Aschau i.Chiemgau

When I realized I was spending so much time in the mountains I began to think maybe I should spend more time in the mountains. The more time I spend in the mountains the more I meet wonderful people and enjoy spectacular views. When I am at the top of a mountain, or hiking up there, all of the thoughts and stresses and anxieties of everyday life disappear in the ocean of whatever view is in front of me. The woods remind me of home, views from halfway up the mountain show me small German towns laying out like fairy tales in front of me, and at the top there's always an ocean of peaks under a sky that does not end. Who cannot be happy surrounded by such things?

So I emailed many mountain Hüttes looking for seasonal work in a mountain hut. One even called back.

I hike up Hochries, near Grainbach, on the Thursday before I leave for Mallorca. I start late and get off the bus in Grainbach at 1 p.m. Google says that I have a 2-hour hike ahead of me and to get back I have at least a two-hour hike or I can go forward and ends in Aschau where I will also have two hours to get there. The weather is bright with clouds when I begin.

This mountain has a cable car and in summer is easy to reach especially for day trips with families and is very popular 4 lunch with a beer and a view. Today it is empty and the winter has not quite left and the spring has not quite sprung and I'm walking up a wet path. The first sign I see tells me that I actually have three hours till the top of the mountain which is a problem because I will run out of time before dark if it is 3 hours up and 3 hours down. In that case I will not get back until 7 and the sunset is at 5:30. I hike harder.

the problem with hiking harder is that sometimes I don't see where I'm going and forget to check my map. That's exactly what happens here and I take the wrong path for 20 minutes before I realize it. When I decide to turn around I'm now jogging I'm not hiking to try and catch up on the 20 minutes I went in the wrong direction and what might be 20 minutes to get back on the right direction. I catch a sign on the path that tells me I finally back on the right way. And I still need to hurry.

The hike is blurry until I find snow. I'm moving faster than my mind can keep up and the hike until snow passes through my mind without notice. Yet when the snow starts, it starts in a clearing with strong wind and no cover. I cannot help but notice have suddenly this changed has happened.

I have made good time and almost caught up to where I want to be yet now the last 45 minutes or half an hour is through snow that has not been walked on since it fell. The higher I get, the deeper the snow gets. By the time I find shelter in the woods I'm high enough that the snow is almost at my knees. I find a trail made by a quad and I walk the path to the top of the mountain. When I finally see a building, the broken cable car, I am delighted. it's not the hot, yet it is nearby and I have not long to go.

15 minutes later I'm in a hut meeting Manuel and Sarah and listening to reggae. They made lunch and we eats as we get to know each other and talk about life in the hut. They live here full-time year-round with gorgeous views yeah that's we finished our lunch the views are whiter and whiter with snow blowing harder and harder. After a quick tour I hurry to put on my boots and head down the mountain. I run through the deep snow so I can get out of the snow before dark and well on my way to the next train. Yet as I leave the snow I only find rain and a weight of 45 minutes until my next train!

So instead I discovered a small beer house with a fire and wiese beer. I do love a beer on a train.

And with that I catch my train a little damp but happy after a hike that was terrible and wonderful.Read more