The next tour is coming! Mountains here I come again...

I just realised that it has already been half a year since I wrote the last article. Life has definitely been very the last six month. Having your own company of course means you are the “boss” and you can decide what and when you do stuff. But it also means that nothing happens if you don’t do it yourself 😂

Life in general is good. I still live in Mainz with my flatmates, our startup (www.campo-golf.de) is developing greatly and besides the work it is also a lot of fun. We just moved offices to get some fresh inspiration again. Besides this I gave a lot of speeches this year again and also fall looks pretty booked already. I still love sharing the story and the stuff behind. And then there is another new project on the horizon which I am currently working on. It is already so much fun and I am excited where it will lead to. But the tight schedule has definitely left me with very little privat time the last month and with this did not give me room for writing.

As much I am happy with the setup the mountains and time for myself was calling as well the last month. It has been pretty much exactly a year since the last trip to the mountains. Last year around this time I hiked the Tour de Mont Blanc with my favourite hiking buddy Kaylee aka “Smiles”. But since then I haven’t had time in the mountains anymore.

Fact is that I can’t and I also don’t want to leave again for a Long Distance Hike having campo and the other projects running. But nevertheless I felt that a weekend trip would do it. I miss the solitude, peace and mountain views. So I was always looking for tours which I might be able to fit into the responsibilities not leaving for too long but still giving me enough time for a real break. And then I came across a very need tour: The Pyreneen Haut Route – walking from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean See crossing the Pyrenees. It is more a concept than a trail. There is even a book and quite a few articles from people who have done it. But everyone hikes his own hike and choses his personal route, combines existing trails and ridge lines. The only thing that is more or less given is that you follow the high ridge of the Pyrenees. And that means staying in the high rough alpine landscape most of the time. The area which I love most. What does it mean: Roughly 900km of hiking with an altitude change of 100.000m.

The entire time I was not sure If I could go for such a long time to complete the whole thing. The maximum I can afford to leave right now is about 4-5 weeks. Many people take around 40-45 days to hike it. I have read articles from people who also did it faster so I guess it should be possible.

I kept it open as option the entire time depending on how the business would go. Maybe two weeks a go it became clear that I would probably be able to leave thanks to the rest of the team. So the planning and preparation started..

First trying to map out my route. So I pinned all the relevant parts of all the maps onto the wall adding routes and alternates, possible camping and resupply options, water sources and so on.

And then of course the equipment preparation had to be done. So I did get all the gear out of the basement and sorted everything out the last days. 

I guess I don’t have to mention that also a few new toys and improvements had to be changed against old gear. My new down-jacket (the MountainHardware Ghost Wisperer) which is on the right hand side and not compressed yet saves around 160 grams! 💪

Of course Pengu will be coming along as always.

New stove doesn’t really save weight but therefore storm-proof and super efficient. Boils half a litre of water in less than 90 seconds.

Also the shorts received a little improvement. I changed the colour of the new inside from white to red today. White is just not a good colour on trail 😂

The new camera clip actually saves 70 grams. But the bigger advantage is the smaller size so it now completely fits on the shoulder strap and with this does not pinch me in the chest or arm when I move. Very good improvement!

After more than 10.000km it was time for some new poles. Lighter and first of all straight again! I had a hard time folding and unfolding my old ones on the last tour. They just have seen too much already. Thanks to Jan & Betty for my birthday gift 😘

Of course – I will not go anywhere without my Speedcross. But I am experimenting with the new model now. The Speedcross 5 is out since a while and I thought it would be a good test for it. 900km is probably the distance it will last so they will return broken and done. And of course I couldn’t resist with the colour matching shorts and longsleeve now…

Well and today it all looks pretty good already. But it is about time now. I will leave Tuesday or Wednesday next week (if nothing happens anymore). So time to pack up and to get ready.

I don’t know if I will make it but of course I will try to keep a few photos coming from the trip. Besides this I will turn off all the communication channels and do some digital detox. No emails, no WhatsApp, now text messages and so on. Can’t wait for it. So don’t worry, I’ll just be “offline” for the next 4-5 weeks. If it is urgent you either have to wait or help yourself… 🤣

On my way to the 🏔🏕. #dowhatmakegood & #happytrails