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.