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  The Rennsteig is a 1 169.29 km (105.19 mile)   hiking trail that dates back way into the 1300's when it was a border path between the Duchy of Bavaria and Thurnigen. The Rynnestig was first mentioned in 1330, in a border charter issued in Schmalkalden. The name itself is likely related to old high german jargon for "border".  It can also be used for bikepacking, and has a number of protection huts along the route that one can sleep at, one of the only places in Germany where this is accepted, maybe even celebrated.  I planned to go backwards from the traditional hiking direction in order to get more downhill at the end into Hoerschel, which wasn't a bad idea really. More on that later.  The trip started in Bayreuth, and with an 80ish km trip to a random forest hut I found on Komoot.  I managed to even find some pretty fun singletrack along the way! The first night was a little bit stressful, as it isn't exactly allowed to sleep in these huts (or anywhere for tha

This was just the "standard" Steigerwald trip. Not that far away, not very flat ground, the usual. The big advantage here is that it's allowed to have a campfire, which is key for solo trips.    Used the Borah designs bivy and woke up with the bag wet inside the bivy and the bivy wet on the outside. Bonus! It's also super slippery on the cot.. Might make sense to add some silicon to the bivy when I seal the tarp seams. 

  Stayed at Bronhof, and it was really cold. Down to -3 or -4 or something. Best decision I made was pouring coffee water before going to bed, because all of my water was frozen solid in the morning. I used both my quilt and my Thermarest bag and was still cold. I also used two pads. As a bonus, I left my shoes out where the frost could fall on them.. Nailed it! So frozen and gray. I wish the sun wasn't behind clouds the whole time. 

   Destination: Erica Bruennle for sleeping, Loffelstertz Lake for Eating 11km, 46 minutes. Fast roads Temperature: down to 0, a little frost in the morning but not much.  OR Intersteller Bivy, EE 20 deg quilt, Thermarest Xtherm, Rumpl, Rab Dagwalkinjacket Three scoops of Huel still wasn't enough, but the Cajun pasta was pretty good. Ate dinner by the lake, but it was too windy to be comfortable sleeping there.  Will likely try and stay at a trekking Erlebnis place next time with a proper campfire. We'll see.  Sleeping was cold, slept with the Rumpl on top of the quilt/bivy which probably compressed the down. Managed a reasonable night's sleep either way. Sleep system still needs work.. Blaek coffee is great, and two is more than enough. 

1/12 January  Destination: Erica Bruennle 8km, 53 minutes. Muddy and slow Temperature: down to -1.8c according to Garmin OR Intersteller Bivy, EE 20 deg quilt, Thermarest Xtherm, Rumpl, Rab Dagwalkinjacket The ride there was ok, cold and the Dyno light didn't provide enough to navigate properly. I left the green jacket and bike stuff on for a little bit to cool down and hopefully dry them out, then changed to warmer gear. I wore my grid fleece pants, and they weren't warm enough. Some warmer pants or more layers would have been good, but I wasn't uncomfortable.  Had 3ish scoops of Huel for dinner, Chili Mac! Would do 4 next time.  I read for a bit wrapped in the blanket, then went to bed around 10:00. Maybe 9:50.. Surprised I made it that far. Kindle was pretty slow when it was that slow! Slept in the bivy, with the Rumpl wrapped underneath and a heat packet. I was warm enough until about 5:30 when I woke up first. In general, the quilt setup doesn't work great beyond m

Buying and Registering a Car: Germany: Make an appointment with a dealer Test drive Car Buy car Leave without car and go home Gather car information from dealer. they will probably mail it so you'll have to wait for that Get car insurance Go register car Go buy license plate Go back to car registration place and get sticker applied to license plate Take plates to dealership, put on car drive car home United States Make an appointment with a dealer Test drive car Buy car drive car home insure car online register car, recieve plates and put on car in one location