Home Walking the section of the European Long Distance Path E1 (Black Forest section referred to as Westweg) from Heidelberg-Schlierbach to the Feldberg   Deutschsprachige Version (Fernwanderweg E1 zwischen Heidelberg und Feldberg)

By publishing this page I would like to make available the data and experiences from walking the section between Heidelberg and the Feldberg (Kraichgau and Black Forest) of the Fernwanderweg E1. The page contains GPS waypoints taken with a handheld GPS unit (Garmin eTrex Summit) as well to information on books and maps.

I would like to express my thanks to the fine people of the respective hiking/rambling associations (for this section: the Odenwaldklub und the Schwarzwaldverein) for their volunteer work in maintaining the marked trails

Tomas Schild, in autumn of 2002 (English translation: spring of 2003)

hints
literature
maps
waypoint table · GPS data in various formats for download
links on the European Long Distance Path E1 · links on public transport in the area covered

Hints

Deutschsprachige Version

The European Long Distance Path E1 is designed for walking. Some parts, particularly in the Black Forest, are not suitable for bicycles, but due to the extensive network of bicycle paths it will always be possible to plot a bicycle route not very far from the walking path.

Using one or two walking staffs (or telescoping hiking poles) is convenient for the more steep sections in the Black Forest but not indispensible. My experience as a physically quite unfit walker is that the use of two telescopic poles is a discernible help both when walking uphill (the constant rhythm makes that less fatiguing) and walking downhill (less load on the knee joints).

Concerning maps: If you cannot purchase them in advance, e.g. from amazon.de or from the online shops of Schwarzwaldverein or from Landesbetrieb Vermessung Baden-Württemberg (see below under Paper maps), your best bet is going to a large bookshop in a largish town. They usually stock maps of the immediate region. If they don't stock the map, ordering it from the publisher usually takes at least several days - this is different from books where they can offer back-ordering almost all German-language books within one day.

As a map scale 1:50,000 is the best choice in my opinion. The 1:25.000 maps cover too small an area and they do not contain significantly more detail. There are even 1:12,500 scale maps, these are even less economical. For most areas special walking/hiking issues of the topographic maps are available in 1:50,000 or 1:35,000 scale. These are preferable to the regular topographic maps because the network of walking paths/hiking trails is marked on them. These maps are called Wanderkarten or, in the case of recently issued maps in Baden-Württemberg, Freizeitkarten. They are not to be confused with some series of maps also called Freizeitkarten which are 1:100,000 scale, targeted at motorists and unusable for walking purposes.

Electronic maps are a very practical way of preparing for the trip. You get much more detailed data, e.g. height profiles and GPS waypoints that you can program into a handheld GPS unit in advance. If at all possible you should take regular paper maps with you, though. The advantages of a paper map over a printout from an electronic map are: better print quality, better water/moisture resistance, tougher paper and a larger sheet format allowing an overview of the region.

I can recommend using a map case (with straps to hang on one's neck). You always have the required map section in view and need not take the map out of your jacket or backpack. I use a largish map case that also has room for a guide book, a notebook, copies from railway schedules etc. You will notice the map case's use once there are a few hours of rain and you can consult the map without seeing it dissolve in your hands.

Good walking boots, at least ankle-high, are indispensable. With normal shoes you risk turning an ankle even on good paths. Walking boots absolutely need to be broken in. If they are new or you have not worn them for a long time, use them as everyday shoes for the last few weeks before the trip. My experience with new boots on a walking trip: Agony for the first week, until the feet have healed.

A handheld GPS device is very useful. A handheld GPS device can never replace map and compass. The type I use (Garmin eTrex Summit) has a barometric altimeter which makes height measurements distinctly more accureate, as well as allowing to detect significant weather changes by the air pressure trend display. The GPS reception does not work well (or not at all) when there is a closed forest canopy. The battery lifes quoted by the manufacturer (22 hours without and 13 hours with compass) are unduly optimistic. In practice I barely can squeeze about 8 hours with and 16 hours with compass of a set of alkaline batteries.

Mobile phone: very useful when you need to call ahead for a room or the bus schedule. Fortunately the phone can also be switched off. Network coverage that I experienced in the Vodafone network (formerly called D2; GSM/900 MHz): north of Pforzheim almost continous; in the Black Forest mobile phones work in most places but along the path there is sometimes no network coverage for a kilometre or two. In the northwest Black Forest, in the Badener Höhe/Mummelsee area, the mobile phone logs itself in to the French mobile network, causing possibly additional charges when you call a German number.

Literature

Deutschsprachige Version

The following German-language books I have used myself. In hindsight, as I won't walk the other high paths of the Black Forest, I wouldn't buy [L3] again. The absolute minimum needed is either [L1] or [L2]; better, especially if you have reasonable reading proficiency German, use [L1]+[L2]+[L4]

These books do not make the use of maps unnecessary. The large-scale map sketches in the books are not detailed enought; without a decent map you will get lost.

[L1]		Krause, Arthur: Europäischer Fernwanderweg E1. (Kompass Wanderführer). Innsbruck: Kompass, 2007. At the time of this writing this is the canonical guide to the large path of the E1 between Flensburg (on the Danish/German border) and Genua. As there are earlier editions (from 1978), make sure that you use the most recent edition as the path is always being rerouted somewhere every few years. Example: The 1996 edition describes a different route between Östringen (waypoint 7) and Stein (waypoint 21).
[L2]		Walz, Rudolf: Schwarzwald-Westweg. Wandern ohne Gepäck. 10. edition. Neckartenzlingen: Walz Wanderferien Verlag, 2010. Very detailed guide for the section between Pforzheim and Feldberg. The distance and heigth data are more comprehensive than [L1] (elevation profiles are included), also there is much information about history, geography and natural history as well as a directory of inns an hotels on the path and informations on walking without baggage (a scheme where hotels take care of forwarding the baggage to the next overnight stop, making it possible to walk with only a day-pack. There are a number of other guides from the same author (note: I have used the 5th edition).
[L3]		Distel, R.; Wittner, H.: Wanderführer Schwarzwald-Höhenwege. (Kompass-Wanderführer). 7. edition. Stuttgart: Deutscher Wanderverlag Dr. Mair & Schnabel & Co., 1997. On its pages 27-52 this book describes the Westweg (E1 between Pforzheim and Feldberg) in more detail. I recommend tris book only if you want to also walk the other major paths in the Black Forest. Otherwise save the money and buy [L2] instead.
[L4]		Baseda-Maass, Karin: E1 - Das Buch zum Weg. Zu Fuß von Flensburg zum Bodensee. Book on Demand, Norderstedt 2000. A personal tale of a married couple about the German part (Flensburg to Konstanz) of the European Long Distance Route E1. The book is a good help to get into the mood of the way, but it lacks detailed walking instructions that are necessary for not losing the way and thus it cannot be used as the sole guidebook.

Maps	Deutschsprachige Version

Elektronic maps

This paragraph removed for the time being as it is dated.

Paper maps

See the site of Landesbetrieb Vermessung Baden-Württemberg with online shop or the list of their products available at Amazon.

The maps of the Schwarzwaldverein also can be purchased on the Online-Shop of the Schwarzwaldverein, singly or as a "Westweg-Set"

Waypoint table

Deutschsprachige Version

Geographical longitude and latitude as well as altitude was determined by a handheld GPS receiver. Elevation readings are more precise than usual with GPS due to a built-in barometric altimeter. Datum: WGS84

In case you want to have displayed longitude and latitude in another format than what you see at present ( degrees, minutes and seconds ), the following alternative formats are available: degrees and minutes (with decimals) und degrees (with decimals) .

The distances given in the "km" column are cumulative distances from the first waypoint on the basis of the walking distances quoted in [L1]

unit conversion (rounded to next integer number, i.e. not the exact official conversion factors): 1 km = 1000 m = 3281 feet = 1094 yards; 100 km = 62 statute miles

GPS data for download

Deutschsprachige Version

The waypoint/route data from the table above can be downloaded in the following file formats (the letters noted with the file formats signify W for waypoints and R for routes):

GARtrip text format (W+R) · GARtrip binary format (W+R) · Gardown (W+R) · Garlink (W) · Fugawi version 2, text format (W) · Fugawi version 3 text format (W) · OziExplorer waypoints (W) und OziExplorer routes (R) · PCX5 version 2.08 (W) · Street Atlas 7.0 (W) · Atlas GIS (W+R) · Waypoint+ text format (W+R)

The file format conversions were done with the GARtrip software, version 2.04d.

Because some GPS receivers cannot handle routes with as much as 87 waypoints the files contain additional routes for subsections, as follows:
Schlierbach-Ziegelhausen rail station - Bretten rail station (18 waypoints)
Bretten rail station- Kupferhammer (6 waypoints)
Pforzheim rail station - Kupferhammer - Forbach (20 waypoints)
Forbach - Path crosses B28 road (19 waypoints)
Path crosses B28 road - Kalte Herberge (19 waypoints)
Kalte Herberge - Feldberggipfel (11 waypoints)

Footnotes on certain of the above waypoints

Deutschsprachige Version

Links concerning the European Long Distance path E1 and the Westweg

Deutschsprachige Version

European Ramblers' Association
  European Long Distance Path E1

Black Forest Hike - a travelogue by Bob Goodwin-Jones about a tour in 1998 which followed the Westweg (E1) in south-to-north direction from Feldberg to Forbach.

Westweg on the British site Walking on the Web

See the German-language version for further links (to German-language sites).

Links to online bus timetables in Baden-Württemberg

Deutschsprachige Version

I have noticed when perusing this site's logs that a number of visitors come to this site while searching bus connections to some location named here. To help these visitors, and because the bus timetables are particularly important to walkers/hikers, I have including links to the following two sites.

EFA (Elektronische Fahrplanauskunft) Baden-Württemberg - public transport timetables in Baden-Württemberg.

Deutsche Bahn AG - the timetable database of German Rail covers rail and bus connections.

To the home page of this site (Europäischer Fernwanderweg E1).

©Tomas Schild 2002-2003. Last change 2015-02-10