7/5/01, 9:50 a.m., on a bench 6 km from Michelbach. Another sunny day. Left this morning at 7:45, after another good breakfast that included an egg and oj. The room was just 17$ with breakfast. The trail today started uphill for about an hour. Not as many vistas as yesterday. Trail is pretty narrow and overgrown in spots. Some problems with biting horse flies and nettles. Feet are better today but still hurt.
11:30, Hohlenfels. Stopping here for lunch. Looks like a former monastery, It's located in the middle of the woods. There's a snack bar, bathrooms and large playground. Camping is possible as well as beds inside. Also a well to fill water bottles.
6:20, Balduinstein. I made it into town about 3:00. Fairly steep descent the last hour. A great variety of kinds of trails today, not just logging roads. Also variety in views, some very nice vistas in the afternoon. The trail was also very well marked on this stretch, didn't get lost once. Not much in the way of towns, did go through Schönborn and passed by an old church by itself in Habenscheid. Passed by one of several shelters I've seen so far - not meant for overnight camping, but could serve in a pinch.
At the end of the segment today, a castle up high: Schaumburg. To find a place to stay, however, you have to go off the trail and go about 1 km to Balduinstein, a little place on the Lahn river. There are several hotels right on the river. I'm at the less expensive looking one, Hergenhahn. The room is very nice, with a balcony facing the river.
Total km: 21 Dinner: 35 DM (Wiener Schnitzel) Hotel: 70 DM