A soggy three days in the Black Forest

'It's set to rain on your Tour. Pack a waterproof jacket.' That was komoot's advice to us as we checked the weather forecast for the duration of our trip. There was barely a second where the chance of rain was below 80%. 'Should we bail?', we thought, as we toyed with the prospect of reorganising the entire weekend. But after spending the last several months trapped inside, a bit of rain wasn't going to stop us from our long-awaited adventure in the Schwarzwald National Park. Starting out at Schönmünzach, we parked the car and headed off. The sun was shining and the birds were singing — the perfect opener to our three-dayer in the woods. We headed into the bush and around to the Schwarzenbach reservoir, a giant lake on the northwestern edge of the park. Arriving at the giant dam that kept the water where it needed to be, we enjoyed some hot food under the shade of some gently swaying trees. Then it started. The sky closed in on us, the clouds seemingly dropped into our laps, and we felt the first blueberry-sized raindrops slap onto our heads. We quickly packed up and headed back into the woods. We knew we needed to find a camping spot soon, so we headed to the shelters we'd marked on the map. These small wooden shacks are the only places you were legally allowed to sleep in the Schwarzwald. And even though there are dozens spread out throughout the region, the sudden downpour meant that most were already occupied. We wandered from shelter to shelter looking for a place to rest our wet, weary heads. Luckily, we found a suitable spot right as the blueberries turned to golf balls, setting up camping and bedding down for the night beneath the sound of torrential rain. At 4:45, the alarm sounded. We had intended to get up and watch the sunrise, but with the clouds sitting barely above our heads, it was impossible to know where the horizon ended and the sky began. As the rain was meant to hold off for the next hour or so, however, we took the time to pack up while it was dry and carry on down the trail. By 8 am, we already had the first 5 miles behind us, we had enjoyed a couple of coffees at two different lakes, and we'd managed to stay largely dry under our rain jackets. At around 7 am, as we crested the first of the trip's various summits, we'd also been gifted the odd ray of sunshine, even if only for a moment or two. We continued onwards through the day battling mud, rain and creeping fatigue. Then, at around 1 pm a blanket of mist fell across the entire region. Suddenly, we couldn't see further than 50 metres in front of us and everything felt wet to the touch. Continuing onward, we clambered along what is probably an incredibly beautiful ridge. The 50 metres we could see of it were nice, at least. We walked across an open moor and hiked a small stretch of the famous West Weg, taking each 50-metre stage at a time. Then, shortly after lunch, we arrived at our shelter for the night, the Hohlfelsen Hütte. This shelter looked great in pictures: Roomy, well-covered and with a fireplace to boot. To our dismay, however, it sat right atop an exposed hill, allowing huge gusts of wind to flood the shelter and chill us to our soggy bones. The temperature up there felt as though it was hovering barely above zero, and we'd packed for June.It quickly became crystal clear that we couldn't stay there, so we headed to the next shelter we'd marked on the map: The Busterbachhütte. Unfortunately, we'd barely any idea what awaited us as the photos attached to the Highlight were not very illuminating. Would it be open? Would it be big enough? Would it even have walls? Yes, as it turns out. Heading back down the other side of the ridge, it was like Christmas morning as we spied the epic Busterbach Hütte with its big old roof and four tough walls. Hell, it even had a proper window! This was the perfect place to get our heads down for the night. And got them down we did. On day 3, we woke to the gentle patter of raindrops on the roof of the shelter. Again, we arose with the intention of watching a sunrise, but the sky and the horizon were still one. Instead, as the rain slowly started to get louder, we packed up and hit the trail, hoping to get back to the car before we were soaked through.Heading westward, we decided to adjust our route to take the path of least resistance. We'd originally planned to trek back through the park and around the north side of Schurmsee. As yesterday's generous 50 metres had been reduced to 10 or 20 in parts, it seemed unnecessary to add on extra miles to see basically nothing. So we opted for the flatter, more direct route. Early on, the rain started to fall. The closer to the car, the stronger it came down. After about 6 miles, the temperature had plummetted and the rain had started to penetrate our coats. Too cold and wet to consider a better course of action, we decided to just grin and bear it. Then, at about the halfway mark, we came across one hell of a Highlight: A grotto of sorts tucked away under a large overhanging rock. Complete with fireplace, two bottles of wine and a small visitor's book, this looked like the perfect place to camp. If we'd been dry enough to commit to one more night, we would have definitely spent it there. But alas, the heaters of our Volkswagen Passat were calling, and they were barely a two-hour hike away. So off we went again, agreeing that we'd definitely come back one day to enjoy this picture-perfect camping spot.Dripping wet, depleted and cold to the bone, we arrived back at Schönmunzach shortly after lunch. We fired up the heaters, warmed our hands and pulled on whatever dry clothes we'd had left. We'd spent the last three days in a perpetual state of either soaking wet or annoyingly damp, so it was good to finally dry off. ✌️