A nightmare about kids, death, and tough calls jolted me awake before dawn. Not exactly a pleasant wake-up call, but hey, what can you do? A real ‘kick-off’ to the day, huh? 😅 I rolled out of bed after seven, took the girls (my dogs) out, then hit breakfast. Wanted to make sure they got a solid meal in; we had a long haul ahead. My own breakfast was a hearty affair: oatmeal, nut butter, coffee, and kefir.
Water, gear, and camera packed, we hit the trail towards Špičák, Albrechtice, Mariánská hora, The Ruptured Dam, and then back home – a solid 20 kilometers stretched out before us.
This time, I decided to stick to the forest paths and not push the pace. Just wanted to soak in the sunny day, which practically begged for a chill vibe. Along the way, we ran into an older couple. The gentleman was super into ‘peak bagging’ – hope I remembered that right!
As we neared The Ruptured Dam, the trail started buzzing. Hikers and cyclists were popping up everywhere. My original plan was to grab a snack at the stand, but the sheer number of people quickly put me off.
Instead, we veered a bit further into the woods, finding a quiet spot by the Jizera River. For a trail snack, I munched on nuts, a Flint bar, and guzzled plenty of water. That moment of peace and quiet? Priceless. Once we ditched the paved roads and reconnected with the forest path, it felt like we were the only souls on earth.
We rolled back home in about 4.5 hours. Lunch was next, followed by a well-deserved treat for the girls. And since a good lunch demands dessert, I dug into some ice cream and kicked back for a bit.
Soon enough, though, I dove into reviewing the day’s photos. That’s when the first snag hit – my camera, the app, and my iPhone just weren’t playing nice for transferring RAW files. Didn’t have the cable, and my laptop only takes micro SD. Damn it! Eventually, I threw in the towel and decided to tackle it once I was properly home.
We even squeezed in a short walk later, a nice little cap to an active day. The rest had to wait for the quiet of home.
Every single day spent out in nature? Totally worth it. The Ruptured Dam was just the cherry on top of an awesome trip. 😊
