E1 day 5 – Another hiker!

8. Mai 2018

Skodborg shelter (Haraldsholm) to Laeborg campsite

29,7 km

Nearly 30 kilometers, puhhh!

This morning I started my hike accompanied by one of my hiking problems: my left knee was aching like crazy. I thought all options through. If it would stay like this I’d be happy to make it all the way to Vejen. And then have a rest. After I left the forest I slept in the trail followed some farmways again. At an old mill the trail made a turn I nearly missed and joined the Kongeastien – a local trail along a nice little river. The trail was well maintained and included some nice picnic tables and rest spots. There was even a place with two shelters to sleep in! Why do I always arrive at such places during daytime?!

I made lots of breaks and after a longer one my knee all of a sudden stopped hurting at all. A good or a bad sign? For the rest of the day I was nearly pain free.

Important for hikers after me is to mention that close to Skodborg there are two places that provide free water for hikers. One is directly on trail and one a bit later around 600 m off trail. I used only the first option to fill my bottles. But I should learn a different method of getting water later that day.

In Vejen I went to the supermarket and bought some food, water and snacks for the following day. 87,50 Kronen which is a bit more than 10 Euros.

Sitting in front of the supermarket like a homeless person I enjoyed a pasta and a so called protein salad. My eyes were bigger than my stomach when I bought them.

I left Vejen, crossed a busy road and – saw another hiker! What a surprise after days of no one at all. It turned out that Clemens from Austria was hiking the same route and to the north Cape as well. We hiked together for a while and now we are camping together at an abandoned looking campsite.

We chatted a lot about the trail (Clemens already hiked 1900 kilometers through Germany!) and about hiking. Interesting is how Clemens gets his water: he just rings at people’s houses and asks for a fill-up. It works! I have seen it. But I am not too sure if I could do that myself…

It is time for me to sleep now. We chatted way too long and it’s well past hikers midnight!