As I was packing my hiking bag at the end of May, I realized I haven’t been on a proper hike in months... If you know me, you’re probably surprised. After all, I’m always pursuing outdoorsy things and I’ve been an avid hiker for years. Okay, fair enough, there is the coronavirus and the lockdown, but I had plenty of opportunities to go and hike. However, I’ve ended up choosing other activities, like trail running and biking, where I can cover more distance or just finish the same route much quicker. But enough of this rambling!
I finally packed up my bag and went hiking. Zsófi, my sister and Kartal, her boyfriend were organizing a hike across the Pilis Hills with 3 friends and I got invited to tag along. The route was definitely ambitious considering our late start, going from Pomáz (which is just outside Budapest) all the way across the Pilis, with some wild camping at the end. 26 km, but with a 10:30 start and decent elevation gain, we weren’t going to make it to our camp until pretty late.
The Hike
Fun fact, I haven’t been on public transport at all since mid-March, so getting to the start of the hike was a pretty bizarre experience. We set off from the train station, across some fields towards Szentendre, probably getting a bit sunburnt. The clouds were already gathering, and as we got to Szentendre, I put on every piece of waterproof gear I’d be using in the UK, it was that wet. But rain was not going to deter us from a good hike, although it sure as hell slowed us down on the slippery-muddy ascents.
Around lunchtime the rain stopped, although we still got plenty of “rain” from the wind knocking the water off the trees. But we got lucky as the weather shifted back to cloudy, with bits of sunshine breaking through. Just cool enough to hike comfortably.
During the second half of the hike I spent an hour pretending I’m doing home office and joined into a work Google Meets event. I thought the spotty connection and doing audio only would give me away, but nobody picked up on it.
We quickly racked up the miles, but we still arrived to the other side of the Pilis range very late and of course we missed the ferry… We planned on getting on an 18:00ish ferry, which was admittedly a little ambitious, and ended up catching one at 21:00. Oh well, no worries, who doesn’t love a headlamp adventure? We set up our camp in the dark just on the riverbank, chatting by the campfire and laughing a little about how our 26km was more like 30! Here is the track until the ferry on Strava for those who are interested.
Sleep came easy for everyone and the next day we were all just happy to pack up, walk back to the ferry and catch a bus home. Back to work after the adventure!
Gear Mistakes
As a person with a severe case of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), working in a hiking store for a while wasn’t really a great idea. I bought way too much great gear that I then didn’t have the time to test before leaving the UK, and in hindsight I have to admit that some mistakes were made…
I bought this cute little tent called the OEX Phoxx 1v2. First of all, if you have a girlfriend who loves hiking, don’t ever buy a one-person tent, because she’ll make fun of you forever. Or you might get dumped… Luckily, for me it was only the first option! The second, and clearly bigger issue is the size. While it is super light, packs down to almost nothing, I also found out that I can barely change into my sleeping gear when I tried to go to sleep and my backpack was a bit too big for the storage compartment.
In hindsight, I’d rather have carried a little extra weight and took my two-person tent just to have some extra space for my kit and for more comfortable sleep. However, the rest of the sleeping kit worked wonderfully. I already knew my Berghaus sleeping bag was a great buy, the Exped mattress and pillow and Lifesystems silk sleeping bag liner I got also performed flawlessly – all great pieces of ultralight gear. But the tent has to go… Which is a shame, because it has amazing specs, great waterproofing and a good price. So, if you need an affordable mini tent in Budapest, hit me up!
In my ultralight craze, I also bought an MSR Pocket Rocket camping stove. It is a fantastic little stove that takes up virtually no space and boils water in no time. However, something I learned quickly is that it doesn’t disperse the heat very well. It’s great for boiling water or making coffee at lighting speed, however when you try to cook something solid, it will burn the middle of the pot while the edge gets no heat. No matter how quick you stir your pot, things will burn unless it’s on a really low setting. I think it’s a piece of kit I’ll love and hate at the same time. If I need to make beans or something, I might use my old Primus one, but for coffee, soup and such, this thing is epic!
My last acquisition that I was really proud of was the Osprey Atmos 65 bag – I thought I’d use my staff discount and buy a hiking bag that would last me forever. If you look at long-distance hikers, this bag is a classic. Extremely durable, full of convenient pockets and no matter how much gear you pile into it, the bag somehow still feels light once it’s on your back. By the end of the hike, the huge hip straps started to push into my hip a little too much, but I think I just need to play a little more with the setup. Honestly, I think I just haven’t hiked with a heavy pack in ages and I’m not used to it. Trail running vests & bags are so much easier to carry…
Conclusion
I’ve dreamed of long distance hiking for so long, but I definitely have to figure out some of my kit before I head off on an adventure like that… But what I realized is that organizing quick 1-2 day adventures with friends now is much more important than fantasizing about far-fetched future adventures!