It was cloudy and dark when I woke up in the heart of the Tatra Mountains before sunrise. Driving from my home in Warsaw the previous day, I was weary from sitting in the car for hours. Rysy, Poland’s highest mountain, nestled on granite cliffs on the Poland and Slovakia border is a strenuous, eleven mile (one-way), via ferrata ascent, overlooking some of Poland's most beautiful lakes. The first part of the hike, 9km, took us along a concrete road where horse-pulled carriages went up and down to gather people for an easier ride to Morskie Oko (Eye of the Sea), the grandest lake in the mountain range. Thousands of people would hike or carriage-ride to Morskie Oko that day; only a handful would actually decide to attempt the summit. Once at the lake, we started our hike up to the upper lake, Czarny Staw (Black Pond). |
PolandWiktoria Plawska Archives
July 2014
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