The Rötenbachschlucht is one of 3 side gorges that flow into the Wutach and I chose it as the first one to walk. After reaching the mouth of the Rötenbach, I planned to walk along the Querweg through the Haslachschlucht to Kappel. My original plan also included a walk from Kappel up to the Hochfirst, then down to Neustadt. However, due to the excessively hot weather, I discounted that extension as being too ambitious. Due to improvement works on the Höllentalbahn, trains are not running between Neustadt and Donaueschingen, so I had to take a rail replacement bus from Titisee to Rötenbach, arriving at the village around 0745. The morning was already very warm with a clear blue sky when I found a unique signpost in the centre of the village. It was carved into a 300 year old fir tree. From here, I follow a narrow Sträßlein out of the town along the fledgling Rötenbach. The route was well signposted. After passing an old quarry on the left hand side, a signpost directed me down to the right, over a first little bridge to the start of the Rötenbachschlucht. This was a gentle start as I followed the stream along a lovely meadow path which led into an unspoiled valley. Slowly the character of the valley changed. A narrow path rose along the right side of the Rötenbach which steadily became rougher with many tree roots and rocks. The Rötenbachschlucht was now showing the whole diversity of the Black Forest: dense forests, wild streams, rocky paths and impressive rock faces. Walking was hard work with many ups and downs and a few bridge crossings and despite having to watch my footing over the rough path, I was totally enjoying myself.

I carried on going up and down on the narrow path and passing a rustic hut until eventually reaching two impressive waterfalls. I had difficulties scrambling about the rocks to get a half decent composition of both falls but did have some success. However, today (and the whole week) was not blessed with the best light for waterfall photography. A dull day with no sunshine and preferably some fog or drizzle is ideal, whereas harsh bright sunlight makes life difficult. Shortly after the second waterfall, I crossed the last bridge over the Rötenbach and arrived at Rötenbachmundung, where the Rötenbach flows into the Wutach. At the confluence was a barbecue area and some benches but I hadn't planned to stop here for lunch. Instead, I carried on through the Wutachschlucht, following the river upstream. I had been this way twice before and seeing the Querweg and Schluchtensteig signs on the trees brought back pleasant memories of those walks. However, my memories didn't include remembering just how rough this trail was and I carried on tripping over rocks and tree roots. I was also feeling quite hot now despite the shade of trees. I stopped for lunch at the Haslachmundung where the Haslach and Gutach rivers unite to form the Wutach. I was pleased to see they had repaired/replaced the bench where I had sat twice before to eat lunch. So now I suppose sitting here for the third time has definitely established a tradition. After lunch, I carried on along the wildest part of the Haslachschlucht to the Rechenfelsen and Hölllochfelsen. There are impressive views here as the river passes through a narrow gap between these rugged towering rocks. Leaving this attraction, the trail now headed slowly then steeply uphill to exit the gorge. I was hot, tired and dehydrated as I made a painfully slow ascent from the Haslachschlucht. By now, I had also run out of water and having no purification tablets with me, was forced to suffer the consequences. After exiting the gorge, there followed a long slog in the hot afternoon sun into Kappel. I stopped frequently whenever I found a shady spot. Nowhere was open in Kappel to buy drinks as I waited for the bus to Neustadt. Luckily, it was only a short wait outside the church until the bus arrived. Arriving in Neustadt, I was completely exhausted and drank 2 litres of water from an Imbiss in attempt to overcome the dehydration. This had been a hard day's walking made more difficult by the extreme heat, but the superb scenery made it a very worthwhile hike .

Unique signpost in Rötenbach	Less interesting modern version
First view of the Rötenbach	Easy start to the gorge
Warning, now it gets more difficult	Schutzhütte with living roof
Along the Rötenbachschlucht	Along the Rötenbachschlucht
First waterfall of the Rötenbach	Second waterfall of the Rötenbach
At the Rötenbachmundung	Haslachmundung
Lunch at Haslachmundung	Rechenfelsen