[IB9] A hike to Kurtuvėnai Regional Park

Gabrielė Baristaitė -

The 25th of January is known as midwinter. This day marks the middle of winter, it means that there is half of winter left till spring. There is one myth about this day. It is known that on this day a badger comes out of its cave and if the day is sunny he recognizes his shadow and goes back to the cave. It means that spring will come later. But if the day is foggy, the badger comes out from the cave and takes a walk. Thus, we can expect that spring will come earlier.   

Each midwinter “Aukuras club” organizes a hike to commemorate midwinter and to check whether the myth has some truth in it.  It became a tradition to do this every year. This club aims to protect and handle the heritage of nature. Club does this by organizing hikes, seminars and competitions related to nature preservation.  Also, club contributes to the activities of Kurtuvėvai Regional Park. The midwinter hike is organized annually in the Kurtuvėnai regional park because the park has a lot of beautiful lakes and hills. During the hike twelve lakes are visited and also people attempt to find out whether the spring will come earlier or later.

This year my classmate Eglė and I have decided to participate in the midwinter hike. I have not known what I should expect because it was the first time when I went to the hike. I thought that the hike in winter time is very unusual but also it is a great chance to try something new. The hike has started from the early morning. The morning was sunny, so following the idea of the myth we expect that spring will come later. The people who wanted to join the hike had to be in the car parking near Pageluvis Lake. The coordinator of the hike introduced the plan and we started the hike from the first lake Pageluvis.  National and local television were also interested in the predictions about spring. They decided to create a coverage of the hike.  During the hike we have visited twelve lakes, we have seen some boars and also we had one incident on the lake. 

When we were standing on one of the lakes, and while our coordinator was talking about the lake, suddenly everyone heard ice breaking. Some of the group lied down, some ran to the shore. Fortunately, it was only a sound of ice breaking, about which we had quite a laugh each time we went on different lakes. I have learnt that lying down is the best and safest way to keep safe in emergencies of ice breaking. I think this was the most memorable event during the hike for everyone who participated.

This hike helped us to get to know more about Kurtuvėnai Regional Park; we have seen striking nature scenes and the amazing lakes in winter time. During this activity I, personally, have improved my collaboration skills and also have increased my ability to deal with emotions in unpredictable situations. I am very happy that I had an opportunity to join the midwinter hike in Kurtuvėnai Regional Park because of the amazing moments we all shared on that day. Next year I will participate too, and I advise everyone to join it as well, to experience moments that will be remembered for a long time!