RaxAlp

Thrusday, August 12

Today was spent hiking around Rax Alp.  It was one of the best experiences so far.  It was truly incredible to be in the mountains.  A small group of us set out this morning around ten o'clock and we spent the next seven hours hiking!  My experience of Austrian hiking is so different from what I have experienced back home.  In the States, we head out into the wilderness and any supplies we need, we have to take with us.  Here, we hiked from house to house, each time stopping for refreshments.  When I was first learned of this style of hiking, I imagined groomed trails with lots of cute Alpine houses along the trail.  I imagined I would spend the majority of the day eating cake.  While I did have some cake, my image of the hike was way off.  The trails were challenging, the paths were full of rocks, and there were shear mountain cliffs everywhere.  Sometimes the trail lead us through a beautiful meadow and other times it felt like we were climbing straight up the mountain of sliding straight down.  We hiked to the fourth house on our trail and then took a new route home.  At the last house we visited, they had rooms where hikers could stay the night and continue on the next day.  It would really be a dream to come back and spend a few days in the Alps hiking and staying in these houses tucked away into the mountains.  When we returned home, we were exhausted but very happy and satisfied.  It will be sad to leave this beautiful place tomorrow morning but there are only more adventures ahead.