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Last hiking day

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The hits just keep on coming.  Welcome to the last day of our combined Rhine and Moselle rivers hiking adventure in Germany.  We had good weather, continuous great scenery, a castle visit and even a boat ride.  No day on the river could be complete without some uphill trudging but there were no extremes, and frankly, we were getting pretty used to it.  More and more of the hillsides were being devoted to vineyard as we got close to Bernkastel, a town renown for its Riesling production.  We had plenty of chances to sample the local produce :) Castles on the Rhine were a dime a dozen, well maybe a half dozen, but they’re less common on the Moselle and it was fun to have one right on the hiking trail. Rewards at the end of the trip included a little boat ride and our first ice cream of the trip. Random observations from the trip. It was a great experience.  We enjoyed to scenery, the history (so much Roman influence), and the wonderful little towns we stayed in along the way.  We were imm
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Moderate-Strenuous

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All the hikes on this trip so far have been rated “moderate.”  Today’s was rated moderate-strenuous, so we were psyching ourselves us for something formidable.  Well, frankly, it was lovely.  It was foggy for a while and by the time the moisture lifted, we were on the ridgetop, as usual.  We spent time walking through forests and vineyards, enjoying more of the classic views of the river valley under the first blue skies in a while. Boys in the boat - from centuries ago carrying wine down the river Leaving town, crossing the Mosel. Outside a chapel commemorating the few from Piesport who survived the plague of 1506-1508 A fun children’s story on spinning blocks basically in the middle of the woods. Directions down one of the innumerable vertical vineyards A fancy one with steps Made it all the way up to the local hang gliding launch platform! A familiar symbol: although a mere 1966 km away, one could get their Camino credential stamped here on the way to Santiago, Spain. Home for the n
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It was the hardest of days. It was the easiest of days.

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A Tale of Two Days - Saturday and Sunday, June 1 & 2. As we left the town of Mehring on Saturday, we were greeted with the usual - gain about 1000 vertical feet, more or less steeply, and then get on about the hike.  Annoyingly, as soon as we got up on the ridge above the Mosel, the trail began diving back down to the river, only to turn around and start back up again.  Then the fun started. It had been raining for several days in these parts and on Saturday we started seeing more than the usual mud, to the point of confronting water rushing down the trails, making this more of a walk-up-a-creek exercise than just another trudge in the mud. (There are no pictures of this part of the hike because nothing other than our full attention on the trail was advisable.)  As we got well into the second 1000 ft climb, up a rushing creek with soul/sole sucking mud beneath our feet, we ran into a predicted obstacle - a washout.  We had to cross a ravine where a trail used to be and climb up the
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Short and sweet

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 Picture stories today :) Stopped at the bakery on the way out of town.  Then stopped at the first hiker hut for a taste.   After an hour of “steep ascent” we are far above the Mosel where we started the day. Lots of amenities along the trail. Trail of the pines. Got an old culvert you’re not using?  Turn it into a hiker shelter.  Brought to you by the Active Seniors Club of Mehring Our destination town (right) Hiker guy Couldn’t decide if this was art or a place to offer firewood and kindling. Rare, almost-flat spot Elaborate trailside chapel Another attempt to illustrate the 3Vs (virtually vertical vineyards) of the Mosel Valley
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