Don’t try this with a baby!

Austrian Adventures

For a week in August my daughter and I joined my parents in Austria on their holidays. I have so far written about the train ride there, and the local festivities we have been able to witness.

Sunday, time for a hike.
First one of our hiking expeditions on this holiday.
My condition: NO STEEP MOUNTAIN SIDES, as I would be carrying my daughter.
Well what happened?

This was one of the most dangerous hikes I ever did… We were a big group, as my dad’s cousin and his husband, and a good friend of my parents, as well as a couple whom we are friends went to climb the steep mountain, this meant that I had help when needed. We did the Brandberger Kolm but not all the way to the top, I would have gone on strike! Our turning point was the Kolmhaus, where they actually served really, really good food.

Climbing up the mountain was ok, I just concentrated path in front of me, there was no view to enjoy, as we were walking inside of a cloud. Which made it all very wet. It was steep, and carrying the extra weight of 9kg, that was often wiggling, did not make it any easier. Sometimes it was so steep that I had a hard time getting up the slippery rocks. The climb was 4,7km and a 850m difference in altitude, which is a lot for the distance!

The trouble started when going back down. We chose a different route, and well sometimes I got really freaked, because looking to my left there would be nothing except a deep abyss. I think any mother can understand the panic I tried to suppress, at the worst abyss, a slippery bit (in a cloud, raining, a water fall and on rocks and roots), thankfully the path was not steep, little one decided that she wanted to get out of her wrap sling. Well I held on to her, and managed to convince her otherwise. Still I can completely understand her, who would like to spend 6 hours being carried non-stop? Even if she enjoys being carried, she loves to walk…

I was happy when it was over. It’s not the type of hike you do at the beginning of your holiday, more towards the end when you have practice, and your body has been acclimatised. I was proud too. but it is not something you do with a baby! Many people would probably not even do it without one.

The next morning I woke up in pain. And guess what? The only way not to feel it was walk and hike, and eventually I started to forget it and it faded away.

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Have you ever hiked through clouds? Done something that you cannot really believe when looking back? 

I took these two pictures (hosted on flickr) on a different day, as I was not in the mood to take pictures during this particular hike.

© Solveig Werner 2015. All rights reserved.