Digital Wanderer

We live as long as we fly

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A Bike Trip and a Hike Through Pilskalnes Siguldiņa

2010-07-25

вылазки природа байк туризм фото

I've already been there a couple of times, but today decided to walk the entire big trail, which we successfully did. We rode there along not exactly easy dirt and forest roads, and took a regular highway from Svente on the way back. In total, the GPS shows 76 km, but out of those we walked 12 km, drove 6 by car, and only rode the remaining 58 on the bike.


View Pilskalnes Siguldina July 24 in a larger map

We have to ford the railway, good thing it's not a fire ditch, like last time.

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A young man in glasses, a green cap, and a blue sleeveless shirt looks at the camera against a summer rural landscape with green fields, a village, and a blue sky. 

The punk is still full of energy at the beginning of the trip.

A log house with a green roof and a red chimney is situated on a vast grassy field. Behind it stretches a dense forest with power lines under a clear blue sky. 

Some folks around here live well: a bathhouse, a pond, all that jazz.

A man in a blue tank top, cap, and glasses stands under a huge horizontal trunk of a fallen tree, smiling and looking up. A sunny forest is all around, a path is visible on the right.

This is us already there, stomping along, taking in the beautiful sights.

A wooden bridge with curved railings leads across a green glade surrounded by lush vegetation. Bright sun shines through the foliage and casts sharp shadows on the bridge. 

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Just like that: the little hill is under state protection. Our state takes such good care of us that it even protects hills.

Two tall wooden sculptures stand on a green glade: a totem pole topped with a seated human figure, and a stylized figure. A young man in a blue tank top and cap touches the hand of the stylized figure. 

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A winding forest path goes down a hillside among tall trees, fenced with a low wattle of branches. Sunlight breaks through the dense crowns of the deciduous forest, creating a play of light and shadow on the ground. 

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The signs, in my opinion, are placed somewhat chaotically. I mean it's hard to tell why sometimes a pole has an arrow with one icon, and sometimes several arrows, and the icons are random, not the same ones.

A broken dry tree trunk hangs diagonally, wedged between thin trunks in a dense summer forest. In the background, a quiet forest stream shines through the green branches. 

A wooden arrow-shaped sign with the inscription 'mācību taka' and a pedestrian icon, set in a dense green forest.

This one is actually clear.

The rootstock of a fallen tree with massive roots sticking upwards lies in a dense forest, surrounded by abundant greenery and illuminated by sunlight. 

A man in a blue tank top and dark pants walks along a log bridge with wooden railings, laid through a dense green forest. 

A man in a blue tank top stands on a wooden boardwalk trail in the middle of a dense green forest with tall trees. 

We haven't been here before, and it's a shame. It's beautiful, boardwalks through the forest. Probably, at times it gets humid and swampy here, but right now, with +32 outside, everything is dry.

A young man in a khaki cap, glasses, and a blue tank top looks at the camera with his right arm outstretched. Behind him, a wooden boardwalk stretches into the distance through a swampy pine forest. 

A wooden sign with two arrows against a background of dense green bushes and trees. The top arrow contains a carved symbol, and the bottom one points in the opposite direction. 

These icons make sense: the first one — hikers, the second one — a rest house, aka a campsite. Unclear why later on these arrows are found separately.

A wooden bench, stumps for sitting, and a large mushroom-shaped canopy are located on a green glade against a forest background under a blue sky with clouds. 

 

A person in a blue tank top walks up a green grassy slope against a backdrop of vast fields and dense forest under a clear blue sky. 

The trail in its final stretch looks peaceful at first.

Narrow wooden boardwalks lead into a dense green forest, flanked by tall thickets of grass and shrubs. 

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But eventually it turns into a stream, or rather, an overflowing lake nearby. Lake Puru, for the record, and if you follow the trail, you can find a spot to access it where you can swim.

A small muddy stream winds through dense thickets of grass and trees in a sunny forest. Sunlight breaking through the foliage creates bright highlights on the water and greenery. 

A swampy forest stream surrounded by trees and dense green vegetation, partially illuminated by sunlight. A discarded glass bottle lies in the water near the right edge. 

Have to ford it.

A young man in a blue tank top and cap leans over, holding onto a tree trunk with his hands, making his way through dense thickets over a reflective surface resembling water or a swamp.

 

A man in a cap and blue tank top leans against a tree, bending over shallow water overgrown with grass, carefully looking at the reflections of foliage on the water. 

 

A wide field covered with dry grass and blooming purple and yellow flowers, in the middle of which stands a dry tree with bare branches. In the background, a dense green forest is visible under a clear blue sky.

A bunker left over from WWII.

A stone archway overgrown with dense greenery and trees, leading into a bright forest. The path to the arch is a forest trail with fallen leaves. 

This is a small observation tower, almost at the end of the trail. Not much to look at, but thanks anyway.

A bottom-up view of a wooden observation tower with a massive platform and railings, resting on rough, textured poles and reaching into a bright blue sky with light clouds. 

A view of a dense green forest stretching to the horizon line, beyond which a body of water is visible. Above the forest is a blue sky with white and grey clouds. 

A top-down view of a man in glasses and a black t-shirt walking up an old wooden staircase surrounded by weathered railings with lichen and greenery. 

The field is blooming and smells wonderful.

A spacious summer meadow dotted with colorful wildflowers and tall grass transitions into a dense forest on the horizon. In the center of the meadow stands a person in a blue tank top with arms spread wide. 

Picturesque.

A summer landscape: in the foreground a field with tall grass and wildflowers, further on — gently sloping, forested hills under a light blue sky with sparse clouds. 

Boardwalks through the swamp again, love it.

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Especially when they cross a stream.

A narrow stream, densely overgrown with water lilies and surrounded by tall green grass and sedge. In the distance, young trees and shrubs of a swamp forest are visible. 

A calm forest lake surrounded by dense forest reflecting in the water. A muddy path leads to its grassy shore with a stump by the water on the right. 

A person in a blue tank top and dark pants walks along a long wooden boardwalk laid through tall green grass and dense thickets of trees. 

At the end of the trail we reached the campsite, found out there's no other path back, and decided to walk back along the road. That's long and boring, don't repeat our mistake. I recommend walking to the big lake (Puru), going for a swim, and heading back.

A medium-sized dog of a mottled brown-and-black color with a raised bushy tail stands on a dirt path against a background of green grass and a wooden fence.

Windows XP again

A green hilly meadow with wooden power line poles, beyond which a plowed field and dense forest on the horizon are visible under a sparsely clouded blue sky. 

A dreary dirt road that we got sick of stomping back on, so we caught a ride.

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This is us dropping by Yura's farmstead; a kitten climbed onto the bike rack and couldn't get down, we watched him for 5 minutes. Then he just up and jumped down.

A fluffy dark kitten with white paws balances on the metal rack of a bicycle parked in a garden. Green bushes and a chain-link fence are visible in the background.

At Yura's we picked up the freshly bought Ortlieb Sport Packer Plus panniers for the punk.

They are very good (even if a tiny bit on the small side), and right now they are on sale at Gandrs for 49 Ls. The price is good, because normally they actually cost more, even outside our country.  The bags are awesome, waterproof, very tough, convenient and reliable, 5-year warranty. If you don't know what kind of company Ortlieb is, you've just read its full description. All serious European cycle tourists use Ortlieb specifically, or their few competitors.

https://www.gandrs.lv/velosomas-aizmugurejas/sport-packer-plus/

This is me doing a socially responsible non-advertisement.

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