Forester from Kuźnice: Nothing will surprise me on Giewont

The work of Marcin Strączka-Helios and other employees of the Tatra National Park can be followed in the second season of the documentary series "Patrol Tatry", broadcast on FOKUS TV every Sunday at 15:25.

Dariusz Jaroń, Interia: When did you start working in the park?

Marcin Strączek-Helios, TPN: - Eighteen years have turned this year. While still in high school, I earned some extra money during the summer holidays as a farm worker. I also worked seasonally during my studies, and I have been permanently in the park since 2009. First, I was a ranger and forester in Łysa Polana, then a forester in Morskie Oko, and since mid-2016 I have been a forester in Kuźnice.

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Kuźnice and Morskie Oko seem similar, at least in terms of tourist traffic.

- That's right, there are many typical tourist obligations - from traffic management, through monitoring and control of trails, while in Kuźnice there is also a lot of forestry work. We are currently planting a tree to rebuild the tree stand - 24 hectares of planted forest, we are rebuilding the spruce forest from a monoculture into a mixed fir and beech forest with an admixture of sycamore. There is also a self-seeding of these species, and our role is reduced to caring for, ensuring that the vegetation does not overgrow these trees, securing seedlings against being gnawed by deer, i.e. deer, roe deer.

Do you also source wood?

- Small amounts, in the order of several hundred cubic meters per year. Mainly windbreaks, some bark beetle. So there are some typically forest activities, but most of the duties are related to tourist traffic. After all, Kuźnice is the starting point for Giewont, Czerwone Wierchy and Kasprowy.

Can you compare the tourist traffic in Kuźnice to Morskie Oko?

- The main artery leads to Morskie Oko, traffic is concentrated on it. On the way, you can of course take a trip to Polana Waksmundzka or the Valley of Five Ponds, but most tourists go to Morskie Oko. In Kuźnice, accumulation occurs at the fork of the routes, and from here tourists go to Czerwone Wierchy, Kasprowy, Jaworzynka, Giewont, Nosal or Boczań. The crowd is blurring.

Where is more difficult to manage traffic?

- In Kuźnice. You have to monitor several points at the same time, know what are the problems on the trails, whether all the signposts are hanging in their places, whether someone has introduced the dog - and sometimes the quadrupeds run away and it becomes troublesome, sometimes you have to intervene somewhere. The extent of the area is much larger than in Morskie Oko, where we have tourists mainly on one road, therefore logistics is much easier and faster if it is necessary to reach the tourist on the trail. Generally, our guests behave great, but there are exceptions.

What?

- They mainly concern littering and drinking alcohol. For some tourists, the percentages work badly, which later leads to various types of problems - they usually start fights, fights less often, but they also happen, sometimes they sleep drunk in various nooks and crannies, so you have to find such a man and bend over him in order not to hurt him did not stand. There are also acts of vandalism, destruction of infrastructure, tearing off directional signs, sticking stickers on them, painting over with sprays or felt-tip pens. These things still happen, but the awareness of tourists is going in the right direction. It gets better every year.

Where is this improvement coming from?

- I would point out several factors. There are more and more educational programs, also present in the media, the need to segregate rubbish, clean up after oneself is reaching people, the awareness of the impact of litter on the environment and water pollution is growing. If one person gets their feet wet in the Tatra pond, nothing will happen, but if several hundred tourists do it in one day, it will be a problem. This water is not only used by animals, it is also collected for the needs of shelters. A multitude of ecological campaigns is publicized and organized on the Internet, it all influences our everyday attitudes.

- People also travel around the world more often, at least before the pandemic, they had such an opportunity, they see what it looks like in other national parks and also try to take more care of their property in the country, because the Tatra Mountains belong to all of us.

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Let us stop for a moment with vandalism. Every now and then, in social media, we see photos of signed rocks, padlocks, plates or flags hung on Giewont. While the plate can be removed, the inscription is more difficult to remove.

- It really is a problem. To control this phenomenon, we would need many guards, on duty from dawn to dusk in the field. It is not possible. There are fewer and fewer cases of vandalism, but they continue to emerge. I climb Giewont two or three times a month, each time I take a lot of things from the cross: from flags to ribbons, hats, rosaries, pictures, cards, letters. I don't think anything will surprise me up there anymore. Each time there is also a new date written with a marker on the structure of the cross, there are initials, sometimes a name and surname, and even wishes, a telephone number, memories of a successful stay in the Tatra Mountains.

A phone number can be a joke or a way of reaching the perpetrator. Is it possible to scare such a person with a ticket?

- After each patrol, we make a service note in which we find any irregularities. If there is an act of vandalism, we provide documentation to the park guards. The guards investigate, cooperate with the police, sometimes with the courts, and try to reach the perpetrators.

How?

- They even monitor social media, because very often people like to show off a photo or video of doing something that is forbidden in the park. So they leave evidence of swimming in the Tatra pond or walking after dark to greet the sunrise at some peak. They leave a lot of interesting information on Facebook and Instagram, the guards can track it and then the whole procedure starts.

Removing at least some of these photos will result in fewer followers.

- That is our idea. By the way, it's a very selfish approach to hike in the mountains just to show off your photo in front of others. Isn't it better to find a piece of peace and quiet in the Tatras, listen to the sound of the wind and commune with nature? Looking at some profiles, I have the impression that his own ego is more important for such a tourist.

You mentioned that you enter Giewont professionally two or three times a month. Have you counted how many times you have been to the top?

- The hundred broke calmly. In the past, when I was still working in Morskie Oko and Łysa Polana, I used to go to Rysy very often. I counted to a hundred, then stopped.

By the way, I wonder who the record holders are. TPN employees and guides could easily find such a list.

- Colleagues with more experience, active in the mountains from an early age, will certainly have several hundred entries. The coolest thing is that despite this repetition, I still don't get bored with this work. There is no burnout, just a desire to keep hiking in the mountains. Every time Giewont or Rysy enjoys the same.

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Is burnout a real problem?

- You can get monotony, because our work is largely based on wandering along the same paths. We are constantly operating in one of the ten protection circuits. You might think that for the hundredth time I travel the same route, but each time it is slightly different, which will please another person.

What do you enjoy most about the Tatras?

- I enjoy communing with fauna the most. Meetings with the bear. Yes, there is a risk, after all, it is a wild animal, but once each of us goes our own way, there comes a feeling that this work is needed. Animal monitoring is good for something. After all, we are not looking for this effect for emotions, but for information about it, useful, for example, from the point of view of research and science. Sometimes we collect faeces and hair for genetic research, we create family trees of Tatra animals, then they are combined with data from other national parks. The daily duties related to the service of tourist traffic also bring satisfaction, we do it for someone, and we are still in a beautiful place in the open air. A very healthy activity for body and soul.

How should a tourist behave in the event of a bear meeting?

- The key is the awareness that we are dealing with a wild animal. We do not have attacks on people, but you never know for sure what such a bear will come up with. Forget taking photos, approaching, feeding, any bothering the animal. One has to stand still and speak, so that the bear understands that he has a man in front of him, and not a game to be hunted. Bears have poor eyesight, but good sense of smell and hearing. It's good for the encountered individual to hear us. Then let's calmly back off.

Were you at work during last year's storm on Giewont?

- I was just descending from Boczan. It got dark, you could see the storm approaching, so I ran quickly to the forester's lodge. The rain caught me right in front of the building. When the first sounds of thunder came, it was still unknown where they were hitting, only in the mountains. In a moment, information about the tragedy on Giewont appeared on the radio. We got into the car with my colleague and went to the place. We provided first aid, brought in less injured people, and coordinated the traffic. I will not forget this accident for the rest of my life. The enormity of people in need of help, the great tragedy of those killed and injured, but also their relatives. There has not been a storm on such a scale in the Tatras yet.

We will not turn back time, but can a similar tragedy be avoided in the future?

- I have wondered about it more than once. Giewont is a very popular mountain. Many people who come to the Tatra Mountains on vacation seriously consider a trip to the top. And when someone comes in, they want to stay upstairs for a while, have a meal, take a picture of themselves. There is little space, so a cork is formed. In addition, the dome of Giewont is steep, although secured with chains, but some tourists have problems, so the traffic is slow. Therefore, many people gather in one place, and this is an area very exposed to lightning.

We will explain why this is so.

- Giewont is distant from other hills, it is separated from the Red Wierchy by a bit, the area is exposed, it attracts lightning. Whatever we do, this summit will always be risky in a storm. Therefore, when we hear her grunts, when it gets dark, we have to withdraw. There is no point in attacking the summit by force, after all, there is no indication that Giewont will disappear. He will wait for us, we will also get a vacation in the coming years, and we have one life. You have to remember this.

"Tatry Patrol" changed something in your life?

- I must admit that I was skeptical about this idea. I had no experience with the camera, so when I was assigned to take part in the recordings, anxiety surfaced. It disappeared over time, because the film crew took care of a good atmosphere, we talked together about how to show our Tatra Mountains. I get stressed when I watch an episode with my participation, but I am recognizable on the trails. Tourists stop me, ask for photos, we discuss the mountains for a while. I am no longer an anonymous ranger. I hear: "Hello, Mr. from the series?" Pleasant things.

"Tatry Patrol" season 2. A series about mountain guardians. Watch weekly on Sunday at 15:25 on FOKUS TV. You can read more about the program at patroltatry.interia.pl