This July was quite a strange month for my hiking. While I still fulfilled my goal of three hikes a month, two of them were quite easy, and the third one was quite a challenge. Let’s have a look.
I guess the main issue was that after the heatwave at the end of June, I wasn’t in the mood to travel far, even when the weather cooled down, even though July has a lot of daylight, which makes it great for going far. As a result, all three July hikes were done quite close to home.
For the first one, during the first July weekend, I chose a spot that I haven’t been to in a while for a good part – I believe I used this trail only once, and it was around two decades ago. At the end of the first village are renovated old furnaces that were once used to burn limestone to produce lime for construction, used to some degree until 1965. The renovation was done in 2003.
From there on, the trail starts ascending above the village, with some weaving up and down, mostly through the woods. That fact makes it quite unremarkable and probably the reason why I haven’t taken that particular trail for so long – very few lookouts. The first chances to see further are near the first larger peak, which also has quite steep slopes in places.
I ascended the smaller of the two “sister peaks” as I visited the larger one in winter, and used the same trail to descend as I did back in January. That trail has some views in the clearings above the village.
By noon, I was done with this “quickie” hike, barely over 20km, but I was glad to be out in the hills at least for a bit.
The next weekend was quite a different story. I was quite indecisive as for where to go, but then I saw the forecast was getting close to ideal for a challenge. The weekend was colder, around 20°C (a welcome relief), and with at least some clouds. Feeling well enough, I decided to take my shot at finally breaching the 40km distance, for which I had already thought of three options. I decided to choose the one with the shortest return journey, and part of it overlapped with one of my other winter hikes from this year.
The day started quite bright, which was pleasant as the morning wasn’t that cold. I packed light to make such a long distance a bit easier, and a good part of the trail was through the woods, so I would be sheltered from most of the summer heat. That was a major aspect of why I chose this trail – a lot of passages on softer soil. The woods, though, once again limited my chances for photos, though I don’t tend to take many in places I know well. At some points, the clouds became more common, and I was wondering whether it might turn to rain, especially as it also got windy for a while, but that didn’t happen.
Even by the halfway point, I was quite surprised at how easily I was holding a brisk pace, even though this is a gentle trail with no lengthy ascents and descents aside from the very end. By the 30km mark, when I passed the muddy part of the trail, I had no doubt I’d finish this challenge that day.
As I reached the train station at the end, with the final distance of 42,04km and final time of 6h52min (including breaks), I was tired but quite happy to have completed it, but I also realized that I still have the potential for more – in time. I also decided that I probably won’t push it this year.
I took a break from hiking the next weekend, though I wasn’t completely slacking, as I managed to go rollerblading around the lake with my sister (after several attempts to find a date that’d work for both of us).
The third (and final) hike of July was similar to the first. I kept it close and short, especially as the weekend was somewhat warmer again (not a full-scale heatwave yet). And it was also taking a trail I haven’t used much yet to a place I know quite well.
Despite the mostly dry month, I managed to find some small edible fungi. Maybe it was because the week before had at least some rain showers.
A good part of the trail also led through woods, so I only took some photos once I was around the peaks where the trail opens up a bit. Despite the good weather, the main trail wasn’t as crowded as I expected.
I ended up taking the longer trail to descend – one I tend to take often in this area, despite being quite steep. And with that, my July hikes were done.
There isn’t as much to show for July as there was for other months, but August will make up for that. I returned for a week-long hiking trip yesterday, and it was a happy and long-awaited return to some quite beautiful places. But that’s a story for some other day. Until then…
Tomas - the wandering dreamer 