Carpathian hiking is becoming more and more popular. The 16th year of the donor tourist march was organized last Saturday by the Carpathian Foundation. Our wanderers also walked along the ridge of the Volovské Hills. On the 25 km route, 29 ironworkers wandered, the 50 km route was chosen by thirteen. Gradually, they climbed to Kloptaň (1,154 m above sea level) and Kojšovská hoľa (1,246 m above sea level), from where half of Slovakia can be seen.

The steelmakers walked through the Carpathian nature for the third time. A larger group of 25 km of the route started at 10:00 from the Erika cottage at Kojšovská hoľa, while the 50 km course started a few hours earlier in Štós.

There is no doubt that wandering brings people together. This time, the auspices of their participation were taken over by Vice-President Elena Petrášková and the Women's Network (WIN). The coordination of the "twenty-five" group in the field was taken care of by Marek Trembecký from NextGen, who has something to compare with – the other two years also participated in the tour:

"It was great that this time U. S. Steel supported the participation of a larger group of people. Last year we walked the shorter route fourteen, this year the number has doubled. You could see how the groups were mixing and communicating with each other, everyone was trying to get to know people they didn't know before. We walked 27.5 km and took 36,000 steps. It was a great march, if it continues like this, it will be a bomb." Marek also recommends the "twenty-five" to occasional tourists: "It's a pleasant walk, not extremely difficult. Everyone can choose the pace they want, they can sit down, relax and move on."

Elena Petrášková evaluates the event extremely positively:
"The weather was amazing, the view of the Tatras at the start was not flawed. The team was perfect and most importantly, it showed what a great team we are outside of work. I think it was a very successful event, where we could get to know each other outside the workplace, talk and support each other together in managing 25 or 50 km, which is not little. And on top of all this, we have contributed to the good cause for which the Carpathian Trek is intended – supporting the community in the east of Slovakia."

Photo: Zuzana Sýkorová, Elena Petrášková a Erika Felšöciová

Rita Huňady says: "The weather was perfect, as was the atmosphere. We waited and supported each other. In addition, we had a talisman with us, Luky the dachshund put it all with us." It seems that Luky has been gratefully adopted by all tourists, but his owner is only one of them - Erika Linkeschová.

Anita Flašková Hozová adds:
"It was nice to wander as a team, to inspire and encourage each other. I can't help but thank you for the great tourist and social opportunity to take part in the Carpathian hike. On the one hand, because of the nice idea of supporting the region, and on the other hand, in a great group of colleagues whom I could get to know in other ways than professionally."

However, let's not forget our endurance athletes, who conquered a 50 km hike. As you can see in the photo, they took off in the dark, at 5:00 in the morning. The pictures were sent by Helena Tovarňáková, on the right, with her colleague Albert Kováč. At the finish line, they looked as fresh as when they passed "twenty-five" hikers on the route.

However, there were also those who did not walk 50 km, but ran. There was a rumor that one of the steelworkers allegedly ran to the finish line in the Čičky Complex first. It took a while to find him, but it was also a successful teamwork, the telephone lines in the ironworks were on fire. Anton Budai managed 50 "kilos" along the ridge of the western part of the Carpathian Arc in 6 hours 11 minutes. However, there were two first... You will learn more in the interview that we will bring in the coming days. 
 

The Carpathian hike connects people in nature and at the same time helps to develop the region of eastern Slovakia. The Carpathian Foundation supported a number of public benefit projects in the region with the proceeds from registration fees. This year's proceeds from the entry fee will be used directly to support the activities of the Carpathian Foundation.