Koruna Turca – day 2
Cabanka – Salaš pod Chyžkami
Saturday, 19.10.2024
→ 33,3 km ↑ 1364 m ↓ 1227 m – total 42,8 km
After 10 hours of sleep we get up at 6:30am. Slept like royalty. Even though it’s only 5°C in the hut, changing feels easier than last night. We pack all our things and go down for breakfast. The man’s already up too. We have cod salat with a roll, which was originally supposed to be yesterday’s lunch, coffee, chocolate, and Jozef has tea too. We chat a bit longer. That dog, Bran, weighs 43 kg and eats half a kilo of kibble a day, that’s quite a lot of extra weight.
Before 8am we leave the hut together. After a few hundred meters our paths split, and Bran, who’s already gotten used to us, whines while the man has to pull him the other way. We continue along a nice, gentle path and check out the mushrooms along the trail.
After a few kilometers we’re wondering why this stretch was so bad on the SNP Trail. We reach Flochová pass and from there it drops very steeply. Looking at the signpost at Turecká cesta pass, we remember. From here it’s only 2 km to Štúrec, but that much demanding.
Since we’d expected it, it doesn’t feel quite as brutal as it used to. We take a break by the road, sit in the sun, eat kaiser rolls with salami and cheese, and I catch up on the blog. We rest for about half an hour and then follow a cycling route 10 km to Hotel Kráľová studňa. It’s a very gentle climb, so we move fast.
The road’s lined with beautifully colored trees, and the higher we go, the more the views open up. We’re there in two hours. Three buses are parked there and half the country’s out.
We have cabbage soup, a radler and a beer. We charge our phones and soak up the sun. At 2pm we continue toward Krížna. This is where my favorite stretch of views begins.
The sun’s warm and I soak in the views all around. The weather’s top notch, no wonder there are so many people here. The climb to Krížna takes us about an hour. After that it rolls gently along the ridge, I love this stretch.
Today’s destination is Salaš pod Suchým vrchom, but Jozef thinks it’ll already be full. He’s right. Three tents are already pitched and there’s just one free spot left inside. We fuel up on croissants and continue another two kilometers to Salaš pod Chyžkami. Three people are heading there right ahead of us. We could still fit, but it’s fairly dirty inside and those guys are pretty odd. So we find some kind of flat spot for the tent instead.
Jozef goes for water and I get the sleeping pads ready. The spring’s pretty dirty, so we filter the water. But we’ve got a beautiful view of Ploská in the last rays of sunlight. The idyll’s disturbed a bit by those guys, who spend about an hour hauling wood down from the hill, smoking weed and coughing horribly. Well, what can you do. To warm up we have a packet pea soup, and then I head over to Chyžky to try to photograph the comet. I can’t see it on my phone, but the camera picks it up. I set it on the tripod, start a time-lapse, and after three frames it shuts off. The battery’s cold, so I put it in my jacket for a bit and try again. Second attempt it lasts about 12 frames. That’s enough for today, it’s really gusty here and I’m cold.
Meanwhile Jozef’s cooked pasta with tuna, cheese and dried tomatoes. We cuddle for a bit so I can warm up, and then, after a lot of convincing, I change into merino. I’d wanted to note the temperature too, but I lost the thermometer. On top I put on down trousers and a down jacket. Hoping I stay warm tonight. I finish writing the blog and I’m asleep by 9pm.
