And so it was again and again on this hike. We often conquered more than a thousand meters of altitude and thus overcame the bad weather.
I start packing everything into my rucksack, leaving only the sleeping bag and sleeping mat outside for the time being. This is the baptism of fire for my new tent. It has to prove itself. Not much can break. Unless the fabric tears.
While we were still in the Allgäu in the Pyrenees in the first week, we were in the real high mountains in the last week. Every day we have between 1000 and 2000 meters of altitude on our plates.
As luck would have it, we met up again with my friends who had already accompanied me in New Zealand. We meet up in Saint Jean. Many others, with lighter backpacks that seem much lighter than ours. They head west, we head east, along the Pyrenees.
After a year and a half journey across two continents and ten countries, I am returning to Germany to begin a new chapter in my hero’s journey. Hiking has proven to be a central part of my experience, covering over 5000 km on foot and overcoming more than 12000 meters of altitude. However, despite my return, I don’t see this as the end of my journey, but the beginning of a new chapter.
After everyone had arrived, there was a light dinner and then the introduction that began the seriousness of the silent retreat, absolute silence. Basically no contact was allowed, not even with gestures or eyes. Part of the program was to hand in our phones. Reading, writing, sports, everything was forbidden.
On a beautiful, sunny day, I was sitting outside a café reading. My rucksack is right next to me where I can see it. Suddenly, an older woman comes by and gives her dog some of the water that is also next to me. A man in a white shirt and white headphones comes over and pets the dog and talks to the woman. That was the trick. I don’t know if the dog was in on it as a diversion or if his mistress was part of it. All I know is that there was suddenly another rucksack next to me. The thief was already out of sight.
A year is coming to an end that was completely different for me in many ways to the previous 20 years. It was the first year in which I didn’t earn any money from my work. It was the first year in my life that I wasn’t in Germany. I answered Matze Hielscher’s questions about the year in review for myself.
I’m more the lush forest type. I love variety. I love walking through a forest, with its scent of needles and leaves. On the open prairie, you are mercilessly exposed to the sun. The forest offers protection. It cools. The ground is softer. The sunlight turns into a play of shadows that penetrate the leaves and needles.
More and more condors circle above us. Large animals with a wingspan of at least one and a half meters. Although we know that the birds are looking for carrion, we can’t help but get the impression that they are just waiting for us to become their prey. Again and again they fly just a few meters above our heads. We start to pack up with a queasy feeling.
