Some months ago a former colleague suggested we spent a week walking this summer. We had been cycling together before, but I think she was tired of waiting for us at the top of hills and maybe she hoped we would be quicker on Shanks’ Pony. (We weren’t or at least I wasn’t)
We thought we’d stay in Germany: There is a lot of excellent walking in Germany and we speak the language. After some thought we settled on the Schluchtensteig in the southern Black Forest. (For those who are not familiar with the language of Goethe: Schlucht is a canyon or a gorge. Steig is a steep track, i.e. Schluchtensteig is a track through a gorge. The route has been laid out by the Southern Black Forest Nature Park, and the Black Forest Club. It is 119km long and runs from tiny Stühlingen on the Swiss border to Wehr on the Upper Rhine. The route falls well into 6 days, i.e. about 20km a day. Fitter and faster walkers can complete it in five days, but the views are worth savouring. Most hotels on the route offer baggage transfer to the next hotel, but not a sag wagon that follows the walker, though some hotel landlords might take you as well as your bag if necessary. After looking at various possibilities we booked a trip with Kleins Wanderreisen GmbH. The company’s website and approach seemed to be a good one and we were not disappointed. We did “cheat” as a Canadian lady we met in Wehr suggested in that we did not carry our gear, but at 70 plus we are both beginning to enjoy some of the perks age brings. Our luggage went on before and we followed carrying day rucksacks.
No comments:
Post a Comment