Fränkischer Gebirgsweg (Franconian Mountain Trail): Day 6 – 7

Day 6:     5 June 2018 – Kohlberg – Großbüchlberg – 24km

I slept really well and got going at a quarter to 7 on the quest for water. Walking on gravel again today….sigh…I made it to a small gurgling stream, barely visible, after about an hour and filled up on slightly murky water that I treated with my SteriPen. I am kind of still skeptical about this UV treatment’s effectiveness for water purification, but I guess sometimes you have to take something on faith, right? Continue reading “Fränkischer Gebirgsweg (Franconian Mountain Trail): Day 6 – 7”

Fränkischer Gebirgsweg (Franconian Mountain Trail): Day 1 – 3

If you’re not familiar with German geography, there’s an area in Bavaria that doesn’t consider itself as part of Bavaria at all. It considers itself as entirely seperate (and of course, better) than the lederhosen-wearing, weird-talking yokels of the deep south of the state….and that area is Franconia.

Historically, while Munich (capital of Bavaria) was still a nondescript village somewhere down close to the alps, Nuremberg (capital of Franconia) was already a thriving metropolis, trade center, and a seat of power.

Alright, I admit I might be slightly biased having grown up in Franconia, but I still think the people here are much more approachable and a lot nicer than the arrogant southlanders residing in Munich…but I digress.

Franconia has a lot of hiking opportunities and even markets itself as one of the premium outdoor destinations in Germany.

Continue reading “Fränkischer Gebirgsweg (Franconian Mountain Trail): Day 1 – 3”

Outdoor Survival Day

So I’ve had these coupons laying around….for the last 2 years 😂 and since I won’t be in Germany for the second half of 2018 and they’ll expire by the end of the year I needed to get around to using them….like NOW.

The coupons are from MYDAYS, an online platform where you can choose from various experiences, from a candle-light dinner to offroading in a tank. I chose the middle ground by selecting an Outdoor Survival Day.

The registration was easy and I got my confirmation by email pretty quickly. The event was held by a company called simply outdoor and took place in an area around Burg Prunn, close to Riedenburg in Bavaria, Germany on May 26, 2018. Continue reading “Outdoor Survival Day”

R2R2R – Day 3

My feet are tingling, going numb at times, and then itching again, all through the night. my calves are THROBBING. But other than that I sleep well, in intervals, with a soft breeze blowing through, at times too hot, and then cuddling with my puffy new quilt (which I absolutely ADORE). I did not set an alarm, waking up naturally with the sunlight, at around 6 am. Continue reading “R2R2R – Day 3”

R2R2R – Day 2

Being back on my sleeping pad, with a constant breeze around me, and the night sounds about, really messed up my sleep pattern. But I woke up relatively fresh at 5:30am and my feet were feeling surprisingly good.

Breakfast was oatmeal with dehydrated peaches and mango, which was alright, until I added powdered peanut butter…..and then breakfast was sublime…yum.

I headed out around 6:30 and the first 1.4 miles to the water faucet went by very quickly. Continue reading “R2R2R – Day 2”

R2R2R – Day 1

I really didn’t sleep well last night, woke up constantly…so by the time it was 4 am I got up to get going, even though my alarm was set for 4:30….ah well.

It was FREEZING outside, so I got to waer my fire-hydrant-red new puffy jacket 😀 . The drive up to the canyon wa uneventful and I found a parking spot at Bright Angel Lodge immediately. Since I’ll be coming out at the Bright Angel Trailhead (next to the lodge and therefore the parking lot) that worked out perfectly.

There’s a special hiker shuttle bus that takes us crazy people directly to the South Kaibab trailhead. And along with about 70 other people I got on the bus excitedly for the first view of the canyon.

Continue reading “R2R2R – Day 1”