E3: Makov to Pustevny: Day 137

The major event of today was reaching Czechia, the Czech Republic.

I again made an early start as I was expecting a long day. First I had to climb out of the steep sided, forested valley in which the village of Makov lined a busy road. Leaving the noise of the traffic behind, passing a few houses perched on the hillside, I climbed through the woods until I reached a summit. It was an area where trees had been cut down so I could see the track winding ahead of me to the next stand of mature trees. Some of the trees today, whether beech or conifers were extremely tall.

My first milestone was reaching a trail heading west, where I switched from the red waymarked trail to a blue one, only to revert to a red track after a few kilometres. Beside me, at regular intervals, I noticed the white boundary stones with red tops that I had seen on the Polish border earlier on my trip. This time they marked the border between Slovakia (the "S" on one side of the stone) and Czechia (marked with a "C"). Following the border by occasional houses led me to the Bumbalka Pass and a major road. As I approached I could hear the whine of lorries straining as they were driven up to the Pass, where they left one country and arrived at the next without stopping. I had hoped for some refreshments but nothing was open. A stall might open on another day, but the  "Motorest" looked unlikely to open ever again. A backpacker, hitching a lift, exchanged a few pleasantries with me before running after a car that stopped for him. 

The red route continued uphill along the border under the trees until it decided to commit itself to Czechia. I passed a closed looking hotel with a short ski tow before my route returned me to the road (on a yellow trail), crossing it I started on the ridge (on a red trail) which I would follow for the rest of the day.

After walking uphill for a while the trail I began the the usual trek up and down hills among conifers in various stages of maturity. At one point I heard the whine of a chainsaw. After passing warning signs I deviated into the surrounding forest, giving a man trimming branches off felled trees a wide berth.

Reaching Martiňák where there is a "wellness" hotel, I stopped at the attached restaurant and bought a hot dog for my lunch. Perhaps my small dinner last night made me hungrier than usual as I was then drawn to a "sweet thing". I ordered a blueberry dumpling. The large fluffy white dumpling contained a blueberry compôt which also formed a pool in which the dumpling proudly sat.

During the morning my left knee had been giving me pain and refused to bend properly, causing me to stumble on rocks and tree roots. After lunch however it seemed much better which surprised me, as normally stoping for a while causes it to stiffen. Maybe the ibuprofen I had taken three hours earlier was taking effect or else it just liked blueberry dumplings!

I started along a single track road in the direction indicated by a signpost. After a little while I checked my GPS and found I was not on the route I had loaded from Waymarkedtrails.org. I climbed up through trees to what I thought was the correct route. This was marked with green waymarks. Checking my phone I found this was incorrect, the E3 should here be following red waymarks, my gpx track was wrong! So I had to retrace my steps to the single track road.

This was an excellent route, at least for my knee, as the road was surfaced with smooth tarmac and contoured the ridge rather than attempting all of its summits. There were no cars, only cyclists freewheeling down the shallow gradient that I was progressing up. As I approached Pustevney, the E3 branched off up a side path, gaining height rapidly to deliver me to my hotel.

The old hotel was occupied by large numbers of excited school children, I had seen some of them out in the woods on my way. Pustevney is a curious place. Created by the Radhošt Mountain Society between 1891 and 1926, there were a few striking buildings with many decorative features in wood and paint. This evening there are many people about. Backpackers, cyclists, groups of men drinking beer, children and parents. Pustevney is, as was intended, a place for tourists. 

E3: Bytča to Makov: Day 136

A day made easier as much of my walk was on quiet roads.

I had 30 kilometres to walk today and a boxed breakfast, so with no need for delay I was on my way by 6:30 am. Leaving Bytča via a suspension bridge for those on foot, I was soon passing people walking their dogs or jogging in the suburbs. New houses mingled with an area of decaying buildings with smashed windows or collapsed roofs. 

My route this morning was up a long valley, its sides covered with conifers. After a length of track beside fields on the valley floor, I joined a road at the village of Petrovice. There was little traffic. It was Sunday, people were walking to church. The houses were a mixture of modern, rendered buildings often in pastel colours and others made of timber, of logs roughly cut and jointed. Roofs tended to be of metal sheeting but sometimes tiled. A little outside the village, under a shelter beside a taped off rectangle of grass, people were preparing for an event. Beyond the houses, where the forest came down to the road, there were a few boards with slits in. I had seen them before and wondered what they were. Google told me they were Ridex slit traps, which use a pheromone to trap bark beetles.

The smooth tarmac meant I was making good time, 4.1 kilometres per hour compared to as low as 2.6 when following ridges recently. Despite favourable conditions underfoot, my left knee was refusing to bend and generally complaining. I took an Ibuprofen and maybe this helped me reach today's destination. Inevitably there was a point where I needed to leave the road and climb up a track. Despite being uphill the route was good, the tracks not destroyed by forestry vehicles. Today was not a ridge walk but a means to cross the mountains from one valley system to the next. Although I was walking through conifer forest, there were plenty of gaps to see the view back, to the south. On reaching a ski tow, I could also see in a northerly direction, down towards Makov. On occasional meadows, the sparse, long grass was dotted with yellow, pink and blue from the buttercups, clover, speedwells and forget-me-nots. A few people were about on a Sunday ramble or bicycle ride. Despite a light shower which lasted long enough to put my waterproofs on, most of the day was dry and sometimes sunny.

I had left Bytča on the green trail and later switched to red waymarks. Signs gave me the wrong impression of how far it was to my Penzion in Makov, a consequence of Makov being strung out along the valley, with a sub village called Makov-Kopanice for which timings were given on the signs. My accommodation was in another part of Makov a few kilometres further on, along a road frequented by cyclists and motorbikes.

Arriving too early to check in, I had lunch at the nearby "Motorest", a traditional Slovakian dish of potato dumplings with a sheeps' cheese sauce and bacon and sausage bits. It was fortunate that I had a good lunch as when I returned to the restaurant at 7 pm for some dinner, I was told the kitchen was closed. The waitress kindly checked to see if anything might be found for me, and the answer was tripe soup, there were no other options. Although not my favourite this was my supper, followed by an ice cream, which did not require any cooking.

E3: Bytča rest day: Day 135

A day visiting tourist sites, drinking coffee and resting, which unfortunately does not appear to be improving my knee.

Bytča has three main tourist sites. The first was the Church of All Saints. Although 700 years old it has been subject to many changes, the interior looks Baroque. I sat for a while praying for my knee. Unfortunately the prayer was not effective as my knee stiffened as the morning progressed! On my way to the second site I passed an old Synagogue, abandoned behind fences, its rendering in disrepair. Dating from the 19th century, there are plans to repair the building and open it as a cultural centre. Opposite are the two other sites, Bytča Castle and the Wedding Palace. Both closed today unfortunately but the outside views were impressive. The renaissance castle from 1591 was square in plan with a pointy tower at each corner and another tower above the entrance, all ringed by an outer wall. George Thurzo built the Wedding Palace in 1601 for his daughters' wedding banquets in renaissance style. According to the Internet there is a niche for the wedding bed where guests could see the marriage consummated. Not something I would fancy if I were the groom!

There are at least two good cukráreň in Bytča, both of which I sampled. At one I had a Dubai cheesecake and the other a strudel, but not an apple strudel, maybe gooseberry? Most people however were enjoying Saturday with an ice cream.

On my way to the centre I passed a graveyard. Many people were out polishing the granite slabs on their families' graves. Most graves had little lamps or flowers (possibly artificial), they looked cared for unlike some of those in Britain.

Back at my Penzion there was another function in progress, with disco lights and DJ, but my mind was on the next three days, which would be long. I was hoping my knee would hold out.

E3: Rajec to Bytča: Day 134

After crossing the first mountain I climbed up to a ridge which I followed for many more kilometres as cloud and rain moved in.

I did not hurry this morning as check in for my accommodation this evening was not until 6 pm, I also needed to visit the chemist to buy a strip of plasters. My wet left boot was rubbing the top of my toes making them sore. A length of fabric plaster solved the problem but it became wet and had to be replaced each day. I was running out of plasters so needed to buy some more. Showing the old packet to the shop keeper meant I soon had a new one.

Around 9:00 am I started off. My left knee was stiff this morning, so I swallowed an ibuprofen and until I stopped at Bytča, it did not complain too much. My day began with a climb up to the first summit, overtaking a group of young school children in a variety of cheerfully coloured clothing. A little after the path entered conifer fotest and grew steeper until I reached an observation tower at the top.  For the tower I could see the road on which I entered Rajec. The dark bluey green of the tree covered mountains contrasted with the more yellowy greens of the fields below.

After my descent from this first mountain I followed a path through beech trees up to a ridge, which was my destiny for the rest of the day. At first I was pleased, no overjoyed, that the path took a lateral approach. Gradually gaining height by following a line along the side of the ridge, rather than going straight up the slope in the usual way in these parts. In this gentle fashion the top of the ridge was reached.

However once on the ridge, the path ran north along its crest, not deviating from the highest points except when impeded by larger outcrops of rock. The usual roller coaster ensued, the trail rising up and down each summit, often steeply, slowing me down as I negotiated tree roots, slippery earth and rocks. At first, between the beech trees that grew on the ridge, I could see the valleys each populated by fields, villages and houses strung out along roads. Later the cloud came in and with it cold wind and rain. My field of view was limited to nearby trees and cliffs or sharp drops to my left, and steep wooded slopes to my right. With the hood of my coat up I faced the usual problem of my glasses misting up. Often I left my hood down, exposed to the rain so I could better see where the path went. This was not always obvious. Picking the wrong path I arrived at the top of a cliff on a precarious animal track. Instead the correct path dropped through a cleft in the cliff to my left, squeezed between the cliff and a tree, and then dropped rapidly for several feet until it stabilised as a viable footway.

I had been following the green waymarked path out of Rajec, then switched to the red path, which I hoped would result in me leaving the ridge in a gentle descent. This mistaken impression was soon removed as I climbed among a selection of large rocks. Conglomerates containing rounded pebbles. Had they not been lost among very tall beech trees these monstrous outcrops would have been impressive features, and probably widely praised as a giant's rock garden. One area was used for rock climbing according to the signs, but today there were no climbers and I saw only one couple walking in the ridge.

After the red path had entertained me with its structureless rock columns I joined the blue path which led me gratefully down to civilisation. Leaving trees for meadows, then grass for roads I passed through the village of Hrabové. A busy road, now waymarked in green, led me the final kilometres to Bytča.

As I have decided on a rest day tomorrow when I could investigate the town more thoroughly, I merely stopped for dinner, the time now 6 pm. A kebab and chips sufficed, the guy serving proudly telling me they made their own bread. Leaving the town for my Penzion, a little way out, I noticed a cake shop still open. So had a dessert of chocolate tort and an expresso lungo.

At my Penzion, a wedding reception was in full swing. Folk music was playing loudly, men in suits had abandoned their jackets and were smoking outside. Women in their best frocks sat at tables and children were screaming. Staff were hanging about, the meal service now over. One of them, who had a little English, struggled with my passport and the Penzion's IT system. Finally I was in my room and showering off the sweat of the day, looking forward to my evening phone call with my wife as my knee, having finished its day, became stiff and swollen. 

E3: Chata Javorina to Rajec: Day 133

Good and bad today in my descent to Rajec.

Breakfast at Chata Javorina was ham and eggs. I just pointed at what the people on the table next to me were having. I ate it looking out at the wet weather outside on the mountain top, raindrops on the window, cloud below. Forecasts have been deteriorating. Today was previously predicted as being dry but now has rain until later afternoon.

A mixture of paths and tracks today. Things went well at first crossing a number of nearby peaks in intermittent rain. There were views of clouds below and clouds above. 

After the early peaks there were attractive paths lined with wild garlic winding through the trees. Areas of beech trees replaced spruce trees for a while. Beech saplings crowded the path in places, depositing their accumulated water on me as I pushed through. My glasses repeatedly misted up beneath the hood of my rain jacket. Sadly the path lost height, dropping down to 990 metres, after which there were uphill sections to reach the summit of Hnilická Kýčera at 1217 metres. A straight climb might have been acceptable but the trail went over a series of minor summits, up and down repeatedly in a demotivating fashion as I knew each descent meant an extra ascent later on.

I finally reached the top of Hnilická Kýčera, the last of the high mountains today. The effort was not rewarded by a scenic view, I could see little except cloud and mist. Then I faced the challenge of going down. The descent was a wet, slippery, earth track that headed straight down the steep slope. There was no way you could go down it except on your bottom. Instead I kept diverting off the main track onto little paths people had made to manage a more controlled descent. I also trampled down vegetation off the path, breaking fallen branches underfoot, in an effort to achieve a grip, and get down with damaging my knee. Despite these efforts, in places a controlled slide was inevitable, I could see where others had done so from the skid marks. I yearned for the Alpine paths of the GR5 which zig zagged steadily up and down to passes higher than the mountains I have crossed today.

Eventually I reached Sedlo pod Hnilickou Kýčerou (at 1027 metres), a saddle where the E3 switches from the red waymarked path, heading south-west towards yet more high summits, to a green path going north-west to reach the E3 connection with the Czech Republic. A bell hung at the junction for some reason.

At first the green waymarked track descended quickly, albeit with a few bends rather than straight down. It then settled into a good track at a reasonable gradient followed by a low gradient tarmac road. After the stresses of the ridge path it felt wonderful to walk on the even surface of the road allowing my knee to relax a little. As if to agree the rain stopped and there were brief periods of sunshine, although the mountain tops were probably still wrapped in cloud. Several cyclists passed me first going up and later returning on the way down. Each side of the road, hugely tall spruce trees stretched up the steep valley sides. In a wetter area dark purple dusky crane's bill, mingled with chervil and gunnera.

Leaving the woodland it was a final push to get to Rajec in time for a coffee and cake. I had the cukráreň marked on my GPS but when I arrived at the location it looked like a house typical of the area, with what looked like a garage door on one side, a door of the type that normally leads to an area behind the house. Closer examination revealed a sign with the coffee shop openning times. Being within these I openned the door within the larger door, and beyond I found an entrance to the coffee shop. The strawberry cheesecake and expresso lungo was worth the effort.

Afterwards I went to the accommodation I had booked. A single storey house, one room wide, also entered via a door in what looked like a garage door. Furnished with old pieces of furniture, faded photographs and interesting paintings, the owner helpfully spoke English.

After a bath (there was no shower) I went to a restaurant in the main square. Eating on the terrace outside I watched kids cycle and skate around the square. There was a "beach" volleyball court in the centre where youngsters were messing around without actually having a proper game.

E3: Strečno to Chata Javorina: Day 132

A short day as a severe weather alert made me choose to stay at a mountain hut rather than wild camping a further along the trail.

The weather forecasts for today were for thunderstorms this afternoon. Being on an exposed ridge getting soaked was bad enough but the risk of lightening as well made me take action to mitigate the risks. This involved booking into a mountain hut, Chata Javorina, which was on my route and which I could reach by lunchtime. Unfortunately it means a longer day tomorrow, I may not get to Rajec, my destination, before the cake shop closes!

There was a misunderstanding over breakfast. I had agreed with a lady speaking a little English yesterday for breakfast at 7:30. However the lady this morning had me down for breakfast at 6:30, she showed me the written instruction she had received. My food, fried eggs and ham, was on the table, but having been cooked an hour earlier was rather cold! I ate it nevertheless, and was supplied with a hot coffee. Language confusion is inevitable at times, one just has to accept it.

This morning consisted of a long climb. Over 1200 metres of ascent through the forest, with views back down to the valley where trees have been cut down. The landscape falls into two distinct categories: on the flat valley floors, towns, villages and farmland; covering the hills and mountains darker green conifers with the occasional open meadow in a lighter shade. I spotted a flower I do not recall seeing before, called spreading bellflower.

On my way up, a large forestry vehicle dragging a collection of tree trunks stopped. He said something to me but being in Slovakian I do not know what. I said I was English and he shrugged his shoulders and headed off. Maybe it was to warn me that trees were being felled up the track, I could hear the sound of the chainsaw but did not get close, or he could have been warning me of the weather forecast.

On a particularly long steep section I missed a turning. Having climbed to the top of the slope I had no wish to go down again to find the path. Instead I took the risky decision of following a track that went in the right direction (ie up the ridge). Fortunately it met up with the path I should have been on, otherwise I would have been really upset.

The first milestone was reaching the summit of Mincŏl, the third mountain of that name on this trip (it means "mint"). On the way up there was an unexpected old artillery piece, reading up on the internet it appears to commemorate the Slovak National Uprising against the German occupation of Slovakia in 1944. 

While I was pleased to reach Mincŏl before any rain, I was less pleased with having to loose height before climbing up to the next summit. On the way a couple of mountain bikes came towards me. I made sure to stand off the side of the path so that we did not become entangled, as they passed I think they were saying thank you.

I was hurrying to reach the mountain hut before the rain started. A few spots fell as I walked behind the enclosure containing large aerials. As I approached the hut the rain increased, instead of putting my waterproofs on I tried to jog being so near (difficult with a rucksack). Then once I was inside the rain immediately stopped! Since then the rain showers have come and gone, I have watched the rain moving along the valley from the windows of the hut. No thunder or lightening. At least I have saved myself getting wet.

Communication with the lady running the hut has been cumbersome due to my inability to speak Slovak. All mountain huts seem to have different ways of diing things which does not help. We have been using the translation Apps on our phones. However I managed to get a lunch of goulash soup followed by apple strudel. For dinner fried cheese and chips. I thought I might have been alone in staying in the hut apart from the lady in charge and her small dog, but a few other hikers have now arrived. The television has been on in the dining room. Keir Starmer made an appearance on the news, but the main item was "problems with bears".

There has been rain, heavy at times, but it has now stopped raining. Fine weather is promised for tomorrow. 

E3: Pekelnik to Strečno: Day 131

Better weather today with good views from the high ridge, but a long, painful descent.

When I put my boots on this morning I discovered one of the laces had broken overnight while they lay in the "porch" area of my tent. Or perhaps not broken but eaten through by some tiny animal and then one of the two parts pulled out. I tied the two parts together and hoped that there would be no further breaks. 

In the night, leaving my tent for a call of nature, I saw a fuzzy orange moon, and far away in the valleys, lights from distant villages. Sadly, when I woke in the morning this scene had dissolved into a white mist. Starting early I was gladdened as the mist cleared as I walked. Wisps of cloud kept crossing my view driven by a cold wind, especially when I took out my camera to capture a scene, but when the sun lit the forested valleys above the cloud filled lowlands, with "islands" of hills poking through, it was amazing.

In the mud of the path I could see the footsteps of the people who had walked by my tent last night, and later this morning met a group of eight heading for one of the higher peaks. A few others were out walking lower down. Knowing that I am not the only person in the mountains gave me a sense that I am doing something that others appreciate too. Among the things to appreciate in these high mountains were the flowers, such as the blue trumpets of the Southern Gentian in clefts of rock and the purple orchids among the grasses.

I made the steep climb up to Malý Kriváň (1671 metres) and from this summit could see three peaks ahead of me on the ridge. The middle one was most concerning as it was a large stump of rock with scrub sized pines growing where they were able. This peak was called Biele Skaly and I approached it with trepidation. I could have bypassed it on a yellow trail, but I had memories of tree roots from the previous day and the path did not look well developed. Fortunately it was not raining today as it was a scramble up and down Biele Skaly on bare rock. Not difficult, there were plenty of hand and foot holds, but it was unexpected and progress was slow as I was being careful,  thinking of my age and lack of agility. 

After the final summit it was a steep drop down to a glade where Chata Pod Suchým was located. This was a mountain hut offering accommodation and food. However, when I looked in there seemed no-one around.

I continued on the ridge, at first pleasantly flat but then heading down steeply on a rough path. My knees were suffering and were not pleased when I spotted the river and the road beside it. My accommodation was at the same level as the river, and although the river and road were nearby (I could hear the cars) they were a long, long way down. 

Cursing the prolonged, steep descent and rough rocks I finally reached Starý Hrad (Old Castle). A square tower and a few walls remained of this fortress, which dates from the 13th century. Once I reached the comfort of a flat road beside the river I could see the castle which replaced it on the far side of the river, called Strečno Castle. Its ruins looked more extensive. 

I crossed the wide River Váh on a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists, cars have to use a ferry. Turning towards Strečno on the opposite side I spotted a stall selling ice cream and coffee, at which I indulged watching passing cyclists. There were many about, there seems a good cycle path beside the river.

Now in my hotel which is above a Pizzeria, where I of course had pizza for dinner.