Maybe a year ago, I read on the net that under Gerlachovský peak an alpine meadow marmots live. I like marmots and a couple of times they have managed to close up to see, we decided to go to the Carpathian Mountains.
March, we have already booked accommodation, and we waited to the start. On Tuesday we left early to Tatranska Polianka. We found the winding forest road to the hotel. The 7-km road leads trough the Tatra National Park, but they can use by cars, who have been booked hotel rooms.
The Sliezsky House (1670 m above the sea) is a mountain hotel situated at the threshold of the Velická Valley, on the bank of Velické Mountain-lake. The first stone chalet was on the eastern end of the lake (1871). In March 1874 a show avalanche destroyed it. In 1878 another small wooden shed was built on the southeastern bank of the lake. Porters and mountain guides often used it even after the Ungarn-Carpathian Association built up the Sliezsky House in 1895. The building was rebuilt and modernized several times (especially between the years 1957 - 1960), but it completely burned down in 1962. Since 1968 at the same place, there is a modern mountain hotel of the same name.
When we arrived, was there 10 degrees and overcast skies. After unpacking we walked around the lake and climbed a few meters from one trail to close up look at the waterfall.
On Wednesday was heavy rain, dense clouds came and went.
Sometimes it cleared, we began to hope, but the situation is changed every 10 minutes, sometimes worse sometimes even worse:).
Thursday morning, the sun is shining, although was only +5 degrees. We had a quick breakfast and we headed up the Kvetnica (Flower Garden), where marmots live. The Flower Garden there is on the upper Felkai valley, beside the "Eternal Rain" , 1820-1840 m above sea level. There once was a lake, is now alpine meadow mostly , from the surrounding mountains plunging waters running to the Lake Felkai. We went just 15 minutes, the heavy rain began. You could not escape nowhere. When a little rain fell, we went forth, but then the clouds began to run up.
Maybe half an hour only, when we had no rain and no clouds. Quickly we made some photos and we went in behind the cliffs, to wait for the marmots. We found lots of marmots housing, but no one came out.
3 hours later we went back. In time the path was longer, than up, the wet rocks was very slipped. In the hotel we took down all wet clothes, a heavy rain started again. Friday was our last day . The hurricane is not abated, but at least the rain stopped morning.
We breakfast, we packed up, paid and we had the best idea to go home. We descended to 600 m to Tatranska Polianka, here was a nice wether almost. Along the way we had lunch in city Brezno, then we returned home felicitously.
The trip was a bit adventurous, but the mountains were very beautiful as it is.
