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October 21, 2021

High Tatras

A getaway in the highest range of the Carpathian Mountains.

Rocky ridges offer a blend of refreshing relaxation and pleasing visuals. One comes with respect for nature, and they deliver an effective de-stressing package. No sophisticated math, a temporary escape to the mountains equals a win.

Such a break was long overdue; a lot has happened lately. And so, offsetting the scale of recent events by visiting the High Tatras mountains, crowned giants of the country where I currently live, sounded like a fair call. The Tatras hinted that they would be a treat just as we parked below them, and the further we went, the better the views got.

We hiked towards the Pod Rysmi mountain hut, which, at 2,250 m a.s.l., is the highest-placed cabin in Slovakia. We planned to stay there. The trail was well built, but carrying a relatively heavy backpack up there proved to be a challenge.

First, my knee reminded me that I had broken it some years ago; and second, the higher altitude had little mercy for my lowland-spoiled lungs. The mountain tops were obscured in clouds, and we climbed right up there.

But it wasn't all that bad: I happily took a bit of knee discomfort, considering that doctors told me back then that I'd likely never walk normally again. I wished they would see me now, darn pessimists! And as for the oxygen shortage, it reminded me of the hike to the American Basin I did in Colorado, also a nice thought. Add the pleasant company, and it felt like we got to the hut in no time.

The hut's ground floor, which serves as a restaurant, is furnished with tables made from large logs, and the interior centrepiece is a massive wood-burning stove. There is no electricity available for guests, nor is there cell phone reception. As a result, folks tell stories instead of checking their social networks every few moments. It is somewhat odd that this has become a notable feature, but here we are.

While everyone here was on detox from the things that come with cellular networks, many guests offset it with a different kind of intoxication. The drinking culture in Slovakia is huge, and the hut was a living example of it. Although they even had a sign on display, saying, "This is a mountain hut, not a pub; behave accordingly," we saw exuberant moves and heard passionate singing. Later, some guests managed to return to the infant stage, unable to walk, talk, or keep their stomachs together. Yet, when I went to bed upstairs, I had a good sleep. I learned from my mistakes, and earplugs were the first thing I packed for this trip.

When we ate a hearty breakfast the next morning, the justifiably pissed hut manager told us that a mountain rescue team had to come during the early hours to help someone. A strange culture, we agreed, and set off on our plan for the day: to scale a 2,547 m tall, spiky summit nearby, called Vysoká. The sun was out; better make good use of it.

Morning views from the saddle near the Pod Rysmi Hut, absolute heaven!

My knee protested as we left the hut, and gaining the first 100 meters of elevation wasn't fun. "How the heck am I going to survive the entire day?" I thought. However, the fresh outlooks soon paid off, and all was well.

After reaching the saddle, a well-graded trail gave way to a set of goat paths, providing ample opportunity for accuracy practice. In a way, it was like climbing stairs, only here, the stairs were shoe-sized, and misplacing a step could mean an extended tumble. The good thing is that the Tatras' granite is super grippy. That is, unless wet. Not that it rained, but sections of the path had patches of snow. Adventurous, it was!

Through this concentration game, we entered clouds again — they were there since yesterday, only a few hundred meters higher. It was then that I realized that my knee situation actually improved. Perhaps it was a combination of the required focus, which didn't permit distractive thoughts about pain, and the steep gradient, allowing me to pull myself up with my arms and unweight my knees; it worked miracles. Paradoxically, the rough surface suited me much better than the mellow one. Yey!

If you ever hiked with me somewhere, the chances are that you heard me saying that it could be better if we were cycling. Here I could, for once, happily admit that this terrain was much better without a bike. Another yay!

At one point, there were iron rungs in the rocks to aid with the climb, which triggered memories of urban climbing I did; some of the structures had similar steps. Then it clicked..

Suddenly, the movements synchronized, arms, legs, left, right, up; easy! The height and the knee ceased to bring worries anymore, and I felt great. This is why we came for!

On Vysoká's pinnacle, the wind blew fiercely, and the visibility was rather poor. Still, we decided to chill up there for a bit anyway, and the sun started to pierce the fog. Eventually, it formed a stunning halo effect; seeing our shade cast on a cloud below us was superb.

The sheer excitement lasted as we started descending. The clouds continued to rise, revealing the drops underneath the mountain. Getting down also provided us with a shield from the wind, and this meant one thing: picnic time.

The weather wasn't done yet. Departing clouds created a spectacular show:

Such outlooks motivated us to climb a peak nearby, Rysy, where we planned to watch the sunset. And oh, that was an affair...

While we were there outside the peak season, we still encountered others, as Rysy is quite a touristy summit. Besides Slovaks, we met people from Austria, Czechia, Germany, Poland, even two gals from the US. What's fantastic about meeting folks in places like this is that everyone is on the same boat. Regardless of where they are from, you can bet that they have some affection for nature and adventure, a common ground to build a conversation on. In a way, being in the mountains is like being on Erasmus – so cool! Furthermore, as it takes a bit of effort to climb up here, everyone around looks terrific regardless of age.

We chatted, enjoyed the scenery, and then commenced the descent.

Once back at the hut, we chatted some more, and then some people started playing piano and guitar, singing. The fire cracked in the stove, and it was wonderful beyond words.

As mentioned, the hut's quite basic in terms of facilities. One has to do the hygiene outside. A quick task yesterday, but since the sky cleared today, I extended brushing my teeth by almost an hour, watching the stars. They were the brightest I've seen in a long time, and with the dark silhouettes of the mountains underneath... I cannot imagine a better way to conclude the day.

The following morning, we learned that the clouds had returned and formed a thick blanket over the peaks once more. No bother, we opted to do a hike consisting of a few lakes and a ridge nearby, which we started by following a pristine stream.

With the increasing steepness of the terrain, the river soon transformed into a waterfall that we had to circumvent. The scene of low-hanging grey sky, waterfalls, and a mountain lake reminded me of a hike I did in the Highlands. The difference was that here didn't feel as remote. Either we saw other hikers around, or there was a weather station nearby.

That wasn't a concern, tho. There was plenty of room for everyone, and the reduced visibility was atmospheric, likeable.

It also added a bonus challenge to navigate through. Thankfully, there were small pyramids made from rocks that made it more of a playful diversion than a struggle.

Kind of like on Helvellyn, I thought. This impression got more support as steep slopes started to edge our path; sure enough, we reached the ridge.

The ridge leads to a mountain named Mengusovský Volovec. While it was certain that there wouldn't be any distant views waiting for us, we decided that we might as well scramble up anyway since we were here.

Then, we resumed touring some of the lakes.

As we did, the weather started to change again. First, we could actually see...

...and later, the sun saturated the textures around.

Even though we were tired after the day of walking, the weather development fueled our will to head for more outlook-scoring action.

Hazed first, clear later. Just in time for another sunset.

As the sun fell past the horizon, clouds started their comeback. Back at the hut, I wrote down notes for this post, went out to brush my teeth, and called it a day.

The clouds brought rain the next day. But as all we had ahead of us was getting down the hills and returning to Bratislava, it was all right.