April turned out to be quite a colorful month when it comes to hiking, and at the beginning, in an unusual way.
The snowy weekend at the end of March led me to reconsider my plans, and instead of staying in the lowlands in search of flowers, I decided to go higher to the hills and enjoy snow for the last time this season instead. While the days in the lowlands were warm, the nights were cold, and I expected that the hills will have a nice layer of snow left. Well, I was surprised, as I had to walk quite high to see the first patches of snow – all the way to the first lookout.
Well into early spring, the snow only lasted in small areas around the highest peaks, and on slopes not too exposed to the sunlight that’s been quite common throughout March. The trail thus looked like this past the lookout at ~1300m ASL.
And it wasn’t too different at the second-highest peak of the area – while the snow wasn’t as patchy, it was still quite a thin layer.
Strangely enough, the sunlight had quite a lot of strength already, and I had walked the trail with just a long-sleeve T-shirt, the hoodie and jacket packed in my backpack since the lookout.
As I said, the snow was more frequent in areas shielded from direct sunlight, which allowed me to take some final winter-like photos. The trails were full of people taking their last chance to enjoy some cross-country skiing, though the ski slope was nearly empty.
I ended up extending the hike a bit, and as I took a path through the woods, the snow stuck with me for longer than it did on the trail I took up. Spring was visible in the valley, where cyclists and motorcyclists were enjoying the sunny day.
The next weekend, spring took over the land for good. The forests in the lower hills closer to my home were already in their spring garb.
The trail took us mostly through woods and fields for the first half of the journey, with some lookouts here and there, as seen above. But the main goal was a rock formation and its surroundings at the very end. The first solitary rock was some distance from the main area.
I first took a loop around on the gentler trail on my way down to admire the rocky slope from below, which was quite a nice view.
More so when I got closer.
With the day getting warmer, and knowing the trail up is quite steep, I took a short break to put some of my clothing to the backpack, and headed to start the ascent that’s on the rear side of the rock wall.
At the top of this rock wall, I could see the grassy slopes across the valley, which had its charm as well.
From there, I walked in a wide arc to reach the upper portions of those fields and reach the village on that hill, which was our gathering point for that day.
The third weekend of April was one I originally planned to be my “break weekend” as per my goal to go hiking 3 times a month, but the forecast was too good to pass it up, and so I decided to go for a shorter hike close to home, which would only be a “half-day hike” especially because of the short travel time. This wasn’t one I planned to be photogenic, merely to enjoy some time outdoors. I did not give up on trying to find something to share, though.
The skies were too hazy for some wider views, though.
And I had no problem enjoying the view of an area that was a key part of my hiking beginnings almost 30 years ago.
The final hike of April was the second club hike, which led us farther from home, to a place that can be quite beautiful – if you can catch it when the fields are blooming.
While walking the fields and the edge of the woods was pleasant, and the trees in bloom were beautiful, we were too early for the flowers. Given that climate change has been making a major impact on central Europe, and the hiking club plans a year ahead, this was quite down to luck. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy the scenery, though.
Some areas were quite windy, so while the sunny day provided some warmth, the wind countered that at some moments. In one area, we came across a place where artificial lakes and wetlands were created to support natural biodiversity, which has been absent in Europe’s forests aside from the national parks and the higher portions of the hills.
The final peak, almost at the end of the hike, had a lookout tower which allowed us to enjoy the area from a different perspective and enjoy the spring colors of the surrounding woods and fields.
After that, it was a short walk to the valley and the main parking lot where our hike ended.
April turned out to be quite successful when it comes to hiking. I hope May will bring a lot of nice sights, too. But that’s yet to be seen. Until then, see you later.
Tomas - the wandering dreamer 