Silesian Harta

The hell will be in the mountains even earlier, around six o'clock on Tuesday morning (June 5, 2018), direct sunlight will reach our tent on the eastern slope of Vysoká hole. In semi-sleep, I enjoy the pleasant warmth after the cold night until it drives us out of the tent around eight o'clock. When I took a closer look at my map the evening before, I discovered that we are in a nature reserve called NPR Pradéd. Camping is not really desired here. I don't want to push our luck too much and plan to leave early. After our morning routine, we are back on track shortly before half past nine and hike along the mountain ridge to the southwest. After about an hour, we reach Jeleni Studanka and take a short break at the nearby spring. From here, we descend to Rýmařov. After another good 45 minutes of hiking, the pleasant mountain trail we have been walking on so far turns into a paved forest path. We reach Stará Ves via the same path at around 1 p.m. and can get on the bus to Rýmařov at the first bus stop almost without any waiting time. So far, we have already covered more than 14 km and I don't want to subject Rango to any unnecessary kilometers on the road. The Fat One immediately befriends several school children on the bus and lets them spoil him. When we arrive in the city, I park Rango near the nearby Lidl and stroll leisurely to the main square. I need fresh money for shopping. The fishing shop next to the bank is closed for lunch until 2 p.m., so I first replenish our food supplies and treat myself to some pastries and a double espresso on the spot. The destination for the day is the not too far away Silesian Harta, where I promise myself a cozy place to relax for tomorrow's well-deserved hiking break. After the hot drink, I go back to the fishing shop to buy a permit for the water. Unfortunately, the lady in the shop is not sure if it is possible for me as a foreigner and cannot or does not want to help me further. Well, then not. With all our belongings, we go to the bus station, where we wait for about half an hour for the bus to Bruntál. We reach Valšov shortly after 4 p.m. and start walking to the water. The dammed Moravice river forms a reservoir here, covering just under 11 square kilometers. After about 6 km of walking, I find a nice spot for our tent by the water around half past five, and we end the day with a refreshing swim.

We spend Wednesday mostly at the lake enjoying the beautiful blue sky. We have to walk a bit further than expected to get drinking water, but without our luggage, the 7 km is almost like a walk in the park. We also take care of tasks such as cleaning our shoes and writing travel articles. In between, I entertain Rango a little with a tennis ball he 'organized' somewhere in the mountains two days ago. This way, we can embark on the next adventure well-rested.

On Thursday morning (June 7, 2018), we are ready to hike towards Bruntál around eleven o'clock. After about 7 km, we stop at Kaufland at the entrance to the town. I treat myself to an ice cream and use the Wi-Fi to upload pictures for the next two hours. We also do some shopping, as we still need to spend a few Czech crowns before heading to the Slovak side of the High Tatras. At around 3 p.m., we start walking towards the train station. On the way, we pass through the well-preserved city center of Freudenthal. At the train station, we don't have to wait long and can take the train to Ostrava at 4:24 p.m. Once again, we are lucky that the RegioJet train to Poprad is delayed, allowing us to travel directly to the foot of the High Tatras.