the city of Kassel.
There was bubbling and babbling everywhere alongside the trail. Moist grass glistened in the morning sunlight. The Urwaldsteig, with its views of the Edersee and the Eder Valley Dam, is the pride of regional tourism officials. The German Hiking Association has certified it as a 'quality trail.'
The Urwaldsteig more than meets the tough requirements for the certification. Only short stretches are on asphalt roads, there are wonderful views, idyllic rest areas, varying elevations and an almost eerie quiet. Conditions are good for tours lasting several days and hikers can easily walk around the reservoir in four.
Marianne Latzel, a hiking guide, knows the Urwaldsteig well. 'Look at this dead tree standing here,' she said. 'Several hundred animals surely live in it.'
Deadwood is not removed from the Urwaldsteig. Wooden handrails on bridges across small ponds get makeshift repairs. Fallen trunks are left to lie; a small step has been cut into some of them to ease hikers' way. 'Careful, duck your heads!' Latzel warned several times. Parts of the trail are overgrown.
Those who hike the Urwaldsteig can expect footpaths that are sometimes narrow, steep, winding and rooty. Gnarled trees evoke bizarre mythical beasts. Dark green mosses cover grey rock formations.
Living conditions for animals and plants are extreme on the sometimes steep slopes. 'Soil can't form on this dry, rocky ground. That's why mosses and lichens are about the only things that grow here,' Latzel pointed out.
The rampant green growths almost caused the hikers to shudder at the thought of Asel, Berich and Bringhausen. The villages were submerged as a consequence of the Eder Valley Dam, built between 1908 and 1914. About 900 people on 160 farms were displaced. The dam, a popular excursion destination, helps to keep the upper reaches of the Weser River navigable and also provides hydropower.
Hikes can be started from any of the towns around the Edersee. A good starting and end point is Waldeck, on the north-eastern tip of the 27-kilometre-long reservoir. And the perfect reward for hiking around the entire Urwaldsteig is a waffle topped with hot cherries and whipped cream on the roof terrace of the Schlossrestaurant Waldeck.
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