Tracking in Rax mountains
Did you ever try the barefoot hiking in Alps?
08.09.2012 23 °C
The Rax is a mountain range at the border of the Austrian federal provinces Lower Austria and Styria, situated in the Northern Limestone Alps. Rax is relatively easy reachable from Vienna by train. Then a shuttle - free during the day time, will take you to the lift at foot of the mountain massive. About 20 mins in the ski-lift -- it's almost vertical and supplies great views.
At the top - alike everywhere in Austria, extensive / advanced infrastructure of all kinds of mountain activities: for hiking, for climbing, for skiing, for sleds, for children, for adults, for hungry and for thirsty people. You may find their just everything you need for successful day in mountains.
Very soon we found that my mom lost her soles. They just had fallen off of her expensive Italian mountain boots. She hobbled on mountain path, keeping the soles in her hands. Happily it happen on the plateau, which is almost flat and not on a vertical "goat trail". Roger was exceedingly worried look, he held her by the elbow. Occasionally his foot were slipping (as he wore inappropriate shoes) and then he was hunging up on her.
Normally I scold Andre for the habit to pick up "the rubbish", but now those multi-proposal plastic bands that he found on the ground couple of days ago - they were very handy. Being a worthy companion to my husband, I kept a sharp kitchen knife in the bag - to cut tomatoes. Don't forget that we were far from home and from all our equipment, so we should to improvise. Andre attached the soles back to the shoes rather quickly and they begun "walkable" again ... for some time.Definately, for barefood person the most reasonable was to go down by lift, but my heroic mother, warmed by not less heroic Roger, rejected the idea. What ever. After short walk on the plateau we begun the descent. Descent certainly easier than climbing, but I assure you, it was nevertheless serious enough even to our trained legs. There is an Austrian "light/medium trail" and it's nothing to do there for other nations. Austrians are born for mountain hiking. All of them. They are doing it from the birth to death, during whole their lives, they enjoy it - I have seen their shining eyes, they are singing in the way. They know what to eat when they arrive a heurige in the mid-way and to hold a pint of cold beer in never-trembling hands.
Prost!
Our not-drinking and not-walking companions overestimated their capabilities. Clearly. But at that moment no one of us knew it yet.
I will not bore you with all the details of this surrealistic trip through mountain forest. The trail was steep, sometimes even slippy, it took about 5 hours. My mom didn't complain a word, but when we arrived the mountain foot (relatively flat place, but not yet the end of the road) - her shoes were the completely no soles and her knees bended. Roger did endless number of ass-falls during the way, but, thanks God, didn't brake anything. And we - we found mushrooms. Eatable. We have eat them and still alive - you see, I even able to write this blog post. When we came to the road - it was too late for shuttle but we caught the last bus running to the train station. We reached the city in night. The happy end.
I liked the place and I think it worth the second visit - just Andre and me, alone
;-)
Posted by vanessa 22:43 Archived in Austria Tagged mountains hiking mountain track alps boots barefoot rax
I like that place too, and the story, and the happy ending ( crazy woman, I won't eat mushrooms from the woods, no way , Jose:-))))))
by danabby