My logic machine kicked into high gear: ok, Russ and Sally in one bed, that's clear, now, who is the widest person left? Me? Well, then it only makes sense for the other two (Dave and Richard) to double up, and I'll just have to sleep alone :-). Anyway, since I can't sleep when people snore, I figured I'd be suffering enough as it was.
In point of fact, however, I slept like a lamb. The reason was three-fold. First, Sally kindly inserted my earplugs correctly so that I could hear almost nothing. Second, Russ kindly gave me some Benadryl to knock me out. And lastly, and probably most importantly, the two snorers kindly exerted themselves so as to sleep on their sides rather than their backs, and as a result apparently did not snore. At least, the one time I was awake for more than a few seconds during the night, they were not snoring. Much appreciation is hereby duly noted.
We set off at 7:40, climbing immediately up to and over the Kenzensattel, and then shortly thereafter to the hole in the rock known as the Fensterl. The weather was cool, but the climb steep enough so that I proudly noted a new maximal sweat line on the brim of my H2H hat.
By the time we reached the top a stiff breeze had come up and it was much colder. So much so that when we stopped for lunch on the Kraehe (first time over 2000m!) everyone put on multiple additional pieces of clothing. Sally's delightful pink / purple knitted hat should receive special mention at this point.
We didn't stay long, pushing to descend by a path marked with the same "Nur fuer geuebte" (only for experts) sign that we had been seeing for the last several days. I can report that legs stiff with cold can transform a regular goober path into a truly challenging climb!
Shortly, after, while heading down to the Niederstraussberg Sattel we heard in the distance someone disturbing the peace by yelling through the pristine mountain air. It is amazing the lack of consideration that sopme people have these days, isn't it?
Then Sally says, I think they are saying my name. And Dave says, I think I heard Russell's name too. And I say, well, if it is Russell and Sally, then it is Bea and Arnulf... and it was. They had come up the Tegelbergbahn and hiked towards us, just like they had done a week earlier in Bad Toelz. I think it was very nice of them to let us know they were there long before we met them, no? Grin. Once again, a lovely surprise!
We walked on. By the time we reached the Tegelbergbahn Bergstation it was around 3PM and we had been hiking for over 7 hours with a long descent of some 900m still to go. Russell was starting to fade, and not even the consumption of an icecream (or was it a Radler Mass?) improved things. By the time we reached the bottom of the beautiful trail leading down the ridge to the Marienbruecke, with spectacular views of Schloss Neuschwanstein (the Disney Castle, for those who haven't been there) and the picture-perfect landscape around Fuessen, he was moving at about half normal speed.
We arrived at the Schlosshotel Lisl in Hohenschwangau at around 7PM, some 11+ hours after starting in the morning. Welcoming us was our uncle Peter, who had booked us lovely rooms in the Jaegerhaus annex. After a short break to shower and change we had a long, lusty, and excellent dinner, during which Russell recovered remarkably. Around 11 we wandered off to bed, all, I think, well satisfied with the day.
One last thing: Dave left us to return to the US in the middle of dinner, and we will sorely miss him. Our first guest hiker, our first (and most prolific!) photographer, as well as the best hiking companion you can imagine (never complaining, always watching out for others, fit as a fiddle, albeit with an odd run / stop hiking style and a tendency to snore when sleeping on his back :-), it was a pleasure and an honor to hike with you, Dave! We look forward to seeing you at the end of the H2H for another few days of hiking if you can swing it with your employers back in the US.
And that was that. The next day was to be another rest day. I heard no complaints about the plan, for a change :-).
