Tag: Nature

Włóczykij Extreme Trip

For the last few years we’ve been wanting to join our friends in Włóczykij Extreme Trip – a night orienteering run for 50 km that takes place between February and March. Unfortunately for the last 3 years we were far away from Gryfino where this event is placed. But the waiting is over (at least for Radek, because I couldn’t join this year either) and Radek had a chance to test his stamina and orienteering skills against this epic track.

The run starts at 17:00 and Radek went on track with a group of  friends. For the next 12 hours they walked almost 60 km on hills and in the river valley around Gryfino. It got dark quickly (so not to much photos) but with help of other competitors they were able to find all(!) check points and when the sun rose they reached the finish line within the given time.

This was the first time when our friends managed this race so well and Radek was really happy to be part of it. And you can imagine me being sooo proud of my husband! I followed his route on Endomendo. It’s such a pity I couldn’t join 🙁 They scored above average and finished the race on 133 out of 286 places.

Msc Nr PK czas łączny p.karne z czasu start meta czas trasy czas stopu stop wejście stop wyjście punkty
133 163 Małecki Michał 170 12:29 0 16-03-05 17:10 16-03-06 6:18 13:08 0:39 16-03-05 23:29 16-03-06 0:08 170
185 Orecki Radosław 170 12:29 0 16-03-05 17:10 16-03-06 6:18 13:08 0:39 16-03-05 23:29 16-03-06 0:08 170
211 Porzych Zbigniew 170 12:29 0 16-03-05 17:10 16-03-06 6:18 13:08 0:39 16-03-05 23:29 16-03-06 0:08 170
263 Staszewski Tomasz 170 12:29 0 16-03-05 17:10 16-03-06 6:18 13:08 0:39 16-03-05 23:29 16-03-06 0:08 170
137 40 Daniłowicz Dorota 170 12:30 0 16-03-05 17:10 16-03-06 6:18 13:08 0:38 16-03-05 23:31 16-03-06 0:09 170
292 Tomaszewski Mariusz 170 12:30 0 16-03-05 17:10 16-03-06 6:18 13:08 0:38 16-03-05 23:31 16-03-06 0:09 170
171 Mielnicki Tomasz 170 12:30 0 16-03-05 17:10 16-03-06 6:40 13:30 1:00 16-03-05 22:36 16-03-06 0:15 170
179 Niczyj Patryk 170 12:30 0 16-03-05 17:10 16-03-06 6:40 13:30 1:00 16-03-05 22:36 16-03-06 0:15 170
245 Sobczyk Edward 170 12:30 0 16-03-05 17:10 16-03-06 6:40 13:30 1:00 16-03-05 22:36 16-03-06 0:15 170

And here’s what Radek has to say:
„To summarize the last few hours and kilometers was just pure agony but after one day I rested and now I’m looking forward to thenext year.”

And in the end some video from event:

Skiing in Harrachov

Now when we no longer live close to the mountains we really miss all mountains activities. So when I heard that our friends were going skiing this winter I joined them right away.

We went to the closest skiing resort possible – in the Czech city of Harrachov that is „just” 400 km from Szczecin.

First day after arrival we went to see the city of Harrachov and enjoy the famous Czech beer. We found Harrachov local brewery located in the same building as the glass foundry where you can watch glass craftsmen making beautiful glass while drinking beer and eating „Knedliczki”.

The next morning we headed directly to ski slopes where my friends joined ski school and I checked out my skiing skills to find out that I did not forget anything from the last year. Unfortunately there where just two slopes in Harrachov. Quite few when compering to the Alps resorts but it was OK for the morning skiing and later we went to enjoy more Czech cuisines and beer.  

The next days we spent on skiing and some other tourist activities like visiting Szklarska Poręba, walking up the ski jumping hill, drinking more beer etc. Unfortunately I needed to get home faster than I planned but after all Harrachov was a good trip for a longer weekend. 

And a video:

Orienteering event in Puszcza Bukowa

My desire to be in the bosom of nature didn’t stop with us coming back to Poland. Sure, this has been a hectic time for us with the move and me starting working full-time, but these are the days like this one that keep me going. Our friends Magda and Michał are frequent contestants of orienteering events and I always wanted to join them on a trail. So yet another „to-do” thing to be crossed out 🙂 Theoretically it was only a 10 km route, however you needed to double it to get to the starting point and came back to the car. So all in all we closed this soggy but rain-free day with ~22 km.

 

The start was at the Lion’s Mouth fire place in Bukowa Forest. I really intend to get to know this forest better. It’s close to us, vast and beautiful. And the names of the places are so funny. I have to say, the organizers did a great job. There was a fire place, maps, 10 orienteering points to be found and lovely prizes for everybody who attended. I was very excited to be taking part in this event.

 

Group photo credit: Arek Arecki

The route was very pleasant and the points were really easy to find. We struggled only once (which actually cost us the place on the podium but I’ll come to this later). I had so much fun on the trail, it was pure pleasure to me. Have a look at the photos from the contest.

Radek and I finished fourth. The first two places were taken by runners and we lost by seconds with a third couple. Radek was pouting a bit because we decided to run the very last part and I slowed him down with my turtle pace. And I didn’t let him leave me 🙂 Well, you decided what’s better – winning a podium place or being a decent husband 🙂

We will sure be back the next year!

Seagulls in Międzyzdroje

I don’t remember having such beautiful autumn in Poland. It’s absolutely outstanding! I guess global warming is getting us faster than we think. Anyway, I can’t complain. I simply love it and it made my return to our home country way easier. We also try to benefit from it as much as we can, so we made our way to the seaside. Many people think Szczecin is at the seaside. It’s not 🙂 But it’s not that far and Baltic sea makes a perfect one-day destination for us.

Międzyzdroje is kind of a celebrities’ resort at our shore line. Of course – polish standards 🙂 Off the season it is reasonably calmer, a bit less tacky but still full of life which is good (especially if you travel with children). So we made a walk around but our obvious destination was the seaside.

The shore was surprisingly calm. We didn’t walk too much, we just laid down on the sand, enjoyed the sunshine, built sand castles and played by the water. Oh, and we watched the seagulls. We finished the day with a stroll on the famous jetty and fish and chips. Kids loved it!

Refuge de Tête Rousse (3167 m)

It’s official, we started preparations to Mont Blanc trip. The idea hatched for a long time but now it materialized and we’re very happy about this. My friend introduced us to Jacek who had the same dream and we started planning it together. So if everything goes well, next year we will set foot on the highest peak of Europe. Meanwhile… We’re doing preparations. We decided to follow the Mont Blanc route as far as possible without any special gear and got as high as  Refuge de Tête Rousse – the refuge we will be staying in during our next year trip. I’m so excited! Also, it’s symbolic. This will be our final hike in the area, we won’t have time for anything else, so we will close the season with  Tête Rousse, and open it the next year with the same route (only extended).

As you can see, we didn’t have inviting conditions, but we decided to give it a try anyway. We’re all experienced in mountains and Jacek is also a runner so we weren’t afraid of the challenges. We continued in a super fast pace (it was Jacek who led and he clearly was fitter than us – I guess running marathons gives you a good deal of stamina – I must try this!). So in nearly no time we reached Barrack Forrestiere from where it was already quite close to the refuge. And where the snow began.

We went past a couple of daredevils willing to claim Mont Blanc. Not the best idea taking into consideration that the Gouter Couloir was closed due to heavy rock falls and there have been a number of deaths recently. I guess some people can’t argue with their call for adventure. But that’s not us. We reached Tête Rousse, warmed up considerbaly there and went down to the base using the same route. Radek got stomach upset yet again so it was a bit of a challenge for him to get down but eventually he made it. We didn’t see Blanc that day, but we will see it next year! Au revoir!

Stats: max elevation: 3127m, Elevation gain: 1370m, Distance: 14,3km, Time: 6h 15min (+45 min break in the refuge).

Goodbye Jura

Finally, the heat is over! Isn’t that great news? Although, I must admit, the change is huge as in Jura it was around 4 dg. C today. Only 30 less than a couple of days ago 🙂 Anyway, not much time left for us so we’re saying farewell to Jura. It’s the chain that we saw every day from our windows, where Radek took his first ski lessons, where I made my first hiking trips back in 2010. We’re taking lots of memories with us. Jura, we will miss you greatly!

Les Via Ferrata du Rochers de la Chaux

Yet another Via Ferrata. We called this one: „A VF on a vertical rock” because indeed, it was vertical 🙂 There were two possible routes to follow, we chose an easier one and I think it was a good decision. Not that the easier route was challenging or anything, but the other one looked super difficult from where we were standing. Or better say: from where we were hanging 🙂

For sure, this one is not for people with vertigo. There is no place to recover, once you’re there, you need to hide your fears, tiredness and continue up. A look back down gives you this nice panorama on a town in mountain valley. Have a look at the movie we made there: