Caching in the Mátra and a fraught Fáklya meeting

 Last Saturday Viktor and I went caching in the Mátra. He has been after a particular moving cache, which you can only find once a year, but he was very clever this time last year, just after this cache has started on its route and got it before the end of 2022. This made him eligible to go and get it again this year. As it is nearing the end of its route, it was getting urgent to go and get it.

The start of our hike at the top

It turned out that we chose the first really wintry, hoar frosted winter day for the hike. We had two cars, so we left one at the bottom of the mountain and travelled to the top in the other car. At the end, we used the one at the bottom to get back to the top to fetch the other car and went on our way to the next
cache, but more about that later.

Not much later, the sun came out

 

We got going just after 8:30 and the frozen leaves on the ground went crunch, crunch under our feet. The cache was found very quickly, and we carried on down the mountain. As we got lower, and as it got warmer most frost melted and all the streams were pretty much in spate. The trouble was that we had to walk in semi permanent swamp, as the water found its way down in lots of places. 

Flooded path en route down

We found quite a good place to hide it again, after about 1.2km, hid it and went on. In the beginning we didn't meet anyone, but after about half way down, lots of people were hiking upwards, saying hello en otheir way. We got back to the car just after 11 am and were happy to sit down and have a sandwich. We decided, that before Viktor goes home, we will get another cache, which was only a small detour for him and I was happy to join him, as I completely forgot about that cache when planning my route after separating from Viktor.

Pebble fishing lake

He was also happy that I joined him, as the last kilometre or so was on a very bumpy road, and he was worrying about his car. We went slowly and while there were enormous puddles along the way, none of them were deep. After getting back to Viktor's car, he discovered that his radiator grill was missing. I did remember something flying towards my car and hitting it underneath on the motorway, but didn't realise that it was Viktor's radiator grill. He was very worried about what his wife would say, as he seems very unlucky while geocaching, with respect to the wellbeering of his vehicle.

The abandoned quarry wall

After we said good-bye, I went to get another three caches on my own, while travelling homewards.
The first one was an abandoned quarry, which turned out to be really beautiful. I walked up to its highest level, where a pretty well hidden cache was awaiting. The views were gorgeous, both towards the high rock walls and towards the valley and the village to the West. The sun was quite low and the light beautiful.

The view from the quarry

 

The next one was a spring, which I must have driven past a thousand times in the past and not noticed, in the village of Palotás. Nothing special, so I went on with more expectations to the local fishing lake, which is a reservoir really. There the sun was really low, getting ready to set, but I managed to get 3 out of its 5 points on foot and then the last two by car. It got very dark by then, but Roy joined me for company by then.

Palotás fishing lake

I really enjoyed that day and it looks as if I will see Viktor and Edit again this coming Saturday, when we will go to the celebration to the 5000th Hungarian geocache in the Mátra again. Hopefully, we will be able to log three caches: 1. the 5000th cache 2. The event cache: GCJaro and 3. the moving cache by the lake, which a local couple have found earlier this week, so Viktor tolds me, and we are both hoping that they are planning to take it and place it near the 5000th cache party, near the local lake, so that we can all find it.

The sun setting over the lake

In the meantime I had a vaguely upsetting thing happening in relation to one of my Fáklya comrades, who suddenly got very hostile. I, for the life of me, can't work it out how I upset her, but as if she had a sudden 180 degree turn, was not at all friendly and quite obsessive in her manner. I hope it is really nothing to do with me, but her own mental state, which seems to me after this affair quite unstable. The crisis of capitalism gets to everybody, just people react differently, and this one was an unpleasant surprise to me, as I was always very fond of her, and an utterly at sea as to what, if anything, did I do to make her like this.

Jobbágyi church at sunset

I could only take part at both the reading group and the branch meeting remotely, and had some technical difficulties with the second, but both meetings were actually very good.We have finished Trotsky's Revolution Betrayed, and next week will start Engels's The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State. I am looking forwards to it, even though it is a hard read, especially in the beginning, where he is particularly detailed describing Morgan's research, but we'll cope, I'm sure.

Engels: The Origin of the Family etc.

The branch meeting had a very good leadoff by Dani, on the question of: Marxism and the National Question. Dani only got as far as the 1920's, so I'm sure we need another leadoff on the later events that proved Lenin right. The meeting decided a few things, most of which I agreed with, but I still have a bad taste in my mouth over the Zsófi affair.

We had the new router installed in the BP flat last week, which now should give us hyper speed, 1000 megabits per second internet and the billing has been combined into one per month from both the BP flat and the Bér accounts. We ended up with new contracts, although I am a bit puzzled about some of its content. When I get a minute, I'll ring them and get someone to explain them to me.

Tomorrow we are having lunch with Robert, whom we haven't seen in nearly a year. This time we are off to the Regős, which is close, reasonably cheap and the food is good. Roy is getting worried about his cefre going off to the distillers, so I will have to ring Pali to ask when he's taking it. The next post is likely to be in the middle of next week, but which day, I'm never sure of.