2015-04 Easter on the Ith-Hils Trail

What a tour! Sheer chaos between relaxation, desperation from lack of water and good weather.

One day before the start of the tour, the second goal had already vanished. And would you believe it, my Z-Packs Cuben Tarp finally made it through customs to me after 8 months!

This tour along the Ith-Hils Trail had two big goals.

1. Test my gear and make sure it would be enough for the Sweden tour this year

2. In bad weather, a test of whether a poncho tarp would suffice.

So on Good Friday at ten o'clock, armed with the big tarp, a rain jacket and other bits and bobs, I set off in Coppenbrügge, an idyllic little town.

Day #1 - Doubt

The trail was excellently signposted and foolproof to find. Well, then the next few days could be relaxed.

From the very first metres the motto of the trail became clear. It went over the ridge of the Ith mountains, so always up. Until it can't go up anymore, then back down and up again. All those countless metres of elevation have to be spread over the short 80km somehow.
After the first kilometres I quickly realised that the view was meant to reward every metre of elevation.

Right after that, the path went into the nature reserve.

NATURE RESERVE?! Okay, then I'll have to get back out of there by this evening to camp.
A quick breather and a photo is snapped in no time. The nature here is simply breathtaking, I can't describe it any other way. Even the little footpaths through the wild garlic, which improved the evening meal, were simply fantastic.

A little further on there was a lookout tower, so up we go to capture the play of sun, shadow and valleys.

Unfortunately, hiking on a ridge also has its downsides.

First, pretty much every summit gets bagged, which in the long run is a real problem for such a poorly trained hiker
like me, and can only be compensated by taking enough breaks.

Second, as everyone knows, water always flows downhill from the source. It didn't take long before my two litres of water were drunk.
Springs nowhere in sight, and even if there were, you'd have to stay on the trail. A nasty situation.

Good thing the sunset distracted from the water problem and the night could nurse my tired legs back to health.

So I quickly crashed and took a little 10 or 11 hour nap.

The night was between -2°C and -4°C cold. After the exertion, too cold for me in the Cumulus LiteLine 400; my legs were cold, my upper body was warm.
After waking up for the 3rd time that night I'd had enough of the nonsense and took the emergency blanket out of the first aid kit and wrapped it around my legs.
I made a note of it for the next night; that game won't happen again.

Day #2 - New Strength

With fresh feet, the next town was quickly reached. Right at the entrance of a campsite stood a board with prices, but hikers without overnight stays weren't listed.

So I first helped myself to some water and joined a few climbers from Unna.
Between muesli with milk powder, coffee and shop talk, there were interesting conversations with the boys and girls.
I couldn't turn down the offered slice of bread with homemade jam either.

Phew, how stuffed I was: 1.5L of water & 0.5L of coffee drunk, the 2L back on my back and on we went.
This time past the Ith meadows. A very beautiful sight. Also, or precisely because of, the small aircraft that were flying there in that weather.

All of a sudden a trail marker here pointed downwards?
And that despite there supposedly being a trail upwards?!
That was the first time I noticed this on the trail.

What was going on? Had the designers overlooked the trail?

Strange... I secretly felt a little pleased and headed down to the next trail.
Stopped at a bench again and snacked a bit.
There were milk rolls with cream cheese and homemade sambal.
Simply ULtra delicious, 2 days running.

Now that the Ith had been conquered, on we went. The trail doesn't have a double name for nothing. And once again it went up countless metres of elevation. In my head I pieced together a little fantasy of how this trail might have come to be.
A competitive conversation between the Harz with its great trails and the Ith:

Hey Ith? Even my Wurmberg is twice as big as you!
Just you wait, Harz! A trail shall be created that takes in every goddamn summit on my ridge. Hils, Duinger Berg & Thüster Berg, what about you, are you in?!
Of course - they replied.
Then the Hohe Heimberg and the Idtberg called out “we want in too”.
No - you're not allowed, you're too small!

And when you're already up there, there's a lookout tower, so up again before the weather no longer permits.


I think this was again the point I look for on every tour: the complete relaxation that lasts for the next few days.
No matter what comes. The trail is the ultimate experience, no matter if it starts hailing right away.

And what am I supposed to do with all that space under the tarp?
With the 3x2.6 it's easily enough for 2, when the 1.45x2.6 was already enough for me alone.

Well then, time to devour the last delicacies: mashed potatoes with homemade sambal oelek, plus a good piece of salami - enjoy!

The next day we continued at the same pace in the best weather.
Straight away, legs into the emergency blanket, which made for a pleasantly warm night.
So, with a measly 9 hours of sleep by my standards, I was in top shape and ready for the muesli with milk powder, and off we could go.

Unfortunately that was it for the phone battery, 5% left, so I plugged it into the solar panel.
But that made taking photos in between a pain. Maybe next time I'll just bring my camera again to capture more breathtaking moments.

Now I'm looking forward to a hot bath and the little pleasures of civilisation.
Cheers,

kImpi

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