The E4 Long Distance European Path or E-Path runs from Tarifa in Spain to Larnaca in Cyprus. Where it follows the arc of the Alps there are two alternatives: a northerly route through the Bavarian Alps and the Austrian Salzkammergut and a more southerly trail following the Nordalpenweg 1, the also known as the E4 Alpine route, through the high mountains of Austria alone (2000 metres plus). I chose to walk the northerly route in 2016 as the Nordalpenweg alternative looked too difficult, for experienced alpinists only it seemed. Having completed the entire E4, by walking it in sections, I wrote a book on my travels ("Six pairs of boots, Spain to Cyprus on the E4 Trail") and as a result have been invited to a meeting in Konstanz, to celebrate 50 years of the E-Paths. Konstanz is a town on the German Swiss border beside Lake Constance, which is locally known as Bodensee. This seemed a good opportunity to try just a little of the E4 Alpine trail which starts near Bregenz at the other end of the lake.
One might ask why I am better able to hike this route now, when I avoided it six years earlier. On the plus I have gained more experience, having been on a scrambling course and walked the E4 in Bulgaria, a high mountain route. Klaus Reitberger, a fellow E4 walker, has also encouraged me. On the negative side, I developed a bad knee on my walk from Lands End to John o'Groats a year ago. Although I have managed to walk a considerable distance on it in the UK and Ireland, these trips have only crossed gentle hills and my knee does not improve. The steep climbs and descents of the Alps will be a challenge. I had hoped to mitigate this by varying the length that I walked each day, according to the performance of my knee and the weather, however, the mountain huts were getting pretty booked up and this forced me to commit to my daily distances by reserving all my accommodation for this trip. I could have wild camped I suppose, but apart from being illegal in Austria (probably), huts offer the chance of food, a toilet, a shower and some company. As there are limited opportunities to resupply with food on the route, most of it is high in the mountains, staying in huts means I will not have the carry the weight of days of supplies up and down mountains. I have tried to pack light...but never seem to achieve that objective, my (65 litres) pack looks overloaded and bulky, despite me repacking it a few times. One reason is that I have packed some warm clothes as I fear it may be cold in the evenings or in the rain, I shall see if this was worthwhile. I am also taking my tent as I plan to camp the first few nights by Bodensee to attend the 50 year birthday celebration of the E-paths. Campsites beside the lake are beautiful and the hotels and hostels busy and not cheap.
In the following posts you can see how I get on and whether I was wise to attempt such a mountainous trip.
