I climbed up a ski run to Mt Kekes from where I stayed in Matrahaza in only 40 minutes. As this is the highest point in Hungary I thought the rest of the day would be easy walking downhill. I was wrong!
The top of Mt Kekes was an anticlimax. I was expecting great views, and while there were some, mainly I saw a hotel (closed), a TV tower and building, two cafes (thankfully one open so I could get a morning coffee), various memorials (one to dead motocross riders complete with photos, ribbons and a helmet) and various stalls of which two were open. From one of them I bought some very overpriced fudge. I should have realised there were no signs giving prices, always a sign that something's expensive.
As this was the highest point on my trip I tried a "selfie" but decided I looked too ugly, maybe it was the sun tan lotion giving me a corpse like complexion, or maybe the red nose, the result of lack of said lotion. Maybe I had lost weight on the walk making my face more furrowed, many of the signs point out how many calories you will use walking the Kektura and its equivalent in hamburger units.
After the summit of Mt Kekes the path followed a ridge but with many steep uphill and downhill sections to reach individual peaks. I agreed with a pair of German hikers that there was a lot more climbing on the Kektura than we expected.
As a reward for the hard work there were a lot better views than on some of the earlier days as the ground often dropped away steeply. The flowers were also a delight: whites, yellows and deep pink. Some looked like Michaelmas Daisies, others yellow foxgloves, most I could not identify.
Finally completed the last long descent into Sirok where I am camping on a proper campsite for a change, with beer and showers. May have been wiser to book a chalet as a thunderstorm started soon after I pitched my tent. Fortunately I was in the Var Etterem enjoying a healthy meal (salad to get some vitamins) and a glass of red while the rain fell.
Finally a shower, where they had me fooled for a while by sneakily delivering cold water from the tap with the red spot on, reversing standard global practice.
The top of Mt Kekes was an anticlimax. I was expecting great views, and while there were some, mainly I saw a hotel (closed), a TV tower and building, two cafes (thankfully one open so I could get a morning coffee), various memorials (one to dead motocross riders complete with photos, ribbons and a helmet) and various stalls of which two were open. From one of them I bought some very overpriced fudge. I should have realised there were no signs giving prices, always a sign that something's expensive.
As this was the highest point on my trip I tried a "selfie" but decided I looked too ugly, maybe it was the sun tan lotion giving me a corpse like complexion, or maybe the red nose, the result of lack of said lotion. Maybe I had lost weight on the walk making my face more furrowed, many of the signs point out how many calories you will use walking the Kektura and its equivalent in hamburger units.
After the summit of Mt Kekes the path followed a ridge but with many steep uphill and downhill sections to reach individual peaks. I agreed with a pair of German hikers that there was a lot more climbing on the Kektura than we expected.
As a reward for the hard work there were a lot better views than on some of the earlier days as the ground often dropped away steeply. The flowers were also a delight: whites, yellows and deep pink. Some looked like Michaelmas Daisies, others yellow foxgloves, most I could not identify.
Finally completed the last long descent into Sirok where I am camping on a proper campsite for a change, with beer and showers. May have been wiser to book a chalet as a thunderstorm started soon after I pitched my tent. Fortunately I was in the Var Etterem enjoying a healthy meal (salad to get some vitamins) and a glass of red while the rain fell.
Finally a shower, where they had me fooled for a while by sneakily delivering cold water from the tap with the red spot on, reversing standard global practice.
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| More views from the path today |
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| I really liked the flowers |
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