Three Sisters

...We didn't know where we were going to stay the night. We planned to sleep in the car in some inconspicuous location and then hike in Liechtenstein on Sunday.

The only other time I've pulled over and slept in the car was near Great Sand Dunes National Monument in Colorado. We needed to get a camping pass for the weekend, but we arrived too late and the booth closed. We left and stopped on the shoulder of the road leading to the monument. There were no houses in sight and it appeared that the only destination of the road was the monument. It was a desolate location - definitely inconspicuous. Liechtenstein, on the other hand, is only 160 square kilometers (61.8 square miles), so I was more nervous about finding a desolate location.

But before we found our “hotel” we needed to find the trail head. This weekend our plan had been revised because it snowed at our first choice. Therefore, we did not have a good map of the region and only had an idea where the trailhead might be. We maneuvered the hairpins on the road from Vaduz to Triesenberg; then continued up the hill. At the end of the road was a parking lot. We had found our trailhead without much work.

By now it was almost dusk and there were three other cars in the parking lot. Ten minutes later one left. Now there remained a car with German plates and another whose driver and passenger were cozily checking out the lights of the city. We decided that the occupants of the German car were on an overnight hiking trip. It dawned on us that no one would care if we parked here over night like our new German friends. After the love birds left, we went to sleep in the back of our car. It was a relatively short night as the back was not that comfortable. We awoke to find a third car in the parking lot, but we were right that no one cared we were there.

We started our hike to the Three Sisters (Drei Schwestern). The first part of the trail seemed to be through an avalanche zone. There were washed out regions of the hill everywhere and cables were attached to the side of the mountain on the narrow trail. But contrary to yesterday, we could see everywhere, including the Säntis. It was incredible.

After about an hour we came through a pass and onto the ridge overlooking a lush green valley. Again, incredible. Not long after that Bryan decided that the previous day wore him out. He had been dragging a little from the start and said he wouldn't have any fun continuing. He decided to turn back, despite some mild resistance from me – I knew it wouldn't be as fun without him, but I didn't want to make him miserable either. He told me to keep going. He knew I wanted to get to the Three Sisters and into Austria.

He turned back, I kept going. I soon reached a peak, but it was only 30 minutes after a sign that said “Drei Schwestern 1 Std,” which means “Three Sisters 1 hour.” Usually we hike a bit ahead of the pace of those signs, but I was very surprised I would be there in half the time after being a bit worn out from the previous day. I saw some other peaks a head and the one I just submitted was not one of three anythings. I pressed on.

I got to Garsellikopf. This, I later found, was on the border of Liechtenstein and Austria. The marker at the top said 2105 meters and had an arrow with “Drei Schwestern” on it. I had not yet reached the goal. I went down from Garsellikopf and continued along the ridge. This ridge composes a natural border between the two countries. The views on both sides of the ridge were awesome. It is really hard to come up with good adjectives for the beauty of what we take in. Hopefully, my pictures help, but they hardly do it justice.

Not long after Garsellikopf I found a sign that said ½ hour more to my goal. At this point I was a little upset with the sign makers because there was no way I could have made it from the first sign to this one in ½ hour, even if I was not tired. After a short break for mumbling, I took a slightly longer one for kissing the new toe injury I received from kicking the sign post; then I continued. Eventually I made it to the first of the Drei Schwestern. I took the following picture sitting with my legs around the marker (it was steep at the top and I was tired). The two crosses on the peaks are the other Sisters. To the left in the foreground is Liechtenstein. To the right is Austria. Farther ahead to the left is Switzerland. And on the other side of the giant lake in the distance is Germany.

On the way down, I made good time. I, in fact, dominated the sign post makers, reaching the bottom in two hours (compared to their expected three, but that's how long they said it would take to summit as well). After those hikes, Bryan and I were exhausted.

As usual, please enjoy perusing the pictures; take a look at our destination map. We'd love to read any comments.