|
Journal: |
I got up around 6am after a good night's sleep and managed to
call my parents via Skype and wi-fi to see how things are. The
line dropped out a couple of times which wasn't ideal, but at least
I got through. After breakfast at 7am, I left about 7:30am,
stopping at a nearby bakery to pick up a couple of salad rolls for
lunch and an ATM to replenish my Euros. It was a perfect
morning for walking - sunny but cool - and the early kilometres
passed easily. There was another hiker in my hotel who
breakfasted earlier than me and I suspected he was up ahead
somewhere. The Black Forest can hardly be described as
wilderness. It is a vast forest, mostly of conifers, but there
are forestry roads going everywhere, with connecting single track
hiking trails, not to mention some purpose built bike paths.
There are many intersections and I'm getting used to checking at
each that I'm on the right track. I read somewhere that there
are still bears in the forest, but I doubt that is true. I did
see a deer during the morning but, apart from lots of small birds,
no other wildlife.
Initially the trail was pretty much a
green tunnel, with forest on both sides, but after gradually
climbing for an hour it emerged on the western side of a broad ridge
and for a long time I had good views to the west and north and the
valleys (and smokestacks) of the Rhine and Ruhr in the distance,
although it was quite hazy. A breeze had sprung up which kept
it cool under the warm sun and, as the morning wore on' I
encountered a few day hikers and bike riders enjoying the trails as
well.
The day's hiking peaked at about 1,000m and an elevated
swampland which seemed a bit out of place on top of the broad
mountain. For a while the Westweg followed a timbered pathway
to protect the swamp before joining a broad path to the Kaiser
Wilhelm tower. I discovered that you could climb the spiral
staircase inside to get the good views from the top, and did so.
The wind was strong and climbing inside the tower it felt like the
tower was physically moving, but it was probably just the air
pressure variations cause by the buffeting wind. The views
were good, but spoilt a little by the haze.
The balance of
the afternoon was spent descending, gradually at first but later
steeply, into the valley where the village of Forbach was sited.
The steep bits passed through old pine forests on a rock and
pine-needle-covered trail which eased the pain a bit.
Eventually reaching Forbach, large enough to warrant a railway
station, there seemed to be a number of accommodation options.
I followed some signs and along the way met the same hiker who had
left last night's guest house as I came down to breakfast this
morning. The guesthouse he had tried had nobody in reception
and I decided to try another I had seen sign-posted and checked in
at the Hotel-Pension Am Mühlbache soon after 3pm. It was a
very clean and modern place and the half-pension deal (dinner, bread
and breakfast) was quite reasonable. For some reason, my feet
are killing me again today. No specific problem, just very
sore and tired. After a shower and some washing, I ventured
into town to get a few things and then returned for a relaxing
afternoon and evening.
|
