The Great Szyszak (1509 m n.p.m.) – the second highest and highest peak made of granite in the Karkonosze Mountains. The top is on the Polish side. A post-glacial Great Snow Cauldron cuts into the north-west slope of the mountain. On the rock rubble covering the top, structural soils with rubble wreaths have developed (the result of selective segregation of rock fragments in cold climate conditions). Rocky grasslands with a dominant sieve and low fescue break through between the boulders covered with lichen..
Panorama from Wielki Szyszak, covering the Giant Mountains, Jelenia Góra Valley, Jizera Mountains and other surrounding ranges, is one of the most interesting in the Western Sudetes.
The knot of trails: the blue one descends to Rozdroże pod Wielki Szyszak and further to the Szklarka valley.
Soon we are standing on the pass near Śmielec (1390 m n.p.m.). From here we go to Śmielec (1424 m n.p.m., formerly confused with Wielki Szyszak) and we go down to the Black Pass (1350 m n.p.m.), below which the Czarny Kocioł cuts into the mountain slopes.
The knot of trails: slightly below the peak, the blue one descends north along the Coral Path to Jagniątków, and to the south to the Martinova bouda chalet (it takes a quarter of an hour to get there). Above the pass, near the border, there is a stone obelisk commemorating the death of the Czech journalist R.. Kalman in January 1929 r.
The trail briefly goes up to the Bohemian Stones (Czech. Men's stones, 1417 m n.p.m., the solitary rock is called the Beak), from where it leads on flat terrain to the Silesian Stones (Czech. Wild stones, 1413 m n.p.m.). Both rock groups clearly culminate in the Main Ridge. They are built of heavily weathered granites, overgrown with mountain pine.
The trail then descends towards the Petrova bouda chalet, which goes around the asphalt road, just behind the shelter, on the Hutniczy Ridge, a knot of trails.
The knot of trails: the black road to Jagniątków by the road called Petrowka (formerly a popular toboggan run), blue on Ptuji kamen (1310 m n.p.m.). There are several shelters on the Czech side: Spindler, Fire, Moravska bouda, Cartography and Novopacka.
The trail goes down the road to Przełęcz Dołek (1178 m n.p.m.) passing the green trail on the way to the Moravska bouda hut, it crosses a branch of the Sudecka Road and crosses the Ptasi Kamień peak (Czech. Cihadlo, 1215 m n.p.m.), from where it reaches the Karkonoska Pass (Czech. Slezske Sedlo, 1198 m n.p.m.).
The knot of trails: blue left to Przesieka and Borowice, to the right to the shelters in the village of Davidovy Boudy, green to the village of Spindleruv Młyn.
After a few minutes of walking along the asphalt road, we reach the “Odrowanie”.