Alright, after the “little” extempore at the parking lot below Cottage at the Green Lake (Chata pri Zelenom plese), I finally arrive in the High Tatras, finding the parking lot where Filip sent me, and set off towards the recommended waterfall. The weather is gorgeous, no raining anymore, just sunshine, so I'll be sleeping in the trunk tonight. So I throw out all the unnecessary chargers, raincoats, hoodies, toothbrushes etc... from my backpack and set off in shorts, ankle socks and new running shoes (it's always a great idea to try new shoes directly in the mountains, right… well, when the head is foolish, the whole body suffers...)... just in case, I take a windbreaker (fortunately), because, you know, we've been there before...
Sony A7 IV, Tamron 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD, ISO100, 30s, f/11 - foreground (blue hour) / ISO 3200, 15s, f/2.8 - stars (night) / VFFOTO magnetic UV GS adapter 67-82mm & White Mist D1/1 filtr VFFOTO NANO-PRO 82 mm
I take it my way, following the green tourist trail, but for those traveling with kids, there's a beautiful cog railway that can save a bit of grumbling and a few slipped discs in your backs. Along the way, there's supposed to be a hut where you can eat, and given my hunger, I head straight there... However (as usual), I somehow miss the path, realizing it about half an hour later when I arrive at a completely different waterfall than the one Filip sent me to. It's also gorgeous, but you can't eat it...
The weather is still beautiful...
Looking at the signpost - Junction above Rainer's Hut (“Rázcestie nad Rainerovou Chatou”) - I wonder where I went wrong… but among other things, the sign says Téry's Hut 2:30h... the last time I heard about this hut was about in primary school! Hmmmm, ok, smells like I should change the plans… man, I simply have to go there!
The "great" experience with the lady from the Cottage at the Green Lake doesn't deter me and I call again to make sure they'll have a place for me and they'll even book it... however, the signal is terrible and the only thing I can somewhat understand is... yeah, you guessed that right… I have to send an confirmation email... I mean sorry, can't you just say yes/no we have/don’t have a free spot for you? I don't mean to disparage Slovakia, but LTE works in about 2 places and neither of them is in the Tatras, so I really can’t send you a confirmation email now!
So, I forget about that, think a few choice words, and, utterly famished, I head back to the waterfalls (this time following the blue trail). After a few meters, I come across a little cottage - Reinerova chata (Reiner’s Hut - 1304m above sea level)... "Hello, do you cook here? No... oh, can you make me some coffee? No... uhh, what? Nevertheless, the lady explains that they have no electricity, and she soothes me with a room-temperature Pilsner Urquell (feeling like at home as I’m from Pilsen) and a stylish “Tatranka” (chocolate bar)... yum!
I step out of the cottage (and to my surprise, the weather is still beautiful), and some kids are screaming, "mommy, mommy, a fox, a fox!" And sure enough, there it is! I quickly put down my Tatranka and beer on the bench and go "hunting"... but I have my wide-angle lens on, so I have to get pretty close... the fox takes advantage of the situation (photographer focused on the viewfinder and scared to boot…), and immediately jumps on the bench and goes after my Tatranka... well, no way, no way, Mr. Fox! I summon up bits of hidden courage and fiercely "growl" at it, shoo, shoo... the fox leaves in disgust, and I thank God it wasn't that bear my new Slovak friends were scaring me about for the past three days...
Sony A7 IV, Tamron 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD, ISO100, 1/640s, f/2.8, VFFOTO magnetic UV GS adapter 67-82mm
Just then, a Slovak number calls me, asking if I still want a spot, and I don't have to send an email... well, either they heard me cussing or God exists, because everything is as it should be, as they say in those proverbs... I throw on my backpack and rush up...
The weather isn't so beautiful anymore...
Heading Up to Téry's Hut
I keep pushing up through beautiful trail. Stone paths, stone stairs, breathtaking views... but the sun has disappeared somewhere in the meantime, and the first snow appears... followed by drizzle, then rain, a downpour, a bit of hail, and then more snow... hmm, today is probably not going to be as easy as it looked… I put on a windbreaker that I luckily found in my backpack, along with a cap and gloves (thankfully, at least yesterday's packing came in handy).
While constantly ascending towards Téry's Cottage, my spine seems to be constantly descending, and just when I begin to moan, I meet a sherpa! He has legs like a horse, carrying a barrel of beer on his back (not a puppy-sized one, but a regular 50-liter one), some boxes, and a cooler... okay, okay, I won't moan anymore... I look at him like he's a marvel, and we just laugh as when I told him that it's my first time in the Tatras, he counters back that he was told the guys up there are waiting for their only guest today(apparently, my fame precedes me as it seems I’ll have whole Tory’s cottage for myself tonight…). We chat for a while, take a photo, wishing a luck, and I continue onwards...
It's definitely not beautiful anymore... it's brutally cold, and the snow is falling heavily...
Sony A7 IV, Tamron 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD, ISO100, 1/10s, f/11, VFFOTO magnetic UV GS adapter 67-82mm - panorama - stitched from two shots.
My T-shirt, thin sweater, ankle-length socks, and windbreaker doing much to keep me warm (or maybe they would be if it wasn't snowing, and I didn't keep slipping and splashing in the water from the melted snow)… but it's worth it. Everywhere I look, there's a waterfall, and behind it, a peak shrouded in dark snow clouds... it's absolutely breathtaking...
After an hour of contemplation by the waterfall, my fingers are numb, and I hurry back up, freezing to the bone. I'm used to having my camera on the Peak Design Capture, as it's always within reach, and I don't have to constantly take off/put on my backpack. However, here, the trail is buried under a stone avalanche and gradually transforms into a snow trail, so when I fall for the second time, I stow the camera in my backpack and then struggle up the final few steep steps in the fog and snow... I'm pretty worn out, but I've made it to the cottage...
I'm immediately served a fantastic lentil soup, hot tea, and poppy seed cake... nirvana! I slowly thaw out and strike up a conversation with the guys from the cottage. It quickly becomes clear why they were expecting me... I'm really the only guest here today, so I have the honor of choosing any bed on the three-tiered bunk bed as I wish =)
Stunned, I tell the guys about my encounter with the sherpa, which has everyone in stitches... because one of the guys, Mato, tells me, "So If you want to know who won the contest this year (carring 100 kilograms to Téry's within a certain time), it was Filip (posting his finger to the guy sitting nearby) and Lukas came in second (pointing to another one) and then Filip counters, "And the five-time champion is Mato, hehe…”) well, it's no surprise they all have legs like machines...
We laugh, and the guys explain that for them, it's not just a sport, but a real necessity to supply the mountain huts throughout the year. There's no cable car to Téry's Cottage, no road, and helicopters are only allowed to deliver supplies twice a year because the noise stresses the chamois, which then fall off the cliffs… (well, obviously you do not want that…).
Once again, I venture outside to freeze a bit while searching for a good composition and slowly curling up in bed afterward... I'm completely done for today, but I want to try for a sunrise shot in the morning...
Sony A7 IV, Tamron 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD, ISO640, 1/10s, f/8 - foreground (blue hour) / ISO 3200, 15s, f/2.8 - stars (night) / VFFOTO magnetic UV GS adapter 67-82mm & White Mist D1/1 filtr VFFOTO NANO-PRO 82 mm
Waking up at 4 in the morning, there’s a fierce wind and fog outside... you can see about 2 meters and the gusts aren't exactly fun to endure… I jump back into bed and set the alarm for 4.30… fierce wind and fog outside… This half-hour rhythm continues until 6, when I humbly give up... but my mood is lifted by Vítek, who promptly brings me great eggs! Finishing with my fave poppy seed cake and descending down the mountain in the midst of the most intense "mordor"…
The weather is real hell, the windstorm immediately throws me to the ground a few times at the beginning…
Unlike the Italians, Slovaks have good trail markings, quite similar to ours, but now, with zero visibility, the signs on rocks are covered in snow, and the wooden marking poles are torn away by rockslides, so the descent is pretty hellish here too...
So I follow the tracks in the snow of one of the sherpas and secretly hope that he went in my direction…
It seems he also "enjoyed" it today, as every 50 meters in the snow there are complete imprints of both the sherpa and his load… it's extremely slippery… I go with the technique of trekking pole, trekking pole, step, step and in my head I repeat, don't hurry, don’t hurry, you have kids, you have kids…
Eyes buried in the sherpa’s tracks, when suddenly other tracks join them… is it a chamois? I lift my head and yes, 7 beautiful chamois just a few meters away… I lift my head, and there they are, seven splendid chamois just a few meters away... I have the wide-angle lens again, so I try to get closer... whoops, a slide in the worst place before an overhang, death in my eyes, luckily a quick stop, realization that I should leave them alone and not scare them… a small moment of appreciation and then straight to the parking lot…
Apart from making it back unharmed, the surprise of the weekend was that my new running shoes didn't give me a single blister, and despite being lightweight shoes, they held onto the ice and snow like they were glued, and my feet were only wet from the top, where the water had leaked in. My socks at the toes were completely dry... Salomon Trailster 2 GTX rules!
Sony A7 IV, Tamron 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD, ISO100, 1/10s, f/11, VFFOTO magnetic UV GS adapter 67-82mm
Anyway, Slovakia is a beautiful country, with wild nature and great people, and I can't wait for winter (hopefully they won't close it again this year), when I will definitely come back here...
Until next time!
Mike Stehlik
GEAR:
Camera: Sony A7 IV
Tripod: 3 Legged Thing Mike Legends Mike
Drone: Mavic Air 2s
Backpack: Shimoda Action x70