I Hiked 164 km on the Westweg in 4 Days

I started in Basel and hiked to Hausach. What was supposed to be a relatively easy hike for me turned out to be one of the most challenging trips I’ve done, not because of the terrain or the difficulty of the trail, but because my gear decided to let me down.

My sleeping pad developed a hole on the first night. Because I was overconfident, I didn’t bring a repair kit or a groundsheet to protect it. As a result, I spent three nights waking up every 45 minutes to inflate it again.

I decided to stop in Hausach, mainly because of the weather forecast. A friend who lives in Germany told me that severe thunderstorms, and possibly even a tornado, were expected in the Black Forest. With a leaking sleeping pad, I felt it was the smarter option to end the hike there. I have everything I need at home to repair it, and I also have a spare pad.

Despite that, I still managed two 47 km days. The views were amazing, and the German people I met along the way were incredibly kind.

For those who follow my adventures, I’ll be releasing a video about this trip soon, you can find the link to my channel in my profile.

May 2026 was all about Germany for me: Heidelberg, Würzburg, and now the Westweg.