From Baťovka to Korcháň – day 2

29.3.2024 Friday

Rokoš – Javorinka pass

→ 35,43 km – total 59,06 km

Getting me out of the sleeping bag this morning is a superhuman feat. It’s freezing and I have zero desire to get up. Jozef’s had coffee brewed for ages already, and I finally pull myself together, pack up and climb down. I’ve got merino on, with insulated shorts and a down jacket over it.

The sky’s completely clear. We just have coffee and pagáče and set off right away — we’ll change clothes and eat properly later. We start with a steep descent off Rokoš.

After two kilometers we change into lighter layers. The trail runs along the ridge with lovely views through the trees. This stretch also overlaps with the Ľudová 50 route – ultramarathon trail.

Po dvoch kilometroch sa prezliekame. Cesta vedie po hrebeni a pomedzi stromy je pekný výhľad. Ide sa tadiaľto aj Ľudová 50-tka.

The spring is past Čierny vrch, which is itself a solid grind to reach. The descent is even worse — I could easily have just sat down and slid on my backside. There’s a hunting lodge you can rent here, plus a number of private cabins. We head down to one of them where there’s a spring and some seating (you can even sleep in the loft here). After 10 km we finally have breakfast and a proper break.

A cold wind is blowing hard, so I stay in my long leggings. We skirt around Suchý vrch and descend into Liešťany. The first half is a pleasant downhill, but then it turns into a real steep drop. Today’s journey will be tough.

We’re in Liešťany before noon. We’d have stopped for a beer, but the pub’s probably still closed. We walk past it and spot a regular already sitting there — turns out he’s just waiting for it to open at 1pm. So we carry on. We climb through a lovely meadow above the village.

I stop to put on my windjacket, so Jozef’s about 200 m ahead of me. Some guy comes down from above and greets me — I greet him back. He’s already past me when I hear him asking something, so I turn to have him repeat it. “Do you heve a boyfriend?” I point my pole at Jozef — That’s my husband. He starts laughing and heads on down. He really didn’t waste any time. To give you a better picture, he looked like some village oddball. Jozef waits for me below a steep section and I let him guess what the guy asked me. I must look young and naive or something, I honestly don’t know. Maybe it’s the headband with cats? We climb Chotá hora, where some people are grilling. There are a lot of various shelters here, built by local hiking clubs. We continue on to Magura. It’s brutally steep today — probably why it’s not busier. We reach Sečianske lazy, where there’s a shelter with a gorgeous view.

And on top of that, Jozef’s prayers are answered — someone left behind a can of Pilsner. You should have seen how happy he was. He even shared it with me, so I guess he really does love me! Fueled by beer, we push on. We only run into one couple with what looks like a six-month-old baby. From Magura the trail continues to the second Magura peak and then down into Obšiar pass, where we take a break. Only 10 km left, but I’m pretty worn out. Jozef starts getting nervous that I’m moving too slowly and we won’t make it before dark — we’ve still got 3 hours, so he’s exaggerating a bit. The trail flattens out a little as we skirt Čičerman hill and drop down into Čičerman pass. There’s one last climb ahead of us, and it’s a genuine scree-slog. Someone apparently just went straight up and marked every fifth tree, no actual path at all. Ugh, this drains the last of my energy. Luckily, once we’re up, all that’s left ahead is the Čičmany meadows, with birds singing all around us.

We skirt around Javorinka and join up with the SNP trail. It’s blowing hard and there are some ominous-looking clouds to the east. I check the forecast though — it shouldn’t rain, so we’re fine.

We pitch the tent by a spring, even though the ground’s not exactly flat — we probably won’t find anything better. I’m exhausted. I go collect water at the spring and then just sit in the tent and pull a cover over myself.

I really should go wash up a bit, but the cold wind makes me dread it. I have to talk myself into it hard. I’ve clearly lost the habit of this kind of camping — I have zero system for anything and stepping out of my comfort zone takes real willpower. Here it goes! The water is freezing, but I manage. I go straight into pajamas afterward. Dinner is pasta with tuna, sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan. We tweak tomorrow’s route a bit more and go to sleep. I’ve got zero energy left for the blog tonight. Today was one of those days where I don’t know why I put myself through this, but hopefully tomorrow’s better