From La Danon to Neuntelstein

🥾 HexaTrek Day 9 🥾
La Danon to Neuntelstein

Today started with one of those mornings where you wake up feeling like you've already worked a full night shift.

Camping at altitude definitely has its challenges. The colder temperatures and constant moisture made for a pretty miserable night's sleep. We're really missing our Big Agnes Copper Spur tent. We switched to the Durston X-Mid because it's lighter and uses trekking poles instead of dedicated tent poles, but after using both on trail, the weight saving just isn't enough to outweigh the benefits of the Copper Spur. It's quicker to pitch, feels sturdier, stays drier, and being free-standing makes life so much easier. Safe to say we'll be switching back after this adventure!

The weather didn't help today either. Rain, mist, sweat, low cloud and over 1,000m of elevation meant we felt damp from the moment we packed up until the moment we stopped walking.
Despite that, there were some real highlights. We passed through the beautiful village of Wackenbach before descending into Schirmeck, where we enjoyed one of those perfect trail lunches: fresh baguette, hummus, fruit, coffee, phone charging, and a much-needed resupply.

From there it was straight back to the climbing. Up, up, up once again above 1,000m, passing the former Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp. Established by Nazi Germany in 1941, it was the only concentration camp located on what is now French territory. More than 50,000 prisoners from across Europe were held there in brutal conditions, making it a sobering and important place to visit.

The day finished on a high as we pushed on towards the stunning Neuntelstein viewpoint. We had our sights set on the mountain hut there and were determined to avoid another cold, wet night in the tent. It felt like an episode of Race Across the World as we power-marched the final kilometres, secretly hoping we'd be first to claim a sleeping spot.

Mission accomplished!

A roof over our heads, a dry place to sleep, and incredible views to finish the day. Sometimes that's all you need.