I travelled up to Luton the day before and stayed at the esayHotel, the easyJet hotel brand. The room can only be described as a prefabricated box with just enough room to swing a hamster but it was clean and comfortable. The evening was spent having a cheeky Nando’s and several drinks at the White House Weatherspoon’s getting to know the four ladies, Jayne, Debbie, Leanne and Fiona, who were to become my trekking mums over the next few days. It was my first time flying out of Luton which as airports go is very adequate at best. We met various other members of our group at the Wizz Air check in desks so Weronika, the organiser of the trip, could make sure all thirty-eight of us made it and so we could hand over our trekking poles to be checked in. After a short delay we were on our way. I was lucky enough to be issued a window seat in the same isle as Dan from head office and Jess from the GLL Collage for the two-and-a-half-hour flight to Katowice. Krakow was a closer airport to our destination of the Tatra National Park but Katowice must have been cheaper and where the powers that be decided to fly us to. Four and a half hours on a coach and we were dropped off at Polana Palenica Białczańska, a car park at the bottom of the national park trail. I call it a trail, I was a beautifully smooth road that gradually climbed up to our hostel at the end. Schronisko PTTK Morskie Oko on the shores of Lake Morskie Oko consists of the Old Building (the oldest mountain hut in the Tatra mountains) and the New Building (opened in 1908 making it not that new anymore) and is a Tatra institution run by the Łapiński family since the end of the Second World War. It houses dorm rooms for the weary travellers along with a bar and restaurant for the numerous day trippers. It was quite late when we arrived because of the average flight delay and the average pace of the group but the staff running the joint were very accommodating. After a quick ice breaker and a run through of the next days route it was shower time and bed.
The original plan was to walk around lakes Morskie Oko and Czarny Staw pod Rysami and peak Rysy which was 2499m on the Polish side and 2503 on the Slovakian side. This had to be abandoned due to snow in that valley the week before we arrived along with not having crampons and ice axes to get us to the top. The new plan was to walk over the top to Schronisko PTTK w Dolinie Pięciu Stawów Polskich, the highest mountain hut in the Tatra on lake Przedni Staw. After having lunch there with a couple of pints we were given a couple of options. Option 1. Take the “Green Route” back down the mountain to the road and head back up to the hostel from there. It was a longer route than the “Blue Route” we used over the top but in theory would be easier. Option 2. Do an optional “Black Route” to the top of Kozi Wierch at 2291m and then head back. It was a 50/50 split between those who would do the black route and those who would head back to the hostel. I chose to try the black route. It started with a nice warm up along the lake with a gentle incline and then it just goes straight up. By halfway up the legs were screaming at me and it was tempting to turn around and go back down but if it was easy everyone would do it so you just need to get your head down and crack on. Thirteen of us got to the peak together after roughly two and a half hours and after a couple minutes taking in the views watching the storm move around we worked out it was heading our way. With that in mind we covered up and retreated down the mountain with another six still to make the summit. They were just a minute from the top when we passed them on the way down. As it turned out my waterproof jacket wasn’t that waterproof when the rain gets to a certain degree of intensity. It could be said it regains its water-resistant capability when saturated and can no longer absorb anymore so it drips off at the cuffs or the bottom. It took less than half the time to get back down the bottom where we took shelter from the rain, had another beer and tried to dry off a bit. Some members of my summit party left after a while to head back to our hostel for dinner. Four of us remained until the summit stragglers joined us an hour later. The green route back started off as a black route purely based on the steepness of the decent into the river valley before it flattened out and became a lot more pleasant. We followed the river through the forest for just over an hour and a half, only coming across fiver other people before reaching the road. We tried several attempts to convince some of the cart drivers to turn their massive horses round and take us back up the road but they were done for the day and were having none of it so we had to walk the last hour and a bit back to the hostel. We passed the time quizzing each other on general knowledge. We made it back an hour after dinner started and my trekking mothers had all waited up for me to make sure I got back ok and was fed properly. And fed properly I was with everyone giving me their food. Another beer and a shower later and I was all tuckered out and tucked up in bed.
A new day brought new options. 1. Walk the 25 kilometers in to the town Zakapone where we would spend our last night in Poland. 2. Take a leisurely walk around the lake by our hostel then walk down to the car park and catch a local bus into town. I went for the second option. The walk around the lake was beautiful, took about an hour, was surprisingly busy for the 9am start in the middle of nowhere and only got busier as time went on. By the time we got back the hostel and lake front were rammed with day trippers. And they just kept coming. It started raining again as we heading down the mountain to the car park and by the time we got to the bottom we were all soaked to the bone again. This didn’t stop others making the long walk up to the PTTK, some of which were severally unprepared in with no jackets, just in vests, socks and sandals or tiny shorts and tank tops. Others took shelter under trees waiting for it to pass. They would be there a while. It took twenty minutes to get into town on the bus and the hostel was just a short walk away on the main commercial street. We stayed in Top Hostel. It was a nice little place right in the centre with friendly staff and a communal and social area. In the other hostel there were four of us sharing a room meant for six, in this one there were nine of us, four girls in a side room and five guys in the main room. There was one toilet and shower between us. Luckily, I had inside knowledge of two people who had one to themselves so I used that one. After spreading half our bags around the room to try and dry the casualties of the rain I headed off to have a quick stroll around the town before reuniting with the others for dinner. I felt very under-dressed with the amount of effort some put into getting post trek dinner ready. We ate at Góralska Tradycja Restauracja Kawiarnia, a restaurant of a standard I was not expecting. It was full of hand crafted wooden balustrades, well dressed waiting staff and our names printed on our seating and menu cards. First four course menu I remember having. A beer and a couple shots late and we were off to a bar called La Scandale Zakapone. The place was in a seedy area but was very nice inside and the music was mostly alright. I could just about join in with most songs with my limited range of dance moves. Shortly after our arrival Dan decided he wanted a souvenir in the form of one of the Tiki head cocktail mugs. He formed “The Brain Trust” to create a plan that would result in him acquiring one and walk out unchallenged. The original team consisted of Dan, myself, James, Kelly, Jess and Georgina. We were selected for our skills or because we were in ear shot when it was discussed with others. This nearly resulted in the team involving the whole trekking party by the end. Dan was convinced the bar staff were on to us before he even wanted the tiki head so the plan got more and more elaborate with various forms of slight of hand. I was to enquire about what drink was put into the cup, Jess was to order the drink, Georgina and James were to be openly seen drinking it, Kelly was going to hide it in her bag and then Dan would somehow walk out with it. The first three parts of the plan happened but not sure how it ended as I don’t remember when Dan left but he did walk out with one. Apart from a bunch of us having to get involved to protect the younger girls from unwanted attention from some angry little Turkish boy and the sweatiest, roided up gym addict on earth invading the dance circle and grazing his discussing sweaty body against ours it was a good night. It’s a rare, but I was the last man standing!
Later on that morning was a bit groggy for some of us. Luckily unlike the other suckers in my room I didn’t need to que for a shower and all we had to do that day consisted of buying souvenirs and travel home. A fridge magnet, some smoked cheese, a four hour coach trip back to Katowice Airport, a two and a half hour flight back to Luton and an hour and a half drive back to Reading and the trip had come to an end. I will definitely return to give Rysy a shot at some point.
