He loves to go a-wandering in the hills

Signposts that provide estimated hiking times and degrees of difficulty appear along a trail in Germany’s Berchtesgaden National Park. — Photos: MIKE ECKEL/AP

At 23 minutes before midnight, at 1,703m above sea level, the lashing rain and furious winds outside the darkened bunkroom prompted two questions to turn over in my head: Will the roof of this hut be ripped off in the dead of night? Will I be able to continue my ridge trek to my next destination on the German-Austrian border the next day?

Several sleepless hours later, the answers emerged: 1) no, these aren’t just simple mountain huts and 2) yes, this is typical Alpine weather for southern Bavaria.