Zugspitze hike (almost at least)

Although this will mainly be about our trip to New Zealand and Australia (and wherever else we end up), here's the story of our Zugspitze hike. Why?
Because it was the first and also the last big test for our equipment, especially our backpacks. Unlike Pascal, I had never carried such a huge thing on my back for 2 days... But we'll get to that later.
It was very early and cold when we got into the car heading towards Zugspitze. We chose the 'easiest' route, which was also the longest. The plan was to go through the beautiful Reintal valley. We were planning to stay overnight for 2 nights. The first day was supposed to take us through the gigantic Partnach Gorge. We were lucky because we didn't have to do our tour on the weekend, so there was plenty of time and space to marvel at the surroundings. After about half an hour, you can see the daylight again and the Partnach becomes a lovely river.

We continue on wide, well-walked paths to our first stop, the Bockhütte, located at an altitude of 1052 meters, which we reached after another 2 and a half hours. Phew, it was already quite exhausting up to that point, but that was NOTHING compared to what awaited us. Of course, we were well equipped with food and drinks and could strengthen ourselves. The shoulders had already suffered under the unfamiliar strain and you could already hear me cursing a little bit...
With replenished energy, we continue. The sun has now made its way through the clouds and it's finally getting warmer. Our hike continues on a narrow path, where a few years ago, you would come across the legendary 'Blaue Gumpe', which is considered one of the most beautiful places in the entire Wetterstein Mountains. However, in the summer of 2005, heavy rainfall and the resulting mudslides led to the 'Blauen Gumpen' probably disappearing forever. What a shame.
The destination of the day was the Reintalangerhütte, located at an altitude of 1369 meters. However, it took a few more hours, emotional outbursts, breaks, photo sessions, and a shoe change on my part because I stepped into a stream... Well, I would have gone much further with my Nike Flex running shoes if this little mishap hadn't happened :D Fortunately, I didn't rely solely on my sneakers and also had my hiking boots. After all, they also had to be tested. My little mishap gave us another little break. After that, we had to get our backpacks back on and continue. We reached our destination, the Reintalangerhütte, in the early evening. THANK GOODNESS. The first day was quite exhausting.

So here we were. Overnight on a mountain hut for the first time. First, we had to find our way around. So we checked in and settled into our bunk bed. Small room, 9 beds. Backpacks just fit under the bed, trekking poles against the wall, and there wasn't much more space.

The room was initially a tiny shock, of course it would have been great to have a double room, where you can just crash on the bed and have some peace and quiet after such a day. However, you don't really have peace and quiet in a hut like this. It was too loud to sleep, too early, and we were also hungry. The perfect time to dig out the cooking set and gas cooker from the backpack. It was beautiful in front of the hut, we chose a seating area by the river and cooked our noodles with pesto. Slowly, the back and hips could recover from the hip belt. Then we had a cold beer and a little chat with the landlady. She explained to us what to expect the next day. Let's just say... she made the whole thing sound a lot nicer. We went to bed around 9:00 pm. The first ones in our room. Everyone else was probably a bit more experienced in hiking than us and could still enjoy the little evening guitar concert, which we could also listen to in bed to fall asleep :)

The first night wasn't that short and wasn't that bad at all. We slept pretty well and didn't even notice when the bunk bed filled up.
6:00 a.m. the morning 'wake-up call' with live folk music started on the first floor of the hut. That was super pleasant, I wish I had that at home too :D
When we had all our stuff together again, we continued. Shoulders and hips immediately made themselves felt. Ouch... I guess I still need to get used to my backpack. So we started, and all without breakfast. We imagined that we could walk a few kilometers first and then eat at a nice spot. But we didn't consider that after the Reintalangerhütte, there was nothing but stones and scree. So it started right away with a steep ascent over rocks and, especially, stones, and pretty quickly we pulled out the first energy bar from the backpack. What a great plan. Our next stage was supposed to be the Knorrhütte at an altitude of 2051 meters. Until then, it went up hairpin bend after hairpin bend.

On the way up, we took another slightly longer break and ate the remaining bread with cheese. When the Knorrhütte finally came into view after what felt like 100 bends, there was one last steep ascent. Once at the top, we had to catch our breath first and brewed a cup of tea. We sat down, enjoying the view for quite a while. This is also where we could refill our water supplies.

Then we continued, always steeply uphill. Partially with small climbing sections and with more and more snow under our soles. In the midst of this ice-age, barren landscape, you could already see the ski lifts and the station that led to the 'Sonnalpin' restaurant. It couldn't be far now. The condition was deteriorating more and more. Smaller short breaks were necessary again and again. At some point, we finally reached the Zugspitzplatt and we were really exhausted. Pascal even seriously considered going the last meters all the way to the top, that was the plan after all :/, but then decided against it. For me, the question didn't even arise :D So we sat down in the restaurant, ordered something to drink and took a breather. Changing clothes was the first thing on my agenda because everything was wet and sweaty. Thank goodness for functional clothing... At least we could look at the Zugspitze from our place in the restaurant and regret that we didn't make it all the way to the top :D

Conclusion: Unfortunately, we didn't make it all the way to the top and I had the feeling that I was the only one who was so exhausted from the whole thing, and I often cursed this whole tour BUT it was an unforgettable, wonderful experience that I wouldn't want to miss. I think I speak for both of us when I say that it is an indescribable, breathtaking feeling to stand amidst these gigantic mountains.

Zugspitze, we'll be back and then we'll push through :) END