First trip to the Tatras

Report on the trip to High Tatras (Poland) in June 2016

I have long wanted to get to the Polish Tatras. It was interesting for me to look at the European approach to hiking - equipped routes, shelters, and other delights of civilization. But as often happens, these mountains exceeded my expectations - despite being “civilized” and crowded, the Tatras gave us two tons of adrenaline and a lot of quite “adult” mountain landscapes. This is a place where there is something to return for. And the proximity to home makes the Tatras a convenient platform for training and “holiday” outings.

Day one. Koscieliska Valley

Having grabbed the essentials (lunch and raincoats), we returned to the car and drove to the village of Kira. The popular walking route along the Kościeliska Valley begins there.

It is a completely flat valley surrounded by forested mountains. Along the bottom, parallel to the river, there is a good dirt road along which numerous vacationers march.

Quite often you see mothers with strollers, although the road seemed not level enough for me to push babies here.

Motor vehicles are not allowed here. But there are horse-drawn cabs. It's quite a long way to get to the caves, so it might make sense to drive up a little.

At first we were worried that the caves would be as crowded as the walking trail. But as soon as we took a couple of steps away from the highway, there were very few people.

On the way up to Raptavicka Cave we encountered safety chains for the first time. They help overcome difficult rocky areas.

The Raptavicka cave itself is a large cave-in grotto with a good stainless steel staircase. It's cool here and you can poke around a little in the side tunnels.

At first we didn’t understand the Soap Cave - we thought it was short. We took a photo at the panoramic window, made a circle around the tunnel and were ready to leave. But then I noticed a marking in the darkness and the real adventure began.

We crawled 300 meters along a narrow, low and cold hole. We covered a significant part of the path moving on our haunches through puddles. This took a little longer than planned and the guys who were left to guard things began to worry (you can’t communicate with the dungeon by radio).

Next time you will need to not take anything into the cave at all - even the smallest backpack interferes with crawling.

To de-stress after wandering around in the dark, we sat down for lunch at the Ornac shelter. As it turned out, the decision was very timely - a thundercloud flew in and thoroughly watered the surrounding forest and sluggish tourists.

Thanks to the raging elements, most of the vacationers were “washed away” and when we continued the hike, there were almost no people on the trail.

At the Smrechinsky headquarters we were completely alone. The most soulful place. We just hung out there - taking pictures of the fog, chatting about something, basking in the sun.

On the way back we turned into the Wonwuz Krakow gorge. This is a fairly deep canyon with a Nordic character. It would be quite possible to make a movie here about the discoverers of Canada :)

Suddenly it became clear that it was already quite late. There are only 50 minutes left before sunset, and we are still crawling somewhere. It was decided to go around the “wolf pit” (another through cave) and quickly stomp towards the exit.

Our car was the last one in the parking lot. We got home already after dark, terribly tired and slightly hungry. Fortunately, we bought food for dinner in advance.

Day two. Climbing Giewont.

After yesterday's race, my legs were a little buzzing (here's an easy warm-up day for you). To completely torture myself, I put on boots instead of sneakers. I still don’t understand why I did it - the trail was excellent everywhere, there was no snow.

On the way to Giewont we climbed the Chamois Rock. This is a good lookout, but in principle, you can cross it off the route. We need to take care of ourselves.

From the Chamois rock, the Cross on top of Giewont seemed unrealistically far away, and the houses in Zakopane, on the contrary, were very close and completely toy-like. What does this mean? This suggests that there is still sawing and sawing until lunch.

The Siklava waterfall is very small, we went to it simply on principle.

The trail has finally crawled out of the forest and views are starting to appear.

Somewhere beyond that green valley there is a short road to our caves of yesterday. Maybe we can run away?

After another hour we were up enough to see the true character of the High Tatras. The cheerful lawns are left behind - harsh rocks and waist-deep snow await us :)

Before storming the summit, we prudently had lunch. What if you don’t have enough strength at a crucial moment?

The sun hid behind the clouds and for a five-minute afternoon nap I had to pack up lightly.

The last 100 meters to the top turned out to be... the easiest. Apparently, lunch and a break still helped to restore strength.

There were only a couple of people at the top. But in just a couple of weeks the holiday season will begin and there will be crowds.

However, it’s already 5 pm and we’re only halfway through. Will you need flashlights today?

Fortunately, it turned out that the descent is very simple. We quickly run to the Kondratova Khata shelter, drink tea there (and everyone around is drinking beer).

Another hour of forest road and we are in civilization. Before heading home, we stop at the supermarket for groceries. Tomorrow we are leaving Zakopane and we need to buy some goodies.

Day three - Murovanets

Before dawn we arrive at the lower cable car station. Contrary to our expectations, there is no giant queue (which, in fact, was the reason for all the rush).

The cable car takes us into a completely different world. It's cold there, there's a strong wind and it doesn't look like June at all.

Along a good path, we stomp briskly (to warm up) along the ridge.

Ten meters from the path, chamois are fearlessly grazing. Photographers and a couple of amateur zoologists with binoculars are hanging around nearby.

Even on the kurumnik the route is paved - huge boulders are stacked to form a flat path.

At the pass near Svinnitsa we drop our backpacks and take pictures of real black crows. We go to the top lightly.

At some point the girls decide to “wait for us here.” We leave the radio with them and continue to traverse.

The path to the top turned out to be easier and shorter than expected. Only on a short section with loose snow does the participant walking in sandals (!!) slightly slow down.

Just before the summit, we finally have a reason to hold on to the safety chains - we let the Polish group go down.

We see the Valley of Five Lakes for the first time - it is beautiful.

Protocol photo at the top of Svinnitsa.

And this is what the upper cable car station looks like from here.

It is much more convenient to climb chains with gloves on. Any gloves will do, even the cheapest construction gloves.

Oh yes, we are still on the border with Slovakia. One of the border posts is simply painted on a stone.

We pick up our backpacks and continue our descent to the lakes. Below the pass the trail is covered with snow several times - there are slippery sections.

At the first lakes we take a long break with lunch and a midday nap.

We are not the only ones relaxing here - there are many similar tourists around, who suddenly realized the value of warmth and sun.

In theory, crawling uphill should be easier after resting. But we have relaxed a little, and even a small transshipment causes a murmur.

We gathered our will into a fist and crossed the ridge that separated us from the large lake. Of course, we drop everything and rest for half an hour))

The coastal waters are full of vibrant life - fish are splashing in the shallow water, a couple of drakes are chasing a duck with offers of eternal love. The duck is a realist and therefore fiercely fights back and masterfully maneuvers among human legs. This causes sincere delight among tourists and they, despite prohibiting signs, feed the birds with bread.

With difficulty we tear ourselves away from this entertainment program and go to the Murovanets shelter.

The shelter has an excellent shower and constant activity in the dining room. Since we prepare dinner ourselves, we go outside and sit on the tables behind the shelter.

Day four - Trail of Eagles

In the morning, the composition of our expedition for today is finally determined - the girls decide not to go to the radial trail on the Eagles' Trail, but to stay at home. A very correct decision - to be honest, I breathed a sigh of relief.

We quickly return to the large lake (Black Stav) and begin to go around it on the left. The calm water reflects mountain peaks and a clear (for now) sky.

Half an hour later we meet a man who was walking back. It is unlikely that he came from the other side of the pass (it was still very early). Rather, he, like us, started from Murovanets, but now for some reason he is returning....

It took us very little time to understand what made that tourist return.

The couloir leading to the Zavrat pass is thoroughly clogged with snow. In the photos the slope looks quite safe, but then it seemed to us like a vertical wall))

We are trying to move along the marked route to the left of the central couloir. However, in many areas the safety chains are hidden deep under the snow, and without them, crawling along the rocks is quite scary.

Nevertheless, we continue to crawl up, taking further and further to the left - away from the useless markings and chains.

It was quite scary a couple of times, but in the end we managed to get out onto the ridge safe and sound (150 meters to the left of the pass).

To celebrate, we arrange a festive stop right on the trail. We urgently need to celebrate our happy salvation from our own stupidity. I already realized that if we had gone head-on, through the snow, we would have been at the pass a long time ago.

The good news is that we are not the only crazy people on this attraction. While we were drinking tea and recovering, several Poles with equally adventurous tastes passed by. How nice it is to meet like-minded people!

Meanwhile, the weather deteriorates. Clouds rolled in and it got a little colder. If a thunderstorm catches us on the ridge, it will be very difficult to hide.

We start moving along the ridge. We quickly understand that the Zavrat pass was just a worthy introduction, and not the last test.

We cross snow-covered areas several times, where the safety chains also got stuck. To at least somehow insure ourselves, at each step we hammer shortened trekking poles into the snow and cut down steps.

After the snow, even vertical sections with chains seem like a kindergarten - not because it’s easy, but because it’s reliable. It's nice to have a point of reference.

The movement speed is extremely low. We spend more than 2 hours on the key 700 meters of the route.

I took only one lens for this radial lens - 11-16 wide. In general, I was not mistaken with my choice - most of the pictures had to be taken point-blank, without any opportunity to engage in artistic activities (holding onto the chains with one hand). However, at times, the ability to catch the facial expressions of fellow travelers was greatly lacking. Therefore, next time I will definitely take something longer with me to the Eagle Trail))

At the top of Koziy Verkh we meet a Polish climber with a “kit” for a via ferrata. According to him, our today's track is quite simple. But in February it was really interesting here)) As you can see, everything is relative.

Beyond the summit a much easier section of the route begins. We speed up and within an hour we are looking with curiosity at our Eagle Trail from the opposite side of the “circus” - from the Garnets.

Yes, it’s only an hour and a half before sunset, and my flashlight’s batteries are almost dead. If the descent stretches out, it won't be very fun...

We were lucky - the trip to Goat Valley turned out to be excellent. A serpentine path paved with stones ran down the mountain in a matter of minutes. It was only 38 minutes - compared to the time spent passing Orel Perts, this is simply nothing.

At sunset we passed Black Lake and with the last rays of the sun we burst into the Murovanets shelter. The entire adventure took over 12 hours. And this is without queues along the route! It's scary to think what's going on here during the holiday season...

Day five - Five stakes

After breakfast we leave Murovanets again, this time in full force and with a full load. We are moving to another shelter, in a neighboring valley.

The first hour we walk through the forest, then it gives way to dwarf trees.

The weather is not brilliant - rain begins to spatter periodically, the sky is overcast. It’s so good that we walked the Eagles’ Trail yesterday.

Contrary to its name, the Kryzhne Pass turns out to be practically free of snow and ice. Those 15 meters that we had to traverse across the snowfield can not be taken into account.

From the pass we can already see our overnight stay, but there is still a fair amount of walking. We send a messenger ahead to fill up space in the shelter.

Crap! We had to have lunch first and then split up.

The shelter looks gorgeous against the backdrop of the lake.

The Valley of the Five Polish Lakes reminded me a lot of Norway with its landscapes and weather.

When we were already approaching the shelter, rescuers walked towards us. They carried the tourist on a stretcher to the helipad. It turned out that she was a school teacher accompanying the children's group. As I understand it, she severely twisted her leg.

As soon as we entered the shelter, the rain began to pour. We're definitely lucky. Then for another couple of hours tourists poured in, soaking wet, who had not taken the CORRECT raincoats.

The shelter has a kitchenette for tourists, mattresses are covered with leatherette and there are double bunk beds.

Day six - Morskie Oko

The easiest day of the hike. We effortlessly cross from the Valley of Five Streams to the Valley of the Fish Stream.

There is a large lake (Morskoe Oko), a large shelter and a large mountain (Rysy Peak). Unlike previous shelters, there are a hell of a lot of people here. We didn’t have any chance of getting a place in the shelter (and we didn’t really want to), so we decide to go down to Zakopane.

But that’s later, but first we need to have a snack.

And then feed the birds (nutcrackers, I think).

And then take a walk around the lake.

When we took photos at the upper lake (Cherny Stav), we got a good look at the path to the top of Rysy Peak. She was 50% under the snow.

Later, we drank tea next to the Poles, who were discussing their unsuccessful attempt at climbing. Like, it’s good that we turned back. And the guys had crampons and ice axes and helmets...

And we had a reserve of optimism and a great desire to get to the supermarket early. Therefore, we postponed the ascent to Rysy until next year and ran down to the city.

P.S. The Tatras are a great place for hiking. Especially if you are not afraid of heights and cramped shelters))

Video from this trip to the Tatras