The first month of 2026 was quite a success for my hiking, despite starting the year with the wrong foot forward. Let’s have a look.

As I said in the monthly summary, I had to give up my plans for a New Year’s walk because I was nauseous the day before and ended up being barely fit enough to walk to the bathroom. Fortunately, I recovered well enough for the first Saturday of the year and the first group hike of 2026. The first Saturday of a year is a long-term popular day to go hiking here, as a welcome to the new season of outdoor activities, and many places with traditional chalets are the main goals. With our goal being one of those, the area was crowded. The trail we chose was, for the most part, a wide forestry road covered by a layer of snow, so it was comfortable even for the large amount of people around. And it was gentle enough for the state I was in, still somewhat energy-deprived.

Despite a cloudy start, the day turned out decent, and we could enjoy at least some sunlight and nice views with a touch of winter vibe. Given that the snow has been repeatedly falling and melting, that feels very much like a toss of the coin, so even a thin layer is welcome.

I took it at a slower pace, along with two women who usually stick with my sister – for once, I wasn’t fast enough to leave them behind. But I guess a relaxing beginning of the year was good enough for the situation.

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By next Saturday, I was more than fine, so I went on another hike. I had several options in mind, as the forecast was unpredictable. Some of them promised noticeable snowfall, so I was ready to shorten things, if necessary. That, fortunately, wasn’t needed. In many ways, the weather was similar to the first hike of the year – a thin layer of snow, frozen through during the night, made an easy terrain to walk.

And, soon, the sun made its first attempts to shine through the clouds.

For the most part, I enjoyed this location for the lone houses along the trail and the remote vibe they give – a rare thing in the heart of a continent as densely populated as Europe is. This included some countryside architecture, such as the old and new schools side by side, though none are serving that purpose for a long time, and both instead serve as a hotel and restaurant.

Reaching the trail crossing at the 10km mark, it was time to make my decision. The weather, so far, was good enough, so any of the “worst case scenarios” weren’t needed. I decided to take the trail that’s walked the least, and it was in much better shape than I expected.

Even at a relaxed pace, I reached the next crossing where I expected to start my descent at 12:05. Knowing that the bus at 12:30 was in no way reachable, and the direct trail down would take me less than an hour, I decided to extend the hike, as the next bus was scheduled at 14:30. I knew there are some restaurants in the village where I could sit down at least for a warm beverage, but I didn’t want to end up sitting there for over an hour. Especially as I felt well enough and the weather enticed me to keep going.

So, I extended the hike even more, finishing at 27 km, making it my longest winter hike so far (my previous winter hikes were around 20 km at most).

I managed my pace well, and reached the bus stop some 15 minutes before departure – long enough to have a small snack but not long enough to start feeling cold.

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On the third Saturday of the month, the weather reached the “melting” stage. Knowing that my goal for the year is three hikes a month, and there were still two Saturdays left in the month, I decided to stay home instead of walking in the mud. The next week was a scheduled event of the hiking club, which was a walk through the suburbs rather than a real hike – a common thing for January and February because of the unpredictability of the weather. As that day was also quite gloomy, I have no worthy photos to share from that one.

The last day of the month, I decided to go hiking again, heading to the nearby hills. It reminded me a lot of the second hike – a similar situation and forecast, well, maybe with a higher chance of the trails being icy. It might not look so from the photo, but the reality was a layer of ice covered by a sprinkle of snow from the night’s shower.

As I reached the first peak, and made my way towards the main trail, it was still mostly cloudy, but the winter decorated the landscape well enough with ice clinging to the trees.

Sometimes much more than I’d expect, which made the white-gray day more enjoyable. After reaching the main trail and making it past a short but tricky section of a very icy footpath, it was again mostly on wider roads that serve as access to chalets and lone houses, so it was quite an easy hike.

I was also nearly alone with my thoughts until I reached the old chalet – though most people there were skiing. But from there on, the main trail was more populated.

Given that it was close to home and I started relatively early, and kept the distance at my winter norm of 20km, I was finished by noon, though this time, I had a bit more time to wait for a bus home. Despite that, it was a nice wrap to my January hiking.

So, that’s it. I do hope February weather will cooperate at least somewhat. It’s the shortest month, but also often the trickiest (along with November). I guess we’ll see soon enough. For now, I hope you’re having a good time.