When stones from Oberkochen travel across countries

Regina Date from Oberkochen paints pebbles and distributes them on her hikes across Germany. Some of them travel far and wide themselves.

Oberkochen These are the remains of hikers that beautify the landscape and that people are happy to keep walking: hiking stones painted by Regina Date. They have already distributed over 100 on their hikes and many have covered quite great distances.

Three years ago, 57-year-old Regina Date from Oberkochen discovered so-called extreme hikes – tours of more than 30 kilometers uphill. Before that, she had already undertaken shorter hikes in the region.

Fracture as a trigger for her new hobby

In October 2022, she wanted to take part in a group hike in the Black Forest. The day before, which she spent with friends there, she went on a short hike – and sprained her foot on an uneven path. When she came back, it turned out to be an ankle fracture. “Then I suddenly had a lot of time and found the Facebook page “#Wandersteine ​​​​(the original)” on the Internet,” she says. “People post their painted stones there – so I started painting too,” she laughs. She also ordered materials, the first stones came from her garden. At first the whole thing looked very friendly, she adds, “then I got better and better.”

She now collects pebbles from the Lech beach in Augsburg twice a year. “Taking them home is allowed there, and they have the right shapes,” says Regina Date. Flat stones with a smooth surface are painted with acrylic pens. The colorful pictures – flowers, animals, hearts, sayings, and more – are then sprayed with a special varnish to make them durable. On the back there is a note saying that the location where the stone was found should be posted on the Facebook page, along with the Oberkochen zip code. “I find the motifs that I’m male on the Internet, or they are my own ideas,” she says. And of course they also depend on the shape of the stone. “Painting the stones is a way for me to relax after work,” says the 57-year-old, who works as a saleswoman.

Stones wander around the country, in Switzerland and Austria

They have already distributed over 100 such hiking stones during hikes in the region, throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Since her recovery, she has also taken part in so-called “mammoth marches” – these are extreme hikes of 30 kilometers or more. For example, on September 28th she will be walking 55 kilometers in Hanover, and in spring 2025 she is planning a mammoth march in Berlin over 100 kilometers. During these tours she distributes a stone every 10 kilometers, photographs it and posts it on the hiking stones page. But she also lays down hiking stones on her Sunday tours around Oberkochen. Almost 30 of her stones have been found and some of them have also continued their journey. One that she had laid down in the Allgäu was reposted in Hamburg, others near Rostock or in Switzerland. “And some of the posts come from a living room,” she laughs. If the finder likes the stone so much that it is given a permanent place there.

Over the years, friendships have developed through the posts; some of the artists meet, others write to each other. Incidentally, there are two other stone painters in Oberkochen. Regina Date knows one of them too. And after the conversation, she goes for a walk towards Volkmarsberg; she has brought some stones with her.