Altitude Adjustment

/ J.D. Riso

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Zakopane, Poland – June 2007

It’s not easy to get a photo of Morskie Oko without the crowds, but it is possible. I tilt my camera slightly up towards the sky. Unfortunately, my sister Penelope and I did not get up early enough to make it here before the crowds and the high noon sun. It’s not optimum photo-taking conditions.

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“There’s a trail that leads to a second lake up there.” I keep my voice neutral.

Pebby squints at the ridge. “Let’s go.” She motions me to go first.

We circle around Morskie Oko. A few minutes away from the lodge, the crowd thins out leaving a steady stream of hikers moving in both directions. I walk at a slow pace, but pretend it’s normal so she doesn’t think that I’m babying her. Every once in while I hear her swear. “I’m so stupid. Why did I buy cheap hiking boots?” She bought new boots just before this trip and they’ve worn the skin off her ankles. She’s put bandage upon bandage over the sores. We spent the last few days with our cousins who live in the foothills of the Tatras. We’ve been hiking almost every day. Her feet can’t take much more.

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We reach the junction to Czarny Staw. Black Lake. The trail is now straight up and pure rock. Pebby takes a few steps and then comes to a halt. She pulls off the boots with a few choice words. Other hikers look at her in amusement. “That’s it. I’m going barefoot.” She ties the boots to her backpack and starts up the trail. The bandages on the backs of her feet rasp against her pant legs.

I let her go first without saying a word. The trail narrows. There’s barely space for two people going up or down at a time. Other hikers hurry by, oblivious to Pebby’s handicap. When she teeters or slips, I restrain myself from reaching out to steady her. I’ve heard that even experienced hikers often injure themselves on the easy stretches. As if sensing my unease, she halts. “Will you just go on up ahead of me? Jeez!”

I pass by her without a word. We haven’t fought at all on this trip, in spite of our personality differences. She’s a beach person, a surfer. She’s high energy and loves extreme sports. I’m lethargic, introverted, and need quiet tests of endurance. Elevation is my element.

We do have some things in common – big appetites, hot tempers, a fondness for rabbits that borders on obsession, and an aversion to having our photos taken.

I snap a quick photo of the trail while she’s looking down. I’ll email her the photo after she’s home and the sores have healed. So she can remember her perserverance. My legs burn, but it’s a pain that I welcome. A small waterfall tumbles down from the ridge. We’re almost there.

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I push on ahead. Putting one foot in front of the other is the best therapy for my anxieties.  In a couple of days, Pebby will go home. I will go to Poznań and begin a new life. I’m walking along the edge of a precipice. So many things can come along and knock me off. Or not.

There are others on the ridge, but they speak in hushed voices. If they speak at all. The silence of the high mountains is like that of a sharp indrawn breath. What will follow – a scream or a laugh?

I gaze down at my little sister as she stands on the edge.

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38 thoughts on “Altitude Adjustment”

  6. Love stories about siblings – my (older) sister only became socially acceptable/less irritating in her fifties 🙂 Is there another story about the transformation of Penelope to Pebby?

    • Haha, You totally got it. 🙂 My siblings are characters. Penelope is actually not her real name, because she wants to remain anonymous. Or else! But we really do call her Pebby, because my brother Billy (whom I’ve posted about – real name, his) couldn’t pronounce her real name when he was a boy, so he called her that instead.

  9. Oh my! Poland is stunning! I want to go live beside that water. Can’t believe my eyes. Sheesh! I know so many Polish people in Ireland… I can hardly fathom that they’d willingly leave that place behind!

  10. wow! simply amazing photos!
    I have three brothers and we are all different
    yet we have some similarities just like Pebby and you.

    I remember in another post you talked about the element of fire
    never for got that, in this one Elevation, says a lot ;).

    • Thanks, Doris. It’s probably normal for siblings to have some similarities and differences in personality. Some of it is probably genetic and other parts from growing up together. I’ve got 2 brother and 2 sisters.

      You have a good memory about that post of months ago. People are instinctively drawn to certain landscapes. It took me a while to realize that I feel good in the mountains, probably because I didn’t grow up near any. What is your favorite type of landscape/element?

      • Well you made me think, I love to be in nature in general, but in chiapas being in the jungle with mountains and water that made me feel free, thinking about it is water maybe although I love fire too, but what makes me feel calm and at peace the element of water it just me. I am not a beach person but love to be by the sea, not burning like a chicken on the sand, that is not me. Also I don’t like to travel when there are a lot of tourist is just annoying, try to take pictures with out them, even if I go to those tourist traps, just like you mention in this post about trying not to take picture with all of these tourist.

        • Very interesting! I had a feeling that you were a sea person. The jungle…that’s probably the least hospitable place for me. I get physically ill there. My sister (Pebby) likes the jungle. 😉 Regarding tourists at Morskie Oko…it’s obnoxious. If you ever read tourist reviews of it, everyone agrees. It’s like Prague, but out in nature.

          • Well I did go to the jungle but slept in a hostel so did not get the full deal, I do not think I can stand insects love the outdoors but things biting me no. So I am a bit like Pebby 😉 funny have a great weekend

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