Tatra Mountains 2011

July 23th – 26th

By Watracz Is Traveling

Day 1: Morskie Oko, Rysy

July 23th, 2011

I arrive by a bus from Lublin to Zakopane on Saturday afternoon. After finding accommodation and unpacking, I go for a short city tour and try local food. The next day, I wake up around 5 am, make a quick breakfast, pack my equipment, and take a bus to Palenica Białczańska. My challenge for today is to reach the top of Rysy, the highest peak of Polish Tatra Mountains (2,499 m.a.s.l.). I’m very excited, as the last time I was in Tatra Mountains around 10 years ago. I wonder if I will find some familiar places.

Morskie Oko

The weather is quite bad, visibility is limited, and the sky is full of clouds. I can’t see the mountains around me, and it rains from time to time. I put on my waterproof jacket, put a cover on my backpack, and take a slow hike to the Morskie Oko lake. After a few hours of walking, I get to the lake, located at 1,495 m.a.s.l. The fog is so dense, that you can’t even see the lake itself, not to mention the mountains around it. I’m a little upset and angry, because I expected the weather to be much better. I rest at the shelter, eat sandwiches and drink hot tea while waiting until the fog settles. Luckily, with each moment I can see more mountains, so I take a few photos and start heading towards Czarny Staw (the Black Pond).

Dwoista Siklawa Waterfall

Czarnostawiańska Siklawa Waterfall

Czarny Staw

There is only a handful of tourists on the trail, and most of them turns back around Morskie Oko; very few decide to go forward because of the unexpected bad weather. I meet two guys near Czarny Staw who say that they also head towards Rysy. I join them in hiking to the top.

The Path To Rysy

The ascent to Rysy from Czarny Staw is becoming steeper; those guys have a rapid tempo, and I can barely keep up with them. At some point, I decide to separate from them, because I’m too tired and I want to keep my own pace. The fog gets thicker; you can see just a few meters ahead. I can’t actually tell for sure whether I’m going the right direction or not.

I try to be careful to not lose the path and climb gradually. A moment later, I see those two guys again. They decided to turn back, because the fog is too dense to keep moving. I still decide to move forward.

I take a break to have a snack and to rest for a while. Shortly after that, I meet some tourists heading towards the top of the mountain, so I decide to go up with them. After a while we part ways; we have different tempos. The fog is so dense, I loose the track and I walk up on very slippery rocks, definitely not going the right direction. Finally, I glimpse shapes of other people in the fog; so I realize where to go. A few minutes later, I hear someone screaming: apparently somebody got lost and his friends are looking for him.

It starts raining and the path becomes more difficult, leading up through chains, wet and slippery from the rain. My hands are tired, I don’t have proper gloves, and I can’t see how long I have left to go up. The closer to the peak, the more difficult the trail is. The group of hikers that I saw before fell apart and turned back, and only one person went forward.

Rysy (2,499 m.a.s.l.)

Around 2 p.m I finally reach the summit. Because of the fog, I can‘t see anything, but still I have a big smile on my face, because I made it! I meet the guy from the group I was walking with before, and he takes some photos for me. A moment of rest and I’m preparing to go down.

Descent from Rysy

Going down seems to be even more difficult than the way up. The rocks are slippery, my stamina is almost gone, so is the water; and it’s getting late. I lost too much time taking photos, and it’s still a long way ahead. On my way down, I meet 3 more people heading up, but I’m quite worried whether they will make it before dusk, or whether they plan to spend the night in the shelter.

Near the Czarny Staw, the visibility improves and the path becomes easier. As I reach Morskie Oko, after more than 10 hours of hiking in mountains, I barely have enough strength to keep going. Unfortunately, all the carriages to Palenica Białczańska are already gone, so I have to walk back. After a few more hours, exhausted, I reach the bus station and I manage to catch the last one to Zakopane. It’s 9:30 pm.

Day 2: Resting and reading a book

July 24th, 2011

The previous day exhausted me, and my muscles hurt a lot, so I decide to stay in bed, read a book and relax. In the afternoon, I take a walk to Krupówki Street to eat some good local food and gain energy for the next day.

Day 3: The Valley of Roztoka

July 25th, 2011

I wake up before sunrise, eat a quick breakfast and take a bus to Palenica Białczańska once again. I walk till I reach the Wodogrzmoty Mickiewicza waterfall, and then I take a right turn to the Valley of Roztoka. The weather has vastly improved, so there are many more people on the trail.

The Siklawa Waterfall

After some two hours of walking and taking photos, I start to hear the Siklawa waterfall - the biggest waterfall in the Tatra mountains; around 70 meters high. The landscapes here are very impressive, so I take a lot of photos and rest a while next to the waterfall eating my second breakfast.

The Valley of Five Polish Lakes

When I reach Wielki Staw (the Great Lake), it starts raining and it gets foggy, so I put on my waterproof clothes, and try to not take out my camera too much. The lakes are crystal clear. I can see the stony bottom and rocks protruding out of the surface of the water.

Going towards the shelter, I pass two more lakes - Mały Staw (the Little Lake) & Przedni Staw (the Foremost Lake). The rain gets stronger. I rest for a while at the shelter before moving on.

Going in the direction of Morskie Oko, I pass summits like Świstowa Czuba (1,763 m.a.s.l.) and Kępa (1,683 m.a.s.l.). The trail is very wet and muddy because of the rain, and I have to be careful to not twist my ankle.

After a few hours I finally reach Morskie Oko lake, and take a horse carriage to Palenica Białczańska. The next morning I take a bus and go home from Zakopane to Lublin.