The end of June and the beginning of July had me feeling unstoppable – something I decided to put to a harsh test. This post will focus on a single hike, though the rest of the month will be mentioned.

The previous hike ended up a sunny day where I pushed myself over 30km on a warm day with light footwear. And, given how well it went, I decided that it’s time to push my personal best regarding distance – the 36km hike was nearly 10 years ago and while I’ve gotten quite close to that distance several times (and increasingly often), I haven’t pushed it in a while.

This seemed like an ideal time: in mid-July, the sunset is still quite late, which allowed me to plan a hike farther from home. I was tempted to plan a 40-km hike, but on such a short notice, failed to come up with a good idea, so I went with a plan that would push my best a bit less.

Having learned my lesson from the previous hike, I took my sunscreen. I applied it not at home, but after 3,5 hours, when I had a 25-minute break between trains. After that, I finished my journey and, at exactly 10:00, started the hike.

At first, I had to cross from the edge of the town (where the train station is located) to the center. The square and the chateau above had a nice feel to it, despite being in a very remote location. After ascending the chateau hill, I continued through a small park and then onward between the fields. The exposed part of my journey put my sunscreen to work, though I turned towards the woods after some time. The trail started to descend a bit, eventually leading me to a secluded ruin.

From there, the trail led me down to the valley, a short distance through it, then a gentle ascension to the opposite side. Once the ascension ended, I was once again exposed to the sun, walking across a field, then slightly down to a remote settlement with old-style cottages and houses.

Above the cottages, just below the upper field, I came across a spring with cold water that was more than welcome. By now, it was getting close to noon, and saving my own supplies was handy. The fields and a short section of a forest took me towards the border, to a field that was, before the world wars, a village right at the border. The forced evictions after WWII were the final blow. All that remains is a lone cottage (photo below).

The trail turned south (to the left on the photo above), heading into the woods, following below the peaks. Below the next peak, I found a pair that was having a break, and they pointed me to another spring. I drank deep, then checked my own reserves – down to half. With the day quite hot, I refilled my water supply from the spring, glad that it also cooled down what was left.

After this break, I ascended to the peak above – the trail took a short way up, then vanished for a short moment among fallen trees, but I found my way in little time. At the peak, I took another break, checking my time. I was just halfway through. Though I knew the first half was the easier one – so far, the trail was gentle. From now on, it would weave up and down for maybe two more hours, putting my endurance to the test. And, if I wanted to finish in a time that’d see me return home the same day, my speed as well.

I set up an almost mechanical pace, around 6km/h in the easier portions and around 5km/h during the (mostly gentle) ascensions. The dry soil was to my advantage – I wore the same sandals as the previous week to prevent my feet from overheating. I was beginning to lose track of how many times the trail had me go up and down but, finally, the woods opened up as I was nearing the plateau below the main peak of the area.

Glad that I had the weaving ascension done, I took a short break. During that, I guided a family from Poland towards the nearby chalet as the shortcut following the border is unmarked, though the path is easily visible, the trick is knowing when to turn from the border to not miss the chalet.

This trail is mostly straight with some gentle descents all the way towards the chalet. I walked on, given that I’ve been there several times – in times when it wasn’t as insanely crowded. By now, I was near the 30km mark and fatigue was making its mark on me. Thus, I decided to slow down a bit (I was going ahead of my schedule) but continue without stopping through the descent. Even then, the vast fields I like in this area were taxing me – downwards, no less – given the hike length.

As I reached the town, I headed straight towards the train station, lacking the will to ascend to the town square to look for an ice cream stand. Instead, as the train was already parked there, I merely brushed the dry soil from my legs and feet, and took a seat inside with some 45 minutes to spare. My plan – to improve my personal best, during a heatwave, and with light footwear – was successfully completed: 38,0km in 6h45min.

Waiting for the departure, I felt my body go stiff. Yet, somehow, this feeling passes faster than I expected. Maybe because I was distracted talking with other hikers. Halfway through my journey, I had a 40-minute break, so I grabbed a (very tasty) ice cream and some cold water from a shop in the station building and resumed my journey home. And I was relieved to find out that my walk from the bus stop to my apartment wasn’t nearly as stiff as I expected…

---

With that said and done, I initially thought to push myself like this the next weekend, but I decided against it – I decided to let the scratches from the previous hike fully heal and also get myself some well-deserved rest. The weekend after, I went on a shorter hike with my mother, which was mostly a warmer and drier repeat of one hike I did back in May, so I didn’t take many photos during that one. Still, July ended up being a successful month, and I was looking forward to the week-long hiking trip in mid-August, knowing I was prepared quite well. But that’s another story – with quite a twist I won’t spoil yet.