Quickie photos ( + Addendum)

After lunch the fog started rolling over the hill like a waterfall

I'll explain it all in the morning. For now the relevant statistics are: 12 miles; 3,400 feet elevation; two beers; one raclette; two cigarettes (not mine). No divorces. (Ahh but the night is still young...)

Below photos of the dream team

Night America xx

Addendum!

So we survived despite Thomas leading me in the wrong direction, thereby forcing me to do an extra climb. It is my concerted belief that he likes to go up more than he likes to go down. Luckily for him my legs were too tired to kick him off the cliff.  He kept asking me if things looked familiar. And I kept reminding him that last year I was in a hail storm followed by fog. Also I didn't look any further than the person in front of me, so no. nothing looked familiar. That's like asking me if the cow over there  looks familiar.

F came for the first 8 miles, then as planned, walked home and made himself lunch. (Katia was horrified: Frederick! never ever do that again!! make yourself lunch!!! You come to me!)

So the team was: visitors from Berlin/SF; and Regina the woman who runs the house here-super fit as you all remember. She arrives in tight jeans and a tank top. No hat, no water (she said there are some springs somewhere..) and-not making this up-three cigarettes. No food. 

I on the other hand, am an unholy mixture of weekend jogger and faux ultra marathoner with a Jordanian cowboy thrown in (due to the pattern on the little cloth I bring on jogs-worn here on my face). I am sun-creamed and hydrated and have a full cheese sandwich along even though we will walk past many alpine huts filled with other cheese sandwiches many of which I intend to avail myself. 

D looks, as always like former model in skimpy shorts that look great. But I am saying: girls girls, we are going rather high up! It might get cold! where is the gortex? They are not worried.

Best of all though is R who comes in full Hawaiian gear: top and shorts (bathing suit perhaps?) and holding a water. Oh and some black socks. It was the best. He really made T and me walk faster because he has this way of droning on during a hike about the exact way he is feeling in each part of his body. Then he moves on to describing each of his children's strengths and weaknesses in hiking situations. Thomas lasted about two minutes and then went into Wehlen overdrive, leaping over boulders and cows to be alone in his misery, leaving me to pant while murmuring: How interesting: tell me more about your neck. 

It is really quite a slog-sooo much uphill. Every time we came around a corner, I thought this must be the last of the up hill but somehow it never was. After a little over three hours, Thomas tells me that after this much time last year, I was already finished with the race. Oh I cannot tell you how that crushed me! we still had so long to go! Basically I covered in 2 hours 45 minutes last year, what we covered in four and a half yesterday. (we walked a little shorter route yesterday.) And I am not a fast jogger. 

We were tired, but happy afterwards. No one fought-in fact Devon told me 3/4 into the slog that she was feeling somewhat euphoric and the adult ADD she has, had finally, mercifully shut off. So you see it happens to everyone: this strange Alpine drug of happiness. 

Tonight I think G is going to organize that grill party (yay); and then Thursday the big gay feast. Saturday, we take the car to the Munich airport to fly to Turkey and meet the gang on the boat. 

Me; Regina;Devon

Rainer (LOL!)

Pointing to where we came from