The First Stage Of The Rheinsteig. It Was Dirt Paths Through Beautiful Scenery The Entire Day. And Despite

The first stage of the rheinsteig. It was dirt paths through beautiful scenery the entire day. And despite it being Easter, there weren't too many people on the roads. The only thing I hadn't anticipated was the constant change in elevation. Up one mountain, down into a valley, up another one, etc. All day. Forgive my ignorance but I thought we would be following the Rhein river, and rivers usually run pretty flat... Maybe it's a cultural thing. But at least I got a great workout out of it, and for the first time I have drained my two litre water bottle in one day. Chanel seemed to love the climbing as well, the little show-off. She would run up, look disapprovingly down at me (I walk really slowly uphill), wait a while, walk down a bit, and once I reached her, repeat the whole thing. It made me walk a little faster, and every time I reached the top I felt like I was going to die. Which is also how I decided on our resting place for tonight. It's in a little hut at the top of one of the mountains. I keep saying mountains. They're really only hills, but I'm from Denmark. In Denmark, our tallest "mountain" is lower than these hills. The pictures are of the area, and a selfie I took when we came across some church ruins. Yep, I use the word selfie now. Enjoy the sunset.

It's great to know that we're on the right way.

Sunset over a small pond at a place I pitched my tent. Church in the background.

Starting again after a long and final break. The completely clear sky hints at an amazingly starry night. Here in the quiet of the countryside I doubt any light will spoil it. At least I hope so. Chanel has been her usual merry self, rolling in just about anything smelly along the road. However, for some strange reason, that I am grateful for, she has not retained any bad smells. This is a great comfort, since we will be sharing a sleeping bag.

Happy hiking dog, Chanel. She’s six years old, I did not pick her name.

First part or my hike in Denmark.