Skałka (Sądecki Beskids)

Skałka is a 1,163 m summit in the Sądecki Beskids in southern Poland. Its massif rises on the main ridge of the Radziejowa range between Rokita (898 m) and Przehyba (1,175 m). The boundaries of three localities meet on the highest top of Skałka: Szczawnica (Nowy Targ County) and Obidza and Gaboń (Nowy Sącz County) in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Obidza is about 4.7 km away, Jazowsko 6.5 km and Szczawnica 6.9 km.

The summit area is a wooded ridge running west–east with four tops: 1,137 m (indistinct), 1,156, 1,163 and 1,148 m. From the highest one the side ridge of Jasiennik runs north and then splits into a western branch with Spadzie (1,058 m) and a northern one with Będzikówka (972 m). The northern slopes of Skałka descend to the Majdański Potok valley, the southern ones to the Sopotnicki Potok valley.

Getting there / trails

The red Main Beskid Trail (GSB) crosses the summit (per OpenStreetMap, just a few metres from it) on the section Dzwonkówka – Przehyba; the international Eisenach – Budapest route and the European path E3 follow the same ridge. According to Polish Wikipedia, the walk from Dzwonkówka to Przehyba takes about 2 h 10 min (1 h 50 min the other way), with Skałka in between. The PTTK mountain hut on Przehyba is about 1.7 km to the east.

What you can see from the top

The summit is wooded and the sources describe no panorama from it. Skałka is, however, easy to spot from the side: from Szafranówka in the Pieniny it looks like the highest summit of the Sądecki Beskids, and it is visible from the Herślowa glade in Obidza, from the glades on Dzwonkówka and from Okrąglica Północna. Skałka and Złomisty Wierch make neighbouring Przehyba hard to see from the trails of the Radziejowa range.

Nature and history

There are rocks on the highest top and on the slopes; one of them, St Kinga's Stone, has been declared a natural monument. According to a board put up in 2004, legend says that in 1285 St Kinga rested here while fleeing from the Tatars into the Pieniny. Nearby, according to Commons photo captions, stand monuments to the so-called "cursed soldiers" of the anti-communist underground — Marian Mordarski ("Śmiga"), Zygmunt Wawrzuta ("Śmiały") and Bronisław Bublik ("Żar").

In the past, mountain pastures stretched for about 2 km along the ridge of Skałka — the one now followed by the red trail. Once grazing ended they became forested, and only fragments remain. These pastures were farmed by Tomasz Guszkiewicz, known as "Gruś" (1824–1910), a shepherd famous in the area and regarded by local people as a sorcerer.

Safety, season and rules

The red ridge trail over Skałka is easy and can be walked all year round, but it is a long forest section; in winter the Radziejowa ridge is covered in deep snow. The summit is not in a national park, but St Kinga's Stone is a natural monument: do not scratch or damage the rocks. Mountain rescue: GOPR, 985 or +48 601 100 300; the general emergency number is 112.

Interesting facts

• The boundaries of three localities meet on the highest top of Skałka.
• According to legend, St Kinga rested on St Kinga's Stone in 1285.
• Local people regarded the shepherd "Gruś", who grazed flocks on Skałka's pastures, as a sorcerer.

Photos: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Fallaner, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.