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Post by kaima on Jan 1, 2012 22:00:41 GMT -7
This thread is a planning thread to talk about and solicit comments on a trip I am planning. I am thinking of coming over in Jay / June for about 6 weeks in Europe, and spending a part of that time hiking the Polish-SLovak border. For a starting point there is nothing better than heading to the corner shared by Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine, and heading west. I am anticipating nothing worse than a hike comparable to the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern USA, and my biggest challenge could lay in a late season of melt and soggy ground at the higher elevations, or the opposite, dryness to the point where I have to hike down to a stream to gather water every other day. At least in the steeper, alpine mountains of Alaska, that latter takes a lot of time and elasticity out of the knees! I am looking at this as a shake out hike, one to confirm conditions in Europe and tune my expectations if I wish to do other stretches of the border. This is a shortened distance, with tourism as the main goal and figuring about 5 days of hiking to cover the distance from the border corner to a descent at Medzilaborce where I can catch a bus home (home being with some quite reliable and hospitable cousins). That is 5 days of hiking to cover 75 km, say 10 miles a day. The 75 miles is measured on Google Earth, and the numbers will remain general estimates, as the aim is to tour and hiking is the means of attaining that. Stops and diversions are quite allowed, and may well end up with more visits to Polish villages than Slovak villages simply due to proximity! There seem to be a fair number of photos posted on Google Earth along the route, though there also seems little written about it. As little as I write up my activities, I can understand how that comes about. I expect it to be "European" with encounters with other people along the trail every day or two, so loneliness should not be a problem. I plan on using a simple alcohol stove and eating locally available foods that I can pack along. That will be an interesting challenge to work up a menu plan that will be adequate and still realistic to buy in local grocery stores. While I am familiar with local food stores, I have not looked at them in the past with an eye for backpackable foods, meaning dry to reduce weight and with minimal packaging so I don't end up carting out a lot of trash. Checking out outdoor suppliers in Poprad for freeze dried meals as a backup is another item I have to follow up on. All in all it should be fun working up to the hike, and with good weather, a nice experience to put under my belt. Kai
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Post by Jaga on Jan 2, 2012 1:30:37 GMT -7
Kai, this is a wonnderful idea to hike the trails. I did it several times.... when I was still living there. Many mountain trails just travel through the boarder and since the communistic times this boarder land was the most easily available. It is the best for you to have the password but since I remember nobody ever checks it. One could never walk on the Polish-Soviet boarder but Polish-Slovak - it is a different story. Polish trails are very well marked. Each trail (szlak) has different color, good information etc. In the past I would suggest Kasprowy Wierch-Giewont www.panoramio.com/photo/39898975but I worry there may be too many people, although May/June may not be that bad. Kai, expect crowd if you would ever be on Polish side.
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Post by kaima on Jan 2, 2012 9:08:24 GMT -7
Jaga,
You gave me quite a shock when I put those geographic coordinates into Google Earth and ended up with steep, alpine terrain - in the Tatras.
The area I am looking at hiking in is further east, starting from the Ukrainian border and heading west, so quite a bit east. Of course I will also get back to the Tatras, perhaps on this trip if I don;t get distracted by the Slovak Paradise south of Poprad.
Gmina Komancza and Baligrod are two Polish towns that show up on the map I marked with the yellow hiking route. The villages I my descend into as a tourist or for food are too small to be shown on that scale of map, and perhaps too small to have much if any provisions to buy, (except beer!). My hike will be fully self contained with food and shelter, so time will not be spent looking for rooms except on the night before departure and night after arrival at the end points. After all, I am a tourist and want to enjoy myself, and also want to wash up so I don't offend people on the bus home!
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Post by Jaga on Jan 2, 2012 19:22:12 GMT -7
Kai,
I used to hike on the mountain trails, but you are right, they might be treacherous. In the past mountain trails were accessible from both sides - Polish and Slovak. Probably the area you are talking about would be beautiful, slightly easier and safer and not that crowded. Komancza is closer to Easter part of Carpathian mountains called Bieszczady. I was there a couple of times in the past. This is the region which is scarcely populated due to Ukrainians being resettled after WW II. I did not realize it originally.
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Post by kaima on Jan 3, 2012 3:52:17 GMT -7
Had luck just now searching for info on the Polish side, and came up with my areaĆ holidays.staypoland.com/bieszczady-mountains.aspxand a review by a Brit My wife and I went to Bieszczady for our honeymoon. We are not expert hikers, but we like being outdoors. I am from the southeast United States and found the Bieszczady mountains to be very much like the southern Appalachians in terms of morphology and foliage. I also expected the trails to be much like those in North Carolina or Georgia. I a very amateur hiker and found the trails in Bieszczady to be somewhat more difficult than those I know at home. Generally Bieszczady trails are longer with a much wider variety of terrain, including mixed forests, pine forests, prairies, and rocky outcroppings. There are very few "beginner" or "easy" trails. Most would best be classified as "moderate" to "strenuous." Despite the difficulty of trails, the views are absolutely amazing!! further There is cost for entering each trail is $2 USD per person. Be aware of this. Also, the trails do not loop back, so you will need to take a bus at some point (or arrange for someone to pick you up). We were apprehensive about this at first, but it was very easy. Just do what everyone else does and you'll be ok! There are many private homes where you can rent rooms. We stayed at a private home in Pszczeliny, right next to the Pensjonat Magura (http://www.bieszczady.net.pl/magura/). Magura is a very nice, small hotel with EXCELLENT and CHEAP food!! There is also a small store on the premises for stocking up on supplies at very cheap prices. I can't recommend this place enough. We didn't get to sleep in Magura because it was full when we arrived, but there are two private homes offering rooms that share the same parking lot. Thus, we slept in one of these places, but enjoyed the food, store, and FREE INTERNET of Magura. Great place! And the people are very dedicated to making it so. Visited July 2011 www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g274753-d286091-r118321180-Bieszczady_National_Park-Southern_Poland.html#REVIEWS... and I will have to read up on Bieszczady National Park en.poland.gov.pl/Bieszczady,National,Park,8312.html
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Post by justjohn on Feb 18, 2012 7:46:05 GMT -7
Well Kai,
I think you should try to see this area. It should be very close.
Let us all know what you find and don't disappear on us.
The team ventures to Germany and Poland to investigate rumors that the Third Reich had reverse engineered alien technology and may have produced a functional spacecraft, and how some of this technology was captured by the United States and helped jump start the U.S. space program. Military historian Igor Witkowski gives the team insight on "Die Glocke" (The Bell), an alleged top secret Nazi wunderwaffen.
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Post by kaima on Feb 18, 2012 9:51:38 GMT -7
I'll let myself be surprised....
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Post by justjohn on Feb 19, 2012 8:13:30 GMT -7
Maybe there is something more in the stories of this place. Karl, It appears this won't die down for this generation. !
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Post by karl on Feb 19, 2012 9:13:20 GMT -7
J.J. Thank nothing of it For it is what it portrays, and that is entertainment... There are at times of mind wandering as also that of my self to watch some thing of this nature and to then consider {What if?}. That what man {generic term for human race} will dream, man will build {attempt}. I think perhaps it was the tower of babel in the first attempt to build what was dreamt, who knows what will be next.. Karl
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Post by justjohn on Feb 25, 2012 5:30:00 GMT -7
Kai, this is a wonnderful idea to hike the trails. I did it several times.... when I was still living there. Many mountain trails just travel through the boarder and since the communistic times this boarder land was the most easily available. It is the best for you to have the password but since I remember nobody ever checks it. One could never walk on the Polish-Soviet boarder but Polish-Slovak - it is a different story. Polish trails are very well marked. Each trail (szlak) has different color, good information etc. In the past I would suggest Kasprowy Wierch-Giewont www.panoramio.com/photo/39898975but I worry there may be too many people, although May/June may not be that bad. Kai, expect crowd if you would ever be on Polish side. And of course, be careful you don't walk all over Chuck Norris in this area. Slovaks vote to name bridge Chuck NorrisUS action film star leads the running in public vote for name of bridge to cross Morava river into Austria Reuters, Bratislava guardian.co.uk, Thursday 23 February 2012 13.14 EST larger | smaller Chuck Norris Chuck Norris ... strong stuff. Photograph: Miranda Shen/AP Slovaks have been voting overwhelmingly in favour of naming a new pedestrian and cycling bridge near their capital after 1980s US action film and TV star Chuck Norris. The two other top names in the running for the bridge, which will span the Morava river and cross the border to Austria, were Maria Theresa after an Austro-Hungarian empress and the Devinska cycling bridge in honour of the closest village. Norris, a martial arts expert-turned film star, is known for playing tough guy characters in such movies as Lone Wolf McQuade, Missing in Action and The Delta Force. The actor's work has become a popular source of kitschy fun among Slovaks and a mainstay for local jokes about macho strength and invincibility. The final decision will be up to a regional assembly. But regional governor Pavol Freso has said it would follow the wishes of the people in the internet ballot where Norris leads as the top choice for the bridge's name. "The same way as we have so far been building it in full sight of the public, we will seek that the name is accepted by the public as well," he said. The voting will run until April. As of Thursday, 1,157 votes have backed Norris, 74% of the total, leaving the runner-up "Maria Theresa Bridge" far behind with 8%.
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Post by Jaga on Feb 25, 2012 12:41:58 GMT -7
John,
thanks for posting about Chuck Norris. I saw it also and I was going to post but I saw yours message!
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