It's mid-October, it has to be said. And the plan is to set off exactly as Kauschka did back then – at 2 a.m. from Liberec's Lidové sady park. We pack minimalist. At worst we'll warm up with soup at some mountain hut.
The only dilemma is footwear. I'll get further on an empty stomach than with raw heels and an aching instep. So they have to be light, yet comfortable. Roomy, too, because your feet swell after so many kilometres, and if my little toes start getting squashed, I'd rather jump into the Snow Pits. Although... well... that's Poland... I'll have to think about it.
So I have a brilliant idea. I get Asolo to send me a pair of Flyer trainers. Friday morning I collect them from the post office, in the afternoon I wear them into town for a coffee – to break them in, that's what you're supposed to do with new shoes, apparently – and at 2 a.m. on Saturday we set off.
I hate tarmac. I hate the never-ending Promenádní road. I hate whoever came up with this Sněžka idea. Which is me. By five in the morning at Smědava my thighs have turned to wood. After all, Jakuszyce isn't a bad destination either, is it? At least there's a bus back to Liberec from there. Luckily, with the sun rising over Jizerka and a switch to a soft forest path, it's as if we've been given new legs. No more tarmac today. And honestly – I'm amazed that nothing on my feet is pinching yet. My toes have so much room you could smuggle some Polish contraband in there. Quite a surprise for an otherwise narrow Asolo.
Shall we stop for soup at Vosecká hut? It's only a half-kilometre detour. No, we shan't. Every 100 metres saved is good for our legs. Though I have to say that even with more than 40 kilometres behind me, I can't feel the slightest hint of discomfort in my Asolo Flyer trainers. They're doing the job nicely.
And below Vysoké kolo we finally see it. Sněžka! And it's still a hell of a long way off. So we'd better not look at it. At Petrovka we take a break and wolf down bread rolls, Ája takes her shoes off, her instep is starting to ache. My feet don't need a break – I can't even tell I'm wearing shoes.
No, the Poles just keep walking and won't step aside for love nor money. And their Agnieszkas shriek like mad while they're at it... Are we there yet? My legs are slowly refusing to obey, and the Czech-Polish Friendship Trail isn't exactly a solid foundation to build on. Nothing but boulders and holes. Luckily, the Vibram sole on the Flyers grips like a dream. Wherever I step. All it's missing is a pair of little wings.
At a quarter to five we're standing on Sněžka. In fog. Ája can't put weight on her foot any more for the pain. My thighs have turned to wood. The remaining 28 km to Harrachov probably isn't happening today. We finish as high as we possibly can, after 66 km, 2,400 metres of ascent and 1,200 metres of descent. Hats off to Mr Kauschka. Hats off to the Asolo Flyer trainers for carrying me all the way here without a single sore spot or blister.
And now tell us what time the chairlift goes and where we can get something to eat!
Since getting back from Sněžka I haven't gone out in any shoes other than the Asolo Flyer. I wear them for climbing trips to the Jizera Mountains, for strolls in the Jeseníky Mountains and for that coffee in town. I've even climbed in them – an easier route on Jizera granite. I wonder how they'll like the Jordanian desert?
