Start: Hall in Tirol (570m)
Finish: Glungezer Hütte (2610m)
The internet lied to me. I knew that August 15th can be a challenge. But I checked ahead, and the internet said that there is one supermarket open in Hall in Tirol on that day. That’s how I find myself on August 15th at 07:30 walking along the highway to that one open supermarket. It’s closed. I find a gas station and buy water and a chocolate bar for the road. And that’s it. No fruits or vegetables for me.
My backpack is insanely heavy, and I’m not sure why. The 4 liters of water are not doing me any good, but I’m worried about the state of water supply up in the mountains, and I’d like to make sure that I have two bottles. With the rate I’m sweating, I’m sure I’ll finish them before I get to the top today.
I’m get a bit lost on the way out of town, but manage to find my way. It’s hot, and an uphill slog almost all the way, with a few tactical descents that feel like a waste of a height gain. The trail takes me through the forest and in between villages. Unlike past treks, these villages look almost affluent with fancy new houses. No deserted old farm houses here.
It’s unclear to me how many people actually walk here, a feeling that is intensified when I reach an area where loggers left massive logs on the road, requiring some serious acrobatics including sliding sideways on top of several of these giants. Good thing they don't have a smooth bark, as I would have slide right off the mountain.
Three hours later I’m at Tulfes. From here the trail is mostly in the ski slopes. I take the ski lifts all the way up, although the guidebook makes it’s position on this very clear:
“The most popular German guide to the Traumpfad assumes walkers take the lift and, although this doesn’t seem right on a ‘walk’ from Munich to Venice, it is understandable.”
Excerpt From Trekking Munich to Venice by John Hayes. This material may be protected by copyright.
F*** you, John Hayes, I say to myself and pay for the ticket up. Good job on peppering this book with smug comments, you trail gatekeeper.
At the top of the cable car is the Tulfesalm, full of Austrians enjoying their lunch. I sit down and spend 20 minutes trying to get a waitress to come over. it almost feels as if they are ignoring me on purpose, and it's so evident that the family sitting next to me is offended for me. I even ask a server to take my order, only to get a reply that that is the job of the waitress, not his. The food looks good though, lots of potatoes and dumplings. Not for me, as there’s no chance that I will be able to walk after such a meal.
As soon as I leave the restaurant is starts drizzling. The sign says 1.5 hours to the hut. 20 minutes later, it is still saying 1.5. It takes me two hours. It’s the usual thing - leaving the ski area and heading up a track that turns into a trail, first in the meadows and then in boulders.
I walk past a pair that stands out from the aryan-looking crowds - a Spanish speaking women, who to my untrained eyes looks South American, with a younger women, potentially a teenager, who seem to have Down syndrome. They are hiking to the hut, and I’m so interested in their story. The trails tend to be so homogeneous, particularly here in Austria, so anyone who doesn’t fit the mould makes me happy and curious. Bring it on.
Anyway, good thing I made it to the hut. 20 minutes in, a storm starts. And I do mean a storm. Heavy rain and wind and hail that bounces off the tables outside.
The hut is cozy and lovely and I’m the only non-German speaker tonight. Luckily I'm one of the first, so I get to choose a bed. The
*Matratzenlager is long and narrow with groups of 5 mattresses separated by thin separators. It does have a small room at the end with a bunk bed, and this is my home for the night.
*Matratzenlager is the German word for a dorm room without beds, just mattresses on an elevated platform. These beds are cheaper and usually go last. They can induce nightmares about the concentration camps, if you are so inclined. Being Jewish and in Austria, I am definitely that way inclined.
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