Returning home is the most difficult part of long-distance hiking, in all kind of ways- wise words that will reminded just how wonderful it is to explore this incredible world we live in. And that returening home, in a sense, had many meanings to me these days-
You have grown for a few days outside the puzzle and your piece no longer fits in the civilization world! Once Sir Edmund Hillary Says ; “ It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” And its true – right? After day’s of walking , everything has twice its usual value. To me for sure!
It probably doesn’t matter what you do in your life: whether you’re collecting stamps, looking for empty drink cans on the street. Be President of the United States, Cook Badly. cook well, or discover the world – all are good stories for the great woodfire. This all makes sense. And is what i do -Oke , not being the President and no , i don’t collect stamps ore cans, i collect stories – but that you notice already- And when you consider how warm-hearted someone is for things others are passionate about, it should soon be clear that some excitement kept me awake the night before.
A year has passed since she embarked on an adventure abroad. I was very happy when she called and asked to take a hike together in the beautiful Loferer mountains. Perfect time to reminisce and catch up with each other – hear stories and share passions for the outdoors- I was not only curious where she took me, also to her stories – experiences and wise lessons she learned – a year is a long time – I was wondering if the trip had changed her – if she came back richer than she already was before she left with experiences she had already made before. And so i left early home that day , excited heading a two hour car drive to the beautiful region of Salzburgerland called Lofer. Returning home to the region i lived for more than 4 years.
You need special shoes for hiking—and a bit of a special soul as well- right? I think that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.
In my personal case, the most important thing is to tell without being born in the mountains and speaking a strange dialect, (the last one is wrong – because my dialect is for most people perhaps even stranger than Austrian for me ), but this is for later in this blog- I am more the prototypical armchair mountaineer then the high alpine tourist. So it can happen that i make choices who not would be made by people who grew up in the mountains like my friend today,. which can lead to hilarious painful moments. But in good spirits I put on my clothes – tied my backpack with stuff on my back, not much later to start a beautiful mountain tour
Where did we went : Mountain hike up to 1703m( Grosses Hunshorn ) over 850 hm – Starting point: Wildental near St. Martin bei Lofer. Through the Strowollner Schlucht we reach the meadows and huts of the Scheffsnothalm via the Ötscher. At the dog saddle, we turn left and reach the summit over the ridge and along a break-off edge to the Great Dog Horn. For the descent we return to the dog saddle and cross a steep slope down to the Hundsalm. The further descent follows the forest road to the Pechtlhof and down into the Wildenbachschlucht. Through this out to the Saalach and on the right bank back to Wildental. 1,200 m ( c) http://www.alpenverein.at/ried-im-innkreis/alben/2013/2013_09_08_Hundshorn/index.php
We started a little different than the route i copied from the alpenverein but anyway we did not walk a shortcut , we started to walk on concrete roads, gravel paths along farmlands and farms before we disappeared along a ridge in the forest. The first 30 minutes, my lungs have to get used to it and I just feel like when i’am on my bicycles , as if my lungs explode. It will never go fast when walking uphill with me at your wheel. My friend Carina knows me for a long time and she knows my tempo – More than once I stop to check on my clock how I am doing and whether I am not already in my redlevelzone. Why i hear you think, are you not a sports guy- i’am born with bad lungs you must know – but by doing sports i train my lungs everday so that i still can do what i like most- being outside and doing sportsactivities – In the meantime, I take in the beautiful surroundings. And tell myself more than once : If you’re going through hell, keep going because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in an office or be in isolation for more that 7 weeks
Each fresh peak ascended teaches something.
Lao Tzu once said some wise lines:
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” walking up the mountain is an option, but you need also go down, that is mandatory . Walking up the mountain takes strength, but once you reach the top, the price is the view. Breathtakingly beautiful. When everything feels like an uphill struggle, Just think of the view from the top- yes you need to pay for the view on the top – you need to go down too but that is a different part of my story 😉
After a short break we decided to go back, but not after we had provided the book with our names. After all, that is usual. Unsuspecting what was coming ahead , we start the descent.
To be continued/under constuction
On the Road 