New wood discovered

I spotted this on the map; a feature mysteriously called 'Wilcza Góra' ('wolf hill') lying just to the north of the Krężel to Budziszynek road. Like, what hill? The land around here is flat... I go. Taking the train one stop south (from Chynów to Krężel), I head west, stopping off for provisions in Wygodne.

Below: the road bridge over the river Czarna, which flows northwards (much of its course in man-made canals) through the district. Across the bridge and to the right, the path into the wood.

The path is sandy. Before long, it turns to the right before entering a pine forest. Cannot see any hills. More like common land.

Left: I stumble upon an abandoned wooden house, in the process of being swallowed by the forest, beyond saving. I wonder who once lived here, and why it ended up being left like this.

Below: a long exposure with the camera on the windowsill. All glass, doors, etc has been removed. Being a long way even from a village, such a place does not attract vandals; it will quietly disassemble itself as entropy does its work.

Below: the white-yellow-white sign denoting a tourist trail (szlak turystyczny) – this one being szlak MZ-5153-y that connects the railway stations in Chynów and Warka (I've walked part of it last summer). The full walk is 21.3km. Below that the Lasy Państwowe (LP, state forests) logo, once the sign of a death sentence on a tree, when, during the last government, LP was taken over by a rapacious group hell-bent on extracting as much timber as possible before the elections. Fortunately, Lasy Państwowe are in more responsible hands today.

I didn't want to follow the tourist trail, which swings off to the west; I'd rather make my way to the river Czarna. At first, the meant walking along a fire road through the managed pine forest, below. A beautiful, nostalgia-inducing smell of pine trees in the heat.

Between the Lasy Państwowe plots and the river was a bank of dense undergrowth that I had to force my way through – but it was worth it. I found the Czarna – and a sorry sight it was too. The summer's not been particularly hot, and rainy days have not been rare, and yet the river has run dry; the snow-free winter has its consequences. Below: looking south along the riverbed, which had been channelled to flow in a straight line back in the early 1970s. It was particularly sad looking at the tracks of various wild animals down the riverbank and to the edge of the few puddles of stagnant, algae-covered muddy water. Their source of drinking water is diminishing by the day.

Below: looking north along the riverbed. Central Poland is certainly in the midst of a long-term hydrological crisis.

Below: having scrambled through the brambles on the east bank of the Czarna, I get to a track that leads to a clearing. An easier walk from here.

Below: the forest track that links ulica Warecka (the Chynów to Warka road) to the villages of Edwardów, Budziszyn and Budziszynek to the west. Too sandy for bicycles and motorbikes at the moment; a bit like walking along a beach. A few hundred metres further on and on ul. Warecka.

I finally leave the forest and return to familiar paths. While walking along ul. Graniczna ('border street'), another dirt track, back towards the railway line, I manage to catch this Polish Air Force C-130H Hercules flying low over Chynów (below). This one (serial number 1511) is the first of the batch that the Polish Air Force is buying to replace its ageing C-130E Hercules transports that date back to the early 1960s. The -Hs are some 30 years newer than the  -Es (a reminder that the prototype XC-130 first flew on 23 August 1954 – 71 years ago this month!)

Finally, on my way home along ul. Kolejowa ('railway street'), I am overtaken by a fine loco-hauled express on its way to Szczecin. This is the InterCity TLK Lubomirski service from Zakopane via Kraków, Warsaw, Gdańsk and Gdynia. Over 15 hours to cover 754km. No buffet car. But it does stop in Warka and Piaseczno.

A good, solid walk, an exploration, finding someplace new. A day well spent, over 18,000 paces (14km) walked!

This time last year:
Goldenrod (nawłoć) – friend or foe?

This time two years ago:
A low-cost future

This time three years ago:
Evolved Consciousness

This time five years ago:
Goodnight Belarus - may God keep you

This time ten years ago:
Motorbike across Poland to buy fine Polish wine

This time 11 years ago:
Eat Polish apples, drink Polish cider

This time 12 years ago:
Hottest week ever 

This time 13 years ago:
Progress along the second line of the Warsaw Metro 

This time 14 years ago:
Doric arches, ul. Targowa

This time 15 years ago:
A place in the country, everyone's ideal

This time 18 years ago:
I must go down to the sea again