We set off from the Church of Maria Schnee, cross the hamlet of Kalkstein and take the Peststeig trail (No. 6a) at the north-western end of the village towards ‘Wegelate Säge’. In places, the trail leads downhill across meadows without signposts before it meets the asphalt road. After a short rest at the ‘Wegelate Säge’, we follow the road for a short while, but then turn left onto trail no. 2, ‘Wanderweg Unterstaller Alm’. After just 100 m, we come across the remarkable natural monument ‘Sinkersee’, which we walk around on a fenced path. We then continue on the shady side along path no. 2 to the Unterstalleralm, which invites us to take a break.
Refreshed, we begin the ascent on the left via path no. 15, 328 towards Pfannspitze. Below the summit, we cross the Villgrater Törl (2,505 m) and take another short break amidst an impressive mountain backdrop. Via trail no. 328, we descend to the Hintere Stalle Alm and continue on a forest road to the Alpe Stalle, which is open to the public. Now, parallel to the Stallebach stream with its impressive waterfall, we make the final descent into the Defereggental valley, where we enter the valley floor in the small village of Rinderschinken and reach the Mariahilf pilgrimage chapel after a short detour into the valley. From here, it is an almost effortless walk along flat valley trails (No. 74 and ‘Wassererlebnisweg’) to our destination for the day, the parish church of St. Jakob i. D.
