The Loop – cztery dni samotnej i dzikiej pętli przez Beskidy

About myself

Before I tell you about this particular trip, I thought it would be worth saying a few words about myself. Maybe then it will be easier to understand where I came from and why I try to give meaning to everyday life in this way. I am not a professional athlete. I don't have a team of coaches or sponsors at my disposal. I am just an ordinary guy from Łódź who decided to use his own legs to change the world for the better. I have a backpack, shoes, a head full of ideas and probably a little too much ambition. For several years now, I have been hiking in the mountains, sometimes for long periods, sometimes quickly, most often with some crazy plan and an even nobler goal. I come back from each trip a little different, richer in experience, full of humility and gratitude. Because walking is not just about kilometres. It's also about people, emotions, failures and small victories. And I just like to share that.

A raw Beskid adventure

A four-day solo trip around the Beskids. Starting on Saturday at 4:00 a.m. in Bielsko-Biała, finishing in the same place on Tuesday at 9:45 p.m. Along the way, the Silesian, Żywiec and Little Beskids. The Great Beskid Loop gave me everything I was looking for: intensity, fatigue, beauty and silence. On the trail, I have space to experience myself through effort and simplicity. I did not sleep in shelters. I spent the nights in an observation tower, in an abandoned shepherd's hut and, in an emergency, when a storm surprised me, under the roof of an ATM. I didn't eat hot meals because I didn't want to waste time. I had everything I needed with me. It's a very austere approach, based on maximum simplicity. The whole trip cost me PLN 160. Water from springs, food from local shops. Comfort is what you make it. But it is this lonely, frugal, wild style that allows you to experience the road to the fullest. Everything unnecessary falls away. All that remains is the trail, the rhythm of your steps and your mind, which finally slows down.

A 4.7 kg backpack and nothing else

When choosing equipment for long-distance trails, I take a very restrictive approach. I know that every unnecessary gram will take its toll on my knees, back and head with every kilometre. Over the years, I have developed my own minimalist but complete set of equipment. Every item has its purpose. Nothing is random. Nothing is unnecessary. My entire luggage on this trail weighed exactly 4.7 kg. I know this because I weighed it on my official bathroom scales, without any tricks. On top of that, there is food and water, which is an average of about 4 kg more, depending on the stage of the route. What did I take with me? A sleeping bag, trekking poles, a tarp, a water filter, a headlamp, a minimal first aid kit, a GPS watch, a power bank, flip-flops from Allegro for PLN 12, a toothbrush with the handle cut off, because why carry the whole thing, and a pair of very comfortable used Altra Lone Peak 5 shoes from Vinted for PLN 120. I have everything I need. The rest is just the road.

A trail that teaches humility

There were several beautiful moments. The first light at dawn on Klimczok, fog rolling through the meadows below Rysianka, a deserted sunrise on Babia Góra. Moments of absolute solitude that open your eyes and organise your thoughts. The Loop is a well-designed trail. Diverse, logical, demanding. For me, it was a repeat of sections of the GSB, which I once walked blindly in the rain and fog, and now I could finally see them in full sunlight, rediscover them. It also showed me that you don't need a lot of money or advanced equipment to experience something important. A road for hikers You don't have to sleep under the open sky to complete this route. You can do it with overnight stays in shelters and a larger budget, and it will be an equally valuable trip. But if you want to test yourself physically, mentally and organisationally and feel greater freedom, this trail really gives you that opportunity. Only one thing is important: you have to want it! And if this text is to inspire anyone, it is to show that it is possible, that it can be done, and that every journey begins with the decision to take that first step, put on your backpack and leave your home.

 

Author of the text and photos: Piotr Witaszewski
Creator of the Sudety Grand Trail