E3: Krynica-Zdrój rest day: Day 118

A day doing tourist stuff in a tourist town.

Krynica-Zdrój is an old spa town which blossomed in the 1930's. This is when the funicular was built that lifted me up to the summit of a nearby mountain, helped by the weight of the carraige coming down. At the top there was an observation tower (an extra 10 złotys) which I climbed to see the view in all directions. Fortunately there was no mist today, just cloud with the sun occasionally breaking through. From the top I could see the urban area spread along the base of the valley with mixed woodland on the surrounding mountains.

Beside the observation tower was a garden of "Music and Illumination". The Illumination would have to wait until it was dark, as for music there were a series of musical instruments made of plants, and plant covered images of people.

I walked down from the mountain to see an area of educational, hands on science exhibits, such as an Archimedean screw. Unfortunately all the instructions were in Polish making it difficult to know what other pieces of apparatus was meant to do.

In the centre of Krynica-Zdrój a long promenade beside a small river is the central feature. Each side are stalls selling tourist items: fridge magnets, mugs with town's name on, furry toys, gofry's (ie waffles), ice cream etc.. There are some old looking villas, some made of wood, serving as restaurants and guesthouses. Areas of grass were laid out with paths and lines of trees with many benches for people to rest, sunbathe or just pass the time relaxing. The town's visitors seem to be either groups of school children or middle aged people. The latter either carried walking sticks to stop them falling over, or because they were hiking in the area

This morning I woke up really stiff after yesterday's long walk and the lack of flexibility has continued through the day. Hoping it will improve by tomorrow as that is a 32 kilometre day with quite a bit of uphill.

In the evening I went to a show which, according to Google Translate, advertised Highland folk music, sausage, and repartie, very much an event for (Polish) tourists. It was of course the Polish Highlands. As it was all in Polish I copied what everyone else was doing. This involved collecting a large sausage and cooking it on a long fork in front of an open fire. My neighbour indicated how the fork could be fixed in place. Not sure how you were meant to know it was cooked but I left it as long as my neighbour did, it dripped oil and was hot when I ate it with a mild mustard, tomato sauce and the bread provided. The band, two trumpets, an accordian and a double bass, sang folk songs. For some songs the audience evidently knew the words and sang for the band, for others they knew the actions. There was dancing which almost everyone took part, but I had no-one to dance with. I very much missed my wife.

E3: Zdynia to Krynica-Zdrój: Day 117

An amazing day in which I walked over 35 kilometres with 1500 metres of ascent, for which I awarded myself a rest day.

The tourist spa town of Krynica-Zdrój was the next major destination after Zdynia. However, it was over 35 kilometres away with five mountains in the way. Having struggled to walk 25 kilometres recently I was not sure I could do it. As there were plenty of hotels in Krynica-Zdrój I decided to aim for it but be prepared to wild camp if I becane too tired, or my knee became too swollen and debilitated to reach it. Despite waking with a stiff left knee I surprised myself in achieving the distance. A clear target, a dry day and the potential reward of cake, coffee and beer probably helped, whereas recently the daily destination has been yet more forest and even more mountains to climb up and down. Less attractive.

I started promptly, enjoying the use of the toilet at my cabin in Zdynia after three nights of wild camping. At 7 am I was on my way, up the road, rejoining the E3, this time heading west towards its final destination on the Atlantic. With my morning's energy I was over the first two of the mountains ahead of the timings indicated on the signs. As the day progressed I was meeting the timings, and finally falling a little behind them. However, observing the time needed to reach Krynica slowly fall at successive posts was a major source of motivation. Unlike some of the earlier signs in Slovakia which were optimistic, those on the fingerposts in Poland seemed reasonable. 

On the first mountain top I found another First World War cemetery. It was designed by the architect who also was also responsible for the cemetery I saw yesterday. This held the Russian, Austrian and Hungarian dead from another battle that took place here. Rather than use heroic themes that glorified death for one's country, the architect used features of the local folk constructions, such as the wayside shrines. 

As well as five mountains I passed near or through five villages. These included a few old houses built of logs, with the gaps between the trunks filled in to make the house wind and water tight. Lace curtains hung in the windows. The final village had a shop where I bought an Ice cream and coke. Unfortunately my złotys were deep in my rucksack, however the lady serving took my card, after a bit of effort getting the card machine going.

My route went over ridges and across valleys. The villages lay at the bottom of the valleys surrounded by green fields of for grazing cattle or making hay. Yellow dandlelions covered the grass and I also saw blue bugleweed. These fields rose up the valley sides reaching the trees which grew on the higher ground. Today there were more conifers than on previous days, pine and fir trees. Where wood had recently been cut down the fresh scent of pine filled the air.

I met two Polish backpackers today, unfortunately they did not speak English, so we just "fist bumped" to express solidarity among hikers, that were were part of the same community. They were possibly following the Beskid Trail, the Carpathian Mountain Trail that the E3 follows in this part of Poland, marked by red stripes.

My final mountain was Huzary (864 metres). Although the climb was not too steep the summit seemed to take a long time to arrive. Then it was downhill to Karnica where I stopped at the first coffee shop for a latte and cake (actually a sort of brioche with bits of plum on top). This allowed me the time to put my poles away, switch my phone on and generally get ready for finding a hotel. I chose one near the coffee shop, picking one of the better rooms for a very reasonable price. Dinner was in a nearby restaurant with a large beer. Now stiff from my day's walk, I made my way back to the hotel. On the way I saw a many people collecting around the fountains in the main pedestrian area. At just after 8 pm, the water spurted up and down to music, illuminated by coloured lights.

E3 in Eastern Slovakia: Comments

I have divided the E3 in Eastern Slovakia into four aspects, first the cities. 

Košice is not on the trail but you might use it as a regional transport and supply hub. The city has an attractive centre, well worth a visit. Prešov is on the trail, a smaller city than Košice it also has an old centre with restaurants, churches and attractive architecture. 

Secondly, sections of the trail are through the lowlands, especially in the south. Fields of crops form the scenery and there are villages with welcome shops where you can buy a drink and ice cream.

Thirdly there are the mountain sections. south of the Polish border. These are forested typically with beech trees. Although the mountains are not that high, only a few peaks exceed a thousand metres above sea level, there is a lot of climbing up and down from summit to summit, over a thousand metres a day. Villages are at the bottom of valleys so once in the mountains you will not be able to buy food and the lack of accommodation means wild camping will be needed. There was one mountain hut on the route where I enjoyed lunch, but check openning times. By the village of Herl'any the E3 gives you alternatives. Either go through the village using the blue route to the south and the green trail to the north, or stay on the red waymarks and miss out the village. Herl"any has a Geyser erupting every 36 hours, a pizzeria and a "buffet", which is a bar selling drinks and snacks.

Finally there is the border section where the E3 follows the forested ridge between Slovakia and Poland. The trail literally follows the border stones, going straight up and down mountains with some very steep sections. Unless you leave the ridge for accommodation and food you will need to wild camp and carry five days or so of food from the last shop in Slovakia at Terna. Water sources are scarce so you will need to carry plenty and have marked the location of springs when planning. This means a lot of weight to carry up and down steep slippery slopes. I did not reach the end of this section but do not imagine it changes much. If ever I repeated this part I would next time include deviations off the trail for accommodation and variety. The rain and mist probably did not help my appreciation of the route.

Points of interest on the mountainous parts include a couple of ruined castles, a First World War cemetery and a monument to a Second World War battle.

E3: Jawor to Zdynia: Day 116

Another day of steep ascents and descents until I turned off onto the road to Zdynia.

Although there was a dense mist, today there was no rain for which I was thankful. Among the mist, groups of bright yellow marsh marigolds in wetter areas added bright points to the day. The low points were the many steep, uphill sections and ridiculous downhills. Going down from Płaziny's summit was particularly memorable as it dropped over a 100 metres in elevation. The gradient was extreme and the earth was slippery due to the recent rain. Fallen leaves gave no purchase. My trekking poles were essential to stop me sliding. I slipped once onto my bottom, I was close on several occasions. For part of the way a rope had been attached to the trees to help. Such steep gradients up and down were enervating and made me glad I was leaving this path today. I thought fondly of the Alps where paths tend to take an oblique route up mountains, zig-zagging gracefully rather than just heading straight up in a brutal assault.

At a crossroads in the track I was faced with a "No Entry" sign due to tree felling, a crossed out person made the message clear in any language. The path to my left might have offered a means to bypass the work which I could hear in the distance, however this also had a warning sign. Details on this second sign were confused in that they described a route that ended at the pass where I now stood. I decided to simply ignore the "No Entry" and continued up the trail. I encountered no foresters, from the noise they were working to the left of me.

Javorina was one of the higher peaks I crossed today. Sadly all I could see from the specially built viewing platform was white mist, the information board showed that on a clear day many distant mountains were visible. 

The most interesting sight on this section was a First World War cemetery. Apparently the front between the Austrian and Hungarian troops to the south and the Russians to the north, ran along here. The hundreds buried from both sides were from a particularly deadly battle in March 1915.

After that I left the E3 on which I had been heading east and turned north into Poland on a quiet and very straight road. I will pick up the northern part of this loop of the E3 tomorrow and follow it west, making progress towards the Atlantic Ocean where the E3 finally ends.

Each side of the road there were large areas of richly coloured grass dotted with dandelions and being grazed by cows. Higher up the hillside the trees began, part of the forest I had been walking through for the last few days. 

Although I thought of Poland as a Roman Catholic country, along the road I noticed a church that looked distinctly Orthodox with bulbous spires. By its door (sadly locked) a board said it was built as a Greek Catholic Church in 1903 but is now used as an Orthodox Church. In the same enclosure, in front of the church, was a children's football pitch which seemed incongrous but I thought a pleasing combination. I saw another Orthodox church a little way of the road a few miles later. Zdynia was signed in both the Latin alphabet and Cyrillic. Investigations on the internet suggested that the Orthodox Churches and Cyrillic script was associated with the Lemko ethnic group (a subgroup of the Rusyns) which were concentrated in this area.

I had booked accommodation in a cabin although had a little trouble entering as the owner was in Ukraine. Now I am in I have various things drying over doors.

E3: Pusta to Jawor: Day 115

Another day of climbing up and down steep hills in mixed woodland.

Overnight rain meant that I packed away a very wet tent mixed in with fallen leaves, the rest of my belongings were just damp. Light rain was still falling, which slowly morphed into a misty day with drops of water falling from the trees whenever the wind blew. If I brushed against leaves beside or above the path they transfered their water to me, so my waterproofs stayed on, usually with my hood up. Large pools of brown water collected at low points on the track which I had to work away around.

Today was similar to yesterday walking through mixed woodland, up and down hills. At times the path edged fields, kept for hay. The fields were often on the Polish side and woodland on the Slovak side, differences in land use in each country. I was amused by the use of plastic bottles as insulators on sections of electric fence. Among the grasses there were pink and yellow Elder-Flowered Orchids (according to my App).

I crossed a road adorned with Border Crossing Signs, after which my main goal was Lacková or Lackowa, depending on whether you spelt it the Slovak or Polish way. It was a mountain which the map showed as a short ridge surrounded by closely spaced contours. I stopped at the base to pick up water from a spring then began the long, extremely steep climb. Last night's rains had made the ground extremely slippery. To gain a grip on the slope I tried to step from rock to rock, from one tree root to another. My trekking poles proved essential to stabilise me on the slick incline. I dug their points into the ground to gain a purchase. At times i almost had to use my hands. By using much of my reserves of energy I eventually reached the top of slope, after which there was a gentler walk to the absolute summit. 

At that symmit two Polish flags were boldly waving in the breeze. A lady with a Belgian Shepherd dog was there when I arrived. She asked me to take a photo of her below the summit sign, and did the same for me while her dog sat obediently. Having confirmed I was camping, she asked if I was afraid of the bears. There are so few about I told her "no" and added I had not spotted any of their footprints, which are obvious being rather large. She must had taken pity of me camping in the wet as she gave me two bars of chocolate, explaining she did not need them as she would be home in a few hours where her husband would have cooked dinner for her. There were a few people out today for a Sunday walk, and one mountain biker struggling with the mud.

There was a steep descent down Lukowa which was followed in a few kilometres time by a similarly long and steep ascent of another mountain. This happened a few times today. The trail was following the border and I assume when it was defined in 1920 (or maybe in the later 1958 treaty) they decided it should follow the ridgeline. Unfortunately the ridgeline has several steep gradients which the border, and so the E3, slavishly follows. I wondered how they defined the exact location, did each country appoint a surveyor to ensure the other party did not cheat? Did they agree to use the same instrument to make the measurements? 

The steep gradients and monotonous nature of the woodland made me decide that tomorrow I will make a shortcut. By crossing to Zdynia by road 977 I will avoid walking further east only to return heading west a few kilometres to the north. Skipping part of the E3 route is not a decision I like to take, but I am walking for enjoyment rather than to survey the entire trail. By crossing by Zdynia I will also have completed at least a part of the loop.

Jawor was the final mountain I climbed over before deciding on a spot to camp on ground, only gently sloping, on a old path among the trees.

E3: Sedlo Priehyby to Pusta: Day 114

A tiring, wet day, but one in which I saw wild animals and reached the Polish border.

It was raining this morning as I packed up a very wet tent and collected water from the nearby spring. The wet weather continued throughout the day. Trees were engulfed in mist as I walked along. Shreds of clouds crossed nearby hills on the occasions when I see them. Even when the rain stopped there was plenty of water dripping from the leaves.

Shortly after I set off I disturbed an elk with an impressive set of antlers. It stood up and looked at me, I stood still, and we stared at each other for a few moments. Then it raced off. Later I saw two wild boar on the path; big, brown and hairy. They quickly scarpered on seeing me. Finally a deer was grazing by the track, but ran off as soon as it spotted me.

There were the usual energy sapping uphill struggles to frequent summits, followed by descents that were painful on the knees. Such downhill sections were distressing as I knew I would shortly have to make up the height again. The highest mountain was Mincol at 1153 metres. There appeared to be two summits at Mincol, one with a large cross and the other with a concrete column, not sure which was the highest. As the mountain top was covered with blueberry bushes and similar low vegetation there might have been a view on a good day, but today there was mostly whiteness. 

After many more summits and dealing with numerous trees which had fallen across the track, I descended to a low saddle by the village of Obručné in a break in the rain. The trail does not pass through the village and there were no shops or other facilities according to Google, so I immediately started the next section.

I had now reached the Polish border. For a few days the E3 follows the border heading east. It then turns around and heads west a few miles into Poland. Some people cut out this huge loop. I planned to follow it, although there will be the temptation to shortcut it at various points. I did wonder why such a large loop was included in the E3. One explanation relates to the EB (Eisenbach Budapest) trail. This is an old trail dating from 1983, before the fall of the Iron Curtain. Running through multiple countries, in those pre-Schengen, more authoritarian times it was necessary for the path to cross between countries at official border crossings. The E3 follows much of the older EB route, so perhaps this is why it heads east to cross at what was an official crossing point at the Dukla Pass.

The border was marked by frequent squat concrete rectangles painted white with red tops. There was an S on one side and P on the. other. I followed these posts on a track heading generally uphill. The track wandered around the posts so sometimes I was in Slovakia and then a few yards later I was in Poland.

Towards the end of the afternoon I reached a steel observation tower. I climbed its steep staircases but could not see much that I could at ground level. There was a little shelter with bench seating and tables next to the grey tower. Taking advantage of the dryness under the shelter I put on a knee support as my knee was suffering with all the ups and downs. Inevitably it was at the bottom of the pack requiring much unpacking. The repacking was not too successful and my rucksack continued rather oddly shaped. At a nearby spring I topped up with water. I then needed to leave the forest and cross some fields. Unfortunately a farmer had strung electric fences everywhere, combined with warnings of a dangerous dog (judging by the picture). I worked my way around the fences but was glad to return to the forest where the tracks were generally good.

As it approached 5:30 pm I decided to pitch camp on finding a suitable flat spot under conifers a little before the Pusta summit. I then spent some time trying to dry the tent. It is still raining gently and rain is forecast for tomorrow as well.

E3: Vel'ky Saris to Sedlo Priehyby: Day 113

A good day covering a reasonable distance with good views and lunch at a mountain hut.

I left my hotel early as I discovered there was a mountain hut on my route where I could have lunch if I arrived in time. First I followed the road into the next village Kanaš. Although only 7:30, men were out cutting the grass along the sides of the road. A stream of cars were coming towards me, off to work I assumed. Entering the side roads of Kanaš between the detached bungalows, the traffic died down. The rows a different coloured bins outside the houses looked very organised: blue for paper, yellow for plastic, etc.. Soon I was on a path through woodland, climbing steadily through the trees. 

I was pleased to find a spring with running water coming from the little house constructed on top of it. There were even a few baskets in which someone who cared about the place, was trying grow flowers. After the spring it was downhill through an open field to the road into Terňa. 

At Terňa I stopped at the Coop Supermarket for a few more supplies including a banana and kitkat for a late breakfast sitting on a wall by the church, watching the comings and goings. Then a little more road walking, uphill, by a large field of yellow rape to the next village of Hradisko.

After Hradisko there was more climbing, although not too steeply through the woods along a ridge. Intermittently there would be a cross or small shrine, a sign of the country's religiosity. Often there would be crude benches beside them making them suitable spots for a picnic. I also crossed the E8, a European Long Distance Path I have yet to walk.

Today the trees were more varied. In addition to the usual beech I crossed an area of hornbeam and there were lesser numbers of field maple, hazel, crab apple and other species. Higher up, above 900 metres there were also birch trees and conifers; spruce and larch. Some of the conifers were in stands, no doubt planted by foresters, others were mixed in with the deciduous trees. In places there were meadows at or beside the top of the ridge, above the trees lower down. This meant I could see the surrounding forested hillsides and maybe more distant fields and mountain ranges.

Rain was forecast around 11:00 and again late in the afternoon. This duly arrived causing me to stop and put on my waterproofs with the difficult decision of whether it was worth struggling into my waterproof trousers. Although the rain makes walking less pleasant I was glad it was falling as the farmers needed it and I hoped it would make the springs more reliable.

As planned I reached the mountain hut, Chata Čergov, in time for lunch. It was among a scattered collection of buildings which included a short ski lift. There was no obvious sign announcing the hut until you climbed the steps up to the door, where opening times were posted. As I was within these times I opened the door and boldly walked in. A man with a paint roller in hand seemed surprised to see a customer but after he had called another man and a woman, it was established that I would like something to eat. Chicken and chips were offered and accepted, I declined a vodka or rum, and we agreed on coffee and water. I ate my lunch, as the only customer, watching an ice hockey match on the large TV. The fast moving sport is immensely popular in Slovakia.

After just over 30 kilometres I decided to stop, not wanting to be too tired tomorrow. I am camped on an area of grass, probably the most comfortable spot of my trip so far, closed to a free flowing, piped spring where I can top up my water supply in the morning. 

As I lie here in the cosiness of my sleeping bag a cuckoo and blackbird is singing, and beyond them others in the background.