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Journal: |
I was up late watching the penalty shoot-out in the England vs
Italy game (Italy deservedly won, in my opinion), and up early to
finish some chores using the hotel's wi-fi in the lobby before
breakfasting at 7:30am. The day didn't look promising with low
cloud obscuring the mountains and a steady drizzle falling. I
left Lermoos via the supermarket and restocked supplies before
somewhat reluctantly heading out into the dreary weather. For
the first hour or so I was walking across the flat plain bordered by
the towns of Lermoos, Biberwier and Ehrwald using a minor road that
had markings for a running race on it.
I then began my
climbing for the day, starting with a walk through the town of
Ehrwald, which was also very touristy with all kinds of outdoor
adventures on offer, plenty of guest houses and some outdoor shops.
Leaving Ehrwald, I used a gravel road that more or less followed the
line of the gondola linking Ehrwald to Ehrwald Alte. I bet
business was booming yesterday on a sunny Sunday, but today there
was no evidence of anybody taking the trip and I didn't see one
person in a gondola the whole of my walk to the top station (1502m),
where there were a number of ski lifts and ski runs visible.
All pretty dreary in the persisting light rain.
The trail
then became single-track as it climbed towards a shoulder of
Zugspitze (2962m). It was a steady climb, without being steep
and the trail was quite muddy in parts and rocky in others.
The higher I climbed the thicker became the fog and there were no
views. Because there was nowhere good to stop, I just kept
walking from 9:00am to 12:30pm without a break. At that point I
reached the shoulder of Zugspitze at 2045m and started to get quite
cold. There was a bit more breeze there and I was, by this
time, quite damp, exacerbating the chill. I quickly added
another layer and, at the same time, extracted some muesli bars and
chocolate which I ate standing up because there was nowhere dry to
sit.
The trail then made its way across a rock face, which
incorporated some large snow patches and some steep climbs with wire
ropes. However, I think the trail has already had a fair bit
of use this year and the snow crossings were quite easy compared to
recent days. The last bit of rock climbing brought me to a
narrow ridge called Gatterl which marked the Austrian-German border
(I was crossing back into Germany again). It was a bleak place
today and I had it to myself. Having said that, despite the
dreary weather and lack of scenery, I did run into three or four
groups out hiking like me, all looking pretty bedraggled and trying
to be cheerful.
From the border, the trail continued across
the side of the mountain on easier terrain until it reached
Knorrhutte (2051m), where I considered stopping for the night.
However, it was still quite early and I didn't feel tired, so I
decided to carry on to the next hut, Reintalanger Hutte, which
didn't look too much further on the map and had been my original
goal. It was a slow descent from Knorrhutte down a loose rock,
switch-backing trail, until it reached the lovely and seemingly
remote Reintal valley where several glacial streams came together
amidst wild mountain scenery and small pine trees and low cloud
cover. I saw a mountain goat running across one of the high
snow fields.
Before long I reached Reintalanger Hutte, where
there were beautiful aromas emanating from the warm kitchen and I
was given a friendly welcome and a room. There were already a
few people there when I arrived but, as the evening wore on, more
people emerged from the rain and there will be about 20 here for the
night. I paid 2E for a shower in which the hot water cut out
just as I was all soaped up, making for a cold finish! After
such a beautiful day yesterday, I can't complain about the weather
today, but I bet I missed some great views.
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