h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Rambling Clubs

You will have noticed that I have mentioned a lot of hiking routes. The Pfälzer Wald (the forest) has a very well signposted (in my experience, even better than the Black Forest, just South of here) network of hiking paths. There are countless places to stop and take photos or pour a cup of coffee out of your flask and enjoy the view.

These all have fascinating names and can be a rock, a mill, a quarry, a milestone, an ancient cross, a shrine, a ruined castle, a border marking, a tree, a bridge, a pond, or with some luck a wooden hut where you can get your Schoppen (half-litre) of wine, or a plate of sausage and sauerkraut, coffee and cake, or some bread and cheese.

The signposting, the route markings, the maps, the catering, are all provided mainly by volunteers, usually in the framework of a local Rambling club which will, in its turn, be part of the Pfälzerwaldverein. This Club has been going for over 100 years, and is still active. It's the easiest thing to do - nearly all of us can walk - and includes all ages and generations. Even if you don't join the club, or don't go on their organised events, you will be helped by the markings and directions put up for everyone to see.

The Pfälzer Wald (Palatinate Forest) is joined to the Vosges forest, and together they make one of the largest forest areas in Europe. (More facts and figures in the wiki entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatinate_Forest )

The whole area being rural in character, not even if you're in the biggest towns of Ludwigshafen, Kaiserslautern or Mainz, are you very far from the woods.

The character of the forest is more gentle than the Black Forest. While the Black Forest is mainly conifers, the Palatinate Forest still has many deciduous trees and undergrowth, where you can pick blueberries in the autumn, and, of course, chestnuts and mushrooms, if you know where to look and which mushrooms to pick.

People hike mainly in the autumn, but it's also great fun in the snow, and in the heat of the summer, walking under the trees is one of the cooler ways of spending a Sunday afternoon.

Thanks for the link to the Pfalzer forest(s), TC. I couldn't resist going on to read about the Black Forest as well. I would dearly love to go visit those forests some day.

[Amy P]

Deb

I miss doing the long treks/hillwalking/climbing that I did before the ole ticker gave out. Lots of great memories and pics of spectacular views though from those days.