First day
What a day! We started out this morning at 6 o'clock from my house in Hitzendorf and, 38 km later we are camped out at the top of Altes Almhaus and believe me, it is cold. I'm hunched up inside my ultralight tent, on my ultralight mattress, in my ultralight quilt and writing this before I close the little peepers and settle in for what I hope will be a gentle and recuperative slumber. So what happened between the leaving and arriving. well I suppose the highlight for me was stepping on a wasps nest while jumping over a little stream. Within seconds, my ankles were covered in irate wasps, hell bent on teaching me never to attempt such a foolhardy act ever again. Needless to say, I started kicking my own ankles to rid myself of the offending (or defending) creatures. I might well have done more damage to my own person than the wasps. I then sprinted off with my 10 kg rucksack with space age sun umbrella bouncing all over the place. Suffice to say, it was a sight to behold and we didn't stop to take photos.
So what else happened. Well, after meeting up with our families in Pieberstein we started the climb to the top of Altes Almhaus. I couldn't pour the water in fast enough to replenish what I was losing in sweat. I was exhausted and the energy levels were at absolute zero. The one thing keeping me going was the thought of a big stew and a beer at the top. When we eventually arrived though, the whole place was closed down and we had to make do with a Jausn supplied by our good friend Michi, who will be walking with us tomorrow.. Anyway, time for bed. Goodnight all.