Planes, trains and...

Really more like trains, trams, but mostly foot-power. We just returned from a holiday week-end of hiking in the High Tatras. Olga (Lutheran Church) had organized everything so we took advantage of her expertise and connections to enjoy our first trip to the mountains. Most of us met at the train station in Bratislava for what was about a 4 and 1/2 hour trip via IC train, the intracity express trains. Two of the teachers joined us at the Liptovsky Mikolas stop and our group made twelve.

The High Tatras (Vysoke Tatry) is the highest Czech/Slovak range in the Carpathian mountains, the rim that separates Poland from Slovakia and goes into Romania. I live closer to the smaller range in Bratislava, which is also less rugged. Our hike was to be almost entirely on granite boulders - for over eight hours!

We headed to Poprad, a town about ten miles from the mountains where we managed to miss the last tram to our hotel. But no worries, Olga's got "people" and we got a ride within five minutes. Our hotel was really a Church-run youth center, with me being way past youthful, girls in the "David" room, boys in "Ezechiah's". Actually, the accomodations were quite nice, all pine floors and ceilings, new tiled baths, but a hostel nontheless. But the price was right and as I could have never done this trip on my own at this point, it was a great opportunity.

Next morning after breakfast we took the tram to Tatranska Lomnica, which was packed with fellow hikers of all ages, all decked out with poles and backpacks. From there you go buy another ticket for the gondola (like for skiers) which brought us up toward the trailhead. Our group of 12 soon split into four different groups. One took another gondola all the way up to Lomnicky Stit, another got "lost" and took a different trail, but we all came together eventually, and cell phones worked at least part of the time. We were hiking on the second highest peak, and some of us would get to about 9,000 feet.

After about 2 and 1/2 hours we reached our first mountain cottage. There you could get food, drink, or just soak up the sun, as it was a gorgeous day. (I think it was in the 50's up there but we were very soon hiking in t-shirts.) Menu items on the mountain included draught beer, klebasa, and cabbage soup among other choices. Dobre chut! (good eatin')

Although no part of this hike was easy, the part after lunch was the most difficult. Someone had vaguely mentioned a section with ropes the night before but I didn't pay much attention. Well, it wasn't ropes, it was chains and it definitely got my attention that afternoon. There are sections on the mountain that are so vertical they are too steep for any sort of trail. To traverse these areas chains have been bracketed into the mountain so you can both pull and keep your balance as you climb. This section actually got backed up due to the crowd, and we heard it got even slower as the day went on.

Following this begins the descent, the part that no one likes but you gotta get back. There was another cottage stop here, where we found ourselves cooling off for the first time all day and putting back on our jackets. Not long after Amy (in my group) slipped and fell to her knees, I did the same. Unfortunately, in my case, my backpack slipped up to my shoulders resulting in a face plant. The whole thing was slow motion - very graceful...and really embarassing! At any rate, we all did fine, everyone accounted for and no serious injuries.

That evening we grilled klebasi "back at the ranch". Three or four people passed around a guitar and we enjoyed a great fire under a beautiful starlit cover. Two opted to hike the next day, but most of us returned home after hanging out in Poprad that morning. Our screaming knees and feet had quieted down by that time, but everyone (young AND old) was having trouble going down stairs. And me, I returned to BA with some great mountain memories to keep, and a small but noticeable scab I can't wait to lose!!!