Day 5: Bad Tölz to Tutzinger Hütte – 25km

It’s been a while since I had a chance to post anything. No reception, no wifi, an empty phone battery, and a blocked SIM card but here we go.

Woke up at 4:30 and it was pouring rain. Just grateful I wasn’t hiking! Went back to sleep until just after 6:00 and decided to get up.

When I left it was 10:00 again!!!

Trying to leave earlier but it takes me forever to get organized. The first 14 km were mostly flat but the first 10 were not too exciting as I travelled on the bike path, like so many times in the last 4 days. Wishing I was riding a bicycle too, flying down the path not having yo carry my pack!!! Maybe next time.

After 10km my feet started hurting again and there was so much further to go.

At least the scenery became more interesting, taking me through farms (Typical Bavarian style “Bauernhöfe”), residential areas with nice view, chickens, a rooster (reminded me of Gillian’s rooster although he looked very different, dairy cows, goats, and I even found a bench in the shade to rest my painful feet.

And then I wobbled to the Brauneck gondola. Without that I would have never reached my overnight destination.

I had to have an Almdudler after getting up at the Brauneck. It was windy, cloudy, and a bit colder than in the valley. Also decided to take a Tylenol (Ibuprophen) which I never take as my hips were sore as well. Climbed the Brauneck summit, just a little steep hill, and watched quite a few gliders trying to take off.

Lost some time here as nothing much happened and then climbed up a steep grate to my first real mountain experience.

Felt invigorated as I was so excited to be in the mountains, finally!

Headed for the Latschenkopf and the Tutzinger Hütte. On the peak of the Latschenkopf there was a bench with a dedication for a young Canadian man from Dauphin, Canada. He must have lost his life around the Achsenkoepfe which I passed below, choosing the intermediate path not the difficult one.

It went downhill very steeply and it was wet either from an earlier rainfall or from last night. This made the ground quite slippery and it took me quite long to descend. Certainly didn’t want to slip and fall with my heavy pack and blistered feet.

It was getting late and I still had some ways to go. A small narrow path, downhill mostly and steep. A young couple passed me and headed up to the Benediktenwand to go biwacking for the night.

I saw at least 8 Steinböcke, very impressive creatures, a Rebhuhn (Grouse) flew up next to me, and I saw a Gemse. That was certainly a highlight but slowed me down even more.

I finally reached the Tutzingerhuette at 20:20, almost loosing daylight. I had a mattress room to myself which was great but had to get familiar with the rules/customs again. It had been about 25 years since I last stayed overnight in one of them. Mostly young folk up there. No electricity in the rooms, my phone almost dead I found the one spot where you can get reception to send off a few messages. I turned my phone off afterwards as it was almost empty, not realizing that when I turned it on again in the morning the SIM card needed the activation code again. No way to make a call, get wifi, but at least I was able to charge the phone in the morning.

My feet hurt, my hips hurt, and I had the weirdest dream of a huge heritage house with many apartments about to explode and although I warned lots of people no one listened and I mostly took useless stuff like jewelry with me instead of winter clothes,….

I woke suddenly and realized this had a meaning: maybe my backpack, my focus,…..

Waking up in the morning I decided I would take this hike into my own hands and make it “my hike” instead of following a manual.

Good morning day 6!