This is the second of four posts about our 2025 vacation in the Giant Mountains (Krkonoše / Karkonosze), see Vacation in the Giant Mountaints for an introduction.
On this day, we decided to make our ascent more to the east, take a look at the wetland we'd find there, and then see where our intuition took us.
Ascent
We started at Karpacz Górny (“upper Karpacz”) and followed a path along the Pląsawa stream towards the wetland near Polana - Kotki (Katzenschlosslichtung / cat castle glade). The path along the stream is steep, but relatively even, and the stream provides a nice background soundtrack to the ascent. Right before Polana - Kotki, we merged with the (decidedly more crowded) main track towards Sněžka, and passed a KPN employee who glanced at my smartphone to verify that we did indeed have KPN tickets. Luckily, most of the crowd continued to Sněžka, whereas we left the track to the east, right into a small patch of wetland.
Wetlands
It's a wet, grassy and relatively plain area that seems to be fed exclusively by ground water. I don't quite know whether it's a fen, bog, or marsh, but probably something along those lines. There's the usual elevated wooden walkways to help you traverse it, and already some nice views across the mountainside. We also found a lizard who was enjoying the sun :)
Stones
We followed the path towards the ridge of the mountain range, and passed quite a few notable granite structures. The path itself also grew more rocky and uneven, interleaved with wooden walkways that were decidedly in disrepair, featuring frequent occurences of broken or missing planks. It's a good idea to look where you're going, and not just take in the (gorgeous as usual) nature around you.
The first stone formation we passed were the Pielgrzymy (Pilgersteine / pilgrim's stones), with views towards Koci Zamek (Katzenstein / cat rock) below and Słonecznik (Mittagsstein / sunflower or noon rock, depending on whether you translate from Polish or German) above. One of them is apparently open for climbing, and if you do find a reasonably safe path up one of its plateaus, you are rewarded with a pretty nice view.
Going up further, we reached Słonecznik, but not before enjoying some more views down towards the valley. As Słonecznik itself was a bit crowded (though far less than Sněžka on the day before), I don't have any photos of it – see the Wikipedia link above for two samples. Just like Sněžka peak, it's also a good spot for some radio range tests, so we stayed for a bit.
Ponds
Słonecznik is also where the path up the ridge terminates, and you get to decide whether you want to take on the summits to the east or to the west. We opted for the east, which would lead us back towards Sněžka and Karpacz. As on the day before, the local groundwater frequently found its way onto the path. Apart from that, the path was relatively even, relatively easy terrain, and not too crowded. This seems to be a rather tame segment of the Krkonoše ridge line.
Before too long, we ended up above Wielki Staw (Großer Teich / large pond) and, a bit later, Mały Staw (Kleiner Teich / small pond). The water was quite calm, clear, and full of rocks that had fallen into it over time.
Descent
We decided to make our descent at Dom Śląski (Silesian house), a tad eastwards of the path we used for our ascent on the day before, hoping that it'd be less crowded. But before that, we got yet another view of Sněžka, which also seemed slightly less crowded than the day before – possibly because it was already quite late in the day, and the shadows were already growing longer by the minute.
Our descent took us from Dom Śląski down into the Kocioł Łomniczki (Melzergrund) valley, right along the Główny Szlak Sudecki (Sudeten-Hauptwanderweg / Main Sudetes Trail). Kocioł Łomniczki valley is a former glacier site, and as such the path starts out very steep and rocky.
It also features a memorial / symbolic graveyard for all those who passed away on the mountain. You may decide to hum the tune of the Celeste – Resurrections soundtrack at this point.
In any case, once you've made it past the steep part, you're rewarded with a chance to cool off your feet in the Łomniczka stream, and easy walking for the remaining hour or so to Karpacz.
As usual, more photos are available at lib.finalrewind.org/Słonecznik 2025.