Polish Tatra Mountains - weekend trip to "The 5 Lakes Valley"

[PiterM]

As I said here (http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45955) I decided to go for a short trip to the mountains. Weekend trip, of which 2 days we spent in the heart of Polish Tatra Mountains, and exaclty in "The 5 Lakes Valley" - probably the most beautiful place in Poland I'm aware of! No kidding!

Our equipment was quite simple - slipping bags, first-aid, knife, camera and a lot of TAD Gear stuff. I packed Ranger Hoodie, Raptor v.3, Merino Equilibrium, Braincase, Cargo pants, old school shirt and shemagh. Some basic food & water of course. My wife took her Explorer Jacket and some other stuff. Plus maps, headlight, sporks, towels and usual adventure gear. I put most of that stuff into my P.S. and my wife took EDC. Together we had 42L + 30L of storage, just enough for our trip.

Priority One - get to the 5-Lakes mountain shelter. Couple of hours mountain walk with difference of levels 2300ft. Sounds great, doesn't it?

Getting there... killer views! We had AWESOME wheather, sunny but not too hot. Early Fall is the best time to explore Tatra. And finally - we're there! 5 Lakes Valley!

Most people would call it a day and enjoy beer in front of the shelter, but I decided to take the test to the limits (at least my limits). I wanted to climb up further to the place called "Goat's Col", which is the "sharpest" and most V-like col there. And that means another 1600 ft. up! When starting in the morning from the shelter it's a cool trip, but just after getting to 5 Lakes it was A REAL challenge for me. WIth my P.S. v.2 bag of course, to test it to the limits. And this time it was not just "a walk"...

 

[PiterM]

And suddenly... ****! On my way up my shoe broke. Didn't know how & why, but it did. Hell, I was too close to give up! I used my Harsey knife and piece of the lace and "sewed" it together and continued my way up...

And after some serious climbing... I was there, on The Goat's Col. It's as serious as they say. With snow & ice. And yes, you need to climb chains & bolts to get there. The Goats Col belongs to Eagle's Ridge Trail, the most dangerous place in Polish Tatra. Imagine that more than 100 people died there since they opened it in 1906.

Beautifutl place. When you get there... nothing else maters, it's only you and the dangerous nature of that place. Love that feeling!

And the way back:

Killer views again:

When I got back to the shelter, well, the day was over. I was totally exhausted. I couldn't walk any more. I just grabbed my beer and took some rest. That was day well spent!

The next morning was very windy. We had to climb down with all our gear on our backs. Time to get back home...

And... that's it. The fun is over.

The TAD Gear F.A.S.T. P.S. v.2 made that adventure really enjoyable. It's a great pack for walking, but also for climbing. It's big enough to get all gear needed for couple_days_long trip, but small enough for climbing places like The Goat's Col. I could easily fit 3L STORM Camelbak in the hydration compartment of P.S. The internal frame is really well designd - my back was well ventilated but the load (weight center) was still quite close to my body so the ballance was really very good! I won't say much about the construction itself here (check my "preview" thread for that) but it's simply bombproof, superb, TAD class. I can recommend that pack to anyone, who needs serious 3-day pack. It's a tool, not a gadget.

 

[Shewie]

Great pictures Piter

That place looks stunning, thanks for sharing

 

[Mistwalker]

WOW!! Those are stunning...breath-taking pictures.

What are the patches on your pack?

 

[DavidJT]

Great trip and pics, thanks for posting. Particularly like the backlit shot across the lake with the lens flare, gives me the feeling of being there.
Been thinking of a trip to The Tatra Mountains for years, but always end up in Scandinavia for family reasons. I've always heard that it's stunning, and very reasonable value.
Do you have any links or suggestions which would show where to fly in to, and how to get from the airport to the best areas of the Tatras? Or to possible mountain refuges?

 

[Steve13]

Simply stunning great photos

 

[hammock monkey]

I went to the Tatras this year - amazing place, cant wait to go back!
I stayed in Zacopane, which is easy (and cheap) to get to from Krakow, but its touristy but that means lots of places to eat, shops etc. It makes a good base.
Next time I go I hope it'll be a proper mountain walking holiday. I'd use Zacopane as my start point and hire a 4x4. From there its easy enough to get right up into the mountains, the town is literally on the edge of them.
You dont really here of Brits going there much, its mostly Polish holiday makers, but its a really great holiday spot.....cant recomend it highly enough!

Great pics Piter - looks like an excellent trip(Jenqui bardzo!) , wish I was there right now!
cheers

 

[nolightweight]

Awesome pictures Piter. Dziekuje.

There are some truly beautiful places in Poland. I first went to the Tatra's in Jan 07 and had a fantastic couple of walks there.

Zakopane is a great place.

Might go back before the year is out and visit a few folk.

 

[Peterlee_Paddler]

Great place.
I spent two weeks there last year, inluding the High Tatry over the border.
Nice pics, Piter.
I aim to go back again when I'm fitter!

 

[EdS]

goods great.

I picked up a copy of the 1:25 000 walkingmap of the area last year - keep eyeing it up.

 

[gsfgaz]

brilliant pictures... stunning views

 

[john wings]

Wonderful Pics;my sort of trip;
Thanks
JW

 

[PiterM]

What are the patches on your pack?

first is TAD GEAR patch (www.tadgear.com)

second is limited CRI patch. I admit, I'm Jason Bourne fan! And much of the intrigue in "The Bourne Ultimatum" movie takes place in the New York offices of Controlled Resources International (CRI), the front company that serves as the CIA’s deep cover... “This is NSA priority level 4. Any questions?”