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Journal: |
I stayed up late, making use of the hotel wi-fi, and slept in til
after 7am and didn't go down to breakfast until 8am. The
proprietress told me I was almost the last one of their hiking
guests to eat and I responded that it was an easy day to
Wilhelmshöhe, and she scoffed good-naturedly and then detailed the
ascents and descents I would be encountering. While I
breakfasted, the last hiking guests arrived to eat, a family of four
with children about 12 and 10, I would guess. Apparently they
are hiking the Westweg and, to make it easier for them, they are
getting most of their gear transported from one guesthouse to the
next. It seemed a very good way for anybody who didn't want to
carry too much to enjoy the wonderful walking.
I didn't leave
the hotel until after 9am and then took my time walking through the
little town of Hausach which turned out to be a lot bigger than I
realised. I took the opportunity to take care of a few things
on my list and also found a copy of the Black Forest - Middle map
which I purchased so that once again I could track my progress.
The old part of the town, overlooked by the ruins of an old castle,
was very historic and well-cared for.
As promised by the
hotel, the ascent out of town through the forest was relentless and,
in places, steep. But it was beautifully quiet and cool in the
forest and I didn't find the climb too tough. Early on,
it passed the restored tower and remains of a castle dating from the
13th Century......I bet there were bears in the forest then. I
was probably the last hiker doing this section to leave town and I
spent the day catching and leapfrogging people. The family of
four was making slow progress up the hill and were in for a long
day. The majority of the morning involved walking in the
forest, with only limited views, but lookouts had been set up on a
couple of rock outcrops that gave excellent vistas. I had
bought some rolls (and a couple of bottles of Diet Coke) in town on
my way out and enjoyed lunch on a wayside bench in the shade.
I spent some time trying my radio for the first time in the region
on the off-chance there might be an English-language station (maybe
BBC or Voice of America) but didn't find any. However, I did
find a local FM station which played music that appealed to me and I
noted, as the afternoon wore on, that almost all songs were English
language. There was maybe one German and one French song.
I found that surprising.
After lunch, I re-caught a group of
about eight hikers and one of their number who spoke good English
began chatting to me and we enjoyed a long conversation during which
he filled me in on their trip (they were a group of friends who were
gradually hiking Westweg in stages, four or five days at a time) and
quizzed me on my travels. He seemed a fair bit fitter than
some of his friends and was, I think, wishing he could move a bit
faster.
The afternoon saw the trail spend more time wending
its way along the edge of, and across, some farms. It was a
nice change and very pretty country with lots of wildflowers and
tinkling cow bells. In one of the forest sections I saw my
first squirrel of the trip. I'm amazed I haven't seen more.
I reached the Gasthaus Wilhelmshöhe soon after 4pm after a very
pleasant day and did my usual routine of washing out socks, jocks
and T-shirt while I showered and then discovered the hotel had
wi-fi, so got some Diet Coke from the bar and updated my diary
before dinner. I returned to my room after a filling dinner in
the very busy restaurant of the Gasthaus on a beautiful calm
evening. I was almost tempted to go for a walk.
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