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Walks up the Beskids mountains

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Edited by: SeanBM Sep 7, 08, 11:31 / #

Hello everyone.

I am just back from a 30 KM hike up the mountains, I stayed last night in a lovely Lodge up the mountains, cost 15 PLN (aprox 3 pound or 4 Euro)per night another 5 PLN (1 pound or 1:50 Euro) That's the fist photo there.

The Beskid mountains Beskids, Poland are between Krakow and Zakopane and are kinda the foot hills of the Carpathian mountains.

There are many treks here, some harder than others. Most of this range is covered in forest, Deciduous and evergreen.

The observatory is brand new and was built on the burned remains of the original one. The Nazi Germans were defeted by pockets of resistance in the area, apparently 5 Nazis escaped and returned with thousand and they burned 2 villages and the observatory, everything except that telescope (maybe because it was made in Dresden, German). They took out the insides though. that telescope discovered two comets before any of that carry on.
There is a museum in the observatory now and it will be fully open (hopefully) in December but today for the first time in my life I saw the sun through the telescope.
Apparently there are still quite a few mass graves around from the wars.

The last pic there are of some Deciduous tree in there "Arms race" notice how they mostly do not have branches until the very top (canopy) that they are in a rush, with each other to be the tallest and therefore get the most sun, except the one in the middle of the photo which is in sunlight and therefore can "afford" to have branches all the way up, at least that is the way I see it.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Sep 7, 08, 11:42 / #
Did u avoid the bears? Rumour has it that some may cross ur path in such territory.

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08	Edited by: SeanBM Sep 7, 08, 11:55 / #
Seanus: Did u avoid the bears? Rumour has it that some may cross ur path in such territory. Yes on Luboń Wielki[youtube=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Lubo%C5%84_Wiel ki_a2.jpg] there were two local bears but one tried to cross the motorway and did not make it but the other one is still there. I have photos of that mountain too, I will try to find them. This is all just behind where I live.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Sep 7, 08, 11:58 / #
The threat of a bear attack would always be on my mind. They say that u should back away slowly when confronted by one. I can tell u that my instincts would tell me otherwise.

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08	Edited by: SeanBM Sep 7, 08, 12:05 / #
Seanus: They say that u should back away slowly when confronted by one. Run like hell... Apparently because the bear comes up to the Luboń Wielki lodge URL they have had to "train" it, basically put food out in a special place for the bear, the logic being that it will just come and go through the dustbins anyway. I am not scared of meeting a bear (until it happens) but would love to set up my camera on either a time laps or a motion detector and film the bear, I might talk to some one about that.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Sep 7, 08, 12:07 / #
Not scared of meeting a bear until it happens, lol. Canada has many more tho

Edited by: SeanBM Sep 7, 08, 12:40 / #

I am actually afraid of snakes, I like snakes and respect them, I am just worried that I will stand on one and it will (understandably) bite me.
Coming from Ireland, where there are no snakes.

Here are photos of the view from Luboń Wielki.
I like the way the statue of Jesus has clothes of bark.
You can see the high Tatras from all these places on a clear day. I love the Tatras too but there are too many people for my liking.

Never mind the dates on the photos, my old (recently broken) camera was a bit funny with dates

dcchrisThreads: 11 Posts: 687 Joined: Oct 29, 07	Sep 7, 08, 12:42 / #
black bears are not so bad but you definately dont want to meet a grizzly too close. if you are trying to avoid bears you should jingle your keys when you walk. they will avoid you usually. the worst thing you could do is get between a mother and her cubs.

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08	Sep 7, 08, 12:53 / #
dcchris: the worst thing you could do is get between a mother and her cubs. ha ha ha, yeah sure, i am laughing because it would be the last stupid thing you do. I have seen a few deer, squirrels (red ones I think) (the grey ones have almost killed off the indigenous red squirrels on the Celtic Islands), Fire flies, loads and loads of birds (which with my new camera I hope to photograph document and learn who they are), little fish, a snake and a lizard and not many mosquitoes I will photograph all these and put some on here. I am a photography enthusiast and love to travel but because of the nature of this forum I will stick to Poland.

FranekThreads: 21 Posts: 525 Joined: Apr 12, 08	Sep 7, 08, 12:55 / #
I found this thread very interesting. Somehow, I never thought about snakes in Poland before.. I looked up about snakes in Poland in Google.. Here is what I found. There are four varieties of snakes in Poland..The first three are harmless.. But the Viper is venomous.. But few people die from the bite. Grass Snake Natrix natrix Aesculapian Snake Elaphe longissima Smooth Snake Coronella austriaca Adder Vipera berus

dcchrisThreads: 11 Posts: 687 Joined: Oct 29, 07	Sep 7, 08, 13:00 / #
sean what is the photo of the man about? very interesting excuse my ignorance if it is something obvious

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08	Sep 7, 08, 13:20 / #
dcchris: sean what is the photo of the man about? very interesting excuse my ignorance if it is something obvious Not at all, There are religious (catholic) shrines in the mountain walks here. Some are for the mass graves from the second world war and some are from when people had an epiphany. The statue is of Jesus and his clothes are tree bark.

dcchrisThreads: 11 Posts: 687 Joined: Oct 29, 07	Sep 7, 08, 15:11 / #
interesting thanks for the info

benszymanskiThreads: 9 Posts: 510 Joined: Feb 29, 08	Oct 3, 08, 07:48 / #
Hi SeanBM Just noticed this post - I actually live right next to the Beskids but haven't quite got around to having a look at them yet. What tracks did you do?

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Oct 3, 08, 08:37 / #
SeanBM: I am actually afraid of snakes, I like snakes and respect them, I am just worried that I will stand on one and it will (understandably) bite me. There is only one species of poisonous snake in Poland, but the venom is not strong enough to kill a healthy adult. As for bears... I'd be afraid even with a rifle handy. Btw. The Beskid area is beautiful and the song below is probably the best popetry I ever heard about it. btw. Polish for beginners is not enough to understand the lyrics. Heck, many native Poles will understand about half of it.

loco polacoThreads: 3 Posts: 421 Joined: Aug 5, 08	Oct 3, 08, 10:36 / #
w/ bears one just has to be watchfull. the noises may help but it may also hurt, depends on the season. the most dangerous times are around hybernation. just when they wake up and right before the go down, when the first cold and snow arrives. in the summer bears are herbovores and are hardly interested in "meat". the moma and the cub thing, yeah but it's easy to stumble in between them if you don't pay attention. another note on noise making; have a freind walk 100-200 feet away from you making noise.. can you actually hear it? :)

szarlotkaThreads: 14 Posts: 3,349 Joined: Feb 20, 07	Oct 3, 08, 11:13 / #
loco polaco: can you actually hear it? :) Is your hearing as good as that of a bear though?

loco polacoThreads: 3 Posts: 421 Joined: Aug 5, 08	Oct 3, 08, 11:45 / #
not as good but believe me, the sound hardly travels in the woods. our hearing isn't nearly as good as most animals, yet i can sneak up on a deer pretty easily. last time i went hunting two of them almost ran into me.

RakkyThreads: 10 Posts: 284 Joined: May 23, 07	Oct 3, 08, 11:53 / #
benszymanski: I actually live right next to the Beskids You live about as far west from Nowy Sacz as Gorlice is east of it. I have friends in Gorlice and was in that neck of the woods in July. We went south through the Beskids, touring Lemko villages, to Wysowa. The area is gorgeous - I could definitely see myself living there and loving it. Do yourself a big favor and get down that way as soon as you can.

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Oct 3, 08, 13:57 / #
loco polaco: have a freind walk 100-200 feet away from you making noise.. can you actually hear it? :) If the friend is a bear then he'll have no problem hearing from that distance. Still, a bear doesn't have to hear you though. They have an an extremely keen sense of smell - several times better than that of bloodhound. Some bears have been known to detect prey 3 miles away - upwind. Their ability to detect scent from 40 miles away is not uncommon. All I can say - respect the bear. We stand no chance against them wilderness, sometimes not even if we have a firearm.

loco polacoThreads: 3 Posts: 421 Joined: Aug 5, 08	Edited by: loco polaco Oct 3, 08, 14:48 / #
z_darius: If the friend is a bear then he'll have no problem hearing from that distance. you'd be surprised. i tend to see the animals way before they see or sense my presence. this includes, bear, cayote, deer and whatever else. i've nevere been worried about any incidents. i just keep keen awareness of my surroundings. making noise also deafens one and thus one is not completely aware of what surrounds them. with bears, there are also certain locations one wants to avoid or minimize their time there.

BB630	Nov 15, 08, 14:16 / #
There are no truly terrifying species of bear outside of the United States/Canada. The American Brown Bear and Polar Bear are vicious killers. Other Brown Bears are still dangerous, but not overly so. The various species of black bears are more timid. The only real threat comes from being close to a mother with children. DO NOT RUN from bears. This triggers their instinct to chase. Brown Bears can run upwards of 35mph (over twice that of a human, 3 times a normal individual) Spread your arms, stand up tall and make noise. You must make yourself appear bigger than you are. This is probably not a good idea when confronted with a brown bear (as in Poland). You can purchase bear mace, a spray which you spray in the face of the bear. Due to their unique nasal structure it will stop them in full charge. If you are truly scared of bears consider purchasing some. The long-term effects are negligible for the bear. Usually you will walk right past one of the main types of bear and never see them. If they hear you coming they will climb the trees and hide. Sleep away from your food/cooking area. Bears have one of the best senses of smell of any animal in the world. Bears have been known to break into homes, go to a specific cabinet and eat the most calorie dense type of food in the house leaving the rest untouched, even if it is packaged in sealed tin containers. Most backpackers/fishers/hunters in the Alaskan regions with brown bears carry high powered handguns for protection. This is not possible in Poland.

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08	Nov 15, 08, 14:17 / #
BB630: There are no truly terrifying species of bear outside of the United States/Canada Come over here and wrestle one then :)

Wroclaw Boy	Nov 15, 08, 14:24 / #
Im still waiting to see a wild boar theres plenty of evidence around my house I know there here but alas no visuals as yet. I had a couple of deer sprint away from me today less than 20 feet whilst walking the dog. Ive also seen a wolf, but no bears or boars. I didnt even know Poland had bears..

szarlotkaThreads: 14 Posts: 3,349 Joined: Feb 20, 07	Edited by: szarlotka Nov 15, 08, 14:30 / #
BREAKING NEWS Of the 24 confirmed fatalities from Brown and Black bear attacks in North America since the year 2000, 15 of them were by Black Bears. Admittedely there are a lot more of the little devils but still a bear is a bear and under the wrong circumstances they are freakin dangerous.

BB630	Nov 15, 08, 15:21 / #
Probably because the majority of brown bears are in protected areas with minimal human interaction. The others are in the most sparsely populated area in the nation. As for the wild boar, it is possible it is just a feral pig. When swine get out of their farms and run rampant they will revert to a feral status and grow tusks within a few weeks. They also grow hair and their appearance is more akin to that of a wild boar, however they retain the size of a domesticated pig. It is possible this is your case. Black bears in the northern sections of the continental united states are increasingly losing habitat and coming into contact with humans. The fatalities per capita for bears are extremely low.

BB630	Nov 15, 08, 15:23 / #
And the number of bears is poland is around 100, so I doubt you will ever one.

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08	Nov 15, 08, 15:33 / #
Hey BB630 come on and become a member. I would love to argue that America is not the beginning and end of everything. Come on, you could tell us all sorts of great stories, I am sure :) Where does your interest in Poland come from?

BB630	Nov 15, 08, 15:45 / #
I will be moving to Poland next summer. I have a number of Polish nationals who came here to study and a few who have lived here at my place. I met someone when I was there attending my friends wedding and will be moving there to be with her around July. I will become a member when I can figure out how :) I'm aware that America has many flaws, I think most industrialized countries are at about the same level for quality of life. The issue is with people's opinion on what constitutes quality of life.

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08	Nov 15, 08, 15:50 / #
BB630: America has many flaws, I like America very much, I am Irish. BB630: The issue is with people's opinion on what constitutes quality of life. Have you ever read "Zen and the art of motor bike maintenance"? The question on quality. Life is what you make it and to hell with the begrudgers! Have you been here in Poland before?

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Archives / 2009 / Travel, Tourism /

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