Rothaarsteig

First E1 trail marker

From Koblenz I hiked straight up to the trail that I would be more or less following for the next five weeks: the European long-distance trail E1. There are 11 long-distance trails criss-crossing all over Europe. The E1 stretches from the North Cape in Norway to Italy. Theoretically it will go all the way down to Sicily one day but so far it is not finished in Italy yet. But from the Alps northward it is already complete all the way to the North Cape. The German section is already sort of old which means that modern "premium" hiking trails use parts of it but deviate at some points to more scenic alternatives.

"Hiking furniture" on the Rothaarsteig

The first "premium" hiking trail I along the E1 was the Rothaarsteig, a pleasant trail that I have already hiked many years ago and now it was a pleasure to see it again. The Rothaarsteig is not a spectacular trail - but nothing with this hike was spectacular. There is a lot of forest which was quite nice because it was incredibly hot and I would have burnt in the open. It is very well signposted and what I personally liked best there was a lot of "hiking furniture" like benches, tables and huts. Plus there were a lot of springs along the way which made resupplying water very easy. Therefore I had to carry little weight in my backpack and it was easier to get back in shape. I had hiked almost 30 km per day right from the start and in the first few days I had a muscle ache every night. No wonder - I had been lying in bed for the last 6 weeks. But quickly the aches and pains subsides and I turned into a hiker again.

Gerold after breakfast at six in the morning

The nicest event on the trail was meeting my old hiking friend Gerold. I had met him and his wife many years ago in Western Australia. I had just finished the Bibbulmun Track back then and they were on a bike trip. We had always stayed in contact over the years and I had known that Gerold was planning to hike all across Germany, from Sylt to the Zugspitze. And he, too was using the E1 a lot. We compared routes and found out that we were both on the Rothaarsteig at the same time - just coming from opposite directions. We arranged a meeting point via telephone and met on sunny evening near an observation tower and a picnic area. Gerold had just come out of town and brought plenty of stuff for our celebration: sausages, vegetables and two bottles of champagne. Although I had thought we could not manage we ended up drinking the two bottles in one evening and still had no hangover at breakfast at six! I only had a sore throat from talking so much with a fellow long distance hiker.

Sauerland

At the end of the Rothaarsteig I came through the towns of Winterberg and Willingen. Although rather small they were now in summer brimming with tourists - and most of them were Dutch. I almost felt like in a Dutch colony: Hotel signs boasted Dutch owners, restaurants offered "Schnitzel Oranje" and I saw more Dutch license plates than German.... I guess Dutch people find the closest mountains here in the "Sauerland" ! Altogether I enjoyed the Rothaarsteig a lot: Good waymarking, nice views - and the most mountainous landscape on this trip.

On my way through Germany

My last hiking plans did not turn out at all as expected - and therefore I was a bit reluctant to publish my next plans, especially since I could not foresee how my body would fare with hiking after 6 week of reconvalescence.

But I am proud to say that I have already hiked 600 km now after my surgery with no problems!

So what is the plan? My doctors recommended easy hiking in Germany -always close to a hospital. And therefore I dug out an old plan: my hike from the Southernmost point in Europe to the Northernmost point, from Tarifa in Spain to the North Cape in Norway. I have already hiked from Germany to Tarifa in the winter 2013/14, but the second half from Germany to Norway was still missing. Of course the rest of the summer is not long enough to walk the whole distance of almost 5,000 km, but I decided to hike the missing part through Germany all the way up to Denmark.

Werner and I and the river Rhine

Like in 2013 when I hiked to Tarifa I started again at my friend Werner's place - but this time I was hiking North. Again I stayed one night with Werner and his wife - and again I was whining how bad everything is. In short: I was suffering from pre-trip depression again. It did not help that the night before my start date temperatures dropped down to 8 degrees Celsius. In the morning of August 11th Werner took me to Koblenz again where we had the obligatory start photo taken at the "Deutsches Eck". Then Werner accompanied me up to the fortress "Ehrenbreitstein". It was a first test for my physical condition - but huffing and puffing I kept up with Werner. After several more photos Werner finally sent me off on my way to Denmark. And I have happily been hiking ever since....

My planned route is about 1,000 km - I don't do anything shorter.... I have to be back in Berlin end of September and right now it looks that these five weeks is plenty of time. I have some speaker appointments in Germany and then I will be off hiking again in October in another place. But this is another post. I will keep you posted!

Things turned out differently than expected.....

One day before I had planned to leave for Zinnwald and the starting point of my trip through Eastern Europe it started rather inconspiciously with a mild stomach ache. I thought "no problem", delayed my trip for a couple of days and blamed it all on the Vietnamese take-away place around the corner. But instead of getting better things got much worse every day: I got a very high temperature! "No problem" I thought again and consulted my GP. She was worried but could not find the cause for my symptoms. She tested basically anything that could be tested and called me the next day.

"Pack your things and go to the emergency room of the closest hospital", she said. "You have a dangerous infection in your body and they have to find the cause." I first refused to face reality. I wanted to go hiking - and not be in a hospital, but eventually I relented and went. Doctors there were worried, too. I was not - I wanted to go hiking. "You will not go hiking anywhere in the near future", I was told when they eventually found the problem: a huge abscess in my abdomen. My heart sank. Two days I was in hospital under heavy antibiotic medication before they could operate me.

I had never been in hospital before - except when I was born - and I was scared shitless. When I woke up after surgery I was told how lucky I have been. "You would probably not have survived if this abscess had burst somewhere in the wilderness." I felt lucky indeed but my first question was: "When can I go hiking again?" The answer was depressing: Minimum reconvalescence: six week! My mind refused to accept this fact but my body forced me to: I felt plain miserably. For three more weeks I had to take heavy medication that made me feel so weak. Going to the supermarket next door became an adventure. I had to cling to the shopping cart because I felt so faint. Outside my room a hot and wonderful summer seemed to pass by wheras I could not do anything.

Eventually I was taken off medication - and then things improved rapidly. Last weekend I did my first test trip: hiking 33 km in two days - and I was worried if I could walk so much. Luckily I could! And now I am planning to go on a bigger hiking trip again - exactly six weeks after my surgery. My doctor advised against going to Easten Europe so shortly after surgery. "You want to be close to high-standard hospitals and doctors that speak your language", he told me. I believe him and don't want to take more risks than necessary. I do anything now to be able to hike again..... And therefore Eastern Europe is off for the near future. I'll have to do something in Germany.

And I do hope that things turn out like expected this time......

Eastern European Traverse Part 1

More than one year I have led a sedentary life - not because I had been tired of travelling but because I had been writing a book. The book has become a great success which kept me some more months in Germany touring talk shows, giving interviews and lectures. I have thorougly enjoyed this exciting period but now it is time to go hiking again!

I had been deliberating back and forth which of the many projects on my bucket list I should tackle and I have decided to continue with one of the two big European hiking trips: I want to hike through Europe West to East - from Santiago de Compostella to Istanbul. Four years ago I had started from the German-Czech border crossing Zinnwald hiking westwards. And I had reached Santiago de Compostella 5 1/2 months later.

On Sunday I'll return to Zinnwald and hike eastwards. Although my ultimate goal is to reach Istanbul (or any other place that can be defined as the Easternmost point of Europe) I am taking a rather convoluted route: I'll hike eastward until Eastern Slovakia and then turn Southwest again. Why? This is not the straightest route to Istanbul.....



The reason is that I had tremendous route finding problems in Romania and Bulgaria. Although both countries have great hiking areas there are no long-distance trails. The so-called E-trails (European long-distance trails) are all interrupted and there is no hope that this gap will be closed in the near future.... But other interesting trails have sprung up on the Balkan like the Via Dinarica through Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania and the Via Egnetia through Albania, Macedonia and Greece that will hopefully eventually lead to Istanbul. But instead of going straight from Zinnwald to Slovenia I am hiking one big loop. Why?

Because the trail and the countries it traveses are too interesting to be passed. I will basically follow the only international long-distance hiking trail that was created in the former East bloc: the International Mountain Trail of Friendship from Eisenach to Budapest. This trail was officially opened in 1983 and became a "cult" immediately in the Eastern European hiking scene. When the Iron Curtain fell the trail was incorporated into the E-trail network and is now part of the E3, E8 and E4. But I will not stop in Budapest but continue hiking Hungary's Blue Trail, one of the oldest long-distance trail in Europe that traverses Hungary from East to West althoug I will probably leave it at Lake Balaton to head towards Slovenia.

In three months I will hike through Czech and Slovak Republik and Poland following the Western Carpathian mountains and then continue through Hungary's hilly North. I have never hiked in these countries before and to say that I am pretty excited is an understatement. This is a trip I am really looking forward to because it interesting in so many ways: Beautiful landscape, interesting history, new cultures and some amazing cultural sights. As usual I will keep you posted here on my blog.

Press, TV and radio, reading tour

My book "Laufen. Essen. Schlafen." will be published on April 1st. As this date comes closer, things are heating up. There will be articles about me and my lifestyle in various magazines and newspapers - and you can even see me on TV or hear my on the radio. Or you can see me live on my reading tour in Germany. (All this will be in German - therefore dates are given in German format.)

Presse:  

• Ma Vie (Frauenzeitschrift): 5. März
• Bild der Frau (Frauenzeitschrift) : 25. März
• Laura (Frauenzeitschrift): 30. März
• Nordbayerische Nachrichten (Tageszeitung): 26. März
• Welt am Sonntag (Reiseteil der Wochenendausgabe): 2. April: Online-Fassung
• Berliner Kurier: 8. April: Online-Fassung
• Spiegel Online: 9. April 
• Stuttgarter Nachrichten (Reiseteil der Wochenendausgabe): 23. April 
• Sächsische Zeitung: 27. April: Online-Fassung

TV:

• NDR DAS!: 1. April, 18.45 - 19.30 Uhr:  (Talkshow-Gast): Download
• RBB zibb: 18. April, 18.30 bis 19.30 Uhr: (Talkshow-Gast): Download
• ZDF Sonntags: 1. Mai, 9.00 Uhr (Filmbeitrag) 

Radio: 

• WDR 5 Reisemagazin: 2. April, 10.00 bis 11.00 (Interview): Podcast 
• NDR Klassik a la carte: 27. Juni: Podcast

Reading tour:

• Berlin: 8. April, 19:30 Uhr, Aula Edith-Stein-Schulzentrums, Greifswalder Str. 18 A
• Hamburg: 14. April, 19 Uhr, Dr. Götze Land & Karte, Alstertor 14-18
• Höchstadt: 20. April, 19 Uhr, Wigwam, Hauptstraße 26
• Hochheim: 21. April, 20 Uhr, Buchhandlung Eulenspiegel, Weiherstr. 16
• Schömberg: 22. April, 19 Uhr, Kurhaussaal, Lindenstraße 7
• Stuttgart: 23. April, 17 Uhr, Globetrotter, Tübinger Str. 
• Berlin: 25. Mai, 20 Uhr, Schropp Land & Karte, Hardenbergstr. 9a

Why I have not been blogging recently

I have received a lot of mails from people wondering why I have not been blogging recently. And do not worry: I have not been ill. I have not given up hiking. And I have not married and settled down. The reason for my inactivity is quite different: I have been writing a book about my hiking experiences!

I have just now finished the manuscript and the book will be published by Malik in April 2016. You can already pre-order it on Amazon. There will be an ebook as well. But alas for my Englisch speaking readers the book will be in German.

What will the book be about?

At first glance it is a book about the Triple Crown, about the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail and the Appalachian Trail. I will tell you funny stories, moving stories and scary stories about my hiking experiences. But it is not only an entertaining adventure book. I will tell you more about the psychological and philosophical aspects of long distance hiking. I will describe how a successful business woman became a ceaseless long distance hiker, cyclist and paddler. And how this outdoor life has changed my personality, my values and my life style.

I hope you will enjoy it!

"Wild" - Or how hiking the PCT is not like

I have now watched the movie "Wild" twice. There is no accounting for taste - and therefore I don't want to say it is a good or a bad movie. There have been long and heated discussions in the outdoor community about Cheryl's ridiculously heavy backpack, about her perceived lack of "Leave no trace" ethics and about too much "drama" or "sex and drugs and rock'n'roll" in an outdoor movie. Not much more to be said about these topics.

But there is one topic in the movie that has been wildly exploited in the media reviews - without much response from the outddoor community: the gender issue.

Cheryl's role as a sexually harrassed female is a recurring theme in the book and movie and most female critics dwell on this subject in their reviews. Best example is this review in the Washington Post:

"Every time Cheryl (Reese Witherspoon) meets up with a man — or a group of men — you can see her calculating if he will hurt her and, if so, how much and with what. Sometimes she’s right, sometimes she’s wrong."

This review captures Cheryl's attitude very well: Whenever she meets a man on the trail (and there are hardly any women) she gets this deer-in-the-headlights look and nearly gets a panic attack because, of course, all men on the trail are just out there to hit on her - from fellow hikers, to trail angels and park rangers. Not to forget a group of hunters who are portayed as nearly raping her.

And personally I am very much surprised that no one in the outdoor community has stood up and said that this is just not the reality on the trail. I have hiked not only the entire PCT (which is much more than Cheryl did) but the entire Triple Crown as a female. And honestly, Cheryl's experiences do not resemble in the least what I have seen out there hiking. I have never felt sexually harrassed or threatened on the trail and I think the movie "Wild" casts a bad - and unfair - light on the trail in this respect.

Let's talk about the different groups of "aggressors" and start with fellow male hikers:

Cheryl meets her first fellow hiker when he is skinny dipping in a river and of course she is immediately scared by a naked male. First of all let me tell you that the whole scene is highly improbable because most Americans are so puritan that they would never swim naked next to the trail. When hiking the Triple Crown it was usually me, the European female, who would get naked whereas my male American fellow hikers would only get fully dressed into the water.....

I have also very rarely seen that a male hiker is hitting on a female one - for various reasons. The first one is plain simple and pragmatic: After hiking 20+ miles every single day for months on end you have different things on your mind than chasing tail - you are just too plain tired and exhausted. Secondly there is a very strong social control on the trail. Thruhikers have not much to do while hiking so gossipping is a favourite passtime. Word of any pick up attempt gone wrong will spread along the trail like a wild fire - and ruin this hiker's reputation.

The third reason is the main and most important one: the trail is a great equalizer. It does not matter any more if you are male or female, old or young, rich or poor. Hikers treat each other like equals - and usually as asexual beings. First of all you are a fellow thruhiker - being male or female is of secondary importance. Of course there is trail romance (and I have had my fair share of it as well), but the first encounter with a male on the trail ususally feels like between two fellow thruhikers and not between a a man and a woman - although this situation might develop later....

Pretty much the same goes for other people a thruhiker meets on the trail like rangers or trail angels. A trail angel who hits on a female thruhiker would not be a trail angel for much longer because of the strong social control in the well connected thruhiking community.

I do understand Cheryl's feelings towards the hunters though. Especially for me as a European hiker who is not used to see many armed people in public the sight of hunters armed to the teeth was frightening in the beginning. Especially my first encounters with camouflaged bow hunters - again something I had not seen before in Europe where bow hunting is forbidden - scared the shit out of me. But again I have always been treated respectfully by them and eventually I have realised that they pursue their hobby in the outdoors just as I pursue mine - with no hidden agenda.

And now to Cheryl's behaviour - which I found a bit unusual. Fellow thruhikers gave her the trail name "Queen of the PCT". Unfortunately Cheryl did not seem to get the irony of that trail name that reflects a bit of her behaviour on the trail. She is constantly playing off her feminity in order to get what she wants. She plays the "dumb helpless blond" by fluttering her eyelashes. In one scene she is even wearing sexy satin lingerie - and every real thruhiker wonders where she has gotten it from. Is she even carrying a wonderbra in her monster backpack? Or has she asked a friend to send it to her on the trail as an indispensable weapon in her struggle with men?

Again this kind of female behaviour is not what you see often on the trail. Female thruhikers are as smelly and dirty as male ones and usually act the same when asking for help. Your feminity might be an advantage when hitching into town but other than that women on the trail are not regarding their gender as a trump card in order to get help from other people. And I have never ever seen a female thruhiker carrying satin lingerie in her backpack.....

Bottom line: You cannot debate Cheryl's fears and anxieties. If she is afraid of every man she meets on the trail that is her business and I am not to judge her behaviour. But it should be made clear that her paranoid behaviour is unfounded. Sexual harassment is not much of an issue on the PCT nor on any other long distance hiking trail I have hiked. Yes, it might occur but it is much less likely to happen on a trail than in normal life. In this respect a female is much safer  hiking a trail than walking around a city. I wish so much that more women would get out of this perceived "general victimhood". Think more about what great things you can do and achieve and less about what bad things can potentially happen to you. Be careful, but not fearful.