Bakonykúti - Bodajk (OKT day 22)

From Bakonykúti, the Blue Trail leads to a rare mountain block with character, the low, eastern part of Baglyas Hill: the grassy, rolling plateau is dotted with groups of trees mixed with pines, its sides are cut by dolomite ribs. The unique landscape of the mountain, which is particularly picturesque from below, is not to be found anywhere else on the National Blue Trail.

But first, let's leave Bakonykúti: from the tidy main square (the stamp is on a signpost), we descend two bends to the stream bank, and before we walk out of the village, there is a particularly atmospheric Blue Trail-themed buffet on the left - guests can play a Blue Trail quiz for prizes, among other things. A steep, rocky climb takes you out into a field outside the village, where the block of Owl Mountain looms before you - the flat plateau stretches out as if the top had been peeled off in a well-directed gesture. We don't climb it, but when we reach the forest, the signpost turns left and we continue level in a grove of pines.

Much of Baglyas Hill is still military territory (and part of the largest land training area in Central Europe), and before the regime change it had a privileged role: the general staff, heads of state and distinguished guests watched military exercises from the summit; the belly of the hill was home to a Soviet communications centre. Today, there are still a good number of shelters, concrete landmarks and observation posts on the back of the Owl.

The Blue Trail leads through loosely planted pines and deciduous trees, close to the edge of the forest, and then skirts a pasture in Bakonykútipuszta. Here you're squeezed between a fork and trees, but at least you get a nice view of the low plateaus and mountains of the area. From the dolomite rocky terrain with black pine groves, you descend steeply into a small ditch and then go straight down again. With slight undulations, we walk through a slightly "savannah" grove in summer, skirting small dolomite boulders, until we reach Gúttamási, where the path turns right to the top of Bogrács Hill. In the hollows of the terrain, with a bit of luck, you may come across cans still inscribed in Cyrillic.

You reach the plateau, where a wide grassy plateau with a grassy moorland all the way to the top of Owl Mountain opens up, but the signpost quickly leads you into the trees. On the other side of the clump of trees, benches and tables offer a rest - worth taking advantage of as a more monotonous section follows. You start to descend through mixed woodland, briefly crossing the access road to the training area, and after a left turn, a steep descent to the highway, with a sign and railing next to the closed opening of an air shaft (ventilation shaft) of the bauxite mine at Kincsesbánya.

Walk along the tarmac for a short distance, then leave it to the left and continue on relatively flat ground through mixed farm woodland dominated by oaks. We avoid another, less noticeable, reminder of the former bauxite mining industry in Treasure Mine, a tailings pile. Produced from the 1940s until 1999, the field was the third largest bauxite deposit in the country, with a total of nearly 23 million tonnes of raw material extracted. (The settlement was named not after the raw material, but after the neighbouring Treasure Hill, which was named after the remains of nummulites, also known as the coin of St. Lazarus.)

The relatively monotonous section, which eventually descends gently and then crosses an enclosed forest, leads to the Kincsesbánya resort's service road at the end of a power line. After the relatively dry Bakony landscape, you may be a little surprised to see the Fehérvárcsurgó reservoir, which suddenly appears in the trees and you are walking along its banks. In 1971, the former cabbage fields were used to create a valley-closing lake, which was needed to prevent the mine dykes from bursting: the high-yielding Gaja stream was dug under and its water seeped into the cuts. Today it is of tourist interest and has a flood protection role.

As you approach the dam, you come to the rocky side of Kopas Hill, which, despite its short length, is one of the unique sections of the Blue Route: the narrow path, carved into the rocky slope and secured by a railing, leads practically above the lake shore, offering a spectacular view of the reservoir and the wooded hills beyond, hiding the Gaja Gorge. To add to the Mediterranean atmosphere, in autumn the trail is dressed in bright colours by the tamarisk trees, and there is also a stamp: a stamp box hangs on a handrail at a rare panoramic stamping point on the National Blue Trail.

Fehérvárcsurgó - Bodajk

We walk along the dam on the north-eastern shore of the lake, the view is still excellent, but soon the signposts turn next to holiday homes and we reach the edge of Fehérvárcsurgó. Avoiding the village famous for its Károlyi Castle, you cross the road and leave the lake between holiday homes and tidy little cellars. Crossing the gate signposting the Gaja Gorge, you approach the valley through a dense oak forest, but there is still a short walk before you enter. A short detour at the junction of the P and K signs will take you to the two early Iron Age burial mounds, where ancestral remains from the 7th century BC are buried.

After some major bends and a slight descent, you reach the valley floor where, although you can't see it through the trees, you are now on the Gaja. Soon you will see the Trout Lake, the excursion centre of the Gaja Valley Landscape Centre, on your left. A bridge appears just after the "tree-trunked" lined with ivy, and although the Blue Trail does not cross it, it is worth taking a short detour to walk back to the lakeshore. The clearing with the lake, surrounded by wooded hills, is lined with sheltered resting places, and in summer there is a buffet and toilets, an idyllic spot for a rest.

Returning to the K sign, we plunge into the gorge. You might not even look out of the languidly gurgling stream, but in its earlier, more exuberant days it carved dramatic shapes out of the ridge crests below, carving a narrow valley into the body of the dolomite block. (Presumably, the prominent mountain caused the stream to turn away, so it did not flow on towards Bodajk, instead of the Móri ditch.) St Stephen was already fond of the idyllic landscape, and of course he came here to hunt, where the Károlyi family later established a hunting garden.

After the first right-hand bend, you cross a rocky gorge: the path follows the ledge of the stone wall, above a stream that bends at right angles. Looking back, it's a picturesque sight: the dolomite boulder that flows into the stream is covered in a continuous carpet of amber, and on the far side the water laps around the washed-out root braid of an old oak. The bank and path bend to the left, with a steep, rocky slope to the right, before another narrow section of trail leads to the next bridge, with the Adam and Eve tree beside it. This decayed, arching giant tree was once a bridge across the stream, but is now just a stump lying on the river, named because it is said to have been formed by two twisted specimens. Eve had fallen down earlier (in the mid-20th century), Adam was destroyed by fire, but stood until 2013, when it broke up.

The valley is sometimes wider, sometimes narrower, but all along it follows a meandering, broad by local standards, mountainous-looking stream, whose special feature is that its bed has been preserved in its original form - it has not been altered to make way for a wagon road or a railway embankment. The next bend is where the water flows fastest, as it is thoroughly squeezed by the marcona cliffs of the two hillsides; and although not everywhere visible from the trees, the ridge soon appears on our right. There are also signs describing the geology of the valley, and on the path branching off to the right we can take a closer look at the bedding rocks. Higher up in the large rocky block, in a well hidden place, is the Sobri Jóska cave, where the famous Bakony outlaw is said to have spent several nights. (Do not try to climb up to the cave, the trap is very difficult to walk, dangerous!)

The path turns right here, and leads up a steep, rocky steep slope with a beautiful view of the gorge with its rocky sides and the ridge. You will need to use your hands at one or two points as you climb over a sloping, rough dolomite slab. At the top, you follow the edge of the gorge, and from a point you can look down again on the valley, whose dramatic shapes are mostly hidden by the forest (you can also look north towards Balinka).

When you reach the forest, the path turns sharp left, and here, following the K▲ sign, you can reach (in about 2x10 minutes) the iron terrace of the Károlyi Lookout. It's worth adding this detour to the hike, because from here you can see the whole valley with its rocky sides and even the reservoir.

Cross the ridge in a higher, more uniform forest (oak forest) than the one below, with a short climb, and exit through the gateway to the Gaja Valley Landscape Centre. We descend into the town through the dense youthful forest, along the old ski slope of Bodajk, from the edge of which, next to the old ski lift, we can see the opposite slope of the Vértes, with Csókakő Castle in the middle (although you have to look for the white eagle's nest perched on the rocks to spot it). This was the only ski slope in Fejér County from 1985 until its closure in 2012.

Bodajk is a long winding road until you reach the peaceful Fenyő bistro at the crossroads of the main road, where you can find the stamp at the counter.