A Strenuous Hike in the Alps

Overcoming pain on the way to rewarding views

Back in June this year I just arrived in Germany to work a season back home again. My work always stretches over weekends and my off days are usually Tuesdays or Wednesdays. When I got a weekend off due to bad weather predictions (yes, my work is weather dependent) I started to plan quickly.

I called my parents telling them we are going to the alps. I wasn’t asking. I was telling them that’s what we are going to do. Because I know what they love the most. The mountains.

And I knew if I would ask my mom what and where she would want to go she wouldn’t decide before the end of the weekend. We got in the car together before I even managed to book us a place for the night.

After all this spontaneous planning to get this trip going I didn’t just get my parents motivated to go to the alps for a weekend but I also managed to get a friend to join us on the hike.

The start of the day

My friend arrived early in the morning and we started the hike. Despite the fact of me saying that I didn’t want to go more than 1000 meters in altitude down in one day my dad chose a route where we had to go 1200m up and then down again.

It’s the going down I struggle with. Because of my knees. Somehow I have problems with my knees despite not even being 30 yet. But my dad didn’t care about it. He said he would take a knee brace with and hiking sticks so I will be fine. I guess I can’t complain. I was the one initiating this whole event.

The weather didn’t look very promising. Thunder was roaring across the mountains. It felt intimidating. But we didn’t plan to give up so early. We hoped for the best. We hoped for the storm to move around us. Then the clouds could disappear and let us finish this hike.

Who’s the fittest?

My parents are incredibly fit. Despite them being over 60 years old I cannot keep up with their pace. Of course, it makes a difference if you hike a lot or not, but still. I am more than 30 years younger than them.

My lungs are not used to the thin air up here. And I have done only one hike within the last 18 months. I guess I need to hike more often if I want to keep up with my parents in the future.

My friend is just as fit as them. The only difference is that she is my age. And that way she was struggling even less with the hike. She also had lots of questions to ask. I hadn’t seen her for about two years. So yes, we had a lot to talk about.

Waterfalls, lakes and animals

While walking past waterfalls and cattle grazing on the mountain slopes we talked about my work, visa problems, and my new life. And about hers too. Girls always have a lot to chat about.

But even more, if your lives happen to be on two different continents and you don’t see each other regularly. I’m not very good with having skype calls or sending messages. That’s just not my way of communicating.

I like writing postcards. And I do that a lot. And apart from that, I connect with my friends when we see each other. We just continue where we left off. Only because I didn’t see them for a while doesn’t mean anything changed in our relationship.

As we reached the small mountain lake we understood why so many people were on their way up here. Most of them won’t go all the way to the peak. They just came to the lake to relax up there. Since the weather wasn’t looking very promising a lot of people left already.

We just walked past the lake to start the steep part of the hike. It looks pretty daunting when looking up at the peak. Trying to imagine its sheer size. And then the time needed to reach the top.

The views

As we get higher I tend to stop more often. The views were simply amazing. I couldn’t resist but take a Million photographs. That’s how it felt at least. Some of them with my camera and some with the GoPro. When I’m too lazy to dig the big camera out of my backpack the GoPro must suffice.

Those views looked like from a movie. Even though our mountain was still covered in clouds. We stayed optimistic. The sun will come out. We told ourselves. The storm won’t happen. Not here.

Three calves were grazing peacefully. I love watching cattle up here in the alpine lands. They are robust. Live in rough terrain and stay there in any kind of weather. These are happy cows.

Change in the weather

And slowly but surely the sun was appearing. First only on the horizon and later right above us. That much that I got burned despite having applied sunscreen several times already.

The views were getting better step by step. And the trail steeper. My lungs had to work hard and forced me to do breaks from time to time. I also drank lots of water. Knowing that was important when sweating so much.

The challenge of the trail

As assumed the trail was getting more difficult. Some people struggled to pass the dangerous parts on the rocks. But I like it. It’s fun too if the trail gets a bit more challenging. A little bit of climbing.

I see it as a distraction. A distraction for the mind which gets tired from all the walking. An interruption of the monotony of putting one foot behind the other one. Because that’s what you do when you get tired. You work from step to step. Always forward.

I always love the moment of passing the tree line. The interesting parts always happen above the tree line. Once you enter rocky territory there is no time for boring thoughts.

The focus is now on the trail. Every step has to be placed carefully and sometimes the hands have to help as well.

Almost there. That’s what I was telling myself. Motivation is the key to success. Looking up to the peak. I can’t wait to have a rest and enjoy the view from the very top.

The peak

It was quite crowded around the top but we found a spot to sit. Even though my mom wasn’t sure if I should sit there. While she was still talking and warning me I just sat down. Because why not.

I am not someone who looks down the side and thinks ”what would happen if I slip and fall here?“ I look at my steps so that I don’t slip, sit down and look down the slopes. Spotting birds, butterflies, and some alpine roses. Because that is what’s it’s about. The beauty in nature.

The mindset

It is all about your behavior in certain situations. Being constantly scared of falling off while up in the mountains isn’t a healthy mindset. Be aware of where you are but don’t overthink things.

I don’t take stupid risks when in the mountains. That is just dangerous. I balance out the different options and look at various paths in depth before deciding which one to go to.

I place my feet on the ground. Solidly. If you lightly step on something you’re more likely to slip and fall. But if you confidently walk through the surrounding you’ll be more stable in your steps too.

It starts with your mind and mirrors your behavior. Defining your feelings and confidence is what a healthy mind does to you.

Enjoying the moment

My parents left quite soon to look for a spot underneath the peak. A place less exposed. They don’t like crowds. But since Germans aren’t allowed to travel outside the county due to restrictions, the attractions in the country get flooded by people.

Even a high peak in the northern alps count as such an attraction. Germans are an active folk loving the outdoors, exploring nature, and just doing anything but staying at home when on holiday.

My friend and I stayed up there for a while. Having a picnic while enjoying this stunning view. I love to embrace moments like these a little longer. I don’t climb a mountain just to tick it off a list.

It’s about the journey. The feelings during the trail. The view from the top. Slowing down for a rest. And many more. That’s why I chose this spot a bit on the side of the peak. Away from the crowds but still safe to sit.

About freedom and life

Sitting up there we were talking a lot. We talked about previous hikes we did together. And about the next hikes, we want to plan together. Both of us love the mountains.

The only difference is that she grew up in the alps. Not like me being every holiday or weekend down there. No, she was actually born in this region. So, yes the alps are part of her.

Sitting up there means freedom. To me. To her. While overlooking the valley and enjoying the breathtaking views of the “Allgäu“ my thoughts went wild. I was thinking about the feeling of freedom and how differently freedom can be understood and felt.

“A friend is someone you gives you total freedom to be yourself.” — Jim Morrison

Photographs, more views and some flowers

While having a picnic. Up there. We talked about all those things. All those things that were on our minds. That is what I love about a friend like her. I don’t need to think about what I can say. I just say what I want to get off my heart.

She has spent lots of time with me in Africa. The time I was changing. A time I was growing a lot as a person. But also a time I was experimenting a lot. Like all young people do. I was trying to find out who I was.

I took a few more pictures of flowers, insects, and the views, and then we also decided to head back down. Collecting my parents just underneath the peak. They’ve had some lunch too.

The descent

Then it was time for the descent. Time for the broken part of me to use the hiking sticks to protect the knees from too much pain. I’m not sure why I struggle so much with it. I guess I should start training the muscles in my knees to strengthen them.

Going down is also part of a climb. It might not be everyone’s favorite part. But you can’t get around it. Some people actually prefer it. Because once you start going down you know you’re halfway. You know what you have ahead of you.

Sometimes at least. When taking the same path down you took up. But sometimes the trail leading back is chosen to be a different one and is just as unknown to you as the ascent was before you started.

I was taking it slow. That way I had plenty of time to enjoy the views. You only live each moment once. So enjoy it. Be grateful for every experience given. Like this one. To hike with my parents. To be with my friend. To spend all this time together with them.

Meanwhile my mom reached the lake already. She basically ran down the mountain. In my eyes. Still can’t believe how fit those two are. I have to work on my fitness now. I do know that.

As we were getting closer to the lake the path got more crowded. Still, lots of people were on their way up. Although we thought we were late for the ascent. I guess not. Or maybe some of these people won’t make it anymore. Not all the way at least.

The lake

This lake has a stunning location. And it surely has something of a lake for swimming. Just that its temperature is a bit lower than the ones used for bathing throughout the country. A bit? It’s freezing. Like any mountain lake.

But up here there are no rules. People can just sit and swim wherever they want to. My friend and I were contemplating to go for a swim. We were watching those going in the water. None of them screamed. So it can’t be that cold. We thought.

We took off the shoes and walked into the lake. Barefoot. It was cold. But it felt incredibly refreshing. On the feet. Which were tired from all the walking. It felt really good. But if we should go swim was another question.

We decided this was a good spot for a longer break. The dangerous part of the descent was done and even if a rainstorm would come now, we would have been kind of safe. Entering the tree line just after the lake.

We just sat down on the grass. Watched people jump in the water. As mentioned before lots of younger people came up here not going for the peak but spending the day on the lake.

We laughed a lot. And talked. My mom is a very curious person. She had lots of questions to ask. To my friend. I felt sorry for her. I know how it feels being questioned by my mom. But it’s actually a good sign. It shows she’s interested in our lives.

Just sometimes you don’t want to talk about everything. But she wants to know everything. But that is who she is. My mom. I know by now how to avoid questions when not being in a mood to answer them.

Ducklings were running around. Around us. In the water. In the grass. The mother looked stressed out. Trying to keep them all together. Or to just find them all between the hikers and the high grass.

We made a decision. We’ll go in. It’s gonna be fast we said. So that we don’t have time to feel the cold.

Going for a swim

My friend and I decided to experience the cold of this lake. After analyzing other people’s attempts and successful tries we figured out the key to finishing the swim in the water is not to wait until you feel the cold. Just run in.

And so we did. We did three steps into the water and then dived in. And screamed at the same time. My dad said it echoed all across the alps. Our scream. We laughed. And smiled at each other.

What a great experience it was. And what a great memory to look back at. We even swam a bit in the lake before we came out again to warm up in the sun. It was so refreshing. Cold, but refreshing. It was a good idea, I must admit.

The final part

Eventually, we left the lake behind us and hiked down. Past the waterfall. And all the other lovely features of this scenery. Seeing the majestic peak we climbed. Now without being hidden in the clouds.

Enjoying the views before getting back in the valley. It was an amazing hike. Despite being exhausted I enjoyed this day filled with conversations, climbs, and sunshine.

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.“ — Neale Donald Walsch

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Anne Bonfert is a traveler. Photographer. Writer. Teacher. Skydiving instructor. Adventure enthusiast. Nature lover. And fell in love with the African continent.

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