In the previous hiking post, I focused on the four-day trip at the beginning of May. This time, I’ll look at the three one-day hikes during the month.
The first one-day hike was right on the first day of the month, using Labor Day – which is a public holiday – to go hiking with my sister. This was a return to a place I visited some three years ago in autumn. My sister was there as well, but had to take a very short loop as the friend she was with had some issue. So I promised her we’ll return here on our own.
Unlike a good part of May, this was a relatively warm day, and the initial ascension warmed us up quite fast, but that one is well worth it, as it leads to one of the most iconic views in Slovakia.
Despite the nice weather and a day off work, the trails weren’t as busy as I expected, which was a pleasant surprise. So we got to enjoy the views without too many people getting in the way.
I kept a lighter pace for my sister, who wasn’t as active in the earlier spring, which made it quite a relaxing hike as we followed from one lookout to another.
Though I have to admit that this place is more photogenic in autumn, once the trees are in more than one color. But spring here has its charm as well.
Especially considering how vibrant the leaves looked at that time.
My next hike was a club hike in the middle of the month. This was also a return, in this case to the area where I walked 38km during a heatwave last year. This time, it seemed the weather would be very different. Not so much at first, when we reached the first lookout, but the clouds were already gathering from the opposite direction.
When we reached the field at the place of a village destroyed during WWII and its aftermath, the clouds were already coming in strong.
The trail led us mostly through the woods, which provided shelter from the light rain showers that came soon after, but were far from bothersome at that point. However, it seemed that they won’t stop anytime soon. Instead, it became a light but persistent rain.
That intensified as we descended the trail at the border back towards the town, where it rained much more.
At least I could verify that my rainproof jacket is still working well…
The final hike was at the very end of the month. This was, likewise, a return to a place I visited before, though back then, I took a shorter version of the trail as it was in the autumn, and I’ve been becoming fatigued as it was at the end of a 4-day trip. This time, being a one-day hike, I could go for the full experience.
After many colder days throughout May, it seemed that something warmer was finally coming. And while clouds kept sticking to some of the higher peaks around, they kept a respectful distance.
Though despite that, there were still hints of snow around the higher peaks, some of it relatively fresh, as the nights were cold enough for snow showers.
The initial descent from the first peak proved a minor challenge as the trail was getting overgrown a bit. As we descended, we could see the rocky slopes of the next mountain ahead of us. There’s another rock window at the left side of the chain, though from that distance, it’s too small to see well in the photos. Which is a pity because the trail leading all the way to it is closed.
The trail then ascends by the right side, bypassing the rocky slopes, and there’s a lookout roughly in the direction we came from.
The next peak has overgrown a bit too much to be a lookout, but there’s something else to see – the wreck of a WWII plane that, somehow, still resists the ravages of time. As far as I know, many pilots tended to fly close to terrain to reduce the chance of being detected, which could be deadly in case they suddenly flew into a cloud or fog.
During our descent, we had some better views of the mountains across the valley as the clouds there let up a bit.
The rest of the descent to the village was relatively easy and pleasant. A rain shower did come, eventually – but I was safely in the village by then. This seems to be a recurring theme in this village, as the same happened two years ago when I ended a hike in the same place, just coming from a different direction.
Despite the somewhat moody weather, May turned out to be a good month for hiking with a nice variety. I hope June ends up being just as nice and varied.
Tomas - the wandering dreamer 