The Great Outdoors - Hiking and so on…

[endo]

Me and my boys (15 and 21 yo) had a great mountain tour and summited Germany‘s highest peak (Zugspitze, 2962 m or 9718 ft) for the third time, each time over a different route.

This time we had a pretty steep ascent to Wiener Neustädter Hütte (2209 m) and the next morning via the Stopselzieher, an easy but beautiful via ferrata, to the summit.

It was a great joy, especially for me as a father to see how strong and sure-footed my boys have gotten.

Day 1

(the hut was built in 1884, still with an outhouse and no hot water)

[endo]

Day 2

[Denman John]

@endo Almost nothing better than spending time with the family in the mountains … Pure awesomeness!

[Aetas]

@endo Just beautiful!

[iammortalcombat]

Heading to Acadia national park in a few weeks. Anyone got any recommendations for trails or interesting stuff in the park? We hike between 10-20 miles in a day but we are skipping camping this trip to have a bit more comfort the whole week.

[SKT]

@endo loving these pics…what a great adventure for you and your boys!

[endo]

A long-held wish of mine has come true: my 15-year-old son and I hiked the Mainzer Höhenweg, a challenging high-alpine trail with climbing sections and an overnight stay in a bivouac box.

Day 1

Ascent in the rain to Rüsselsheimer Hütte (elevation 2323 m) and some well deserved Kaiserschmarren and Capricorn goulash.

[endo]

Day 2

Very long (7.5 hrs) and exhausting ascent to a ridge of 3000s with a glacier crossing (well, the pittyful rest of it), climbing passages and exposure. Finally reaching the bivouac at 3252 m.

[endo]

The bivouac box is from 1973 and fulfills its purpose. You can cook and sleep protected from the elements. It was cold but with the sleeping bags we brought with us and blankets that were there we actually had a warm and relaxing night.

[SKT]

Amazing adventures! How did you guys sleep in the bivouac?

[endo]

Day 3

Quite exhausting was todays‘s descent with almost 1600 m down (10 km, 7 hrs), the first third with endless ridge walks/climbs and three crossings of 3000m peaks.

But thank god we had a save return into the valley and a once in a lifetime experience. I surely don‘t want to do that again.

[ARNC]

@endo could/did you book the bivouac box, or do you have to walk/climb for two days and hope it’s free?

Also, a fantastic achievement and great shared experience for you and the boy!

[endo]

You cannot book the bivouac, but it holds room for nine people plus 2 mattresses on the floor if necessary. That‘s part of the challenge. For us, I can only say that we couldn't have gone any further. So it's a good thing there was space.

[endo]

Although it's high season here in the Alps, the Mainzer Höhenweg is very quiet. We met no one on the first day after leaving the Rüsselsheimer Hütte and on the second, only two hikers who wanted to reach the bivouac from the other side.

[Denman John]

@endo Hard core and well done!

[Jord]

@endo Those memories will last a lifetime!

Thanks for sharing man awesome pics

[68degreesorless]

Looks like fun

[FlavourFade]

@endo what an amazing place! I did the two nights routeburn track in NZ 2017 along with other hikes and the experience was great but surely a lot less challenging than your trip. But still can relate to your emotions and feelings about that experience

[endo]

@FlavourFade said in The Great Outdoors - Hiking and so on…:

routeburn track in NZ

Looks also very beautiful. Noted in case I ever make it to NZ

[Denman John]

Great posts. Being in the mountains is my idea of a great “holiday”. I hiked the Routeburn track in ‘93 and loved it. I was cycling New Zealand for 3 months and thought I was in pretty good shape when I got to the bottom of the South Island. I quickly realized that cycling legs and hiking legs are different and that hike humbled me. Beautiful part of the world that kinda reminds me of the west coast of Canada.

Give your son a pat on the back for me. You’ll both remember this trip for many years to come.