Via Alpina - Montafon - Gargellen to Tübinger Hut

From the center of Gargellen (1,423m), you cross the next bridge over the Suggadinbach to the forest edge at the foot of the steeply rising Schmalzberg and hike on a farm road to the Vergaldaalp (1,820m). From there, the route continues on an alpine road with moderate inclines about one more hour valley inward. From the Rotbühel hunting hut, the mountain trail winds upwards to the 2,515m high Vergaldner Joch. Through a cirque hollow, you reach the Mittelbergjoch at 2,415m elevation. From there, it goes steeply downhill about 100 vertical meters again, then only slightly descending until you meet the path to the Garnerajoch. Here, you continue straight and reach almost level the Tübinger Hut (about 1 hour from the Vergaldner Joch).

The Rätikon, which the Via Alpina follows along almost its entire length to the Rhine Valley, is a fascinatingly diverse mountain range. Among geologists, it is famous because it offers impressive insights into the nappe structure of the Central Alps at the border between the Eastern and Western Alps. On the Vorarlberg side of the Rätikon, there is a strong alternation of Eastern Alpine limestones, marls, and main dolomite, which give the relief its very varied structure with several high valleys and distinctive mountain shapes. On the Prättigau side, the calcareous Alpine rock largely rests on a massive flysch base (Prättigau shale), more so than in the Walgau. This creates an image of steeply dropping bright limestone walls on widely green flysch slopes, characteristic otherwise for the Dolomites. Hence, they are sometimes referred to as the "Prättigau Dolomites." The mountain ridge is so distinctly pronounced that it was easy to draw the Austrian-Swiss border along it. With the same sharp division, it separates the Ill Valley - Montafon and Walgau - from that of the Landquart, the Prättigau. However, the separating effect of the main ridge and the differences in relief should not overshadow the many commonalities of the valleys on both sides. Both areas have long been politically linked, from belonging to the Roman province of Raetia prima with Chur as the capital to Habsburg sovereignty from 1477 to 1649. Ecclesiastically, the southern half of Vorarlberg belonged to the Diocese of Chur until 1818. Also, the commonalities in ethnicity with Rhaetian and Rhaeto-Romanic early history and the Walser who migrated in the late Middle Ages cannot be overlooked. Thus, the name "Rätikon" could be understood as a shared memory of ancient Raetia. Yet, this name only appeared in the 16th century somewhat by chance. In the valley end of the Garneratal and in the highlands of the Vergaldatal, the original natural character is still largely undisturbed, so that large biotopes with high conservation value are spoken of here. The westernmost section through the Silvretta leads through a high valley with larger south-exposed slopes than in Garneratal and in the neighboring Valzifenztal to the west. This climatic advantage is also reflected in the much richer alpine flora. It is also echoed in the name Vergalda. The valley was called in Rhaeto-Romanic Val calda (1423 Vallgalda) - "warm valley."