2013-11-02: Day 3 - Slovakia weekend
It is no longer dark so I can see from my balcony now... it is, as expected, a car park and mostly cloud beyond that but it's something.
Breakfast can be neatly divided in to two parts. Food good coffee not so much.
Mission of the day is to go trekking in to the mountains and not die. The fact you are reading this will be a slight spoiler for the ending.
I assembled the nearest things I had to hiking gear and set off with the vague aim of Rysy having done about 10 seconds research on this site. I had already completed step one by getting out of bed as I was already in Štrbské Pleso. So far, so good.
The morning had cleared somewhat but there was still mist around the peaks. The trail started hard and I was conscious of the timings as it was 4:25 to the peak which would mean the last hour of the return would be in darkness which is sub-optimal. I was confident I could beat those times as my natural pace is faster than most but it was food for thought.
I'm in a t-shirt. Yes mother, I had other layers
About 15 mins of solid uphill later and I'm blowing somewhat. Passing people in full hiking gear and I'm in a t-shirt. Yes mother, I had other layers with me but it was a pleasantly cool morning and, frankly, I'm not accustomed to this level of exertion.
First course change was scheduled at 1:10 in and I hit it in 45 mins having stopped for the odd pic. Good, gives me hope of making it.
The next stint was short and involved passing over a stream where I refilled my water... someone should bottle that stuff and I hit a junction.
A junction with a sign saying "due to nature blah blah path closed 1/11 - 15/6".
Hmmm
I've only passed one person on this stint and can see nobody ahead of me so sit to ponder.
The one person I passed shows up and also stops and we enter a "who blinks first" contest.
Who blinked first was an avalanche of people arriving two mins later who split between the two paths. Fine, if they are then so am I and I promptly set off again and overtake them.
I will say that everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE I saw was better equipped than I was. But some, despite being better equipped I still believe I had the moral high-ground on.
Yes, that is a dishwasher.
Much more uphill (about 90 mins worth) and I'm flagging. It's at this point that I get overtaken for the one and only time, promptly think "fuck that" and set off again re-invigorated.
This was through the only tough part of the ascent so it was useful to have someone to follow. The wind was starting to pick up a bit and I did consider halting again but my pre-reading and the speed with which I'd been left trailing in the dust of my motivation made me press on a bit.
Shortly I saw the hut which marked Chata pod Rysmi and I made it that far. At this point I'm 45 mins from the summit but with the cloud coming in, wind picking up and the suspicion that I'd need some form of feeling in my fingers for the final part I turn halt and decide to turn back.
On the descent the weather only seemed to get worse so it was probably wise and I also had the very real sensation that it had rained beneath me. I did slip on one of the more innocuous bits and skinned my palm but that was the only trauma.
Just before the final stint I found a restaurant by a lake at Popradské Pleso that I'd completely missed on the way up and stopped for some “Kapustnica s údenou klobásou” (cabbage soup with smoked sausage) which I had no idea what it was when I ordered it but it looked warm and wet which is what was needed.
Elite athlete
Made it back to base and a trek that should have taken 7 hours had taken me 5:45 including the stop for lunch. Elite athlete or nonsense times… clearly I'm too modest to be the judge of that.
After a long sit down and a coffee in the hotel bar where I'm in serious danger of not ever moving again I raise myself for the next location shift and head back to Poprad and check in to my last hotel of this trip. Not the best but I knew that when booking and not really relevant as I'm leaving so early.
Realising that the hotel food I've had so far is, I suspect, not giving a particularly authentic view of Slovak cuisine I head out for dinner and stop at Koliba.
Halušky is the one dish I’ve been told to try but I'm not feeling it’s a good idea here for two reasons:-
1) It’s listed under “Pastries” when it isn't anything like a pastry 2) Given the above I've no idea what I'm going to get and as it’s dinner and I'm hungry I'm not risking it
Thus Halušky is put off until the last chance saloon that is lunch tomorrow.
Settled upon a starter of “Fazuľová” (bean soup) not great but the spicy pork stew with zemiakové placky (potato pancakes) that followed was very good. Then found a microbrewery called Egidius that did a very pleasing dark beer... just a shame that smoking is allowed indoors in Slovakia still which made it less appealing as a venue.
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