Alsen to Mörsil
Distance: 15.5 miles / 25.0 km
Cumulative: 188.6 miles / 303.5 km
(Two corrections—I misspelled Alsen yesterday and two days ago I added 10 extra miles to the cumulative total. Both should be correct today.)
Distance: 15.5 miles / 25.0 km
Cumulative: 188.6 miles / 303.5 km
(Two corrections—I misspelled Alsen yesterday and two days ago I added 10 extra miles to the cumulative total. Both should be correct today.)
“Hopeful, we are halfway to where we want to go; hopeless, we are lost forever.” Laozi (sometimes Lao Tzu), Chinese philosopher.
In all the excitement about Allen the moose wrangler, I forgot to mention we passed our halfway point time-wise yesterday. Today we passed the halfway distance.
Today’s hike started with a long steady climb that yielded some grand vistas. The weather was near perfect—low 60s, partly cloudy, light breeze.
After about three miles the trail turned into the forest on a single track. Over the next 2 miles we crossed 3-4 streams and encountered 3-4 boggy areas. It was beautiful but all the water means all the bugs. Our Deet keeps the mosquitoes away but the little flies seem to like it.
This is not a happy hiker.
Shortly after we emerged we came across a well placed picnic table with a nice breeze which provided a welcome respite from the insect assault.
The rest of the hike was a variety of dirt/gravel/asphalt roads and was generally unremarkable. EXCEPT it turned out to be a five bathtub day.
A twofer.
Two of these seem placed as water troughs for livestock but we are counting them anyway. This brings the total to 11.
So a couple of times you mentioned you came upon a picnic table…are they there because of the pilgrimage or just happen to be there…just curious
ReplyDeleteI think it is a combination. Some are definitely placed there specifically for pilgrims. Other times the trail goes through parks that have a variety of facilities including tables.
DeleteMelvin, Your talk of adding 10 extra miles to your trek made me remember the 2005 Army 10-miler that was rerouted mid-race due to security concerns. The change added about an extra mile. People running near me who had milage on their smart watches or Garmin's were throwing a fit when their devices told them we had passed 10 miles. I thought it was rather funny. But glad you're not adding unwanted miles to your trek. Unless it was to catch another bathtub. And before your pilgrimage is complete I expect to see you bathing in one...
ReplyDeleteI remember that race. I’m constantly looking for ways to cut miles off.
DeleteIs “bathtub” really a word?
ReplyDelete