The initial plan was to do an overnight trip where I would sleep in one of the many mountain huts. However, the hut I had planned to visit was fully booked and I had to make the most of the day. That meant staying up high until sunset and then sprint down and (hopefully) catch the last train in the valley.
I spent most of the day just relaxing as I waited for the sun to get lower and bring in the golden light and hopefully shoot some beautiful photos.
The sun finally crawled towards the horizon as I reached the highest point of my planned hike. However, I could see that I would not be able to reach the train in the town I had first planned. I looked at my map. I made a quick decision to go down the other side of the mountain and catch the train in the town of Dorfgastein which would save me an hour or so of hiking. I had two hours until the train would depart. The sign said three and a half hour to Dorfgastein. Damn.
I ran down the mountain in my stiff alpine boots. My feet were aching from being pounded with my body weight from each step.
The light slowly disappeared as I made my way down the mountain. I glanced left as the trees cleared for a moment. I came to a halt although I knew I was behind schedule. I could not let what met my eyes go undocumented.
Then I glanced right towards the sunset. Again I could not pass this opportunity and burned many valuable minutes shooting photos. In my head I could see the train buzzing through mountains towards the station. Almost like a Hollywood action movie where there would be quick cuts between me running and the train speeding through the landscape.
I made it down to a gravel road. It said two hours to Dorfgastein. But I only had one hour. It would be near impossible to reach the train. I took out my phone and called my girlfriend who was in the area with a friend. I was a bit embarrassed to explain the situation. The story ended with me getting picked up in pitch black darkness in a small mountain village.
