Day 18: Snow

The night was cold. My feet didn't get warm all night, my tent was frozen in the morning and my fingers didn't get warm for the first hours in my bulky, relatively warm gloves. But at least it looked like a sunny day, much better than the day before! 

Just after starting, one of my hiking poles kind of broke. One element came off and I couldn't fix it. What a timing... But nothing to do about it and one is still so much better then none. 

I walked up Mt. Rachel, where there was still a lot of snow. I don't like hiking on snow! Usually it's either frozen and very slippery or mush and you're postholing. In any case your feet get wet and cold. 

Going down, it started to snow the first time that day, and it wasn't the last time. All day long, there was a bit of sun, then it snowed, sun and so on. 

Going down, there was a lot of water in the forest and at some point I couldn't avoid hiking through it, ankle deep, brrrrr.... 

The funny thing: I zipped off my pant legs today! Not like everybody would, on a sunny day, but probably one of the coldest days since I started. That's because they are a bit too long, so I have to roll them up. But they get wet in the snow and then unroll themselves. So it's better without them, just a bit colder ;)

Then I passed lots of "Schachten" today. That's a local name for clear-cut high grazing grounds for animals, around Zwiesel.  Interestingly the animals were also grazing in open forests up there in the summer. The areas were used from the end of the 17th  sometimes to the mid of the 19th century. 

Very pleasant walking was the board walk through the "Latschenfilz", an upland bog.

At the end of the day I walked up the big and small Mt. Falkenstein and passed some areas, where the bark beetle killed entire areas of spruce.

Seems like another cold night is lying ahead of me! 

Hiking up Mt. Rachel

Top of Mt. Rachel (1453 m)

Snow-art :) 

Board walk through the bog

Snowing

Remaining, massive shade tree for the animals on a Schachten

View on Mt. Falkenstein (1312 m) 

View towards Mt Arber (1456 m), which I will walk up tomorrow