Autumn has arrived early—the continuing beauty never ceases to amaze and it's going to improve with each passing day. Our commencement point at the buildings below.
A view of Chopok and a lesser peak as we approach on the Dumbier trail.
Terrific part of the world. Forests below and clear views above, especially when the weather cooperates. We hiked in falling snow on the day.
Jen reaches the peak of Chopok from the south.
Part of the trail, our own to be exact, pretty steep. On the right below is another cable station.
3 days before we hiked to Mount Chopok, viewed above and to the right. A cable car runs from both sides of the mountain, 'sever and juh', north and south. Last year we hiked from sever, this time, juh. Both times wonderful.
Taken from across the way shows the Chata/hotel and at the top, the rotunda—cable station just below Chopok peak.
On the return, our own path down the ski slope. Certainly quicker although a little trickier.
One way to spend at a peak.
The High Tatras on the horizon, the following week's destination, from Chopok peak.
From a position above Bystra, the village between where we stood, and Mount Dumbier. Note the church positioned higher than the rest of the village.
The village in relation to Mount Dumbier.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
And then we arrived in South Africa to see Mom.
On our second day, we took her on a hike which proved to be a little of an over-extension. Clearly, we had misjudged her level of fitness. I suppose we expected too much of Mom. Nevertheless, as she is only turning 91 this week, we thought she would be fitter. I suppose to my deep disappointment, dear Jenni let the team down, too. I walked into what we call the study and I could not resist capturing the scene before my eyes.
What I did not know was that a day before, Jenni had (sneakily) captured something similar. We are obviously showing some fatigue (laziness).
In retrospect, that last 5 miles was just too tough in the high temperatures, including scaling a wall in order to take a shorter route. Mom has promised that in future, she would commence her training program earlier. In turn, we have undertaken to share the burden of a heavy backpack. Obviously, 35 pounds for her is a bit too much. The plan is that Jen will carry the extra weight and I'll continue to perform the more important tasks like driving to-and-from the trailhead, keeping the car filled with petrol (gas) and of course, offering the 'girls' invaluable advice. Who said life is easy? But I try.
A favorite of the trip: Pirin Mountains, Bansko, Bulgaria after dawn. We have reached those peak positions a number of times, each occasion very special.
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