Two weeks passed and so I am back with another hiking post. This time, I was going towards a place that is known more by the ski resort near the main peak but aside from that, it’s really calm place with quite a low amount of people there. As it tends to be, that’s mostly because it’s hard to reach.
Category Archives: Hiking
Alone in the hills, part two
There’s a tradition I try to keep going, to go for a hike between exams. It works well to clear my mind. This time, it became a bit extreme. Exam on Monday, okay, went better than expected. The hike was originally planned for Tuesday but the plan changed and I went for a bit different outdoor activity with my sister. So the hike was moved to Wednesday despite the fact that my legs were stiff from 36km of roller-blading in something like 2,5hrs (fastest lap I had was 12min 20sec for 4,5km, by the way).
Anyway, I still set up the alarm at 4:10, thinking that this time I might even regret it (I very rarely regret getting up early for a hike, even in bad weather) and went on with the adjusted plan. Of course, Wednesday + unknown place = being alone.
Alone in the hills, part one
So, here it comes. First summer hike of 2018. Yes, it’s not “calendar summer” yet but the weather is not giving a damn the last few years. 30°C in mid-may, no problem. Part one, in this case, because of the second hike that I’ll cover soon.
Just after the rainy days
After three weeks of idling, I finally got to the hills again. At first, it did not look well. It was raining three or four days before. The rain was not strong, but it was persistent and I know that for some, it’s enough to be a hit on their mood. If I went alone, I would not give it a second thought but this time, I was to bring a loose group of almost fifty people somewhere after four days of rain with a not-so-small chance for more of it that day.
Hiking, reading and writing coming together
It might be quite strange jumble as my blog is partly about reading books, partly about hiking and partly about writing. It might seem that this trio does not come together that much. Yet, for me, it does. In this post, I will share how.
Stumps and stones
Over the 8 years that I am going to hike (sometimes) alone, it happened very rarely (if ever) that I took such outside inspiration. There were places in reach I wanted to see and I had some potential tips from people close to me (many of them taken from archives of the hiking club, from times before I joined and the first years when I was with them sporadically, not on 90% of events like the last years).
This time, I decided to visit a place that was suggested by a website. The deciding factor was that it was easily reached by public transport even during weekend.
Mid-April vibrancy
If there’s something I like on mid- to late- April, it’s that the nature is almost fully awakened after the winter and the trees with their fresh leaves have unmatched vibrancy in their light green colors. It’s something that wants me to spend time outside a lot. Of course, there are years that screw it up sometimes, like last year. Most of the time, fortunately, the time between 20th and 30th April is perfect hike time here.
When I went for a hike in this time last year, I did not make even a single photo. It was cold, remains of the surprising mid-April snowfall and gloomy with mist that would fit November more. Something around 1°C. Yesterday, it was more like early June: 26°C, sunny.
April weather perfection. Photo from 2016
My hike was not supposed to be hard, it was to enjoy the usual April weather, something I did to the fullest. It had some overlap with a hike I did three years ago (minus one day) and I was glad to see some of those places again.
The first rock of the day
The trail led around several smaller rock formations, which is again something I like, more so if they are covered by a few trees that seem to defy logic with where they managed to grow. These places have small disadvantage in limiting photos by the lack of space, but they are nice places all the same.
Eventually, we made it to the second rock formation and the first slight lookout. Knowing there will be better places for observing the landscape later, I was more focused on enjoying the April vibrancy.
It turned out I was probably half a week too late, the birches had their leaves already fully grown instead of just sprouting, at which point they have quite a charming shade of green (as seen on the very first photo to the very left). Maybe the very warm last days affected it, maybe not.
Overgrown abandoned quarry, 4/2015
Then the trail led us around abandoned quarry. Mixture of birches, larches and pines (maybe some other trees as well) grows there almost undisturbed now and create quite interesting scenery.
Same place as above, 4/2018
Just as with birches, larches too have quite charming shade of green when their needles are freshly grown, made even more charming with the growing tiny cones in some kind of purple-ish color I can’t even name. They are also pain to take close-up photo of as the light branches will start swaying on the faintest breath of wind. I gave up when I failed to focus it well for the fifth time.
Then we went to another rock formation. This one had all I liked – could be climbed, had trees growing weirdly in the tight gaps and was decent lookout point.
Spring forests below
From there on, it was mostly walk through the forests for quite a while, until reaching a village with really nervous dog that followed me very loudly for maybe 200 meters until the owner came to scold it and escort it back home. Then, it was through fields a bit, these having their own spring charm as well.
Last ascension after, to a lookout tower built in 2016 (gets me to the point I might as well make a post about the massive growth of these in last years).
And then finally descent to our destination. Apart from the last year, it was as close to perfection as it goes in these days. Maybe too warm for this part of year, I guess I better get used for it again.
And that’s it from this one.
Lowland hills
Sometimes, nature can surprise me more than I’d expect. Some places I’d expect to be either flat or lazily rolling hills with no steep parts, yet I can be proven the opposite. I roughly had an idea where I was to go this Saturday – I planned to go there last year at roughly this time, but weather and then other things happened and I had to postpone it, eventually to the next year at least as the place is nice in early April with the flowers blooming.
Warning: long post with lots of photos.
Deforested
This will be a post that goes a bit into biology even though it’ll include photos and experience from my hikes. It’s about a fact that places I knew (know) are changing before my eyes, and might as well change forever, voluntarily or not.
Since 18th century, spruce forests started to dominate central Europe. The lumber they produce has wide use and they grow fast in the first 20-25 years. Yet, they have several vulnerabilities, the main one in normal conditions is shallow root system.
Spruces here in central Europe have much more problems. Easy to take root, they started to dominate the landscape, but pollution weakened them, making them easy target for bark beetles. Combined with the larger frequency of dry years in the last 10 years, the shallow roots mean the trees are becoming dry due to lack of moisture and even easier target for parasites. And to top them off (literally, in the end), the increasing amount of strong winds that can uproot the weakened trees or snap them in half.
The most memorable of many was the windy night in late 2004. It hit several places, but the devastation in Slovakian High Tatras was most prominent with strip two to five kilometers wide and over fifty kilometers long. The place changed forever, once shady forests below the hill giving space to low plants.
Tri studničky, Tatranský Národný Park, Slovakia (2017)
What survived the night in 2004 was not much and most of it was taken down by the following two or three nights that came in 2010s (the second big one was in 2014, almost exactly 10 years later, with several minor in other years). The events, in turn, made the bark beetle infestation even worse as they could use the massive amount of fallen trees to breed even more and make the forests vulnerable for disasters that did not need much time to come.
The problems are even worse in east Czech republic, historically industrial area with pollution problems (even though the situation is getting better). As I mentioned recently, in the last hike I was crossing a place that was formerly spruce forest. Even three years after the 2015 wind, not all the fallen trees were taken away. Infrastructure suffers in turn as the village roads were not planned to carry several trucks with loads of wood every day for months, let alone years. Seeds of other trees are on short supply as the forest owners try to replace the fallen trees with something that would have better chances.
Former forest near Karlovice village, Czech republic (2018, destroyed in 7/2015)
Sometimes, more trees are destroyed before the results of one calamity are dealt with. I can say for sure that hikes when I’d not hear at least distant sounds of chain saw are getting quite rare. Even though making marked trails passable is often done just after clearing the roads, there were times when a trail was closed for three to four months after one windy day.
Destroyed forest near Králický Sněžník, Czech republic (2015, a week after the windstorm)
To make it worse, some places are hard to reach and even clearing the path is complicated, let alone helping the land to recover. The options to get heavy trucks to elevation around 1300 meters when the villages below are around 500 is quite complicated, as the places have roads that can carry an off-road vehicle or snowmobile at most and are used primarily by cyclists.
Uprooted spruces, Sušina peak, Czech republic (2016, year after the windstorm)
A few years ago, spruces made up to 90% of trees. The ratio in cultivated areas is decreasing with each harsh wind (I believe that most of the times it was somewhere between 100 and 200 km/h) as its obvious that re-planting spruces would most likely be wasted effort.
Some places change right before my eyes. What will they look like in a decade or two I don’t dare to guess…
Traveling trouble
This will be a bit different post for 1st April, recollection of some unlucky things that happened to me during my hikes.
2009: Don’t underestimate the weather
17.8.2009, one of the most memorable. One of the most important rule of hiking is: respect the nature and especially weather. Especially in places where safe spots are rare – such as Slovakian Tatra mountains. Yes, by popular belief, third week of August is the most stable with minimal amount of rain. Not a hint of clouds on 15th when we arrived. Hike I had to end 80% to the peak because of my drink supply running low from the immense heat on 16th. 17th seemed to be no different.
It was to be climb of Rysy peak located on border between Slovakia and Poland and the highest point of marked trail system in the mountains (all the higher peaks require outright climbing with appropriate equipment and a permit). At my level of skill those days, I knew that realistically I won’t make it all the way, but I made it to the chalet below the peak itself. After a short break, seeing gathering clouds, I decided to start my descent before something comes.
Too late.
Five minutes later, sudden storm arrived. I was just in a shirt and thus was drenched to the bone in ten minutes. Worse, it was not just rain but hail and the impacts were really painful on my sun-burnt hands. The storm took maybe fifteen minutes, but it was enough to fill my boots with water.
An hour later, I reached the place where my parents were waiting for me, changed to a dry shirt (the only thing I had spare) and we went for the last five kilometers to the pick up point. It took maybe fifteen minutes for the storm to return and that time it lasted for almost two hours. Since then, I carry quite full backpack no matter how stable the weather might be. Ready for anything that can realistically happen.
2010: Train has the right of way
My first “pushing the limits” hike. 27km up and down in merciless summer heat. When I reached the train station, I had two choices: wait two hours for a train going directly where I need, or take a scenic route and depart in twenty minutes, arriving to my destination just a few minutes ahead of the direct option. Being nice day and willing to see different places than those I used for arrival, I chose to shorten my wait, even at though the detour made my ticket almost double price. Also, the scenic route meant no direct train and I had 10 minutes for the transfer.
I chatted with a group of young hikers that took a seat next to me and it went well until we stopped somewhere and remained there for almost forty minutes. Then, we were told that a cyclist was hit by a train a few kilometers ahead of us and the railroad is closed. We had to wait for a backup transport and with some luck, they held a train in my direction for ten minutes (compared to the scheduled departure) so people going that direction could get home with not so much time lost. Still, what was supposed to get me there twenty minutes earlier turned into 70 minutes of delay.
2015: Vertigo
In August 2015, I was attempting to hike Rysy peak again, this time from the Poland side. The trail is almost 10km of slow ascension through the valley followed by quite steep climb, the final part is ~1600 meters long with ~900 meters of vertical ascension. From elevation 2000m ASL onwards (peak at 2503) it’s really close to actual climbing, several passages secured by chains or with steps chiseled into the granite rocks. Still, several people die there each year. To tell something about the difficulty, of the 42 people in our group, only five of us dared this.
How far can you see the path?
Now, I was never one to have fear of heights, at least not when hiking. At some later point, I saw a woman in probably early twenties, clutching the chain in panic, shaking and crying. The finale is quite harsh, maybe thirty meters of pretty much vertical climb with 800 meters of depth behind your back, followed by 10 meters of walk across thin ledge. That was really scary. The view from above was worth it in the end.
Peak elevation: 2503. Upper lake (closer): 1580. Lower lake: 1395. Parking (off sight): 890.
Worst was to come. It took me maybe fifty meters of the descent (down the Slovakian side) and I misstepped, pulling some tendon, muscle or something in my knee. Long story short, after another hundred of meters I gave up and finished the descent on painkillers, glad that the next day had nothing planned. The pain receded on its own overnight, but I was scared of its return for the remaining five days.
By the way, during the extremely hot day and hard climb, my beverage consumption just during the hike neared 8 liters. With the rest (clothes for any situation, as mentioned before), my backpack was really heavy and I had to be extra careful to keep my weight center forward. And as seen on the picture, it was long way down…
2016: Beware of the dog… and cow
That was hike whose most “interesting” part was that to reach the place, not even that interesting, took me almost five hours in bus and train. I chose a trail that was not used much, which was far too obvious at some point. I had to push my way through young spruces, earning a few scratches. Not big deal on its own, but when the salt from sweating gets there, combined with tick repellent, it’s not really pleasant feeling.
I got to the main peak, went down, and prepared for the second part. The trail took me through a valley road, next to which were some houses, probably used as summer houses given the remote locations. Separated from the road by a stream, no fences were needed. A dog rushed to follow me, barking loudly. It was small one, so I stopped to make sure I don’t step on it, but the stop was too sudden and the dog, still barking, hit my leg, giving me another scratch that started to itch quite fast.
Then, I had to cross a field that was used as a pasture. Even though the five cows were some distance away, the idea that I would be run down by them, very well alone, was not a pleasant one and pushed me to the fastest speed I could muster at that point. Nothing happened, but still, combined with the dog just a few minutes before, I was scared.
2006: Mind your diet
My digestive system was in trouble since I was born. I went through complicated surgery when I was five and since then it was slowly getting better, but I still need to be careful. Apart from lactose intolerance, there are some things that could cause trouble, or some combinations. Problem is, some are revealed only by chance. And sometimes, in really bad time and place.
Let’s start that despite being still summer (2.9.2006), the night was cold in the hills and in the north-oriented valley, even around 9:00 it was -2°C. It went up gradually, so I thought it would be nice day. We reached the main peak shortly before noon and after a while there, started the descent.
That is where the problems begun, by quite scary sounds coming from within me. Worst thing? First it was through rocky landscape, then the trail led through shrub pines with no way to step aside. The pressure on my sphincter was increasing each minute, yet I had to keep my backside shut tightly for over five kilometers before I got a change to step off the path.
By that time my legs were shaking so much that I could not really relieve myself and eventually walked as fast as I could down to the valley, hoping for a public restroom at the parking or something like that. In total, around 11 kilometers from the peak. I made it just in time. Since then, I really watch what I eat a day before hike.
And with this quite uncomfortable story, I finish today’s post.
Tomas - the wandering dreamer 
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