6 AM, my alarm goes off. It’s time to wake up, then have some bits of breakfast, check my equipment again, and go to Batthyány tér where my adventure for this weekend starts. Let’s roll.
In spite of the bad, foggy weather, I went outdoors again. (Who would sit in a dark dormitory room, writing assignments all day?) Let me mention that March 15 is coming; that day is one of Hungary’s three national holidays. In memory of the heroes of the 1848-49 Hungarian revolution, Pomáz based Scout troop 937 organized a hike at Pilis Mountains to pay a tribute to this historic event. There were three distances: 12/24/48 km. I decided to enter for the 24 km. There was an opportunity for preliminary application which was a pleasant surprise for me.
The start was located at Szentendre, close to the final station of suburban railway H5. This spot is so easy to approach, because at weekends trains depart from Batthyány square every 20 minutes. It takes ~40 minutes to get there and the journey is not boring because you can see some sights of Aquincum, a part of Budapest established by the Romans. After arriving there, I saw a long queue; hikers were preparing themselves for the big challenge. The entrance fee was 700HUF, but those who applied beforehand only had to pay 500HUF. At the start I got my itinerary. It was nicely created: there was a perspicuous map in it and the most important details about the hike (time limit, distance and elevation from a checkpoint to another).
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| To the memory of Hun. revolution |
The first track, leading to Kő-hegy (checkpoint 1) was 5,5 km long. It is not necessary to write too much about it. The weather was still damp and the light conditions were not good enough to take proper photos. I just finished this part quickly. In the checkpoint, I was given some chocolate and a signet to my itinerary.
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| Checkpoint 1 |
During the way to Lajos-forrás, (that’s a spring, visited by local people often) where the second checkpoint was located, every step was a torment. The trails were so muddy that my boots almost stuck in the dirt. Anyway, the fresh spring water recompensed me.
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| Refreshing spring-water |
The hike was simple so far. Participants only had to follow one trail (simply the yellow). After the third checkpoint, things became more complicated. There were sections where we had to look for multiple hiking signals and deforestation made barriers through the road. I rarely see heap of logs this high.
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| Huge Logs |
No doubt the most spectacular part of the whole hike was the Holdvilág árok. It is a spectacular trench deepened by the huge amount of plunging storm-water. It is definitely worth visiting! You can go through the ditch safely, because there are ladders, staircases, and ropes installed on the surface of rocks. A small brook runs through the trench, but be careful after rainy days, because it may swell to a hard
flowing river!
flowing river!
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| Climb up! |
The last track was ordinary; however, Holdvilág árok was so memorable that I was thinking of it even the way home. There is one extra thing to mention at the end, though. At the finish we were not given only the regular certificate of merit and the unique badge of the event, but some bread and dripping with red onion and mixed pickles. Tea and other beverages were also served, so participants had the opportunity to get to know each other better and recharge their batteries after 24 km of walking.
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| Hungry hiker's dream... |
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| Calm pond in the woods |
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