Tuesday 26th July Nusdorf am Inn to Hohenaschau

Guest blog: John Tatam

Today showed what Bavaria can offer - sunny weather, varied terrain, big climbs and descents, green green vistas, wonderful mountain huts, beer, very bad food ... and all completely German- we have not seen any other English people in 4 days.

Having carried out some delicate blister surgery (John on Chris) - well-at least that is what they claimed to be doing when I went into their room - we all set off renewed and reinvigorated after a long tough previous day (though shocked and saddened by the news about Roger's metatarsal (2nd)).

According to John's guide we had a straight forward, if long, climb up and then a descent. As ever it turned out a little differently with two sub peaks before our summit - Hochries, at 1568 m. As with yesterday there were lots of people at the top who had arrived by cable car though the compensation was the availability of beer and noodle soup.

Looking back to Wendelstein

We then had a long walk down to c, a charming village dominated by a schloss in the middle.

Hohenaschau

Conversation had begun promisingly with critiques of Thatcherism, an analysis of the impact of the failure of German unification in 1848, the calibre of recruits to the British army, the difference between the focus of men's and women's gaze when first entering a room of strangers and why Chris had been engaged four times (all of which John had learned about from his podcasts - except the last one obviously) but increasingly John and Chris became fixated by farming and, in particular, in breeding in rural Lincolnshire - topics on which, in fairness, they spoke with considerably more authority than the earlier ones (except the one about Chris, obviously). This did at least mean that I felt freed from the constraint of trudging along at their pace.

We have been told that from tomorrow the weather will begin to deteriorate again with rain returning on Thursday Friday and Saturday. I return to sunny London.

John's facility with languages has, if anything, been overplayed. I wish him luck in Hungary.

Monday 25th of July Staffelalm to Nusdorf am Inn

After yesterday's disappointment it felt really important to get the walk back on track and I had agreed with John that irrespective of the weather we were going to try and walk to Nusdorf am Inn. The stage however was a particularly challenging one, long and with a lot of climb, and we had a new team member, Chris Dickinson, who would have to walk 11 hours on his first day.

Things started really well. It wasn't raining and we were walking before 8 o'clock. It was soon clear that Chris with his army background and navigation skills was going to help us through the maze of routes and really bad German footpath signing. By 10.45 we had climbed over Kegelspitz and were in Fischbachau.

To be honest we didn't really need to go to the top of Wendelstein to stick to the E4. The Maximiliansweg goes to the top but not the E4 and this diversion added another 350 metres. Wendelstein is over 1800 metres and the climb up from Fischbachau well over 1000 metres but given the dry weather it seemed a shame to miss the summit. I enjoyed the climb and after the mess of the last few days it was a good confidence booster. Saw lots of deer on the way up.

Wendelstein

Wendelstein has a train and a cable car going up to it so after a quiet walk up the top was all hustle, bustle and crowded viewing platforms. Although the weather was far from perfect the views were still impressive.

Just a bit cloudy

The descent was a real 1400 metre knee cruncher but actually went surprisingly well. Had not had much contact with Chris for the past 30 years or so and the three of us had lots of experiences to share and the conversation was the perfect distraction from the discomfort of the climb down.

Dropping down from Wendelstein

Inevitably the worst bit of the walk came when we hit the hard surfaces at the bottom of the mountain and the final 5 kilometres into Nusdorf. Fearing blisters we stopped for a beer and didn't complete the walk until just before 7. Including stops we had been on our feet for 11 hours, covered 35 kilometres and climbed over 1800 metres. Definitely the toughest day so far in Germany but it confirmed that with half decent weather and good navigation the demanding schedule I've set myself is feasible.

Sunday 24th July Tutzinger to Schliersee

Bad bad day. The first day I feel I have really failed to complete a section of the walk.

Because we only got to Tutzinger we needed a following wind to make Schliersee - it was a head wind instead. Roger and Sue were only scheduled to do the first part of today's walk and decided last night to make a leisurely descent. John and I were walking by 7.30 but the weather was absolutely terrible.

Arrived at Brauneck by 9.30 but we were cold and our foot ware was wet through. Walking to Schliersee on a good day from Brauneck would be a challenge, attempting it today felt dangerous.

Decided to stop at the hutte and work out our options and within minutes had been adopted by a friendly German couple. They were walking the Maximillianweg in the other direction but had decided to that was not safe to go on. Worked out with them the best way to get to Schliersee and in the end they came down on the lift with us to Lenggries, took us to the station and helped us buy tickets.

I was really cold and it wasn't until I got on the train and felt some warmth coming back into me that I realised how cold I had got.

Checking my emails on the train I suddenly realised that today was the day that another cousin, Chris Dickinson, was joining me. My sense of time is completely shot and for some reason I thought he was joining me on Wednesday the day John finished. Changing trains to Schliersee we then bumped into Chris and made the final part of the journey together. What an amazing piece of timing, I only wish I had planned it.

So a nice bit of good fortune in an otherwise miserable day. I'm very disappointed about missing a twenty kilometre stretch of the E4 but bashing on in the rain was risking injury and illness. There wasn't really a sensible choice.

Postscript: John Tatam

When I arrived on Friday it was clear that John had not been around people for some time. While I could cope with communication limited to the odd grunt and occasional squeak I found the personal habits and hygiene rather more disturbing - I had unwisely decided to share a room with him on the first night.

I am not quite sure where we have been over the last two days as it has been raining constantly and visibility has rarely been more than 4 or 5 metres. This morning I put on wet socks wet shoes and wet waterproofs and headed out into the pouring rain and mist trudging up the mountain.

However there are many reasons to be cheerful:

- on two occasions the clouds cleared and suddenly we realised we were not in a Gormerly mist room (was it Gormerly?) but in the middle of spectacular mountains
- the six day forecast - while Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are predicting rain, Tuesday may only have drizzle and some sunny intervals!2
- I have more or less kept up with John despite considerable age and infirmity ( no doubt he will claim he slowed down)
- friendly Germans ( oh yes!)
- good company - Sue, Roger and Chris
- kaiserschmarrn (twice)
- and 5 straight contracts at nomination whist...

Saturday 23rd of July Walchensee to Tutzinger Hutte

Despite a narrow bull run escape Roger and Sue decided to give walking the E4 another chance. Maybe encouraged by the arrival of another pair of legs, my cousin John Tatam, or maybe because they felt that things couldn't be as bad again, they once again loaded up their rucksacks and returned to the trail.

Within minutes of setting off it started to rain heavily, setting the pattern for the day. John revealed, on the 600 metre climb up Jocheralm, that he is a superfast walker but his ability to walk in the right direction had still to be tested. The first test came at Kotalm, about 20 minutes later, when the two Johns marched down a path in the wrong direction a mistake which cost us about 30 minutes. The man with the maps, Map Man Roger, didn't spot the mistake proving that no one is infallible.

For a time it looked like the weather might improve but within minutes of the waterproofs coming off it started to rain again and by the time we got to Staffelalm it was raining really heavily. The little hut was open and we all piled in, bought some tea and ate our sandwiches. This turned out to be the first and only piece of good luck we had all day.

Not raining

The young woman in the hut told us that we could to Tutzinger Hutte in a couple of hours, it was then 2 o'clock, so the target for the day, Brauneck, was still feasible. We made great progress despite really poor visibility and a very slippery path. After about 90 minutes, and a short steep climb, we started what we thought was the descent down to Tutzinger. After about 45 minutes, and after the path had turned into a forest road, we started to worry that we loosing too much height. Sure, according to the app on my IPhone we were now well below Tutzinger, and in the rain and the mist it was impossible, even with the maps to work out where we were.

Normal service resumed

All we could do was retrace our steps back up the hill and after another 50 minutes or so had got back to the point where we started to descend. Looking around we found another path heading up hill to the left and behind a tree a sign pointing us up to Tutzinger. After a steep slippery climb, when it actually stopped raining, we finally started the descent to hutte. Got there at six and decided it was best and safest to call it a day. The hut was pretty full but they managed to squeeze us in. Good food and a really pleasant evening.

Approaching Tutzinger

Bad weather is really spoiling this stretch of the walk and slowing me down. Have made navigational mistakes when the sun is shining but it's much more difficult in the rain. Maps of course help but unless you constantly track your position, take bearings - which feels unnecessary on a signed route - they only help so much. Only getting to Tutzinger makes tomorrow's walk a really big challenge.

Friday 22nd July Hornlehutte to Walchensee.

On my own today as my bovine challenged friends came a different way to Walchensee. After yesterday's marathon today's walk was much easier and although it was 27 kilometres long involved very little climb. Left Hornlehutte at 8 and was at Walchensee by 3.

Hornlehutte was perhaps a little more primitive than Kensenhutte where I stayed the night before. Just a dormitory, no family rooms and no showers. Good food though and as I was the only person there was able to spread out and get cleaned up.

The first part of today's walk involved a walk along the top with great views down to Unterammergua and the mountains beyond, which at the beginning of the day you could see. The ground however was very wet and the cattle have really churning it up.

Hochschergen

The next part was a very steep 1,000 metre descent through trees down to Grafenaschau. Was grateful for the trees as they provided some cover from the rain but it was treacherous and I did manage to fall over a couple of time.

The most boring part of the walk was from Grafenaschau to Eschenlohe. A flat 7 kilometres on roads across what must have been the bottom of an old lake. Two cars stopped to ask me the way and both were disappointed with the response. It's amazing how often people in cars stop to ask a man plodding across the countryside with a large bag on his back local directions.

The last stage of the walk, along a valley from Eschenlohe to Walchensee was the nicest. There are E4 options here, one which takes you over a hill and one which sticks to the valley. The valley for the most part has a river running along the bottom and at some points this cuts a really steep gorge. The location of the accommodation meant taking the valley bottom route.

Eschenlaine

Walchensee of course is another large lake, going to see lots or large lakes over the next couple of weeks, and hopefully I'll get to see one when the suns out and it's not cold and drizzly. The rumour is that the weather will get better in a couple of days.

Walchensee

Have been joined by my cousin John Tatam today so there should be four of us tackling tomorrow's walk. After yesterday's failure as an E4 guide I have a chance to redeem myself or fail on an even bigger scale. Seeing Roger and Sue later on this evening and will get an update on the what happened with the great cattle ambush.

Thursday 21st July Kenzenhutte to Hornlehutte

I have failed miserably as an E4 guide. After only two days I have managed to loose Roger and Sue. A percentage loss might be tolerable but a 100 per cent failure rate probably destroys any chance of developing an alternative career as a long distance walking guide.

My approach to navigation had already failed to impress Roger. We are at the opposite ends of the navigation spectrum. Roger is a detailed map man, comes armed with routes marked on maps, understands all the potential perils and the options for avoiding them. I'm more irresponsible and map-lite.

With Roger armed with more detailed information I progressively surrendered my E4 guiding responsibility happy to let the man with the maps take the decisions. Until the point I lost Roger and Sue this worked well.

Today was a big walk, about 27 kilometres and 1700 metres. There was a high level option, which might actually have involved less climb, but this involved crossing some fairly exposed stretches and it was felt that the longer route was safer.

After yesterday the weather at least had improved. Initially in fact it was perfect, fresh and clear, and we had some great views as we left the Kenzenhutte and climbed up over our first ridge,the Backenalmsattel.

Kenzenhutte

Going down the valley to Linderhof was not so pleasant. The vegetation was high and wet and we should have put out leggings on but instead got soaked. More challenging was crossing a ford in full flood. I helpfully took the photographs but Roger and Sue unsportingly refused to fall over in the torrent.

Boots off

Linderhof was full of tourists visiting the palace. We had the prospect of a 700 metre climb up to August-Schuster-Haus so didn't hang about any longer than it took to drink a cup of coffee and eat a Mars bar. Liked the statue in front of the palace more than the palace.

Outside the Linderhof

The walk up to the August-Schuster-Haus was if anything tougher than we expected and we didn't get there until two. Great bowls of soup enjoyed in an amazing location restored flagging spirits.

August-Schuster-Haus

We got down to Unterammergua really quickly but still had to make our third climb of the day, another 600 metres up to Hornlehutte. It was now raining and Roger and Sue were running on empty.

The way up was pretty straightforward and after initially declining the invitation from Roger and Sue for me to press on to the top and I decided to do just that. About a 100 metres of climb from the summit I had to run a gauntlet of cows who for some reason were neither eating grass or chewing the cud, and who were a bit spooky about something. The thought did cross my mind that Roger and Sue, without my rural heritage, might find their behaviour a little more than interesting but I'm afraid I just pressed on already tasting the beer in the hut.

I arrived at 6, ordered my beer and waited. At 6.30 I went back down the trail to look for them, did at lot of shouting but no sign of anyone. Must admit I was getting worried. No reception on the phone and in any event Roger had broken his phone and I didn't have Sue's number. At 7.15 went to the top of the summit behind the hut. Had a voicemail from a friend in London saying that Roger and Sue, confronted by aggressive cows had decided to walk back down to Unterammergua. Got a text later confirming that they were safe and that we would meet up tomorrow night. Going to be an interesting postmortem on this one, already a dispute about the sex of one of the animals and the absence of bull fighting expertise in the party.

Wednesday 20th July Fussen to Kenzenhutte

Fussen is a really interesting place, certainly enough to do on a day awafrom the trail, but all I did on my rest day was buy a new hat. I'm a Philistine, I feel bad, but no doubt I'll get over it. By the way I bought, at hugely expense a gortex hat, Given the damage I did to my forehead on the one sunny day I didn't wear a hat I think it's a good investment. The only question, after today's walk, is when am I going to get to see the sun again.

Today was the first full walk with Roger and Sue and the weather was really bad. They are new to alpine walking and the mountain's towering over Fussen are a bit challenging and there was some initial discussion about taking a cable car to the top. In the end they bravely decided they wanted to walk with me although we didn't take the "Alpine Gefahr!" option, which we think means "watch out this is scary".

Given the rain, which started early in the morning, we did cheat a bit and caught a bus out of town to foot of the cable car. This knocked off some through town walking and perhaps saved us about a kilometre. We started walking at 8.45, the sign said we had a three and half hour climb to the restaurant at the top of the cable car, but going nice and steadily we actually made it by 11.15. 900 metres of climb in two and half hours, not bad when you've just arrived from the UK.

If the weather had been better we would have enjoyed amazing views of Fussen's famous castles, as it was we did get a bit of a taster.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Having done so well to get to the top quickly it was a real blow to find the restaurant shut (the weather was too bad for the cable car). No option but to press on. There are two E4 options at this point, a high scary option and a easier more direct option. There is also a third Maximillianweg option which is an intermediary to the other two. All three routes take you to the Kenzenhutte, and given the weather we went for the direct route.

Even the direct route on a better day would have been stunning. A narro path high up on the side of a steep valley followed by a really sharp drop through a gorge and then a walk along a forest trail through tall pines. Trouble was feet were soaked, I was cold, and it was hard to appreciate even what might have been in a driving cold rain.

In the rain coming down from the Tegelberghaus

My favourite bit of the walk was the last hour. The path went through at a wide flat valley with a lake at the bottom. Occasionally clouds lifted enough to provide just a glimpse of huge towering cliffs we surrounded by. There were waterfalls in every direction. The final little sting in tail was a walk along the edge of one of these crashing torrents, a slip at which point would certainly have finished things nicely.

Waterfall up to Kenzenhutte

Got to Kenzenhutte at about 2.30 and have grabbed the table next to the fire. Hats, socks and gloves are currently drying out nicely and for me at least the memory of freezing feet is starting to fade.

First Impressions from Sue.
Choosing July to join John was based on a mistaken assumption that it would be warm and sunny - how stupid was that! Tucked up by the fire and I feel like we're on a skiing holiday. Highlight of the first day for me was the early part of the descent with some quite steep grassy drops to one side onto a tree lined valley. Found a prime spot for lunch - huddled up in a tiny hut/observation point a bench just big enough with the rain tipping down outside.