The hike starts at the church of St. Matthias in Strauch. Built in 1850 by the villagers as a small chapel, the church quickly became too small in view of the growing population in Strauch, so the foundation stone for today's much larger building was laid in 1922.

We leave Strauch and first cross an open meadow landscape to the east of Strauch. Along the edge of the forest, the path leads us steadily towards Lake Rursee until we reach the L128 country road. From here, the view stretches far across the Rursee lake in an easterly direction towards the Eifel National Park.

However, our hike does not lead us to the Rursee, but turns off to the south. After a few hundred meters, you can already hear the babbling of the lively Weidenbach stream. Due to the presence of numerous, sometimes rare animal and plant species, the entire valley is a nature reserve and therefore offers a great nature experience. A short time later, we pass the idyllic Weidenbach mill building. According to an inscription, it dates back to 1807 and was powered by a water wheel to grind mainly rye and oats. The last miller worked there until the 1950s. In 1960, the mill, which was threatened by decay, passed into private ownership and was extensively restored.

From now on, the path runs parallel to the Weidenbach stream and, accompanied by the babbling of the little river, we head back towards Strauch. Shortly before reaching the village, we come across the Heinrich-Geis-Stollen, which has connected the Obersee with the Kalltalsperre reservoir underground since 1956. When the demand for water increased rapidly after the Second World War due to the upswing in mining and growing industry in the Aachen region, the supply from the Dreilägerbach reservoir in conjunction with the Kalltalsperre reservoir was no longer sufficient. It was therefore necessary to incorporate water from the catchment area of the Ruroberlauf into the drinking water supply and this 3.7-kilometer-long tunnel was built. After passing the tunnel, the trees thin out and we return to Strauch, the starting point of this beautiful tour, via an open meadow landscape.