Bobek – Korcháň

→ 31,67 km – total 178,31 km

After a solid night’s sleep we’re up at 5:45am, feeling reasonably fresh. My feet are worse though, I have to stretch them a bit before I can even stand. I change, we pack up, and go have breakfast in the shelter. It’s maybe 20 meters from where we slept, and the wind’s howling brutally here. We barely manage to cook breakfast and coffee. Jozef has instant noodles, I have porridge.

We’ve got the final 30 km ahead of us, which I already know very well. The walk is not comfortable for me, but we’re finishing this today. Sandy views of Lysá hora open up along the way.

The trail keeps following the border, through lovely little settlements, overlapping with the Via Czechia (Stezka Českem). We pass by the Doroťanka cabin/settlement. Every time I come through here I think — I would like to live here.

After 2.5 hours we reach Biely Kríž, a well-known spot in the Beskydy that’s already past its glory days. We want to grab some food and coffee. There are already 10 other people waiting, but it doesn’t open until 10, so we lay everything out on a table and finish off whatever food we’re still carrying.

We continue right away, not bothering with water since there are plenty of springs here. The whole way, today and yesterday too, we pass sooo many frog eggs — so we’ll definitely be back in a month to see the tadpoles.

We’ve only got 15 km left to our own Kamenná chata hut, but it’s turning into a real struggle. Not only are my feet hurting, but the trail’s more mud than solid ground at this point.

After about 10 km I really need a break. We sit down by the road, eat some chocolate and I massage my legs a bit. After a while we push on. We pass through Muřínkův vrch, where there’s a small chapel and a spring too, so we drink up. There’s one last climb ahead, a fairly steep one, up to Veľký polom. It’s a level-5 nature reserve, and last year’s windstorm left quite a mess, so we’re constantly detouring around and climbing over debris. It looks like something out of an apocalyptic movie here.

We quickly descend to the mountain hut. The woman there greets us calling us lunatics. We have a beer each, sour cabbage soup, and pork with dumplings and cabbage. In the meantime my mom calls, telling us not to eat, there’s plenty of food waiting at home — too late for that. Though honestly, we’re in such a big calorie deficit at this point that we’d eat whatever’s put in front of us regardless.

We’ve walked the last 6 km many times before, and we make good progress, running bits of it here and there. We were here two weeks ago and the clearing of the fallen trees has come along nicely, even though the last weekend brought down a few more.

The thought of potato salad (traditional food on Christmas and Easter) keeps pulling us forward. At three o’clock we finally arrive. We take a final photo in front of the house, and only then we can start getting civilized again.

Recap

And that’s the end of our journey. We’re really glad we went through with this crazy plan and got to see places we’d otherwise never have visited. Writing didn’t come easily alongside the walking this time, since after all those kilometers I just didn’t have the energy for it. But if I get a bit more organized, and get faster at talking myself into washing up in the cold, hopefully it’ll go more smoothly on future trips. Thanks to everyone who reads this, and to the non-readers who at least look at the photos. I hope this inspires some of you to get out into nature more, and that you’ll keep following along next time too.

PS. We really didn’t run into any bears.

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Lookout tower above Hrabové – Bobek

→ 42,62 km – total 146,64 km

We keep the alarm at the same time, and we definitely feel the time change. On top of that I was tossing and turning all night. Today’s going to be a hard one. Jozef takes a few more photos of this fantastic camping spot before we go.

He just makes chia porridge for me, and then we head quickly into town, to a gas station, for coffee and a hot dog. The woman there complains that it’s turned into a restaurant in there. Lots of asphalt awaits us today. The route runs through Bytča, then through the surrounding areas and the village of Petrovice. After 10 km we take a break — I change clothes and we eat some tortillas. We’re in Petrovice at 10am, and to our great surprise the pub is open and already fairly full. The woman is still cleaning up from the night before. We each have a beer and continue on.

Even the men have already left, probably for 11 o’clock Mass. It really is a long, strung-out village. I try to keep my mind occupied and just run on momentum. My feet are starting to ache — the asphalt’s wrecking them. At noon we take a break by a stream. I dip my feet in the icy water and eat tortillas.

Only 3 km of asphalt left now. We continue along a cycle path and then cut through the forest as a shortcut. It’s a pretty bad shortcut — I didn’t quite nail it. We try to find the original path, then take another shortcut instead, a better one this time, which genuinely saves us some distance. In the forest we come across bear droppings, though from a while back. Some guy rides past on a kid’s motorbike, part of a group staying at a cabin blasting some pretty terrible music. We hurry away from there. Walking’s easier once we’re through the forest. The trail runs through thicket and woods, we tap our poles even though the guy on the motorbike has probably scared off every animal within a 10 km radius. We’re getting closer to Makov now.

There are some lovely cabins around here too. We pass one and an old man asks where we’re heading. We say Kmínek, and he tells us it’s still quite far — though where we’re actually finishing today is even further. His cabin is really lovely, dark brown with a green roof. He’s had it 50 years now and the locals treat him as one of their own. He’s got a sink outside, so I at least wash my sweaty face. We continue through Kršlisko, past a small chapel, on a local trail toward Makov. We take a short break to eat. Then we continue on asphalt and join the red Kysucká magistrála trail. We start climbing toward the border, to the Kmínek mountain hut. The start is fairly steep, and once it eases off we have to navigate around a lot of fallen trees.

The hut is fairly busy, partly because it’s accessible by car and there are even a few taxis around. I have a soft spot for this place, I used to work here as a camp counselor. We arrive at 4:20pm and they close at 5pm, so we just barely make it. Jozef gets bryndza halušky, I get a blueberry pastry — absolutely incredible, I’ll definitely be back for that one someday. Fueled up again, we continue another 6 km to Bobek. Along the border it’s gently rolling now, easy going.

Just before 7pm we reach a settlement below Bobek, where the map says there’s a spring, though it’s flowing pretty weakly, so we filter it just in case. We fill up every container we’ve got. It’s only about 200 m more to Bobek pass. It’s windy up there, but we manage to find a sheltered, flat spot. Some teenagers sit in the shelter nearby, and a car even drives past us down to the cabins, but nobody pays us any attention. We pitch the tent, change clothes and go straight to sleep. Neither of us is even hungry, so we just make the most of an early night after a demanding day.

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Javorinka pass – Lookout tower above Hrabové

→ 44,96 km – total 104,02 km

The wind blows all night, so the rustling tent walls keep waking me, but I still manage decent sleep overall. We’re up before 6am. Jozef makes coffee, Asian instant noodles, and chia porridge for me. We pack up while the first runner of the day passes by us. We descend into Čičmany.

We check whether any shop’s open, but the place is deserted apart from one other hiker, apparently on the SNP trail, who looks Czech — very much the classic tramp look. We continue along the yellow trail on the main road. Then we turn off into a valley onto a forest road and climb gently up to Samostrel pass. From there we climb toward Hrubá Kečka, or Kačka — the name varies depending the type of map. Over 250 meters of gain in 1 km. Same like Hnilická Kýčera, where in places I’m knee-deep in leaves.

We ascent it in under half an hour — the signpost said 50 minutes, so I’m pretty pleased. The top is completely flat, the name fits perfectly. There are views up there too, though visibility’s a bit hazy from dust in the air. Yesterday we’d debated going via Kľak instead, but given the views aren’t up to much here either, I’m glad we chose this route. The descent off Hrubá Kečka is as steep as the climb was, but we try to jog a bit of it at least. We join a forest road, passing by the Priepasť medzi Kačkami sinkhole — a 40-meter-deep chasm leading into an underground cave system.

We continue through lovely forest to Čelková Lehota, from where we go off-trail across a hill on farm road into Domaniža. We need to buy groceries today, so we’re moving fast. I change into shorts. It’s pleasantly warm and beautiful here, meadows with pine forest.

We’re in Domaniža around 11:30am. The shop’s open until 2pm. First we go eat at Pizza Bar Batterista. It looks like you’re walking into someone’s house, but there’s a real restaurant in here. I have pizza, Jozef a burger, plus a beer each. The pizza’s really good — apparently it even got 3 stars on the show Áno, šéfe! (“Yes, Chef!”). Shopping goes better on a full stomach. It’s a typical small-village Jednota — half the things we want aren’t there, and Jozef gets stressed because the aisles are narrow and full of ladies with shopping baskets. We get out of there fast, even though I’d wanted to grab a few other things. Next time we really need to write a list so we’re not standing around thinking in the shop. I’d also wanted a coffee at the pub, but after standing there 5 minutes with the woman busy serving regulars, we decide to just push on instead — we’ve still got a lot of ground to cover. The trail follows the main road for 2 km, so we move quickly. I’m walking really well today. Jozef asks what demon’s possessed me, but honestly I’m just enjoying the walk. We pass through Vráta, a rock formation between Domaniža and Bodina. I love that we chose this particular route — there’s not a soul around, and we probably never would have come this way if it weren’t for this crossing. It’s genuinely beautiful here, and there’s a swing too!

We descend along the contour through beech forest. You can tell nobody’s walked through here in a while. Past Bodina we stop for a cookie break. The trail’s gentle, easy walking. In Vrchteplá we stop at a pub — Jozef has a non-alcoholic beer, I go for a Kofola and a coffee. I ask the woman there to fill our water too, and the local regulars suggest she pour me a vodka instead, that I’ll walk better with it. I firmly deny that claim. At the edge of the village there’s a spring, so I rinse out Jozef’s shirt there, since the merino’s been making his back itch. We head toward Súľov-Hradná on the green trail. We’re back among lovely meadows again — my absolute favorite scenery.

An hour later we’re in Súľov. It’s getting fairly late and there’s still 6 km ahead, but I manage to talk Jozef into ice cream. We don’t take any more water — the lighter we are, the faster we’ll move, and the sooner we’ll reach the next spring. We climb briskly through the Súľov rocks.

We’ve both been here before, so we just take the fastest way through. Jozef warns me a runner’s coming toward us, to move aside, and a kid of about 4 years comes darting out from behind a hill — with excellent running form. From Sedlo pod Bradou we turn off onto the blue trail heading toward Bytča. It’s an easy path, we jog bits of it, though I’m not entirely sure the spring marked on the map actually exists — sometimes it shows up, sometimes it doesn’t. The sun’s already set by the time we reach an absolutely pristine little spring, complete with its own small pool — so tonight, we shower.

We are looking for a spot to pitch the tent but can’t find anywhere flat. So we wash up first, change into cleaner clothes, and keep going. We walk in the dusk toward a lookout tower above Hrabové. It’s a fairly kitschy and pretty pointless tower — maybe three meters tall, and you’d get the same view just standing in the meadow. At least the ground next to it is nice and flat, so we pitch the tent there, sheltered from the wind. It’s actually pleasantly tonight, even in the evening. Jozef cooks and I inflate the sleeping pads. We’ve got a view over Bytča and the highway. We really pushed ourselves today, so we’ll see how we’re feeling tomorrow. Time’s moving on by an hour during night, and tomorrow’s the fourth day — the critical one.

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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

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Partizánske – Rokoš

→ 23,63 km

This morning I’m still thinking whether we’ll actually go through with the plan that came to us last time we were in Kysuce — walking from Partizánske all the way to Kysuce, on foot. The forecast looks decent, just windy. I start getting our stuff together. It’s raining outside. In the afternoon I go shop for some food at the chaotic Kaufland, and by the time I’m out the sun’s already shining, so I’m starting to genuinely look forward to this. Jozef gets off work at 1pm so we can head out as soon as possible. We just wear shorts — once we’re walking, we won’t be cold. We’d wanted to bring the camera too, but something’s wrong with it and there’s no time left to figure out what. Right outside our building we start our watches and set off along the embankment by the river Nitra.

First stop is on Sládkovičova street, at Jozef’s parents’ place, for some cheese pagáče for the road. And coffee too, which I’d completely forgotten. It’s pretty funny, the odd looks people give us, wondering where on earth we’re heading with backpacks like these. Out of Partizánske we follow a farm road past fragrant blooming bushes.

There’s a lot of mud that sticks to our shoes, weighing them down and making the walking harder. As we walk along the Nitrica river I remember I forgot the towels. I should probably start making a checklist before we head out on these trips. Our next stop is in Skačany. After 7 km we grab a quick beer and continue through the fields toward Hradište.

In Hradište I remember I had forgotten the knife too. Jozef had looked at it back home, thinking he should trim his nails, but decided he could do that on the trail instead — so now that’s off the table too. And I forgot my kula cloth as well. Once we’re home I’m making that checklist for real. It’s flat all the way to Dolné Vestenice, so we put an ultra-speed.

At the local Jednota store we buy two liters of water, since there’s no spring left along the way. Rokoš is a brutal hill. It climbs steeply right from the start — over 900 meters of elevation gain over 10 km. We’d been up Rokoš once before, and back then I swore never again. As always, nostalgic optimism kicks in. We move along briskly given the conditions. Thanks to the missing knife I keep humming Nohavica’s song “Tramp” in my head (“I walk through the world without a knife”).

We fuel up on pagáče and chocolate-covered raisins. It’s already fairly dim by the time we reach the lookout point with the swing. We pull out our headlamps to have them ready, though there’s still just enough light to see the trail. After 6 km we reach the ridge, and from there it’s up and down, with occasional rockier, tougher terrain. A couple of times we scout out potential camping spots, but it’s really windy, so we decide to push on to Rokoš itself. We try to talk loudly and tap our poles often. At 8:45pm we finally arrive. There’s a hikers’ shelter at the top with a loft where you can sleep. Outside the wind is howling hard enough to rattle the shelter, but inside it’s actually quite cozy. We quickly get set up and Jozef cooks mashed potato with tuna for dinner. It starts raining in the meantime — I’m really glad we’re under cover. I check the forecast again and it says -2°C by morning, so I layer up to stay warm. We only covered 23 km, but it took a lot out of us, so I’m curious whether we’ll actually pull this whole trip off.

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