There are four of us hiking in the north Fichtel Mountains in Germany, just across its eastern border with the Czech Republic.
The time is late May, and the spring has been very, very dry here, but the woods are a deep green of conifers – well-managed spruce, fir and pine. Our path is a logging trail, littered with slash, lumpy and awkward to walk on while shouldering full packs. At 25 degrees C (77 degrees F), it’s hot in the sun but cool under the tall trees. My companions are all Czechs.
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