The Tatras mountains have always been high on my list, mostly because of all the famous mountaineers I’ve heard coming from Poland who used this as their training ground. While the peaks are very high, less than 9,000 feet / 3,000 meters, they offer some excellent granite and a perfect training ground for all types of technical climbing.
The drive to the Tatras took me through rural parts of Poland, and the villages themselves were part of what made the trip into the mountains interesting. Traditional houses and churches appeared along the road, including several wooden buildings that looked completely different from the architecture of the larger cities.
One of the most distinctive buildings I came across was the wooden Jaszczurówka Chapel near Zakopane. The chapel was built in the early 20th century in the Zakopane Style, an architectural tradition that incorporated elements of the wooden buildings found throughout the region.
Hiking in the Tatra Mountains
I had come here primarily to hike in the Tatras. Strangely enough, the night before the hike I had a dream that I somehow ended up taking the wrong trail to the summit. It was one of those dreams that mostly disappeared from my memory after waking up, and I didn’t give it any thought when I started hiking the next day.
The beginning of the hike took me through thick forest before the surrounding mountains gradually became more visible. The Tatras aren’t particularly high compared with ranges like the Alps or Himalayas, but elevation alone doesn’t tell you much about them. There are steep rocky peaks packed into a relatively small area, creating an incredible landscape for hiking and climbing.
Along the way I encountered this fox, which was obviously very accustomed to having people around. Instead of immediately disappearing into the forest, it stayed nearby long enough for me to get some of my favorite wildlife photos from Poland.
There were plenty of other animals around the trail as well. Horses are a common sight in this part of the Tatras, while the lakes and surrounding forest support an entirely different collection of wildlife.
Into the Mountains
Eventually I reached one of the mountain lakes, where the forest opened up and the steep walls of the Tatras rose around the water. This was the kind of scenery I had come here hoping to see.
Standing beside the lake also made it easy to understand how this relatively small mountain range helped produce some of the world’s great climbers. Poland doesn’t have extremely high mountains, but the Tatras provide an enormous amount of steep terrain where climbers can develop their skills throughout the year. In winter, the same mountains offer snow, ice, and technical climbing conditions.
I continued climbing above the lake, completely convinced I was heading in the right direction. The trail was beautiful, and with so much mountain scenery around me I hadn’t spent much time questioning exactly where it was taking me.
Eventually I stopped and checked the map more carefully. Somehow, I was on the wrong trail.
That’s when I remembered the dream I’d had the night before. I had actually dreamed about taking the wrong trail to the summit, then woke up and proceeded to do exactly that. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late to descend all the way back and still have enough time to climb the correct route.
I was a little disappointed, but I wasn’t particularly worried about missing the summit. I had already spent the day hiking through a beautiful part of the Tatras, and this wasn’t going to be my only visit. I’d like to return someday, probably in winter when I can do some technical ice climbing and experience an entirely different side of these mountains.
