I eagerly awaited the long Whitsun weekend, because for me it would finally be time to go on tour again. This time I wanted to trek through the Black Forest; more precisely, I wanted to hike the Mittelweg. Like the Ostweg and the Westweg, this trail crosses the Black Forest from north to south.
The total distance of 240 kilometres is divided into nine stages. For the Whitsun weekend I planned to complete the first three stages.
Although I only arrived in Pforzheim in the late afternoon, the sun was shining intensely and strongly. Spring was clearly giving way to summer. So I could count myself lucky to be protected from the sun's rays under the foliage of the Black Forest after a short time. I decided to hike until about 8 pm on the first evening.
When I reached the Büchenbronner Höhe, I thought the shelter hut would be perfect for an overnight stay. Unfortunately, the floor of the hut was covered with a lot of rubbish. Among other things, there were wrappers, broken bottles, cigarettes and tissues lying around.
After I had cleared my chosen sleeping spot of rubbish, I could cook my dinner in peace. That evening pasta in tomato-cream sauce was on the menu.
As the sun was setting I got visitors. A few teenagers wanted to observe the stars from the nearby lookout tower under this clear sky. So a few hours passed until I had the place to myself again and could lie down with a clear conscience. When I woke up the next morning, I packed my stuff and set off right away.
The Mittelweg cast its spell on me more with every kilometre. The nature is not only beautiful, but simply breathtaking. So I hiked all day and delighted in the nature.
In the late afternoon I passed through Bad Wildbad and shortly after found a nicely situated shelter hut with a spring. So I not only had enough water for my dinner, but could even take a shower. At the end of a hiking day a cold shower is very refreshing.
After the shower I started preparing my dinner. That evening it was going to be bannock. I refined the dough with fried onions and cheese. So the meal was hearty and delicious.
In the evening two hikers joined who also wanted to spend the night in this hut. Since the table and benches couldn't be moved, it would get very cramped with three of us. So I decided to pitch my Tarptent nearby.
In the night the weather turned and it started to rain. Unfortunately I was lying very unfavourably and wiped condensation off the tent wall with the foot end of my down quilt during the night.
When I woke up the next morning and cursed at the damp quilt, I considered drying it in the sun at the next opportunity. Unfortunately, the sun didn't want to show itself all day. Instead there was rain, fog and even more rain.
The weather is said to be very typical for the Black Forest, but in my thoughts I was back in the clouds of Madeira. I always find it exciting how often I have to think about the tour two years ago; it was truly formative.
But unlike back then, I had enough power and a very good mood.
Walking through the Bannwald in these weather conditions had a very special charm. I was very surprised that so many hikers were out and about despite the bad weather.
The route led me over gravel roads the entire morning. So at the first opportunity I left the trails and instead took the wooden planks across the Wildsee. This was a good decision, because otherwise I wouldn't have passed this beautiful section at all.
A few kilometres later the Westweg and the Mittelweg shared a section of the trail, and there were noticeably more people on this shared section. So I was happy when the trails separated again and I had my peace and quiet.
On the next section a narrow footpath led through the moor. Blueberry bushes grew along the wayside. Later in the season you could have topped up your provisions here with fresh berries.
After I left the moor behind me, I took a break in the next hut and met the two hikers from the day before. They had started an hour and a half before me that morning. However, I had overtaken them while they were stopping at a country inn.
After the short break I said goodbye and set off. Apparently there were supposed to be thunderstorms in the late afternoon.
At some point I thought it was about to happen. The clouds already looked very threatening, and it kept drizzling in between.
So I decided to seek out the next shelter hut and have a nice evening there. When I found a suitable shelter hut, I boiled some water and filled it into a plastic bottle. I was aware that afterwards you'd better not use the bottle for drinking water anymore, but I wanted to dry my sleeping bag.
I didn't have the hut to myself that night either. A hiker was also seeking shelter from the impending thunderstorm. We talked a lot about hiking, chatted about gear and Openstreetmaps. Afterwards it was clear to me that I not only want to keep using the Openstreetmaps maps, but will also expand them where information is missing. Along the way we cooked our food and swapped part of our provisions. We ate our delicious dinner together and went to sleep a few hours later.
To my delight, my plan with the hot water bottle worked. When I crawled into the sleeping bag, it was already bone dry.
The next morning our paths separated again. The hiker went back to his trail while I was heading for Freudenstadt. I had about 27 kilometres ahead of me that day, and I had to get home from Freudenstadt after all. So I considered stepping up the pace that day to quickly escape the forest roads. Since the trails offered no variety, I kept up the fast pace. There were also no worthwhile places to linger. At this pace I reached Freudenstadt around midday after a good 30 kilometres. Once there, I treated myself to a Coke at the station for the nice weekend and took the next train home.
Even though the section to Freudenstadt left something to be desired, the hike was very beautiful, and I was already looking forward to the coming stages!
