The Zelt

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Palmtreeproduction

17,384 720 6442

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Trail stats

Distance: 6.5 mi
Elevation gain: 548 ft
Technical difficulty: Moderate
Elevation loss: 548 ft
Max elevation: 1,815 ft
TrailRank: 29
Min elevation: 1,336 ft
Trail type: Loop

Time: 3 hours 31 minutes
Coordinates: 700
Uploaded: February 19, 2019
Recorded: February 2019

1 Clap

near Kalterherberg, Nordrhein-Westfalen (Deutschland)

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Itinerary description

More than two hundred years ago, the "Zelt" or the "Zeilt" used to be the main road between Kalterherberg and Monschau. Monschau had a flourishing cloth manufacturing business - owing to the 'soft' waters of the Rur that originated in the high mooreland (the Venn) and had a very low lime content.

Many impoverished people of Kalterherberg found some income in the Monschau factories, but had to walk down and up again on the 'Zelt', after long hours of work. The factory owners in Monschau claimed that they made Kalterherberg people rich (by giving them work), while the famous pastor Arnoldy of Kalterherberg put the record straight by stating that the people of Kalterherberg ensured that the factory owners in Monschau became rich.

Today, the Zelt is nothing but a footpath, or MTB trail. Our hike takes a roundtrip from Kalterherberg through the Rurvalley near Reichenstein, including a modest bushwhack, and returns via the Zelt. During the Wintermonths and in early spring, foot trails in the Rur valley can be extremely muddy.

This trail is a variation of the 'Hasselbach trail', and parts of both can be interchanged depending on your preferences and energy levels.