Walking on after dark it's harder to spot good sleeping places. And it's a gamble as to when to stop. A reasonable place - stop and sleep in case there's nothing better ahead, or put in more miles and maybe find somewhere as good or better.
Last night I found a picnic table and bench on a small rise - crucially it was dry ground. After the rain on Saturday everywhere is waterlogged, some fields flooded and streams in spate.
I woke before dawn - around 6.45 - and made coffee (that's the stove, and looking west), packed and walked on. Looking behind me there was the sunrise. Shepherds' warning?
A km further on I found a perfect - an even perfecter - sweet-spot sleep spot; a wooden shelter by a pond. A thermometer read 5 C
Today I've climbed and descended a lot of hills - it's up and dow n country here - and crossed the Neckar river. Seen a peregrine, goldfinches, greater spotted woodpecker, black kite, a large flock of ravens and give herons flying in formation. Birds bring great comfort and encouragement when walking - they turn the wilderness into a garden.
So many sloes - tempting to put a few into that 100% alcohol I've got. Tempting but dangerous.Instead I've been knocking late apples out the trees I've passed.
If all goes well I'll be climbing into the Black Forest this evening - the last high ground (am I right?) between Munich and Paris.
Feel I'm treading on the heels of Herzog (name translates as 'duke' by the way) again. I'm just one village away from Bosingen where he spent the night. If his ghost makes a slow start this morning I'll catch him.
Trot on.
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