Beat the Peak: Czech Republic VICTORY! and a side of Pineapple!

Made it back from Snĕžka, safe and sound! What a hike! It was a great experience. I am really grateful to my friend Ondřej for arranging it, because otherwise I would never have managed it. He took us to his hometown, we stayed in a local house, walked backroads and trails to get from the train station to the house (literally, through the woods... to his mother's friend house, we go.) Even the walk, at dusk from the train was unforgettable. Sunset, corn fields, brisk fall evening in the countryside. It's a picture of peace I will keep with me for a long time. 

While walking to the house the first night, we walked through fields and hills, and even came across some horses!  It was a beautiful walk, at dusk, all of us chatting and enjoying ourselves... maybe too much, since it got very dark before we made it home. But we made it!

Intrepid Hikers. Snĕžka

A  purple flower Ondřej showed me that is only found in the Czech Republic!

Wild blueberries we picked along the trail! A little overripe but all natural. 

Team Beat the Peak ready for action!

Ondřej says only American girls are stubborn enough not to accept help from boys.
 (He was very sweet and carried my backpack while I took photos.)
We all had a good laugh about Ondřej's sudden backpack baby. :-) 

In the distance, we could see many bunkers built before WW2 to protect the
 border from German invasion. We were very close to the border with Poland.
At one point the trail even crosses into Poland (so technically, I've been there
now!) We had a nice view of it most of the way (pictures of that to follow.) 

Snĕžka, the highest peak in the Czech Republic. (It looks small, because the photo is taken
from the summit of a neighboring peak.) Its's 1602 meters high. 

Beat the Peak.... exhausted and happy!

Ondřej, on top of the World.

 

VICTORY! Team Beat the Peak for the win! As per Jason's Mt. Fuji tradition, we all munched on canned pineapple at the summit. What a great idea. The juice is so sweet and delicious, and the fruit is so refreshing! It hit the spot! It tastes like winning!

Ondřej chillin' on a cliff. 

The trail was this beautiful the entire time. It went from feeling like I was in the mountains from the last scene in The Sound of Music to this kind of garden path to rolling grasslands. Certainly one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever been on. This area is so diverse, it kept changing constantly and was really stunning. I could spend every weekend here.