There’s a tradition I try to keep going, to go for a hike between exams. It works well to clear my mind. This time, it became a bit extreme. Exam on Monday, okay, went better than expected. The hike was originally planned for Tuesday but the plan changed and I went for a bit different outdoor activity with my sister. So the hike was moved to Wednesday despite the fact that my legs were stiff from 36km of roller-blading in something like 2,5hrs (fastest lap I had was 12min 20sec for 4,5km, by the way).

Anyway, I still set up the alarm at 4:10, thinking that this time I might even regret it (I very rarely regret getting up early for a hike, even in bad weather) and went on with the adjusted plan. Of course, Wednesday + unknown place = being alone.

And again, it was very well worth it. I don’t care that barely three meters could feel small for a waterfall. If it looks nice, I’ll go there. Anyway, I guess I might say how did I get there. Bah, nope. Until that point, it was quite boring, walk up a road used by the foresters and probably no one else. As it tends to be, when I finally reached the waterfall (preceded by checking my phone and GPS every two minutes, as there’s no trail to it and nothing else that would make me aware of it), I got to the fall, took a barely-used footpath to the fall itself (maybe 20 meters off the road) and tried to take a few low-angle shots, as I tend to do.

It probably helped me that there was a bit of rain the afternoon before (and unlike in Germany, it did not result in flash floods here). Now, waterfalls are nice, I am not denying that. Yet, I am a bit into the smaller things like stone steps and waterslides. Seems I was in for a treat that day…

As much as I wanted to be rid of the forest road made by low-quality asphalt, I wished to stay on it and follow the stream uphill instead of turning to the woods.

Yet, I had no idea where I would go if I made such decision, so I had to follow the original plan. I started ascending slightly more, the road’s quality going down with every turn to the point it stopped resembling anything that even an SUV could use.

The spruce forests, decimated by bark beetle and harsh winds, looked strangely undisturbed here. Maybe because I wished for a clearing to allow me looking into a distance and enjoy the sight during a nice (and awfully warm) day.

I eventually left what was left of the path to look for the peak itself (elevation ~1237m ASL), took a short break there and started my descent. The gradual change of path/road quality was faster, eventually ending up on road of quite fresh asphalt that supposedly was to serve for cyclists riding on the hill’s slopes. I eventually went as low as 740m ASL (I started around 540 when I left the train). Out of the forests now, I was on a pass covered by quite charming fields with flowers of various colors growing around.

Then it was uphill once again, heading for my last destination. It was a rock formation that is named quite bluntly “three rocks”. I was there before, in 2016 and so I knew it’s a nice place (and again,a bit hidden).

Unfortunately, the visibility was a bit worse than it was two years ago.

Compared to the 2016 hike (30.4.), there was no chance of seeing the last bits of snow on the top of the highest peaks as this year it melted mid-April. After a bit of break there, I started my final part, getting back to the valley and eventually train station. Yet I was to see nice thing yet…

…like the surprise of seeing a mushroom in what’s very dry year so far…

…or the blossoms of a wild rose bush.

I guess it’s obvious that I was very glad to stay true to my plan and go for the hike, even though I started quite stiff from the day before.