Koruna Turca – day 5
Tuesday, 22.10.2024
Podšíp – Chata pod Chlebom
→ 20 km ↑ 1815 m ↓ 1136 m – total 111,9 km
Again we both go pee around 3am and get up at 6:30am. We pack fairly fast and have bread with salami for breakfast. It’s noticeably colder this morning because of the humidity, so I have herbal tea and Jozef black. We’ve got a beautiful view of Malá Fatra lit up by the morning sun.
Today’s going to be a shorter day. We start with a descent into Kraľovany, 2 km, first on a cycling route and then on an unmarked road. On the way down we hit fog, which makes it even colder.
We descend to the railway bridge over the Orava river, which a train just crossed. We hurry across too before the next one comes. I’m a bit worried, so we jog it lightly. At the station we go to the Dvojka bar, have coffee and charge our electronics. I catch up on the blog while Jozef goes shopping. It’s a legendary spot among the local regulars, where the waitress already refuses to pour them a shot of borovička at 9am. Then I go clean myself up a bit in the bathroom and wash some underwear. We have one more beer each and set off at 11am on the green trail toward Stoh. It’s 8.7 km and almost 1300 meters of elevation, the sign gives a time of 3:30. We start steep, right into the hill. We go slow, but steady.
After an hour and over 600 meters of climbing we take a break. We each eat two rolls and a Mila bar. Walking’s easier after the break. A fairly strong wind picks up, and after standing still I’m left cold. Another hour on and we’re at Žobrák hill. That final climb with the strong wind was a real treat. Then we drop a bit and the views open up.
Stoh’s summit is wrapped in clouds. I’ve never taken this route up Stoh before, and probably never will again in my life.
Almost a vertical trail straight up. We finally reach the end, and with the break included it really took us three and a half hours. It’s white and windy at the top, we don’t linger and head into a somewhat gentler descent.
I realize I haven’t been here in a really long time, and that this was actually our first time climbing Stoh together. Once we drop below the cloud cover, the wind dies down and views open up over Rozsutec and the whole ridge.
The further we go, the more the clouds retreat, flowing between the mountains. In the end it turns into a beautiful, interesting day again.
After Stoh my thighs are already worn out, and I start whining on the next climbs along the ridge. Luckily we don’t have far to go today and the views are beautiful. We reach the pass below Hromové and start descent toward Chata pod Chlebom. After a few hundred meters clouds swallow us up.
I’m already really looking forward to the hut, finally a shower! It’s pleasantly warm inside, we unpack and each have a beer. We pay €10 for the tent, which includes a shower too. Jozef goes to pitch the tent below the hut and I blow up the sleeping pads inside. Then I go shower, feels like a whole new person. For dinner we have lentil soup, garlic soup, liver sausage and steamed buns, with a beer (they’ve got Martins on tap here, Jozef’s favorite). Over dinner we chat with the waitress Petra, an ultramarathon runner. I write the blog and edit photos. Jozef’s already heading for the tent when the guys at the next table offer us beer, saying they’d ordered too much. I decline, since I’ll already sleep badly tonight and tomorrow’s the toughest day of the whole route. I upload the blog for about another half hour and then head to the tent too. Jozef has to reinflate the sleeping pads because the air expands and contracts with temperature. I brush my teeth, change into pajamas, and we’re asleep after 9pm.
