Hrofa Breath
Why did I call this hike therapeutic and prophylactic? Probably couldn't resist making a pun. There is such a technique in psychiatry, called holotropic breathing or Grof breathing (after the name of its inventor and popularizer Stanislav Grof). It consists of certain physical exercises combined with extreme acceleration of the breathing rhythm to supersaturate the blood with oxygen, and leads to an altered state of consciousness.
Does this remind you of anything? Just such transformations happen to a tourist on the first day of a hike. He crawls up the mountain, breathing like a steam locomotive (a sedentary lifestyle does not go unpunished), the level of oxygen (the purest mountain oxygen) in the blood goes off scale, so that he feels dizzy. Although, perhaps, it is not the breath that makes his head spin, but that freedom and that intoxicating taste of life that you feel so keenly here in the mountains.
Trek plan
RouteRoute map
The GPS track is not digitised yet, the line is approximate (by key points).
Along the trailWhat you will see
Day by dayItinerary
1 Ivano-Frankivsk - Osmoloda village - Plystse meadow - Mount Grofa (1748 m)
The group meets in the morning at the train station in Ivano-Frankivsk. After this, we take a minibus to the village of Osmoloda, where the pedestrian part of the route begins. We walk along the valley of the Kotelets River, enjoying the beauty of the fir and smerek forests of the Carpathians along the way. In winter, avalanches often roll down from the top of Mount Grofa. We have to go through the consequences of the collapse of one of them - fallen tree trunks stretch for three hundred meters. Don't worry, there are no avalanches in the Carpathians in summer.
On the right side of us rise the mountains - Great and Small Kanusyak, which stand majestically next to the most beautiful peak of the Carpathians - Mount Grofa (1748 m), where we are heading. We leave our things at the tourist shelter in the Plisce meadow and climb to the top of Grofa, which got its name because of the majestic beauty of the count. Overnight in the Plisce meadow.
Travel distance: 9 km
Day 2. Polonina Plisce – Parenki ridge (1736 m) – Mount Malaya Popadya (1598 m) – Mount Popadya (1740 m).
In the morning our path will pass through beautiful forests and glades of Gorgan. Then we will enter the zone of dwarf pine (zherep), which covers the top of the Parenki ridge. The path is replete with difficulties in the form of piles of stones. From the top of the ridge we will see the Sivuli and Igrovets mountain ranges, as well as our next route point – Mount Popadya. Popadya is considered one of the most picturesque mountains in the Carpathians. At its top there is a landmark - a pillar of the Polish-Slovak border with coats of arms. Here in 1928 the old border ran, the pillars of which we can see on many Carpathian ridges. From the top of Popadya (1740 m) almost the entire Gorgany mountain range and Transcarpathian ridges are visible. Overnight under Mount Popadya.
Travel distance: 9 km
Day 3.Saddle of Popadya - Mount Koretvina (1671 m) - Osmoloda village - Ivano-Frankivsk
In the morning we continue our journey through the highlands among thickets of dwarf pine. Our path will pass along the top of Mount Koretvina (1671 m) and along the slope of Mount Petros Gorgansky. Then we will have a long descent into the valley of the Petros River, where we will quickly reach Osmoloda along a convenient road. The group returns to Ivano-Frankivsk.
Travel distance: 12 km
The instructor has the right to make changes to the route
Prices
from 3600 UAH / person
Included
The tour price includes: guide services, meals, pots and a stove.
Not included
The tour price does not include: transfer, gear rental, recreational fees.