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I think you might be right. 'negotiating with the national park authorities' sounds like it would be about using one of the tracks that go higher than the road.
I recall that the main climb on the road is long and gentle, so going a bit higher on a track would spice it up a bit.
The low tatras has a nice col which goes to a similar height and is a bit steeper. Also it has a cafe at the top where we stopped so my wife could have an ice cream while I had a beer
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I wonder if either of these two could give a clue
https://www.instagram.com/p/BL6wF4dBmbA/?taken-by=thetranscontinental
https://www.instagram.com/p/BLjhv-1h_Df/?taken-by=thetranscontinental
Mike does love his gravel. I guess a rocky parcours at CP3 is a very real possibility. Especially as the climbing has reduced.