Day 8
It's strange to watch the last Brabčák on the track as he quietly skips through the landscape between Jeseník and Beskydy. Every now and then he stops somewhere, makes a sound and once or twice a message from him beeps. Today it was a phone call. I was a bit scared when I saw his name on the screen, wondering if he was going to fly away to his nest, but fortunately not. He lost the obligatory red blinker, so he asked if he could continue on. He was tasked with keeping his headlamp lit properly and getting a new flasher during the day. Otherwise, he said the agro march was quite challenging. The snow was melting and either turning into mud and puddles or smooth ice. Plus rain showers and heat. But otherwise he feels great and I have no doubt he will make it to Havířov. But he must try to pull as far as possible and rest as little as possible. Tomas is an excellent photographer by profession and his funny compositions entertain us every day. He is an example that only humour helps in difficult situations.
But it's not going to be easy. Today Hosta and I walked through part of the Beskydy Mountains and the conditions in these beautiful mountains are even worse than they were last year. Above about 900 m above sea level, wet structures of dirty snow interspersed with ice and below just ice or nothing. So crossing the Beskydy will most likely be a crossing.
And what else is there of interest to JIBE? For example, it was funny how most of the competitors gradually became very good trackers (the first ones were unlucky). Almost everyone had some sort of tracking pattern that they followed and used to navigate. Some even had several tracks that they used to confirm that this was the right direction. For example, it was the tracks from Gavan the dog, confirmed by the print on the sole of Altra's shoes. Someone was tracking Salomon and the tracks from Honzo's bike (not very sensible though).
And then perhaps another thing that pleases us in particular. We don't know what exactly it is, but during these four years we haven't had any jerk at the start who would disturb the friendly atmosphere with his ego and attitude. It has always been, and so far is, almost family-like, and even when the participants are whipped out, there is a smile, humility, respect and contentment on their faces. And for ro we thank you.