Daily Distance – 26km
Daily Ascent – 1200m
Daily Descent – 1330m
Total Distance – 766km
Distance Remaining – 253km
A first stage failure of the walk. Hot on the heels of bruising the instep of my left foot yesterday, throughout today my right shin has began giving pain whenever I land that foot. Confined just to one specific place, rather than a generalised pain, I am not sure what the issue is, other than it is almost certainly caused by overuse. Shin splints and stress fractures are the most common issues among hikers, but the typical symptoms aren’t a perfect match to mine, so I am unsure the underlying issue. For this reason, I made the difficult decision to abort this stage and retrace my hobbling steps to the nearest town, rather than push on to Wilheimer Hütte as planned. Of course, owing to my own stubbornness, by this point the town was 6km behind me, so the walk back to town was an unpleasant march in itself. However, wiser than continuing on to a remote mountain hut with no road access, an afternoon storm inbound, and an increasingly painful leg.
A frustrating end to a day that started with a beautiful sunrise, which I reluctantly climbed out of my sleeping bag for a better view of. Last night I spent sleeping on the decking outside of the summit pavilion and woke several times to a lovely view of bright stars and the lights of the valley towns. I seem to sleep very well outside, but after my exertions of yesterday, allied to being too tired to make a proper dinner, my energy levels have been low today. A second day of fierce sun has really not helped either. I will pick up some electrolyte sachets in the coming days in case this is impacting my endurance as the temperatures are rising further towards the weekend.
The main claim to fame of Murnau am Staffelsee, other than having an exceptionally difficult name to remember, is a large lake. It is not on the trail, but was rather an impulse decision to overnight here based on train lines and lack of nearby accommodation options. It is a nice town though, lively but not overcrowded, so I am happy with my choice. I will also aim to explore the lake before leaving, as tomorrow looks like being an enforced recovery day.
You make it sound lovely sleeping under the stars. I’m glad the efforts of the day were worth it on the end.
I hope you’ve managed to find accommodation in town for your enforced rest day. Your leg injury sounds grim and will need taking care of. Good idea to turn back. The stage will still be there when your injuries are heeled.
Wise choice to abandon the day. Don’t rush the rest, it may take more than 24 hrs. Food and water are super important doing the ascents and descents you are making combined with the long days you have just done.
Lovely sunrise