Beauuutiiiiful day yesterday, almost as perfect weather as anyone can ever have - started a wee nippy around 8 or so °C, then climbed steadily towards 20, only windy at the top. I notice now my scalp got burnt, because I wasn't paying attention and forgot I have no hair :D
I walked, again, down by the side of the river, but turned left after 6 km, to ascend St. Mohor - a lovely hill just on the southern city ridge. The General wasn't too keen on allowing me to expand my spiral, now that I'm in shape to get further away, but the description of the path was so nice, I read it to him and he said 'fine, fine'. In truth there are roads almost everywhere around here and almost no was in Hell I'd ever get lost ..
ALTHOUGH. I was on the phone with gran just as I was crossing the bridge, on my way to the woods and I commented how lovely and well marked all the hiking paths around here are ... in that EXACT moment the jinx has landed, and I lost my way. I took the wrong of two forest roads - and I suspected as much, able to see the other one on the opposite side of the creek - and got stuck at a patch of woods blocked by collapsed trees (dozens of them). The phone map said I am but 20 or so meters away from the road. the ground was ploughed by swines and everything stank - I was worried we might walk upon some boars. But we found the smaller of two paths and it was wonderful.
It's tick season already - I haven't re-checked Barky yet, but at the forest she was crawling with them. We walked up for not two hours, taking lots of photos, finding our way, meeting some other hikers (one lady lost a watch but luckily backtracked and found it again), even ignored a miniature building marked 'St.Mohor cottage' - because no way that was it. My intuition held up for once and the marking returned, so we continued until a magnificent plateau opened with two building - a relic cottage restored and a brand new concrete something, not yet in use. The cottage was further on a few minutes, busy and serving pie.
The day was too good to turn back already. People kept asking where I'm off to next. Someone climbed up on a 5000 euro push bike. Dayumm. Beautiful bike, tho! While I was stamping my booklet, I incidentally used a stamp for the peak above this one, so my decision was made for me - I decided to try two other summits - a popular skydiving spot with an antenna, and a smaller, steep mother north, on my way home. I only managed to get to the antenna bit, though. I took two painkillers to calm my feet. the cute bit was the maintenance road to the antenna being a wide, level deal, but the purists' alternative was the parallel up-and-down-and-up-and-down rooty, narrow, steep path running an arm's reach alongside. So cute. I kept on the forest route until the false summits began to annoy me.
The thing about summitting two peaks the same day is: you should know the way back home will not suck. Because I took a path down on the north face of the hill and whatever energy I had left for a second small climb was burnt by the awful descend. It was really shitty. Steep, slippery, killing my knees mess that took for EVER. I hate those drops. I always have. Fuck them. I would rather walk three times the distance on a normal path than this. We sat down eventually to look at the magnificent view of the close-by hills, warm wind blowing, birds chirping, distant village music in the air - one of THOSE moments.
We got out from under the hill and headed towards a quarry, where the General picked us up. His knee is getting better, though he was cranky because someone broke our bumper on the parking lot. If his knee wasn't still in pain, I'd totally make him join us the next time!! (But we'd descend back to the river side.)
(I took more pickies, but am sleepy now...)
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