Pforzheim to Schweizerkopf Hütte
Distance: 35km
Apparently it has been a wild night weather wise according to my hosts. Heavy downpour and thunderstorm. I slept right through it, not noticing a thing.
Seems like I needed to catch up on sleep.
It's still raining as I am sitting in the living room with Martin, enjoying a delicious breakfast consisting of Müesli, bread rolls and coffee. As I am not feeling like rushing out and into the rain just yet, I am taking it slowly. In the TV they are broadcasting a short documentary about the serious draught in the northern parts of Italy. I watch it with interest as I might be walking this area this autumn.
Lack of rain is no issue here in Pforzheim this morning. Nevertheless, I get itchy feet eventually and decide to start into my walking day. I say goodbye to my wonderful hosts and trail angels, with whom I have had a lovely stay. Their hospitality was amazing and they made it super easy for me to recover. Many many thanks Martin and Silvia!
The first kilometers in the rain are not really spectacular. This changes, once I start following the Enz River towards Neuenbürg. A nice riverside walk, which is getting better with the rain fading away and the sun shyly shining through the clouds.
Once past Neuenbürg, the trail leads me into the forest again. Ahead of me, I spot another hiker. She keeps a good pace and I decide to follow 50 or so meters behind. Eventually, she stops at a cross road. I catch up with her and we say hello. As it turns out she's headed for the same direction, doing the Westweg in sections. We walk together, keep on chatting and chatting. It feels comforting to walk with company, sharing stories. Time flies and suddenly, after walking more than 10 kilometers together, we are in Dobel. She's taking the bus back to Pforzheim, for me it's another 6 kilometers to my shelter. Before doing so, she invites me for coffee and lemonade. After some more talking I continue. I feel good. Not tired. Neither mentally nor physically and walking is a breeze. Especially, once I have some sweeping views towards the Rhein and France.
My shelter offers the same fantastic views. I instantly know I will enjoy a fantastic sunset from this place a couple of hours from now. A lost phone I find at the shelter is keeping me busy as I am trying to figure out how to make out the owner. I give up eventually. A local offers to take it to a lost and found. Good solution I think.
With this out of the way, I'm back to admiring the view while preparing my dinner.
What a great start of my Black Forest section!
Write a comment
Rob (Saturday, 02 July 2022 02:16)
You know, when you write your book, you're going to have some amazing photos to choose from. �
George Mills (Saturday, 02 July 2022 04:56)
Good to hear your back on the track and with company for a while. The river Enz was a bit of a let down. I was expecting something like the Waikato not the Avon (Christchurch). But what it lacked in size it made up for in beauty. Keep on tracking
Fredy Koster (Saturday, 02 July 2022 08:00)
Beautifully views, these great colors. And I like the car too.