Karkoszczonka Pass

Karkoszczonka is the lowest and easiest crossing of the main ridge of the Silesian Beskids between Szczyrk and Brenna – a broad saddle at roughly 723–729 m (sources give both figures) that locals have used for centuries. For a long time it also separated two worlds: Cieszyn Silesia and the Żywiec region, two dioceses and two styles of highlander dress.

A border you cannot see

The ridge above the pass divided the historical Duchy of Cieszyn (earlier part of the Kingdom of Bohemia) from the Żywiec area, which belonged to the Kingdom of Poland. The boundary between the dioceses of Kraków and Wrocław also ran here for more than nine centuries, and it is still a natural ethnographic line: Brenna wore the costume of the Silesian highlanders, Szczyrk that of the Żywiec highlanders. People in Szczyrk-Biła sometimes simply call the pass "the Border". Today the boundary between Brenna and Szczyrk runs across the saddle.

Where the name comes from

Until fairly recently the pass was known as "Skałka", like the old name of nearby Klimczok. The current name was borrowed from a former shepherds' settlement on the clearings on the Biła side and comes from the dialect word "karkosze" – the branches lopped off felled conifers.

Chata Wuja Toma

Just below the saddle, on the Szczyrk side, stands the private mountain hut "Chata Wuja Toma" (Uncle Tom's Cabin). It occupies a wooden highlander cottage built in 1918; from the 1970s it was a student hut run by the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, and in 1998 it was bought by private owners, who renamed and extended it. It is a popular goal for short walks from Szczyrk and a good place for a meal on a ridge hike.

Trails and access

• yellow from Brenna Bukowa – the Brenna council gives 2 hours up / 1.5 hours down; the lower section is a nature trail with boards on local plants and animals (start at the car park by Karczma pod Skalicą),
• yellow from Szczyrk Centrum – about 50 minutes,
• red Main Beskid Trail – about 1 hour to Klimczok, about 2.5 hours to Salmopol Pass.

The roads from both valleys are mostly covered with narrow tarmac, but driving over the pass is not allowed – there is a barrier on the Brenna side, and the forest road is managed by the State Forests. Plans to open it to public traffic resurface from time to time, but the State Forests and environmental groups have so far opposed them.

Tripto tip

Karkoszczonka makes a good first mountain outing with children: the walk up from Szczyrk is short and there is a hut at the top. Keener hikers can combine the pass with Klimczok and return to Szczyrk by a different route. Check the hut's opening times before you set off, especially out of season.