Marching Like Fools

Day 7 - What Was the Point?

The final chapter of Marching Like Fools is less about mountains climbed and more about questions asked. After six days on the Karnischer Höhenweg, four ex-soldiers — boots worn, knees frayed, banter intact — find themselves at the Gasthof Valentinalm, with only a museum, a farewell dinner, and a final taxi ride left to navigate.  Why listen to this episode? Because endings matter. Because laughter and silence share the same space. Because this isn’t just about finishing a trail, but about what’s left behind when the trail is over. This episode blends alpine history with present-day fragility: rifles and grenades in glass cases, snowfields vanishing from ridges, and the stubborn resilience of both wildflowers and walkers. There are jokes, of course — about strudel errors, MI6 suspicions, and the near impossibility of finding a yodeller in Austria. But there are also moments of raw truth, spoken and unspoken.  What’s inside:  Segment 1: Last Day Begins The walking is done, but the logistics continue: museums, farewells, and the curious efficiency of Taxi Gratzer.  Segment 2: Museum at Kötschach A forgotten war brought into sharp focus. Trenches, photographs, relics — and the unanswered question: what was the point?  Segment 3: War, Memory & Those Left Behind A reflection not only on veterans and trauma, but on the silent endurance of partners and families who carried their own wars at home.  Segment 4: Climate & the Shifting Alps Shrinking glaciers, fragile ridges, bark beetle infestations, and a landscape transforming before our eyes. Soldiers a century ago thought only of survival. A century from now, what will walkers say of us?  Segment 5: Flowers, Fresh Water & Mr Fluffy Misidentified blooms, a continuous mountain spring, and the furry microphone that convinced a guesthouse owner we worked for MI6.  Segment 6: The Farewell Logistics Cars, chapels, and a final extraction worthy of any ops planner.  Final Reflections: Brotherhood & Beyond The Fools thought this would be their last great march. By the end, they knew it couldn’t be. Not yet. Next year, another.  Listen if you like: * Endings that don’t quite end * Honest reflections on war, trauma, and silence * Laughter served alongside history * Camaraderie forged in weather, miles, and mugs of tea * Environmental truths spoken plainly  Avoid if you want: * A neat conclusion tied up with ribbon * A light-hearted travelogue with no shadows * Silence without snoring  Final thoughts: This is more than the closing of a walk. It’s a meditation on memory, fragility, friendship, and the planet itself. The Fools may have left the mountains, but the mountains — and the questions — remain.  Boots off. Beer poured. March complete. Until the next.

Day 6 - Spinoti? Nein danke.

Day Six of Marching Like Fools is about decisions, detours, and the kind of mountain wisdom that comes not from daring, but from declining. From Wolayerseehütte to Valentinalm, the Fools trade cliff-clinging bravado for cautious progress, Jetboil brews, suspicious looks from a hut owner, and one catastrophic Apfelstrudel.  Why listen to this episode? Because sometimes the funniest, truest stories aren’t about what you did — but what you didn’t. This is a tale of saying no to danger, yes to tea, and maybe (regrettably) to too much cream. It’s also about how exhaustion, humour, and decades-old trust still glue this group together as the miles start to tell.  This isn’t a glossy alpine postcard. It’s clouds, rain, wobbly chains, and the occasional upside-down hiker. It’s conversations with students, smokers, and optimists. And it’s the peculiar joy of carrying a microphone cover so hairy it earns you accusations of MI6 espionage.  If you’ve ever wanted to know what happens when four ex-soldiers skip a via ferrata, boil up tea on a mountainside, and then nearly collapse from pastry overdose — this is your episode.  What’s inside: Segment 1: Recce & Decision The infamous Sentiero Spinoti looms. Fixed cables, steep polished rock — and a forecast of rain. The narrator inspects, confides in “Mr Fluffy” (the deadcat mic), and calls it: “Not today.” Disappointment, yes. Relief, definitely.  Segment 2: Encounters Before Departure Students from Graz, an Austrian smoker with enviable serenity, and a pair of cheerfully cloud-defeated sunrise chasers populate the breakfast scene. Even in drizzle, morale is oddly high.  Segment 3: Brew Stop & Military Mug Lore Two Jetboils, one legendary steel mug older than most governments, and the ritual of tea. Proof that a brew stop is about more than hydration — it’s ceremony, therapy, and community in liquid form.  Segment 4: Descent & Rain Forests, cattle, wildflowers, and finally the rain. Squelching boots replace cliff cables, with the narrator dangling from chains in ways both literal and undignified. A sensory pause by a river brings a rare, reflective calm.  Segment 5: Slower Steps & Weariness At Valentinalm, showers beckon but exhaustion dominates. The group senses the walking phase is nearly done. Tomorrow promises history more than height — a pause they’re ready for.  Segment 6: Mr Fluffy & the MI6 Theory The refuge owner eyes the recording kit and wonders aloud if MI6 has taken to mountaineering. Denials follow. The Fools’ cover remains intact.  Segment 7: The Apfelstrudel Incident One over-enthusiastic strudel order later, and the narrator is felled by cream. Some indulgences are worth it. This one wasn’t.  Segment 8: Final Thoughts The rain falls, the guesthouse is warm, and the Fools — damp, weary, and still foolish — move forward with fewer miles and deeper stories.  Listen if you like: * Decisions that matter more than bravado * The culture of brews, mugs, and soldierly ritual * Conversations with strangers in mountain huts * Humour in rain, chains, and culinary regret  Avoid if you want: * Step-by-step via ferrata tutorials * Influencer-style alpine glamour * Stories without rain, mud, or foolishness  Final thoughts: “Spinoti? Nein danke.” is an ode to caution, camaraderie, and cream gone wrong. It proves that sometimes the bravest move is to say no — and the funniest stories come from there. Boots on. Jetboil ready. Pastry optional. Press play.

Day 5 - Beer, Blisters, and the Border

Day Five of Marching Like Fools swaps razor-thin ridges for navigational blunders,  larch forests, phantom wolves, and a lakeside beer or three. From Porzehütte to Wolayerseehütte, it’s a day of wrong turns, right people, and the kind of military-bred trust that needs no explanation.  Why listen to this episode? Because it’s not just about hiking. It’s about how detours can deliver the best bits, why beer tastes better above 2000m, and how some bonds survive decades without losing strength. It’s also about goats, suspicious farmers, and why showers in mountain huts are sometimes more about morale than hygiene.  This isn’t your average alpine travel podcast. You’ll get scenery, yes — but also barking dogs, beer devotionals, tactical breakfast raids, and a meditation on how open landscapes heal the mind in ways science is only just catching up with.  If you’ve ever wondered what happens when four ex-military men get lost on purpose (sort of), drink too much, and talk about wolves that may or may not exist — this is your episode.  What’s inside: Segment 1: Breakfast Blitzkrieg Doors open at 06:30 and the polite scramble begins — muesli, bread, and teaspoons vanish in minutes. A brief map debate, a calm mountain col, and the day’s off to a deceptively good start.  Segment 2: Larches, Bark Beetles & Big Dogs Larch forests, thankfully free of Phytophthora, but alongside bark beetle damage to Norway spruce. Stone clearance cairns dot the meadows. Two massive goat dogs decide to test the Fools’ composure before being called off by their herder.  Segment 3: Getting Lost, Finding People A river in the wrong place prompts a reluctant admission: wrong trail. The detour leads to encounters with a father-and-son duo (the son a trained but unemployed winemaker), a struggling Italian couple, and a beer pilgrim who climbs for a can and drinks it like communion.  Segment 4: Border Crossing & Wolf Warnings At Passo Giromondo, there’s no fence, just new rock underfoot. A well-dressed “farmer” offers weather predictions and warns of wolves in the valley. Large pawprints later add intrigue, if not proof.  Segment 5: Climate & Conditions Storms loom but hold off — for now. The Alps are no longer climate-stable: heavier rains, wilder storms, and seasons slipping into unpredictability.  Segment 6: Wolayerseehütte & the Spinoti Debate The hut appears like a dream — or brewery. Pints flow, Teresa in traditional dress serves them, and the guardian shares mountaineering tales. Tomorrow’s route decision — via the exposed Sentiero Spinoti or a safer alternative — falls to the narrator.  Segment 7: Showers, Bonding & Beer-Fuelled Reflection Peer pressure leads to a performative shower. As the sun fades, beer loosens thoughts on military trust — instant, absolute, and unlike anything civilian life builds — and the quiet, proven health benefits of open spaces.  Listen if you like: * Outdoor storytelling with equal parts grit, humour, and detour * Ex-military camaraderie and the unspoken pacts it creates * Encounters with strangers, beer pilgrims, and possible wolves * Reflections on climate change in the high Alps  Avoid if you want: * Polished, influencer-friendly hiking stories * Step-by-step trail guides * Conversations without sarcasm, beer, or barking dogs  Final thoughts: “Beer, Blisters, and the Border” is about more than miles covered — it’s about the people, the pauses, and the landscapes that change you. Detours are optional. The stories aren’t. Pull on your boots. Order a pint. Press play.

Day 4 - The Longest March

Day Four of Marching Like Fools lives up to its name — The Longest March — with 20km of high alpine terrain, eight to ten relentless hours on the trail, and three climbs that would make a drill sergeant blush. In this episode, the Fools tackle the stretch from Porzehütte to Hochweißsteinhaus — a leg defined by military ghosts, unforgiving ridges, changing climate, and the kind of shared endurance that turns walking into something more.  What to expect in this episode: Segment 1: Military Ghosts & Hard Marches The day begins before the marmots are awake, with the morning light revealing a perfect temperature inversion — a white sea of clouds in the valleys. The trail follows the First World War frontline, where Austro-Hungarian and Italian troops once fought in unimaginable conditions. Bunkers, trenches, and dry-stone walls remain as silent markers of a brutal past. Encounters with fellow walkers remind us that in the mountains, companionship can be as vital as food and water.  Segment 2: Wayfinding, Terrain, and Trial by Ridge The route winds through alpine meadows, shale slopes, and goat-track ridges, each testing both legs and morale. Sometimes the path disappears, replaced by scree that slides underfoot. Along the way: suspected ibex scat, a possible eagle, and one Fool showing signs of altitude strain. Water is scarce on many ridge walks — but here, streams offer lifelines, each litre treated before drinking.  Segment 3: Climate Change, Then and Now The episode shifts to present-day threats facing the Alps: shrinking glaciers, melting permafrost, and unstable ridges. Cushion plants creep into lower altitudes, altering ecosystems, while ibex and eagles are squeezed into smaller territories. Above, contrails crisscross the sky — a quiet reminder of the carbon cost of adventure. The narrator draws a parallel: the storm-battered slopes of today echo the hazards faced by soldiers in 1915, though now the cause is climate change, not artillery.  Segment 4: Unexpected Geological Treasure A supposed fossil turns out to be a calcified stalactite — proof that curiosity can be heavy.  Segment 5: Arrival at Hochweißsteinhaus After ten hours, the team staggers into the old Italian customs post-turned-mountain-hut. The guardian eyes them like veterans of a dubious expedition. Pasta, goulash, beer — devoured without ceremony — restore body and soul.  Segment 6: Closing Thoughts It was a day of silent suffering — blisters, sunburn, aching legs — but no complaints. The narrator reflects on the shared resilience of a group that knows each other well, the ghosts who walked with them, and the honour of being one of the Fools.  Why listen? Because The Longest March isn’t just about distance. It’s about what happens when people are stretched thin — physically, mentally, emotionally — and still find a way to share a laugh at the end. It blends humour, history, and hard truth about the changing mountains into a vivid account you can almost smell, taste, and feel under your boots.  Listen if you enjoy: • First-hand travel stories with grit and humanity • Reflections on war, history, and landscape • The camaraderie of small groups under pressure • Honest accounts of climate change’s impact in remote places • A mix of humour, humility, and stubborn perseverance  Avoid if you’re after: • Lightweight, tourist-brochure storytelling • Step-by-step trail guides or gear reviews • Sanitised, hardship-free versions of mountain life Day 4: “The Longest March” is about the hardest day on the Karnischer Höhenweg — and why it’s worth it.

Day 3 - Scree, Silence, and the Inversion

Day Three of Marching Like Fools delivers another laugh-out-loud, quietly profound, and occasionally nerve-wracking window into the journey of four middle-aged ex-soldiers across the high Carnic Alps. From Obstanter Seehütte to Porzehütte, this was no casual stroll — it was exposure therapy, spiritual cloudscapes, and more. Why listen to this episode? Because it’s funny. Because it’s honest. Because it’s about far more than hiking. This isn’t your typical outdoor podcast. You’ll get scenery, yes — but also camaraderie, awkward showers, existential terror on narrow paths, and a grown man arguing with himself about deodorant. The trail is real. So is the risk.  If you've ever wanted to know what it's like to teeter on a razor-thin scree path while trying not to wet yourself — emotionally or physically — this is your episode.  What’s inside: * Segment 1: The High Climb and the Inversion The team begins early — too early for breakfast, but just in time to beat a storm. They climb to Pfannspitze (2678m), technically optional, but clearly not for fools. What follows is the breathtaking (literally) experience of emerging above the clouds — into a glowing, silent world of inversion, blue sky, and awe. Until, of course, one of the team politely asks the narrator to shut up.  * Segment 2: Scree Bypasses and Nervous Descent The so-called ‘bypasses’ of the famous Kinigat summits are anything but easy: scree fields, narrow ledges, steep switchbacks and silence that may or may not be terror. A ptarmigan feather and squealing marmots offer brief comic relief.  * Segment 3: The Hidden Refuge and the Austrian Linguist Just when they need it most, the Filmoor-Standschützenhütte appears — a wooden refuge offering shelter, cake, and a surprise: a young Austrian linguist with faultless English, generous conversation, and exactly the calm they didn’t know they needed. * Segment 4: The Fading Usefulness of Guidebooks Their decades-old guidebook is, let’s be kind, no longer fit for purpose. Trails have changed. Signs have vanished. And trusting it is more an act of faith than navigation. * Segment 5: Climate Change in the Alps Climate change rears its very real head — with warmer temps, more violent storms, and crumbling ridgelines all altering the safety and structure of the alpine environment. The Alps are changing fast, and not for the better. * Segment 6: Arrival at Porzehütte Arriving just before a biblical downpour, the team basks in smug dryness while watching soaked hikers arrive one by one. Showers become battlegrounds for dignity, one Fool loses a token down a radiator, and the narrator embraces the freedom of filth. Dinner is loud and wine-fuelled. The English are the anomaly.   Listen if you like: * Outdoor storytelling with grit, wit, and weather * Real-life travel humour (the sort you only appreciate after surviving) * Middle-aged men navigating both mountains and their own limitations * Mountains as places of memory, history, and environmental warning * A bit of weather nerding, ecological insight, and heartfelt nonsense Avoid if you want: * Polished travelogue voiceovers with zero sarcasm * Detailed kit reviews or route logistics * Tranquil soundscapes without human interruption (the narrator talks) * A clean-shaven, influencer-friendly version of alpine hiking  Final thoughts: “Scree, Silence, and the Inversion” is a meditation on movement — across landscapes, histories, and age. Yes, it’s funny. But it’s also deeply human.  Pull on your boots. Pack a snack. Press play. And join the Fools — while they're still upright.