July 27, 2022 to July 28, 2022
A Wander into the Alps
Day 17
Had a chilled morning by the lake catching up with journalling and swimming.
It took until 2pm to actually get going and set off to find a place to leave my bike whilst I go hiking in the Alps. The people I messaged on WarmShowers didn't reply so I ended up asking a woman who was gardening. She was very kind and offered to leave the bike in the barn, she even gave me some advice on routes in the mountains.
Was fairly late when I actually got going but didn't want to do anything big straight away, just find a spot to make base camp and rest for a big day tomorrow.
Ended up finding the most incredible spot overlooking the mountains I'd be hiking the next day. I sat there all evening in awe, excited and pretty nervous for tomorrow.
Day 18
Rushed out of my tent when I could hear the farmer driving past in the morning, luckily he didn't spot me sleeping in his field. Hid my camping gear in a bush then headed straight up a steep hill into the mountains.
The terrain was a bit technical so I was super careful not to slip and reinjure my almost recovered ankle (after a previous servere sprain). It felt very peaceful being fully immersed in nature, something that you don't quite get cycling on a road, I barely saw anyone all day.
Enjoyed lunch with a heard of mountain goats before summiting Krähe (2010m). The panoramic views of the alps from the summit were stunning but I had an eary sense that something bad was about to happen.
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2 years ago
Walking along the path to the next summit my foot slipped and I twisted my ankle (again). It felt really bad and was worried I wouldn't be able to get down. Luckily it wasn't as bad as it could have been and I could walk it off. Hadn't passed a stream in hours too so was starting to get pretty thirsty. I changed my route and came straight down on the next path I could find (of course it was the trickiest section yet).
The decent took hours but was very happy when I found an alpine stream, water has never tasted so good. Even had a dip for a few seconds before jumping straight out.
Continuing down to collect my stuff it got very dark all of a sudden as a thunderstorm rolled in (this wasn't on the forecast). I looked up to the mountains and my planned route in the epicenter of the storm and felt very happy I came down and accepted that everything happens for a reason. Caught a bus down to the town as the storm caught up and heavy hailstones crashed on the window (well worth the €4 ticket).
Was a relief to get back to the barn, I wanted to ask if I could sleep there but no one answered the door. Felt a little awkward deciding to stay there without permission but it was better than packing up and camping in the storm. The owner later came in as he saw the lights were on and was very kind to me and let me stay.
Today's ride: 30 km (19 miles)
Total: 11,410 km (7,086 miles)
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