August 1st, 2008 
Sheila Simkin So very sore and tired, we left Zakopane by mini-bus to Lysa Polana to cross the border and then into Slovakia. Two nights were going to be spent in mountain chalets before heading to Tatranska Lomnica, a major Slovakian ski area in the winter.
This trail meandered by a river along a valley and through forests for quite a distance. A very nice trail for a change… Over to Kopski Sedlo at 1,749m/5,738′ before contouring around to Brncalova (now called Zelenom) Chalet by Green Lake. Slovakia is known for its Carpathian Mountains in the central region, extending across most of the northern half of the country. The High Tatras, the Low Tatras, Mala Fatra and the Vel’ka Fatra, the heart of their national identity.
The mountains were created by glaciers and there were numerous glacial cirques. Not my favorite kind of terrain with all its rocks, stone and difficult trails. There were also beeches, spruce, and pine forests below the tree line which changed into some sort of scrubby bushes as we went higher before again becoming rocks only. We never saw any wildlife other than the occasional bird.
Today, we continued on, leaving the trees behind, and climbed higher into the usual rocky terrain watching every footstep. The weather became cooler with altitude and the layers went on, but there was still abundant sunshine and clear skies. The weather has been fantastic throughout.
The Brncalova Chalet (Zelenom) in sight next to a lake, we got our assigned bunks and sat outside for a while taking in the scenery before dinner.
Posted in 
Tags: 
