The "Czech Deathmarch"...Not so bad, actually

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Today was our 16 mile hike. It was split up into three sections, the first one was about eight miles but I’m not sure how long each of the other two were. The first section was by far the worst (and by worst I mean most physically demanding). Really it was only maybe the first two miles that made me want to die. I can't remember exactly what Michal told us, but I think the increase in elevation was something like 2000 feet (could be wrong, don't quote me on it). I realized pretty quickly that I’m really out of shape. That’s very upsetting because I worked out a good bit this past quarter. But back to the hike. The first little bit was kind of challenging - all up some pretty steep hills. It was really nice that we started in the morning because there was some fog cover and it was pretty chilly. If it had been any warmer than it was I probably wouldn’t have made it (I do not do well in hot weather). As it was I had a bit of a rough time, but I got over it.

There was a very cool (and very huge) rock formation that kind of signaled the end of the worst of the climbing. Some of us climbed to the top of it and got some pictures. It was really neat because it was encased in a dense fog as we climbed up, but the fog lifted once we had been on the top for a while. I’m kind of glad the fog had been there initially, because once it lifted I realized just how high up we were and how…unstable my position was. The view was incredible, though. I’m kind of surprised I haven’t gotten sick, to be honest. I was pretty sweaty after my scramble to the top, and the top of that rock pile was very cold and very windy. Most of the rest of the first part was nice and a bit unremarkable. It was mostly through highland fields and meadows. Think "The Sound of Music" and you won't be too far off. The views were amazing, but there’s only so much I can write about it and keep anyone's interest. Although there was one part of the trail that was a bit flooded, so I went through the meadow-grass around it only to step directly into the spring causing the trouble. With both feet. Up past my ankles. That was unpleasant (and by unpleasant I mean freezing cold), but my shoes dried by the end of the day, so it’s all good.

The second part of the hike was to the top of a hill (called Praděd, fifth highest peak in the Czech Republic) to a television tower. It was a nice walk, on a paved road. On the way up I found out that Martin is into geocaching, so we talked about that a bit on both the way up and the way down. On the way back down we actually went looking for a cache and found it a little ways off the trail. While looking I managed to bash my head off a broken-off pine branch and got a lovely little cut across my scalp. Sometimes I wonder how I haven’t given myself some type of brain damage by this point.

The third part of the hike was my favorite. We went along a stream and got to see more beautiful waterfalls than I ever expected. A little group of us managed to get fairly far behind everybody else because we kept stopping to look and take pictures of things. We weren’t really sure what the rush was anyway - how many times are we going to get to go hiking in Moravian mountains? The water in the stream was gorgeous, too. It was remarkably clear, so I decided I wanted to play in it (I periodically revert to five-year-old mode), so Jessica and I went wading in one of the crossings. That may have been a bad choice since the water was so cold it burned. Stupid decision, but worth it. When we got back to the bus Martin grabbed Kansas Emily, Heather and I and we went looking for another cache, but had no luck in finding it. I’m pretty excited to get home and see if anyone has any caches near me. I looked a few years ago because I wanted to get into geocaching, but there was nothing close to where I live.

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Photos

Prague 319
Starting out the day.

Prague 321
Why yes, that hill is nearly vertical.

Prague 323
Nifty rock formation.

Prague 339
Flatter portion of the hike.

Prague 356
Stream on the third section.

Prague 380
Waterfall.