Prep and the Train Ride
Against all odds, Hans and I finally set off for the Stezka Českem trail. Hans rolled up to the train station after 1 PM, while I was still wrestling with work and last-minute packing. Just after 2 PM, I bolted for the main station. We grabbed some grub at Burger King and then sprinted for the platform. We had a sliver of time, so we chatted. We were sitting off to the side and nearly missed our train, which had been parked on the platform, a good distance from us, the whole time. Luckily, we made it at the eleventh hour!
The Ride to Aš
The journey was smooth sailing, and we even struck up a conversation with a fellow trail enthusiast. In Cheb, we had a similar stroke of luck with our connection, though we fumbled a bit due to the train being labeled differently in German and Czech. Eventually, we successfully arrived in Aš.
Night March to the Hut
From Aš, we headed towards the westernmost point of the Czech Republic, where we planned to crash in a hut and officially start our trek the next day.
After about 2.5 hours of walking and nearly 11 km, we reached our destination. We lucked out because nobody was sleeping in the hut, and we could use it. Even though it wobbled with every turn, we were grateful for a roof over our heads.
And with that, our “Day 0” concluded, and we eagerly awaited the official start of our journey the following morning.
