Sucha Polana

In spring the broad saddle of the Sucha Pass turns purple with crocuses, and all year round trails from Dobczyce, Myślenice and Kudłacze meet here. Yet Sucha Polana in the Lubomir and Łysina range is more than a place for a campfire: during the Second World War partisan units were reviewed and field Masses were held here, as a field altar and a memorial stone recall.

Where the clearing lies

The clearing covers the saddle of the Sucha Pass (about 710 m) between Łysina (891 m) and Kamiennik Południowy (827 m). It belongs to the village of Lipnik in the Wiśniowa municipality (Myślenice County); the eastern slopes drop towards the Lipnik stream, while the Kamieniczanka rises on the north-west side. The range is assigned either to the Beskid Wyspowy or to the Beskid Makowski – maps and guidebooks disagree.

History: from a shepherds' hut to partisan Masses

The clearing was once also called Równica. A shepherds' hut stood here, used by herdsmen grazing sheep for farmers from Konina in the Gorce mountains. During the Second World War partisan units were reviewed here, and on 3 September 1944 a field Mass was held at which the pennant of the Myślenice district of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa, the Polish underground army) was blessed. After the war a forester's lodge stood here, where hikers could stay, along with a campsite; the mountain hostel once planned for the clearing was eventually built at Kudłacze instead. In 2002 a boulder with a plaque and a cross was unveiled; the small shrine on it was brought down from the summit of Lubomir.

What to look for

• The field altar with an original metal anchor emblem of Fighting Poland. According to the route description, Lt Ryszard Mazur, codename "Rymsza", placed it on Lubomir to mark his escape from a German ambush on 15 September 1944; it was later kept at the Kudłacze hostel and then moved to the clearing.
• Crocuses flowering in early spring – the pass is also one of the few sites in the Carpathians where the marsh gentian grows.
• a shelter, a campfire spot and an educational corner with information boards.

Tripto tip

The shortest approach is from Lipnik along a forest road marked in black: 2.5 km and about an hour on foot, easy with children too. From Poręba a wide forest road of about 4 km (around 300 m of ascent) is passable with large-wheeled pushchairs and mountain bikes; you can park by the church in Poręba. From Kudłacze the green trail takes about 50 minutes, and from Łysina the yellow trail about a quarter of an hour. There is no water on the clearing; the nearest spring is on the slope of Łysina by the yellow trail. Come for the crocuses in early spring – exactly when they flower depends on when the snow melts.