The River Vecht, part 3

Last week I finally got around to walking the third stretch of this international walk. I had done the first two bits in January and March, but lately I have been doing really well with longer distances and felt I could do this next bit. 

Is it a horse or is it a zebra?
I have to ask my Dad: he is an expert!

It was a stretch of just under 16 km (10 miles), but unfortunately I missed a sign at one point and overshot. Which in turn meant that I had to retrace until I found the sign (which was very clear by the way) and continue on the route. In the end the whole route was just a smidge under 20 km and only because I did a tiny detour in the end. 

Big Papa

I was tired after that. Tired and hurting. The knee is of course a constant nowadays, but I had also developed a blister on the sole of my foot. Regardless of that though: I did 19,77 km! I was very proud of myself I can tell you. 

They didn't cross the river itself, just a little offshoot.

Of course it isn't just the walking itself, I also like to see some stuff and this walk had plenty of that! There was of course the river itself, which we (I took Brom along) had a magnificent view of from a viewing tower. And only a bit later we were sat only a few steps from it. The cows in the field just beside us were beef cattle and not used to people, so they (led by Big Papa) decided to move away.

I think the bigger tractor was spraying some sort of pesticide

We crossed the river a bit later on and from that moment we didn't really see it again. The official name of this long distance walk is The Valley of the Vecht walk, so you do get a lot of walking in the area on either side of the river, not necessarily right beside.

With a distinct smell of cow (which were right behind us)

We got to the small village of Vilsteren and that's where I went wrong. Instead of turning left and into the woods, I kept walking along the main road. Which in turn led me to a farm with ice cream and a toilet. If I had checked properly there, I would have only done an extra few hundred meters. As it was: about 3,5 km. 

I had my doubts already as I didn't see any signs for my route when there were side roads, but it didn't click properly until I really checked and realised: I shouldn't have crossed the railway. Which I had. There was nothing else for it: I had to retrace and find the turning off point. 

I did find it again and from then the walk became more of a trudge. Those extra km had sapped the energy it seemed. The fact that the temperature by then was soaring to about 25 degrees C (77 F) did not help either. But I did get closer as I could see on my phone. 

The boarded up entrance to a former ice house.
Excuse the finger!

Eventually I saw the path to the train station from where I would catch the train to get back to my car. It had taken me over 5 hours of actual walking and closer to 6 hours including stops. The journey back by train took 8 minutes!

Art at the station in Ommen

The next stretch is about 20 km, although I might do a little deal with my Dad and split it in two. But that is not for a while yet. First to recover from blister and knee.

The River Vecht, part 2

Part of the mural in the tunnel underneath the motorway

As I told you in January, I have found a route which will take me into Germany, along the River Vecht. I wanted to do the second instalment last week, but alas, the head intervened. So, this week it was. Written down and all in my agenda, only severe rain or another headache would stop me. 

Escape from the motorway

The head was okay today and the rain that was due to come in the morning never really materialised, so I packed my bag, got onto a bus and made my way to the point where I finished last time. I was literally going to pick up where I left the route.

The first bit led me along the motorway, but more importantly along a large cemetery. They were working on building more terraces for the Chinese part of it, so there was some heavy machinery interfering with nice photos. I tried though. 

First view of the river, downstream

Then, after only a kilometer or so, I got my first proper glance of the river. I cross this river every day if I have to work, so it's not unknown, but the route I took this time was. I got to the main path again that led me over the dike protecting those who live along the river from high water. I got off the dike again, then on again. Keeping the river in my sights.

I met some beautiful cattle on my way, and I saw plenty of birds. I then had to cross the river, which wasn't as I had pictured this walk in my head. I thought I would stay on one side of the river and would only cross on my third leg. 

The fish stairs

This crossing was a bit different though. Yes, there was a lock, yes there seemed to be a sluice gate, but also, there were fish stairs. I had heard of them, but for some reason didn't think I would see them. The fish stairs are shallow steps to allow fish to swim upriver without having to pass the lock or the sluice and endangering their lives. 

Artist: Paul van Laere

I also met a handsome little chap called 'Hannes of Dalfsen'. A young seal of six weeks old that had escaped from his zoo home in Germany and swum downstream for an adventure. He was captured here and a sculpture was made of him. Not sure what happened to him afterwards, the sign did not say.

The face is actually a bird house

From there I was on the other side of the river and I continued through farm land towards the village/town of Dalfsen. I knew I was going to the railway station to take the train back and could see it from quite far off. I still had about 2 km to go by then though!

Right next to the train station is a large piece of art called 'The Floating Rock' made by Bas Maters. It looks like an old column piece that carries a large boulder. Getting closer to the installation, you can see a hole in the roof of the boulder that looks as if the column has been sawn from it. But, it's not an old column piece and the boulder is not a boulder either. The whole thing is made from concrete and steel.

If you look closely to the right of the column, you can see the hole.

By the end of the walk, my legs felt like jelly, I had a blister on each of my little toes and I was glad to be able to sit down after nearly 13 km. The train arrived after only 6 minutes and when I got back to Zwolle, the bus home left within a minute of me getting on it. 

The mill in the center of Dalfsen

The next leg will be a bit longer though: about 15/16 km, as public transport is my way of getting back to either my car or home and not all villages boast a train station or even a bus stop. It will have to wait until more facilities (read café with toilet) are open again, so probably summer time. That way I can also train up a bit.

The first of many

Last Thursday I made my way to the bus stop close to home and took the bus into town. From there I was going to walk the first bit of a route that is well over 200 km. The Dutch part is about 90 km, the German part would be the rest. But, I felt I would start with the Dutch part first. Mostly because international travel is not possible for 'just a walk'. 

The walk is called the 'Valley of the Vecht Route' and leads you along the River Vecht (or Vechte in German) and its surrounding area. When I looked at it more closely it was actually amazing how much of the river I would actually get to see. 

St Michael in front of the Great or St Michael's Church

Case in point: the first stretch, in which I did not get to see it at all! I saw other waterways, most notably the one the Vecht is emptying into, but not the river itself. Mind you, I only did about 12,5 km, and I know the next stretch will lead me towards it and along it.

The start point was in the center of town and by the second sign I had already missed a fair few as I was just walking about a bit. Fortunately I know the center and was able to make my way to the part where I needed to come out, but it was still a bit annoying as I might have seen some more nice things along the way. They will have to wait until another day.

The cycle route and the walking route overlap at points

The day itself was windy. Very very windy. But the sun was out for most of the walk, my legs felt fresh (for the first three km anyway) and I went for it. And went for it. And went for it. By the end, I felt myself lagging a bit, as it was further than I had done before.

I had gone for that route for two reasons really: Firstly, I want to do something that does have a particular goal, in this case the source of the River Vecht. My second reason was to test myself and more importantly the knee. How would it fare on a longer stretch? I know the knee will hurt afterward, that is nothing new, but how long will it bother me after that? 

When I started walking again last June, even a short distance would then see me barely move for four to five days, recovering from the pain. As time went on, the recovery period lessened, even though the distances grew. And I am glad to say that this time around it was much the same: only one day of real pain, one day of moderate pain and then I was right as rain again.

As I have very thick/fat knees (can't remember a time when I didn't), wearing braces has proved to be nearly impossible. They just don't fit and if I do get it around, it will tear easily. I tried a brace bandage as well and that was even worse as it kept loosening and falling off!

No drizzle

Oink...

After last week's drizzled hike of nearly 14 kilometers, we decided to take it just a bit easier this week. It was a place I had been before with that very same friend and I remembered it well: it was long and it was very steep and tiring. 

Snow covered mountain tops in the distance

In fact, it was a whole 2 (TWO) kilometers, which is basically nothing and it wasn't that steep either! Mind you, when we were there, I was off sick with some demons running around in my head, I was severely out of shape and going up the stairs was steep for me. 

This time we weren't on our own like last time. There were lots of people and children and dogs taking the path up to the lighthouse. Plus, another friend had joined us with two of her children, so we were a little group as well. 

Fortunately this week there was no drizzle in sight. In fact, it was a gorgeous day. Blue skies, albeit with some non-bothersome greyish clouds and hardly any wind. There was a light dusting of snow, there were pigs and before we knew it, we were at the lighthouse! 

Nature playing with water and ice

We had a bit of a snack and then we made the two kilometer trek back to the cars. A beautiful day. 

Drizzle

I had made the decision to go on an easy walk to start off gently in my new season of training for the triathlon. And the hike we were going to do was a hike around a local lake. Well, not quite local, but local enough. I wasn't quite sure about its length, but the path was mostly gravel, there were to be no rocks to climb up and over, so all was fine.

Until I looked out the window early yesterday and found that it was raining. Well, drizzling really, but in the end you are just as wet, so I might as well call it rain. Was that a reason to cancel the trip though? If I had been going on my own: definitely. But, since I was going with a friend, nope! 

So, on with the walking gear, I found the rain gear and in the car the whole lot (including me) went to pick up my friend. I wasn't quite sure where to park and start the route and neither was my friend, but a lady at the petrol station was able to point us in the right way. On with the rain gear and off we trotted. And we trotted and trotted and trotted. 

We trotted through the drizzle, took a few photos, trotted some more, took some more photos and after about four hours we were finally back at the car. Nearly 14 kilometers (about 9 miles) we had trotted and I can tell you one thing: at the end I was thoroughly fed up! The drizzle/rain was never ending, the path was never ending, I had blisters and I was tired. It was so good to see my car. It was even better to eat the hamburger we got on the way home and the best was the shower once I was home again. 

My first training might not have been as easy as I had planned, but we did it anyway. On with the rest...

Valhest

At the top

Living where I live, means living close to a lot of beautiful nature. The sea on one side with several islands (I really need to visit them some day) and mountains on the other side. And for about three weeks I had been wanting to do a hike to a mountain top called Valhest. Weather, other training and work got in the way, but today was the day.

Yep, I fell. Into the mud. As if I hadn't been dirty enough already.

First I had to pick up two friends and then we drove to the parking place close to where the trail started. The first bit was quite easy: downhill on a gravel path and then a bit of tarmac. But once that was finished, we were in for it. Grass, swampy bits, stones, rocks, rivers (albeit small ones) and of course the mountains. 

Part of the view. The North Sea in the distance.

Since none of us had ever been there, we didn't really know what we were in for! We didn't know we would have to go up a nasty, steep, rocky, swampy (yes, all at once) path. We didn't know that once we had crossed that, we were still only halfway! We didn't know that we had to cross a mountain ridge, go down a bit and then up another ridge. We didn't know the treat in store when we finally made it to the top! 

It. Was. HEAVY!!!

Of course, once we got up there, we would need to get down again as well. Which sounds easy (you're going down), but can actually be equally tricky. Having to take care where to place your feet, so you won't go knee deep into the swampy bits. Or slide down into the mud (yes, I did). 

Bush, hand, mouth. It was that easy.

We started around 10.30am, we were back at the car around 4.30pm. What with breaks, me wheezing (not whistling anymore though) and us having to take a break every now and then to eat blueberries, take photos or just enjoy the scenery, I think it was a great day. Plus a great work-out as well of course.

Hodna Mountain

I got a text message yesterday. Whether I would like to come on a tour. By now I know what to expect when asked to go on a tour: good hiking boots, good clothes, hiking poles, food, drink and of course a camera. 

'Neeh, just some weirdos who don't eat grass'

When we got to the site from where we would walk, all I could see was this massive block of rock. We had to go up there? For real?? For real! So, I took a deep breath and started. And stopped after only 100 meters or so. Out of breath and panting like I had just completed a triathlon. Which for the record, I won't do until August 28th. After getting my breath back, on we went. Until... Basically, the 350 meter high mountain was up all the way. And up and up and up and up. It was tiring and they had to wait for me a lot! Besides that, I had to take photos as well...

The time given to get up said mountain (called Hodna Mountain by the way, hence the title) was given as one hour. I knew that one hour normal time, meant two hours Mara time. But, I surprised myself and my two companions. It only took an hour and fifteen minutes! And from the top, we had a great view across a valley. 

Because there was quite a cold wind and since the temperature had not gotten into double figures just yet, we had to find a nice secluded spot to have a bit of lunch. After which we made our way down again. And before you say that that should be easier, it was. Quicker as well, since we managed to do it in about 50 minutes. Including photos!

The order I had gotten this week was: one one hour walk, one one hour cycle thing and one half hour jog (or trying to anyway). I think today counted as a one hour walk. Easy! 

Easy peasy

Well, my sister and I had decided our first day would be a quite easy one. We would take a walk, yes, but it would be an easy one around a lake. Gravel paths all the way. She had her new walking boots and we both had a bit of provision and a bottle of water. We were all set. 

The weather was glorious: sunshine, cloudless skies and no wind. Temperatures around the 10 degrees Centigrade. A fine day for an easy walk. 

We got to the parking lot and found a place to park and then set out to take the photo at the top. After which we made our way to the gravel path. We saw lots of people, walking here, there and everywhere. The gravel path was nice and wide as well. Until it narrowed and we came to a bridge. We crossed it, but after that the path seemed to disappear and we decided it was probably very unwise to continue, so we turned around. 

We found the proper path again and kept following it again. It had widened considerably again as well, so we were quite happy. Of course we stopped every so often so I could exclaim over the view and more often take a photo of this, that or the other. Like the white toadstools I saw a lot.

Ten minutes later (about) we came to a lovely place with benches and even a little jetty. We felt we had deserved a little rest and had a little snack and a drink of water, enjoying the sunshine. No people around, only the sound of a few birds and a couple of dragonflies flying around. 

The rest being over we continued on our gravel path. Which lasted all of ten meters! But there had been one person passing us going the same way so we could continue. Over rocks and stones and a small narrow path full of mud and water! Typical!!! The photo above shows what we had to contend with. 

Unfortunately the path didn't become any better. Clambering over (admittedly smaller) rocks is not something that comes naturally to either of us, although for once in my life I had the upper hand. Fortunately the weather was still good and the views were fantastic as well. So, it wasn't all bad! And the people that were in such a hurry to get past us: "add a weight pack and see how well you do then" was all we could say! 

But we were slowly getting fed up as well. We were starting to feel the climbing and clambering and by now our lack of enough fluids. We had only brought one bottle each, thinking it would be an easy walk after all. We had seen and heard cars for about twenty minutes by then, but it didn't seem as if they were getting any closer! During one little rest however, my sister noticed some houses behind us, so I knew we were getting closer.

By the time we got back to the car we were both very tired and both very dirty as well. Especially my sister who had thought it wise to step ankle deep in some mud puddle! Oopsie! But we had made it and even though we were both tired and dirty, we were also very proud of ourselves. That 'easy' gravel path walk had not defeated us! Mind you, it was an early night for both of us...