Day 46/47/48 – Recovery Days

Daily Distance – 0km
Daily Ascent – 0m
Daily Descent – 0m
Total Distance – 766km
Distance Remaining – 253km

There is no denying it, I no longer have any appreciable upper body strength. After long days of walking the last thing I feel like doing is dropping to the floor and grinding out some pushups. The result being a slow downward migration of strength to my legs, leaving my arms much like the superfluous appendages of a T-Rex. If a T-Rex used hiking poles anyway. Step one of the programme to reverse this trend was to hire a rowing boat today and explore the Staffelsee. Bonus points for being an activity that could be done sitting down to get in some leg rest too. Bavaria has a very distinct regional culture and pride therein. From the oft seen regional dress of Dirndl and Lederhosen (not at the same time), cows that think they’re mountain goats (and are everywhere!), mountains, hotel breakfasts so uniform that they could have been decided by a shadowy hospitality council and finally a plethora of beautiful lakes. Exploring by water wasn’t something I previously considered when thinking of Bavaria, but in Murnau am Staffelsee it seems that every man and his dog has a boat, kayak, canoe or stand up paddle board. Despite being a Wednesday, before long the lake shore was filling up with sunbathers, swimmers and people inflating their boats/boards. I didn’t realise until scrolling Google maps that the town has a campsite on an island in the lake. The only way to reach the campsite is by the public ferry or via one’s own lake-faring vessel. A curious choice, but it did look nice when I rowed by.

Like all men of England, I am known and admired for my unfailing politeness, unmatched virility and an upper lip so stiff that it can be used to balance a tiny elephant if occasion demands. However, five minutes of a Thai foot and leg massage had the lip running up a white flag and ready to divulge state secrets, only for politeness to insist on refraining from asking if the masseuse was part giant and intended to grind my bones for her bread. I naively had the thought that it may be relaxing and perhaps help my leg recovery. As it was, I was left questioning the wisdom of booking for 60 minutes, when 30 was also an option. I suspect the true reason they drape a towel over your eyes is not for relaxation, rather to prevent an accurate police report. Key takeaways; my ability to withstand torture is measured in seconds and the Thai people are a brutal, if very polite, nation.

The final big activity of my three day recovery slot was to take the tourist route to the Zugspitze summit. At approx 2900m this is Germany’s highest peak, forms a border with Austria with buildings from both countries present, and is quite the tourist attraction. I had planned to hike my way to the top, but a 22km 2200m climbing day is not the most responsible reintroduction after injury. Rather than jeopardize the rest of the trip, I shelled out the cash for a cable car ticket and reached the summit without a single drop of sweat being shed. It is an impressive place, boasting meteorological and high altitude research stations, alongside the obligatory restaurants. I am glad to have visited, bit feel like the walk would be more rewarding. Although having walked, having to queue behind tourists like me for a photo with the summit cross would be somewhat galling. It’s a narrow and scrambly, if short path to the cross, but being single file along most of the route, queues are an inevitability once visitor numbers rise. I was fortunate to be on the day’s first cable car and immediately made a line for the summit to beat the crowds. Factoid of the day. There are two cable cars and a cog railway that go to the summit from the towns below. The railway construction began in 1928 and was completed two years later. It not takes passengers from approx 750m in the valley to 2900m at the summit, passing through several rather long tunnels en-route.

After three days of rest, I am hitting the trail again tomorrow. Fortunately the next few days shouldn’t be too taxing, although that is a very relative statement, or too remote. This gives some comfort that of required I can bail out or just (discreetly) pitch camp for the day if required. Hopefully I have rested enough, but time will tell and I grow impatient to make progress again.