Hey hey! I finally found my way, say goodbye to yesterday
Hit the gas, there ain't no brakes on this lost highway
- Bon Jovi, "Lost Highway"
Just to get it out of the way early: Im not a big Bon Jovi fan. But I do enjoy their music every once and a while.
But not enough to drive to Bucharest only to see their concert. Thankfully, that was never the plan.
I will keep it short and personal here. For my estonian friends interested in a longer account of what went on, I recommend you read our travel blog that the 6 of us co-authored. There are also a lot of pictures there, so I recommend anyone interested in those also go check it out.
When the bus arrived at my doorstep on the 6-th of July, it was 5 in the evening already. We had a stop in Valga, where we went to a Korean restaurant that had Seljanka as it's daily special, then proceeded to Latvia, where we camped out on the beach for the first night.
The next three days were spent driving - first to Warsaw, then Budapest and finally to Brasov (just north of Bucharest). Wich was fine by me, as I had quite a few books with me, and Arti had bought his guitar along, which allowed me to practice my chords too, if I wanted. Mostly on old Terminaator songs, which, incidentally, was also what mostly came out of the CD player. Nostalgic, as I realized I still remembered the lyrics to most of the songs - and since I was at the very back most of the time, I could sing along to the songs without disturbing anyone.
Nights were spent socializing alongside drinks. Except for the first night (camped out) and the last few nights (spent either on the beach or driving), we mostly stayed at hostels, but were up til 3-4.
The concert was actually quite fun. We arrived about an hour and a half early, which allowed all of us to get pretty decent places. I was separated from the rest, as I had a ticket to a different zone since I had only bought it on arrival to Bucharest. Nevertheless, I was close enough to see the band, and the screens showed everything important anyhow. Band played for nearly two and a half hours, which is quite an impressive feat in a 30 degree heat (which stayed even after the sunset). And there really were a lot of people - estimates of around 50 000 were thrown around by the band, I think.
However, this was only where the fun began. The next day, we drove to Bulgaria, to the coast of the Black sea, and then stayed there for a day. Had a jellyfish sting me just to feel how it was - after everyone else had been stung by accident already. They were pretty weak there - but there was a plant in the forest that cut our legs up pretty nicely when we went for a hike.
Oh yes - and two people from the group got really bad sunburns - despite using sunscreen.
We then started back, and devoted one day to seeing Romania - both its natural beauty and its castles. Since the cars GPS didn't have Romanian maps but my phone did, I took the role of navigator and gave the drivers a challenge in the form of winding Romanian mountain roads. Both of them thoroughly enjoyed it though. As for the rest of us - Romania really is beautiful, and you do only see it once you drive through a few remote villages (preferably blasting Rammstein through the speakers). We did.
The next day was spent in Slovakian Tartar mountain range - Hiking. Since it was just a day-long hike, we figured one backpack would do, and since Arti had burnt his back on the beach, I was the one who carried the bag (containing our food and water supplies) most of the trip. The trail was mostly walkable, but there were a few stretches that required using hands as well. The track was by no means easy (and I had blisters from my hiking boots for two more weeks), but one of the girls managed to do it in her slippers (which quite a few other hikers also noticed and photographed). At least there were ample opportunities to refill our water bottles from the cold springs, so we did not have to ration the supplies - and in the end I realized one 2l water bottle was left completely untouched during the whole trip.
Getting down from the mountain also proved quite interesting. There was a ski-lift, but it cost 6 eur per person, and we forgot to bring our wallets - so we needed Aivar (who had stayed down to sleep, since he drove all night) to come up and bring us the money. Oh yes, and we also forgot to pack sunscreen to our hike, so the people who were burnt before now got only worse...
The next two days and nights were spent in the car again - which gave me quite a bit of time to reflect on my life, the trip and the reading I had done.
Showing posts with label hiking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hiking. Show all posts
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Stairway to Heaven
I woke up at 6.20 to get some stuff done before the dawn, which I estimated to be at around 7. However, I finished a bit later, than estimated. Nevertheless, Diane was willing to give me a lift to the beginning of the track.. which was not far, thankfully.
The path was marked with small coloured ribbons tied to trees. However, in most places, it did not ressemble a path. It was just a trail of places that were a bit more easily passed through than everything surrounding it - but not by a large margin. Makes sense, though - the rainforest grows pretty quickly so unless the trail is walked every day by many people, it will stop looking like a trail quite quickly.
Before the trail up the mountain officially began, I had to cross a small creek. Small, but still big enough for me to have to take my boots off and walk through barefoot. Water reached up to my knee at the deepest place.
What followed was 4.5 km of walking uphill and then another 800m walking downhill, all that to reach the height of approximately 1300 m. Each of these 5.3 km took about an hour - and I was climbing nearly as fast as I could, not slacking off and watching the nature.
I did notice a few things though. In the first km, I was constantly pestered by waitawhiles, constantly getting caught in them. The second km was somewhat better and I did not see waitawhiles any more since then until climbing down again. That part had the prettiest ascents of the trail though, at least two of them actually ressembling stairways. Past the 2 km marker, the path changed somewhat. The climb got markedly steeper and past the 2.5 km mark also fairly wet and slippery.
Nevertheless, 3 hours later, I was at the 3.2 km marker - rainforest was briefly replaced by a thick overgrowth of ferns, initially only up to my knees but later as high as to my armpits.
What made that part especially scary though was that you could see clouds over the ferns. From above. They say that on clear days, one can see as far as Cairns from the top of the mountain. It wasn't one of those (on average) two days a year when it is clear there, though. But clouds themselves already gave a pretty good idea of just how high I was and just what exactly accidentally slipping on the wet path would mean.
Also, I discovered a dozen leeches sucking away at my legs, once I stopped to rest and have a drink. (Note to self - next time start with at least two litres of water instead of one - that way, you can drink one on the way up, which is the worst stretch in terms of sweating and exertion.).
The fact that the next part "requires above average fitness and rock climbing skills" was not also very promising - I was in no mood to climb a damp and slippery cliff in conditions where falling meant certain death.
Fortunately, it never came to that. Rock climbing was required, but only for two short stretches, with trees and roots offering quite a bit of support and in places where falling meant falling just a few meters before being stopped by a flat piece of land.. So nothing unreasonable. What made the last 2 km hard was the fact that the path went through fairly thick jungle and was at many places quite easy to lose.
Once I got to the top lookout point, I just verified that I was still indeed above a cloud and could not see anything below me, rested a bit and then started back. Coming down was easier, of course, but again with different stretches presenting different obstacles. first two km was easy to lose the trail, next 1.5 km required constantly reaching for nearby trees in order to not just slip and slide down (the wrong way and into certain death) and the last stretch, although walkable was still infested with waitawhiles - some of which did cut me up in a few places, but thankfully nothing serious.
As I had exhausted my liquid supply by the time I got down, I got a quick drink from the creek I had passed through before. I then crossed it again, walked back to the playhouse. The trip (10.6 km + 500m?) took 9 hours to complete. Considering I had made only 5 short brakes on the way, all of them no longer than 20 minutes, I had been walking on some of the hardest terrain I had seen for nearly 8 hours. Not bad. Not bad at all.
A good thing I started at 7.30 in the morning. It is 18.30 now and looking outside equals looking into complete darkness. If I were still at the trail, I would basically have to sit tight where I was because I would have no chance navigating the trail back. And you do not want to sleep in the jungle at night without any equipment or training. Seriously, you do not.
Hitchiking in pitch black night ought to be fun though.
The path was marked with small coloured ribbons tied to trees. However, in most places, it did not ressemble a path. It was just a trail of places that were a bit more easily passed through than everything surrounding it - but not by a large margin. Makes sense, though - the rainforest grows pretty quickly so unless the trail is walked every day by many people, it will stop looking like a trail quite quickly.
Before the trail up the mountain officially began, I had to cross a small creek. Small, but still big enough for me to have to take my boots off and walk through barefoot. Water reached up to my knee at the deepest place.
What followed was 4.5 km of walking uphill and then another 800m walking downhill, all that to reach the height of approximately 1300 m. Each of these 5.3 km took about an hour - and I was climbing nearly as fast as I could, not slacking off and watching the nature.
I did notice a few things though. In the first km, I was constantly pestered by waitawhiles, constantly getting caught in them. The second km was somewhat better and I did not see waitawhiles any more since then until climbing down again. That part had the prettiest ascents of the trail though, at least two of them actually ressembling stairways. Past the 2 km marker, the path changed somewhat. The climb got markedly steeper and past the 2.5 km mark also fairly wet and slippery.
Nevertheless, 3 hours later, I was at the 3.2 km marker - rainforest was briefly replaced by a thick overgrowth of ferns, initially only up to my knees but later as high as to my armpits.
What made that part especially scary though was that you could see clouds over the ferns. From above. They say that on clear days, one can see as far as Cairns from the top of the mountain. It wasn't one of those (on average) two days a year when it is clear there, though. But clouds themselves already gave a pretty good idea of just how high I was and just what exactly accidentally slipping on the wet path would mean.
Also, I discovered a dozen leeches sucking away at my legs, once I stopped to rest and have a drink. (Note to self - next time start with at least two litres of water instead of one - that way, you can drink one on the way up, which is the worst stretch in terms of sweating and exertion.).
The fact that the next part "requires above average fitness and rock climbing skills" was not also very promising - I was in no mood to climb a damp and slippery cliff in conditions where falling meant certain death.
Fortunately, it never came to that. Rock climbing was required, but only for two short stretches, with trees and roots offering quite a bit of support and in places where falling meant falling just a few meters before being stopped by a flat piece of land.. So nothing unreasonable. What made the last 2 km hard was the fact that the path went through fairly thick jungle and was at many places quite easy to lose.
Once I got to the top lookout point, I just verified that I was still indeed above a cloud and could not see anything below me, rested a bit and then started back. Coming down was easier, of course, but again with different stretches presenting different obstacles. first two km was easy to lose the trail, next 1.5 km required constantly reaching for nearby trees in order to not just slip and slide down (the wrong way and into certain death) and the last stretch, although walkable was still infested with waitawhiles - some of which did cut me up in a few places, but thankfully nothing serious.
As I had exhausted my liquid supply by the time I got down, I got a quick drink from the creek I had passed through before. I then crossed it again, walked back to the playhouse. The trip (10.6 km + 500m?) took 9 hours to complete. Considering I had made only 5 short brakes on the way, all of them no longer than 20 minutes, I had been walking on some of the hardest terrain I had seen for nearly 8 hours. Not bad. Not bad at all.
A good thing I started at 7.30 in the morning. It is 18.30 now and looking outside equals looking into complete darkness. If I were still at the trail, I would basically have to sit tight where I was because I would have no chance navigating the trail back. And you do not want to sleep in the jungle at night without any equipment or training. Seriously, you do not.
Hitchiking in pitch black night ought to be fun though.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Hiking trip with bikes or 24 hrs without computers
So, me and Riinu went to the woods, just like we had been planning for 3 or so weeks. We started at around 17.30 from my place and went to the store to get some snacks. Turned out that she had also gone to bed at around 3.30 (it was 3.45 for me) - so a two liter bottle of Coke seemed like a nice idea to the both of us. We also got bread, cheese, sausages and crab sticks - as I had not had anything decent to eat since breakfast and she claimed to be in somewhat of a similar state.
We then got to the train station and caught a train towards Orava. Of course, we managed to miss our stop, but as the train stopped every few kilometers, it was not too big of a tragedy. We got out on the next stop and started biking.
An hour later we arrived at the camp site. Actually, there were two and there were a few people by the second one, but as it seemed to be just one couple, we did not let ourselves get bothered, set up the tent and started a fire. We ate and then started playing Fluxx. The idea was to get to sleep fairly early, maybe around 11, as we both had quite a big sleep debt accumulated over the previous week.
However, our plans were foiled by the arrival of three more cars to the second camp site, one of which started blasting Trance music from the speakers. We packed and left towards the next camp site, hoping that would be a bit emptier.
We met a large village swing on the way, along with the embers of a huge fire. The swing was a bit broken but it did not stop us from using it. And it was fun - it is nice to do something with your body instead of the mind for a change. 25 km of biking on the first day would also count for that.
When we arrived at the new camping grounds, it was going dark. We started a fire again, and set up the tent, then played more Fluxx and got to bed at around 1.
We woke up at around 12. Started fire, only to make coffee. Then started cycling back. We had around 32 km to go.
The first 6 were smooth sailing. Then we got crosswind, which turned to headwind.. at whic point we got off the bikes and walked for 2 km, because it was just plain faster. Then it eased up a bit, but cycling was still a huge pain. So, at the halfway point (17 km from Tartu) we just decided to grab a beer and some ice cream, call it a day and catch a train home.
While waiting, Riinu told me he was going to a Science camp in russia, that is organized by Nashi activists... That girl is insane... I mean, more insane than I originally suspcected.
As we were waiting for the train, a gust of wind blew over Riinu's backback so it fell. She was not bothered. Then, the next gust of wind blew over her bicycle. Then she already was.
We got back at around 5 in the evening.
We then got to the train station and caught a train towards Orava. Of course, we managed to miss our stop, but as the train stopped every few kilometers, it was not too big of a tragedy. We got out on the next stop and started biking.
An hour later we arrived at the camp site. Actually, there were two and there were a few people by the second one, but as it seemed to be just one couple, we did not let ourselves get bothered, set up the tent and started a fire. We ate and then started playing Fluxx. The idea was to get to sleep fairly early, maybe around 11, as we both had quite a big sleep debt accumulated over the previous week.
However, our plans were foiled by the arrival of three more cars to the second camp site, one of which started blasting Trance music from the speakers. We packed and left towards the next camp site, hoping that would be a bit emptier.
We met a large village swing on the way, along with the embers of a huge fire. The swing was a bit broken but it did not stop us from using it. And it was fun - it is nice to do something with your body instead of the mind for a change. 25 km of biking on the first day would also count for that.
When we arrived at the new camping grounds, it was going dark. We started a fire again, and set up the tent, then played more Fluxx and got to bed at around 1.
We woke up at around 12. Started fire, only to make coffee. Then started cycling back. We had around 32 km to go.
The first 6 were smooth sailing. Then we got crosswind, which turned to headwind.. at whic point we got off the bikes and walked for 2 km, because it was just plain faster. Then it eased up a bit, but cycling was still a huge pain. So, at the halfway point (17 km from Tartu) we just decided to grab a beer and some ice cream, call it a day and catch a train home.
While waiting, Riinu told me he was going to a Science camp in russia, that is organized by Nashi activists... That girl is insane... I mean, more insane than I originally suspcected.
As we were waiting for the train, a gust of wind blew over Riinu's backback so it fell. She was not bothered. Then, the next gust of wind blew over her bicycle. Then she already was.
We got back at around 5 in the evening.
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