Gówniak

Gówniak (also Główniak, Głowniak or Wołowe Skałki — «Ox Rocks») is a 1644 m top on the north-eastern ridge of the Babia Góra massif, in the Babia Góra range. In Jerzy Kondracki's classic regionalisation it belongs to the Żywiec Beskids, in the newest one to the Żywiec-Orawa Beskids. Gówniak is one of Babia Góra's five so-called ridge summits; the main summit, Diablak (1725 m), is less than a kilometre away. The boundary between Zawoja (Sucha County) and Lipnica Wielka (Nowy Targ County) in Lesser Poland runs over the top, as does the European main watershed between the Vistula and Danube basins. The summit lies within Babia Góra National Park.

How to get there / trails

The red Main Beskid Trail crosses Gówniak: Krowiarki pass (Przełęcz Lipnicka, about 1010 m) – Sokolica – Kępa – Gówniak – Diablak. Krowiarki pass, with a national-park entrance and car park, is about 3.4 km from the summit. Above Gówniak the path passes two more ridge flats — Mały Garb Niżni (1660 m) and Mały Garb Wyżni (1675 m) — and a shallow saddle just below Diablak, called Siodło Bończy (1715 m) since 1980. The PTTK Markowe Szczawiny hut is 2.2 km away.

The view from the top

The rocky top offers a wide panorama. Gówniak forms a distinct rocky hump surrounded by the boulders of the so-called Babia Góra block field. Hikers often mistake Gówniak for the main summit of Babia Góra — especially in fog, when the real Diablak cannot be seen.

Nature and history

The slopes are covered with dwarf mountain pine, and in spring the alpine pasque flower blooms in white profusion on the block field. The name «Ox Rocks» comes from Orava herders who grazed oxen on the southern slopes of Babia Góra and drove them at night to shelter under these rocks. The name Gówniak — literally «dung hill» — comes from the large amounts of cattle dung that accumulated here. The form «Główniak» found on some maps was, according to the naturalist Władysław Midowicz, a distortion born of false modesty.

The summit once marked the border between Galicia and Orava, which belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary; since 1920 the whole area of the five ridge summits has been Polish (except during the Second World War). During the war the Slovak–German border ran here — granite posts marked S (Slovensko) and D (Deutschland) remained from it. They were later knocked down and in 2012 were used to build a tourist path.

Safety, season and rules

Babia Góra is known for sudden weather changes, strong wind and fog; in fog it is easy to take Gówniak for the summit and leave the trail. Entry to Babia Góra National Park is paid (10 zł, reduced 5 zł), and walking is allowed on marked trails only. Mountain rescue is GOPR: 985 or +48 601 100 300; emergency number 112.

Photos: Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; Zorro2212, CC BY-SA 3.0; Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.