Im Schwarzwald Verlaufen (lost in the Black Forest)

Two months ago, tucked into the box of chocolate that arrived as usual from Germany around my birthday, was a little card that read something along the lines of "Credit towards a memorable day." Yesterday I cashed it in for an adventure in the Black Forest with Anne! She planned a hike for us in a beautiful, cliff-lined gorge that proved a little elusive...

Löffingen peaking over the hill... A view we wouldn't have had if we hadn't missed the turn!

The entire hike was supposed to be just over 9 miles and take us around 5 hours. We missed the first turn while following paths through the fields, and ended up on the outskirts of the village of Löffingen, where cows grazed on the hillside and and segelflieger (gliders) circled slowly overhead, buzzing as they made lazy turns over us. After referencing the guide book and confirming that we shouldn't be going through the village, we made a course correction and cut across the glider strip towards the forest. As we dropped into the woods on a logging road, we could hear water below us. We must be getting close, right? Then, just past a fork in the trail that wasn't described in the guidebook, we saw a glider launch in front of us again... we had just closed a circle.

 So, back to where we thought we'd gone wrong, and this time through the woods along the gorge. There was a soft drip in the trees around us as it started to rain, and the constant humming of the river below. A few peek-a-boo views showed off limestone cliffs worthy of Middle Earth, but then we started climbing out of the gorge. We were headed back towards the car on the wrong side of the river!

Our first river crossing, a few miles later than we expected

A couple of fast hikers stopped and showed us on their map where we were and where we had gone wrong. So, we turned around and headed back the way we'd come. By this time the grass over the trail was wet, and we were thinking about how long it would take us to get back to the car if the rain didn't let up. Fortunately, we took the correct left before turning back to the airfield, and dropped down to the river with the water on our left. The rain had reached a steady patter when we finally reached the river and the graceful arch that crossed it. Since we were at the half-way point of the loop, there was no sense in not pressing on and finishing our intended route, even if we had already walked roughly 7 miles and had wet feet!

 

Our trek on the far side of the river was tucked under the south wall of the gorge, giving us periods of reprieve from the rain. It also took us under, along, and across from beautifully stratified limestone walls. We passed a few dozen hikers who were as damp as us.  Every so often, we would turn a corner and just say "wow!"

At the end of the day, we were mud splattered, foot-weary, a little hungry, out of water, and still within the time window the guide gave for the walk. We were also grinning stupidly over our adventure and how beautiful the day way! I feel pretty lucky to have friends who know that my "happy place" isn't a specific location, but a state of mind that that takes over when I'm on long walks on trails with them. There can be bad days hiking, but a bit of rain and mud makes for a day I'd still rather be on a trail than just about anywhere else. Now I can add another spot to my list of favorites!