Ridge trail stage 12 "From Weitersglashütte to Mühlleithen"

From Weitersglashütte, the path meanders romantically past the Weitersglashütte high moor nature reserve in the direction of Carlsfeld. Until you reach the Talsperre inn without too much effort, you can enjoy fantastic views of Carlsfeld, also known as "Sapperland", because the people of Carlsfeld used to wear felt shoes (sappers in Erzgebirge) almost all year round. As the oldest round church in Saxony, the Trinitatis Church in Carlsfeld was the model for the construction of the Frauenkirche in Dresden and the church in Seiffen. The tradition of the bandonion, which is revered as the No. 1 tango instrument in South America, is also remarkable. The bandonion, invented by Heinrich Band, was built in Carlsfeld as early as 1854 and exported worldwide. Today it is produced in Klingenthal. To see the highest drinking water reservoir in Germany at 904 m above sea level, it is worth taking a short round trip to the 200 m long dam wall of the reservoir. The Weiterswiese settlement was flooded for this reason in the 1930s. Once back on the ridge trail via the "3-Talsperren-Wanderweg", the route follows near-natural paths along the edge of the forest through high spruce forest. Crossing the ski slope, we enjoy one last view of Carlsfeld. We pass the Schneehübel (974 m) on a natural forest path and reach the Morgenröther Weg. We follow this well-surfaced path for approx. 600 m in the direction of Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz into the "Drei Bächel" nature reserve, which is already in the Vogtland region. Soon we have reached the Drei-Bächle-Hütte, a large rest area with several incoming hiking trails. Here we find one of the oldest spruce stands in Saxony. We continue along the ridge path next to the rushing Markersbach stream to Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz. The first German cosmonaut in space, Siegmund Jähn, was born here. The Rautenkranz district is home to the German Space Exhibition with many remarkable exhibits on the history of space travel and space research. This unique exhibition is well worth a detour or an extra day (9.5 km from the Kammweg!). The Kammweg leads us through the district of Morgenröthe past Wettinplatz and past the training center of the Sachsenforst state enterprise via Pyratalstraße onto the Hammerweg. The path along the Hammergraben leads us in the direction of Sachsengrund. It then climbs steeply uphill to Mühlleithen. After three quarters of an hour's walk at the latest, the first wood-paneled houses of the winter sports resort become visible. We reach the forest road in Mühlleithen to the B283. Here there are several good opportunities for a rest, refreshments and overnight accommodation directly on the ridge path.