Quoted By:
>late summer of 2020
>bad breakup, pandemic - life is falling apart
>plan to cross the Dead Mountains alone - a three day hike in the Austrian alps
>first day goes smoothly if slower than expected
>day two the heat ramps up
>I'm exhausted - nausea keeps me from eating enough
>the thought of day three looms heavy in my mind
>terrain will only be harder from here on out - nothing but bare rock - the Rotgschirr rising up in front of me like an insurmountable wall
>decide to stop early for the day - plan to set up camp near this scenic mountain lake - pic related
>descend into the valley flanked by steep walls on either side
>not a soul in sight
>take an absolutely horrible shit
>the light is fading fast - only flat-ish ground is close to these abandoned shepherds huts - finally finish up with the night closing in fast
>doze off feeling feverish and exhausted
>i shoot up suddenly
>there's footsteps circling the tent
>they're close
>unzip, crawl out - nothing but the pitch black staring back
>my heart is pounding
>weighing the options
>after listening intently into the darkness I lie back down
>footsteps again, then harsh barking echoing through the valley
>sometimes distant, sometimes as if coming directly from the abandoned shacks only meters away
>I keep lying there - I accept my fate - the cycle repeats in a vortex of echoing dread
>eventually I pass out
>the morning comes - I wake up, alive
>pack my shit fast
>the valley as empty as when I made camp - the still water and deserted huts
>I descend - trying hard not to think about what lies behind
