9 June 2016
Record saturation
I got completely lost and saturated on a hike near Salzburg
I have achieved a new record in the level of saturation achieved.
Despite dire warnings of flash flooding and constant rain, I decided mountain climbing was in order, cause its either that or castles and museums.
So I set off, on a bus, out to the countryside, believing that the rain wasnt that bad, and would surely stop soon, wrong on both counts.
My plan was to climb up and cable car down, cause down in the wet is dangerous, nice plan, but I got lost from the start.
So I never made the top because I ended up perched precariously on a ridge wondering where I was in the driving rain.
On the way down I did indeed slip a few times, but the only injury is a bit of skin off my right forearm.
Unfortunately, I have now discovered both my backpack and camera bag are not waterproof, and as a result my camera has seemingly stopped working some hours later. The power button wont work, it still fires up when I stick in a USB cable.
Anyway, after retracing my steps, I waited in the rain for the bus. I had a day ticket and noticed when people get on the bus, the driver never asks to see a ticket.
So the bus comes and I get on, and he yells at me in German, and eventually just yells TICKET! So I show him my ticket and he gets really annoyed. He was hoping I didnt have one so he could kick me off as I was covered head to toe in wet mud.
Anyway, I then noticed no one else got asked for their ticket as they boarded, except when we got to the black muslim woman in the hajib, for which our Austrian driver got out of his seat and examined her ticket in great detail before letting her board without saying a word.
The underpass has Mozart graffiti.
My bus ride out to the country was much less eventful compared to the ride back.
I literally got off the bus in the middle of nowhere, and had no idea where the path up is.
I jogged in both directions and settled on what appeared to be a path. It was not the right one!
That is really very steep, and theres a lake at the bottom I had to walk around.
I think I needed to be across there, on top of that ridge the waterfall is cascading off of.
Instead I ended up on this ridge, this is a nice flat bit. There were no signs, and certainly no people. The ridge got narrower and narrower until it kind of just stopped. There was a rock up there, so I am guessing that was the summit, as far as I could go.
View from somewhere.
More view probably from as high as I got, 2.5 hours only to get to here.
Once back down I found a village and a bus stop. I should have been up the top of there going by cable car to a different village, but it was not to be.
I was really very muddy and completely soaked through, even my undies. I wore shorts as its not cold, but this lets water into the top of my waterproof boots, so I had to try and start a fire with the hair dryer.
I will try it on my camera shortly!
After showering to cure hypothermia, it was time to head out for lunch. More narrow alleys.
Still more.
But I ended up in a graveyard surrounded by a church. Mozarts father is buried here somewhere, but also a big crypt with the bones of a famous alchemist in the open air, not sure why. Apperently he cured people with magic and potions.
The church walls had lots of elaborate designs for rich peoples crypts. They decided to wait until this guy had been dead for a while before calling the sculptor.
A very interesting spooky place. Now pray for my camera.