In today’s post, I’ll look back at May’s one-day hikes. Which ended up being a varied enough bunch.
My first May hike was somewhat different. It took me to a place near my first hike of 2026 for an event organized by the town’s hiking club, featuring five loops around the town of different lengths. Taking advantage of the sunny day and feeling in good condition to push myself, I chose the longest loop – over 30km (the official length was listed as 35km – more on that later).
The pleasant warmth of an early May morning allowed me to start out at a brisk pace – before getting to the edge of the town, most of the loops shared a route, which meant it was quite busy (a lot of people arrived taking the same train as I did), so I meant to outpace them and have some breathing room. This early part was in a gentle terrain, so it wasn’t difficult, and once I reached the woods on the first small hill north of the town, I also had a chance to cool down a bit.
I kept a stable pace and only had a short break for a snack after the first checkpoint, after which, the trails took me back towards the town and another, this time grassy, hill to the west of the starting point. By this point, all the loops converged again, so this part of the trail was quite crowded. But I felt full of energy, so this didn’t stop me. Past this grassy peak, the trails led downwards again, crossed a settlement at the edge of the town, and headed to the woods and higher hills to the south from the town. Here, the trail was narrower, and I had to slow down, which was a pleasant relief in the first part of the ascension, but as a lot of people decided to take a break at the chalet that made the third checkpoint, I decided to go on.
A short distance later, the loops split again, the shorter two heading back down, while the longer two took to the trail at the top of these hills. Given that I’ve walked this trail many times, I knew how to time my pace, and slowed down before the fourth checkpoint, beneath the final steep ascension. From there on, it was easier as the next two peaks had a gentler trail, and after the last one, the descent wasn’t too harsh either. Making it back to the town was a bit annoying on a forest road that is more used by cyclists, as the hard road was quite monotonous. But I made it to the finish a bit under four hours. By the end, I tracked 31,5km, which is a fair amount under the official length, and I wondered if they changed the routing and didn’t update the length, or if they just rounded it up this much.
The following weekend was the three-day weekend trip I already covered in a recent post. Due to unfavorable weather, I skipped the third weekend of May, taking some time at home.
The fourth weekend of May was a hike I had scheduled two months ago with my sister and her friend. It was a long-awaited return to a place I visited back in 2017 as the epilogue of a week-long hiking trip. Our original plan was different, planning to take the higher peaks, but the conditions there were very unfavorable (to cite the website of the national park).
I’ve been planning to take my sister to this place for over three years, so I was glad that we’d finally get there, leaving the higher peaks for summer. The rains from the previous weekend and the first half of the week gave us a chance that the waterfall that was completely lacking water back in summer 2017 would have at least some. Aside from a few places, the early part of the valley was relatively relaxing, enjoying the scenery around, with jagged rock around and above.
I admit I had hoped for more, but I was glad the waterfall wasn’t completely dry. As this area is mostly limestone, a lot of the water sinks below ground level, and the surface streams aren’t that strong, so this place is best visited after snow melts or heavy rain.
After that, the trail ascends sharply to the plateaus above, which is probably the most adventurous part of this trail.
With a view of the valley we just ascended.
Once we made it to the crossing above, we decided to split – my sister and her friend took the lower trail through the village, while I took the friend’s partner to the upper trail, hoping for some better views. This decision was somewhat risky – I found several mentions of the trail not being in good shape, though many of them dated to ~2016 or so. While there were some fallen trees, most were cut across enough to pass. As we ascended, we could enjoy the scenery, and the lookout at the peak was well worth the effort.
It also confirmed that staying here instead of going to the higher peaks was a good idea – the previous weekend was cold enough that the rain might’ve been snow in the higher portions, and not all of the winter’s snows have melted so far, especially at the northern slopes.
This made for a great view with the snow-capped peaks across the lowlands, as well as the view to the east and the mountains that were our initial plan.
After a swift and intense descent, we caught up with my sister and her friend and continued towards the second valley. There, we found another waterfall, which had slightly more water than the first one.
Descending the second valley isn’t as hands-on as the first one – the trail ascends above it, giving some view at the start, but given the steep slopes, it stays fairly above.
We found repaired lookout stands that allow you to gaze down the chasm below.
From the mouth of the second valley, we took a trail that skirts the mountains to get back to the parking lot, which allowed us more views of the mountains, though not as charming as from above.
The final hike of May happened at the very end of the month, and the weather wasn’t as favorable, though it could’ve been worse. It led us to a trail that wasn’t used as much, which is always a good way to relax for me. At the very beginning, many of us thought about a hike in April 2025, when we had a similar gloomy weather, and which started in the same village, though we’ve walked in the opposite direction back then.
A good chunk of the trail led across fields, which is pleasant, but not that great when the grass is wet from the night’s rains, and it slowly soaked us even if rain showers were sparse. Unfortunately, the cloudy weather meant we could enjoy few, if any, views of the landscape around.
The trails were mostly gentle until the last peak, which was quite a steep ascent. I took a break at the peak – but while the clouds moved around, they didn’t let me get any major view, only letting me see the silhouettes of the nearby hills.
So, instead, I found myself glancing at this misshapen tree.
I had to resume walking soon, as the day wasn’t too warm and I didn’t want to get too cold. Descending the peak ended up being tricky because of a muddy trail in the steepest part, so that was another challenge. As I neared our destination, the clouds started to recede a bit, giving me a few better views, though not by much.
At least, almost at the end, I could see the steep and rocky slopes that create the entry to one of Slovakia’s beautiful valleys – again, without having a view of the peaks rising at its back.
This had me think about another hike, back in June 2014, when we took a trail on the peak to the right in the photo above, in a similar weather as we had on this hike, and wondering whether I might take my sister and her friend there this summer as well, given that they keep asking me for “adventurous” places. I guess time will tell.
So, that’s a look back at my May hikes. Early June has been tricky when it comes to weather so far, but that’s never enough to stop me completely, so I hope there will be enough to share at the end of this month as well. For now, I hope you can enjoy some nice days in June. See you next time.
Tomas - the wandering dreamer 