In this post, I’ll look back at the first two hikes of July 2023. Both were returns to places I’ve visited in the past. The weather was quite the opposite – one sunny, one cloudy with rain showers, and it gave me a good taste of the tricky June weather.

No fog this time

The hike on the 3rd was a very fast return – to a place I visited in October 2022 (along with my uncle and sister). Back then, the day was foggy and the trails muddy, with me taking photos of mushrooms with the sights impeded.

This time, I could enjoy a sun-filled day with vibrant fields and the sight of greenery all around (with some late blooms as well).

This was a trip done with a different group than my hiking club, and for my taste, the departure was a bit too late, so we reached the starting point around 10:30.

The initial ascension, though gentle, warmed me up very fast – at that time, the day was already getting quite warm. After crossing the field, the journey led me mostly through the woods for most of the first half. Eventually, I came to the upper edge of another field, where I took a small break and took this photo.

Then, it was mostly through the woods again. Compared to the autumn hike, there were no mushrooms to take photos of, but also no mud. I got stung by a wasp out of nowhere – at least I think it was a wasp, it was gone before I realized I was stung. Despite that, I continued onwards unimpeded, and enjoyed some alone time in the woods, as few people frequent this longer trail.

Eventually, I reached the lookout that was, back in October, so shrouded in clouds that I could barely see the top. This time, I could see its full beauty (it’s a detailed reconstruction of a lookout that stood on a nearby hill from 1899 to 1973).

Even inside, the way it’s built truly looks like something from the old time, though the space didn’t really allow for detailed photos. The warm weather brought a lot of people to the place, enjoying the sights.

After that, it was a pleasant descent through the fields to the town below, and then on the way home.

Rain showers instead of sunshine

The second hike took me to a place I visited in late September 2018. The journey was based on the third day of the four-day trip. Back then, it was a cold but mostly sunny day. This time, it was a cloudy day with a high chance of rain showers, and while it was warmer than late September, it wasn’t warm for mid-June.

The first part took us through a narrow valley, where the trail sometimes led quite close to the stream flowing through that valley. Given the damp soil and stones, the trail was a bit tricky at times.

Our group of some 10-15 people kept together through the early part, until the trail started to ascend more. At that point, we all kept pace that fit our needs to stay comfortably warm, and broke into groups of around 3-4 people.

After getting near the first peak, we had partially-obscured sight of the ski resort and some of the peaks around, but the highest peaks remained shrouded in the clouds.

As we reached the peak, the clouds and wind drew in, and our stay there was short. Just as we started our descent, a short rain shower arrived – and while it lasted barely 10 minutes, it was enough to soak the grass and small trees, which then passed the moisture to our clothes.

The next part of the journey led through the woods, which was welcome – the lack of damp grass meant a lower chance of wetness in our boots. The ascension towards the final peak led us along a major rock wall with several overhangs and gaps, though the weather didn’t make it shine as much as it did 5 years ago.

We took a break- some 20-30 minutes – at the last peak. Then, the clouds came back in force. We started our descent, but it was too late – it soon rained on us once again. I managed to take a photo of this flower-covered overturned tree stump…

…but then had to focus on keeping my feet steady on the damp trail. The second shower lasted longer, maybe an hour, halfway down towards the village. We reached it soaked and found a local restaurant to warm up with tea and some good food. Which brought the hike to an end.

---

I went on two more hikes in June, and I’ll cover them in another post. Same as with these two, the weather turned out to be tricky, and I can say right now that none let me finish it dry. But at least there were no storms.