Hiking is the Miller's Delight - Ellegghöhe

Today I am starting my first hike, and I want to do it alone.

I'm going from Wertach to Schießbachtobel and finally to Ellegghöhe.

This is about 1,100 m above sea level. Therefore, I need to overcome 185 meters of elevation gain. At first glance, that doesn't sound like much.

Before I start this afternoon, I have enjoyed a hearty and substantial lunch. Spinach dumplings with mushrooms. Quite delicious.

Jana has also set aside a little treat for me, so there will be cake for dessert.

With this energy boost, the “ascent” should be easy to accomplish. It is warm again but not too hot. Still, I'm dragging along with 2 bottles of water and a sweater. Perhaps I'll get lost and have to spend the night somewhere.

It takes an hour to find the starting point, Schießbachtobel. They don't have many signs here.

I'm glad that I'm going deep into the dark forest and can climb in the shade of the trees. It’s already going uphill here.

The roots turn out to be useful steps that make the ascent easier. In some places, the ground is so softened and muddy from the last rain that you need to be careful, because one wrong step and you could fall deep. A rushing creek flows beneath me.

So, with my gaze focused downward and taking steady steps forward.

I visibly enjoy hiking alone through nature and in seemingly complete isolation to find some peace for myself. I feel so happy and content, detached from all worldly matters that sometimes weigh heavily on my shoulders and cannot be changed anyway. The great thing about these wonderful experiences is that you can simply recall them in your memory when you are feeling unwell.

You can do the same with childhood memories, provided you had a nice time in your childhood days.

Mine was beautiful, wild, and above all, very lively. Going swimming at night, frolicking in the hayloft, walking home from the disco at night. The world seemed limitless for me… as long as it was forbidden. That was what made it exciting for me.

This is the autobiographical foundation on which I have built my life story. Stable, secure, everything is ultimately achievable.

Lost in my thoughts, I no longer pay much attention to the path I take, and suddenly I hear a jingling that sounds familiar. I am certain it is the ringing of cowbells. They are getting closer, and I can’t quite figure out if I am in their territory or they are in mine. I am already wading through muddy ground that seems to have been disturbed by hoofed animals. I feel a bit uneasy.

But in the end, everything is known to be well, and I can also make out the fence that separates me from the cows, even from a certain distance despite my poor eyesight.

I step out of the forest and hike the last few meters across a meadow and a stretch of road up to Ellegghöhe, accompanied by buzzards overhead. There must be about six of them. I have never seen that many at once in the sky.

I pop into the inn that has been operated by the same family for four generations, and it truly presents itself as such. Even the many flies on my cheese sandwich contribute to this ambiance.

But the view is magnificent. There is nothing to complain about.

By chance, I meet Margarita in the inn. No, I don’t mean “the drink,” but a woman from Berlin who, just like me, is staying in the spa hotel. But the name should at least be mentioned once here.