Almost everybody would agree that the passing year 2020 was a special one. For me it meant switching from travel-intensive work (155 flights last year!) to home office. It also meant more hiking in my home country than travelling abroad. Let me share my impressions of the Year 2020 in 12 Photos - August.

Photo of the month

August started with a hike of 258km in 11 consecutive days. Part of the Main Beskids Trail (500km in total), it is the longest hiking trail in Poland. For me it was the very first time in my whole life to hike in the mountains for longer than 3-4 days. I slept at mountain cabins and covered 24km on average per day. A lot of ascents and descents, sun and rain. It was the best holidays of my life. So naturally the photos for August have been selected from this hike.

My top pick is a sunrise viewed from Stożek mountain cabin, Poland. Beautiful on its own, the photo is special for me. The reason is, it was the very last morning of my hike. From there, I had only 20km to walk to the finish line (actually, it's a finish dot).

Sunrise at Stożek, Poland
Sunrise at Stożek, Poland

Runner Up

I have so many photos from the trail on my camera roll, that it is really difficult to choose the top three. Therefore, rather than selecting the most beautiful or the best, I would go for significant ones. Significant for me, of course.

The runner up is Babia Góra, the highest peak on the trail. However taking this photo, I am on the summit. I seeing it from a mountain pass and the it's fantastically colored by the setting sun. We call the mountain "the Beskids' Queen" and I couldn't omit it in my review.

Babia Góra at sunset, viewed from Bron pass, Poland
Babia Góra at sunset, viewed from Bron pass, Poland

Also on the podium

My last one is another view of Babia Góra. Two days later, I climbed a mountain called Pilsko. It is not located on the Main Beskids Trail, but it offers fantastic views. So I woke up well before sunrise, ascended the summit and watched the spectacle. As you can see, I wasn't alone there - some folks actually had camped on the summit.
This photo is important for me. The reason is, the trail is long and difficult. And it was my very first one. Still, I had the energy and will to climb another mountain. Only to see a sunrise...

Babia Góra at sunrise, viewed from Pilsko, Poland
Babia Góra at sunrise, viewed from Pilsko, Poland

If you are interested in the Main Beskids Trail, read my full story on my blog in Polish (use Google translate widget provided there). A Dutch girl completed the trail few months after me and she also runs a blog (in English). Read her story at BudgetBucketList blog.

Stay Tuned

This was the eighth post in the series Year 2020 in 12 Photos - August. I will post consecutive months over the last 12 days of December 2020. Stay tuned!

Previously in the series (PeakD links):
January 2020
February 2020
March 2020
April 2020
May 2020
June 2020
July 2020