More than 2,600 feet of elevation gain, a reasonable length hike including 4 hours in light rain.
After arriving at the dom, the first thing attracting the eye was the lake and its reflections.
From a later hike, we spotted the trail (part of it) which we had walked up the previous week.
That's a full perspective showing it becoming progressively steeper. Unfortunately, we walked it in the rain.
A couple of perspectives of the lake from its level.
We spent seventeen nights in Strba, a small town in Slovakia, below Vysoke Tatry, the High Tatras. We intend posting all 9.5 hikes we did, experiences really. I bet you are more interested in the ‘half’ than the rest. Anyway, the point being it will take enormous effort on Jenni’s part to drag me from this region. The only reason I’ll surrender after a reasonable struggle is that to continue hiking in these mountains may destroy us. A person can take a reasonable amount of abuse but after a while, one has to throw in the towel. So why hike there in the first or even second place, you may ask. Aha! Why indeed?
Although we may have posted two blogs from this region by now, the rest will give you an indication of the fields, flowers and trees. The land appears to be manicured in a way only nature can perform. The lakes are clean and clear wherever one travels. However, the alpine lakes are gorgeous as only bodies of water tucked away high in the mountains can be. As for the mountains, what a bunch. We don’t think a person goes to the Tatras and does as he/she feels. The approach is more akin to have the mountains invite a person. In order to do this, one must be humble and show genuine humility at all times. This still does not guarantee success or even enjoyment. Ms. Tatras is temperamental. She comprises much granite. She is a hard woman. Her paths are covered in stones, rocks and scree. She aims to hurt the feet as if she has a personal vendetta against anyone standing and walking upon her. Many of the peaks are tucked far from the trailheads, making the walks long and strenuous. The inclines are steep and very sharp which of course, make the declines challenging. She has allowed human to build hotels, chalets, huts, bars and multiple ski-lifts, cable-cars and funiculars all over her. We wonder whether this has caused some ill-feeling.
Animals roam upon her including bears and chamois. We finally got to view the latter. Because of thick and gorgeous foliage, the animals may remain close to the paths but well out of sight of humans. A myriad of birds tweet in her forests but once again they are well hidden.
In combination with the weather, for she influences the weather herself, in summer she provides warm and hot days on occasion but also, cold and below freezing temperatures, when her mood changes. And it changes frequently, sometimes multiple times in a day. We remember days when we could not use our hands for basic functions—they were so cold and immobile. She loves water and brings down rain frequently. Mostly, she loves the shade provided by thick clouds. She frequently wraps herself in rather large sunbonnets.
We also visited her younger sister, the Low Tatras and found the range was only low in name. There are other treasures available in the region which include caves, gorges, waterfalls and historic castles. A fortune of churches cover the land, each tiny village and little town accommodating at least one. The latter are to provide the residents with courage to enjoy their natural heritage, we think. With the school holidays commencing at the beginning of July, we had to choose carefully to avoid the crowds, so we missed a few of these options. Autumn in the High Tatras sounds like a treat. We await an invitation from Madam.
Always great flora.
Dynamic cloud movements and plenty of rain, especially at the top.
A telephoto from below the peak while snow fell.
A momentary clearing, a lovely view, a terrific position some 1,600 feet above the lake.
Watching and enjoying the cloud movement, the rain and snow weren't fun though.
A wonderful view of the dom from a little above lake level after we return. Naturally, the rain stopped then.
'What are we doing out today?'
Some of the latest fashions from Europe soon to arrive in the colonies...not to worry, the model is not invited.
Can't get too much lake.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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