The last month of 2023 was full of weird weather that affected my plans and hopes for some outdoor time. And I ended up catching up at the end of the month.

Now, I could also say that, given how hard climate change is hitting my country (a recent article said that we’re already hitting what was in “mild 2050s predictions”), the weather can be either “mildly weird” or “really weird”. Normal is rare.

The end of November brought snow. Mild showers at first, followed by an intense snowfall at the very end. The first weekend would’ve been great for some snowy photos from the hills. Unfortunately, I had already scheduled the baking of Christmas sweets with my mother, so the most I could do was to walk over there instead of taking the bus. Which, given the wet and heavy snow, had me sweat-soaked before I walked even 20% of the way. To the point that I took the bus back home, and the other day for both journeys.

Unfortunately, a warm-up followed mid-week, and by the next weekend, the snow was gone from the towns and was melting in the lower hills. That day, we had 2023’s last club hike planned. The day was windy, and that turned out to be our first mishap – a truck driver underestimated the snow and ended up partially off the road, blocking it. We stood there for around two hours before the road was cleared, leading us to shorten the hike.

The trail would be better suited for spring, given it followed a stream most of the time, and the fields – now covered by half-melted snow – would be a nice sight in bloom. But, in December, there was little to see, especially considering the cloudy and windy day. After a walk at a relaxed pace, we reached the restaurant where we were to have our farewell to the season. I left the restaurant a bit ahead of the group, intending to stretch out a bit. Seeing that the skies cleared out, I walked over to the chateau and took a couple of photos.

Unfortunately, it seemed that we’d face further delays, as the bus wouldn’t start. With some help from the local firefighters, the driver managed to start, and we left with just a five-minute delay, though we spent a lot of time weaving around the country roads as the direct road wasn’t in a good enough state for a bus.

I hoped to go on another hike the next weekend, but the weather has, by then, turned rainy. And while the rain abated, I wasn’t too fond of facing mud, of all things, in mid-December.

My next chance arrived just before Christmas, on the 23rd. The forecast mentioned snow and wind, but I believed myself equipped for that. Wanting to see some snow at the end of 2023 gave me a little choice – another warmer wave was expected to hit just a day later. So, I took my things and went for it. My first photo was taken not at the hills, but in the early morning at the train station, with some themed decorations…

The hike itself started easy – there wasn’t that much snow (little left from the November wave and not much yet from the last night), so I had no problems. I even put away my jacket as it wasn’t that cold, and the long uphill trail kept me warm. That was until I reached the rock formation. There, I was exposed to the cold wind, and I hastily put the jacket back on.

I then took another photo from a different direction and continued my ascension. The next part proved tricky – the wind blew a lot of the snow away, leaving ice plates on the trail, deceptively mixed with deep snow. Even with my experience, I took some poor steps and sometimes fell up to thigh-deep into the snow.

Nearing the first major peak, the wind also covered up any hints of trail, but it mostly keeps the same direction, so I managed just fine. The visibility, due to continuously more intense snowfall, was getting worse. The stairs from the trail down to the chalet entry were buried in snow to the point that anyone without skis would struggle to get inside.

Seeing that I had a decent pace (given the weather), I decided to continue along the main trail. The snowfall kept being intense, and the main peak had the usual winter weather: zero visibility, intense snowfall, and strong wind blowing from the west. I hope I will, one day, visit the peak on a sunny winter day. Such things supposedly exist there.

I continued onward, down from the peak to the pass, and then up the third peak, towards a place I’ve been showing regularly, the collapsed stone arch.

The hills were – apart from the wind – quite calm, few people were around. I saw none on foot aside from me, most were ski alpinists. After that, I started the descent – slower at first, but not exactly gentle in the falling snow. I also took one more photo, of a birch tree bent over by the snow it collected.

The Christmas was quite warm – it got up to +10°C and the snow rapidly melted in the lowlands (to the point some areas had flood warnings issued) and even the hills lost much. I decided to go on one more hike on the 27th, this time sticking closer to home. I set out early, and my hike began in pre-dawn darkness, with the full moon on one side and a slight glow on the other.

Given the warmer weather, I could go with lighter clothing, especially as I was much lower in the hills and thus wasn’t exposed to the wind nearly as much. Many areas had only small patches of snow, and the parts that had more were just an ankle-deep layer at most. I enjoyed a bright day, though, in some portions, the paths were icy.

I finished my hike shortly after noon, though with few photos as I chose trails taking me through the woods most of the time. But I was happy that I managed one more before the year’s end. Especially as the New Year’s weekend predicted mostly rain and I knew even the higher parts of the hills would be muddy soon.

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So, that’s the wrap on my hiking in 2023. It was definitely an eventful year, and my hope for 2024 is to be just as good as for the amount of hiking done but hopefully free of the various mishaps I had in 2023.