Life is always interesting with Doris!

Life is always interesting with Doris!

Today is our last full day in Bad Hofgastein.  Tomorrow we leave for Frankfurt on the 12:30 pm train.  This is our last day so we decided to hike from Stubnerkogel to Nassfeld.   We took the gondola up to the top of the mountain from Bad Gastein and started our hike from there.  There is a restaurant at the top of the mountain with some lookouts and a suspension bridge over a deep ravine.  Doris of course had to walk across the bridge.  I watched and took photos.  After some holler juice at the restaurant, we started our hike.  We were already high above the tree line.  We followed the trail from the restaurant to the base of a Spitze (a high rocky peak) with a trail to the top along a narrow ridge of stone with a shear drop on each side – glance right or left and you look into the abyss.  Doris looked at me and I looked at Doris.  I told her, “I don’t know if I can, but I’ll try.”  Doris took off up the ridge and I followed.  I kept my face down and focused on the trail.  I narrowed my vision and reduced my peripheral – I looked neither left nor right. I took the hike up the narrow ridge as a walking meditation – focusing only on the trail, my breath and each step.  Basically I just manned up and did it.  Doris and I both wanted to complete the hike rather than turn around and go back.  About half way to the top of the peak, the trail went to the right along the upper shoulder of the mountain. We could look to out right and see far below the trail and valley that we had hiked a few days before to Angertal. 

The trail was challenging.  We spent the next 2½ hours following a trail across one rockslide after another – occasionally interrupted by a snowfield.  We had to constantly focus on where we were stepping – bouncing from one rock to another.  The views were incredible but there were few wild flowers since the mountain here are mostly rock.  Occasionally, though, there would be a flash of color and a few small delicate flowers would appear among the rocks.  Doris as usually would always be ahead of me, nimbly moving across the rocks.  I would follow more slowly, methodically picking my way through the rocks, trying not to break a leg, twisted a knee or ankle.  Since the hike to the Reed See, we have shouted, “haaallooo,” as a way of keeping track of where are when we lose sight of each other.  It started out as a joke but it turned out as an effective way to stay in touch. Khadijah told us that when she was in Oldenburg (Germany) people would say “haaallooo” when they wanted someone to move out of the way on a path.  By the tone, it was anything but polite and welcoming.  We finally reached the same Scharte (pass) that we had crossed a few days before and started out descent to the lower Bockhart See and Nassfeld.

Even though we had just hiked this way a few days before, it seemed completely different since we were now coming from the opposite direction.  Our view now was of the Bockhart See and the Nassfeld nestled among the high mountains as we hiked down the mountain.  The Nassfeld (wet fields) and the surrounding mountains is probably the most beautiful place that I have ever seen.  There is something almost magical about the way it changes throughout the day.  Look at it in the morning, or the middle of the day or late in the afternoon and it changes.  Today as we walked down the mountain it was late in the day with rain clouds had gathered over the mountains, it looked soft and inviting – the hard stone of the mountains gentled by the soft shades of green that covered their slopes.  The air was full of a quiet stillness – it had a certain peace that was inviting.  The impending storm has cast a kind of magic over the mountains. Doris said that it reminder her of the scenery from the Lord of the Rings.

Once we reached the lower Bockhart See, we hiked to the far end so Doris could take a swim.  By the time I arrived, Doris was in and swimming in the lake.  I squatted and dipped my hand in the water  - too icy cold for me to take a swim.  Doris though was swimming around in this glacier feed lake as happy as an otter.  When she got out of the water, she was totally rejuvenated by the swim – my teeth hurt just watching her swim. We then decided the follow along the lakeshore to the far end of the lake where we could pick up the trail again down to the Nassfeld.  The shore of the lake is steep and covered with rocks.  Since there was no trail among the rocks, we had to pick our own way among the rocks, hopping from one rock to another.  As we progressed down the lake, the shore became steeper – the rocks smaller and finally we could no longer safely cross the rocks along the lake.  We then decided to climb up the face of the mountain to the trail above the lake.  We climbed up the bare boulders until we reached the first vegetation.  There we no trees – just grass, flowers, succulent vines and shrubs that covered the rocks.  Over time dirt had filled into between the rocks where the vegetation had take root.  The slope had about a 75% angle so we climbed, crawled, clawed and slithered up the slope, grabbing plants, rocks or just digging out fingers into the dirt.  We would jam our feet and knees into any space we could find and pushed ourselves up the rock face.  Since the vegetation was 3-4 feet high, I went first - it was easier for me because of my mass to force my way through the vegetation and create a path for Doris.  Whenever we hit a patch of shrubs, we would have to move right or left until brush cleared since they were too thick to force our way through.  We climbed 50, 100, 150 yards but could not see the trail – the vegetation was just too thick and we had to keep ourselves as flat possible against the slope.  I did not see the trail until my face was on it.  I called back to Doris that I had reached the trail.  I then pulled myself up onto the trail and rolled aside so Doris could pull herself up onto the trail.  Once we were on the trail, we both agreed that this had not been the smartest decision that we had made that day – as always Doris was incredible.  We then hiked down to the Nassfeld for some holler juice and a shot of mountain schnapps for Doris. We then caught the bus home, went out to dinner and are now hanging out until we go to bed.  All I have to do is hangout with Doris and my life is always interesting!!!!