Category: Hiking

Having waked up at 6a.m. we drive to the Pokljuk hotel. Here starts the track to Debela Peč – the highest summit (2014m) of Lipanca mountain range. The track takes us through a forest, then follows the pastures, then trough another forest of fir trees to the Blejska Koča refuge. There we choose the track to Debela Peč summit. The path gets steeper there and it’s stony as well but we soon get to the summit. It is sunny and we have an excellent view of the all mountains of Triglav National Park (the Triglav itself inclusive – a Czech hiker points to it).

Further on from Debela Peč we follow the mountain ridge to other summits – Brda (2009m), Lipanski Vrh (1975m), then by very steep rocky path equipped with cables we get to the next two summits, latter of whom is Mrežce.

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Next we descend back to the Blejska Koča refuge. There we decide to have a lunch and select the only food available – two goulashes looking like cabbage soup and two goulashes looking like goulash with a porridge. A Turk coffee and a tee – everything with a lot of sugar. And excellent view on the summits we have just conquered.

Having finished with our lunch we descend to our car. We have walked 19km in 7.5 hours, height difference 750m.

Our next destination (and the last one for today) is Bled – a picturesque village near the lake. We leave the care uphill near the stronghold. We walk around the stronghold, then follow the zigzag stairway down to the lake Bleda and stroll a bit on a lake promenade.

Download file: Debela Pec.gpx

We drive to Bovec by the fastest route (this happens to go through Italy). Here we should take a cable railway to the start of our route. Unfortunately the cable railway is open only on weekends. Luckily we have our route book with us – we select a route to Pogačnikov Dom that starts near Slovenian village Trenta (village name reminds that this region belonged to Italy before the World War I).

To get to the start of the track in Zadjnica valley we drive from Trenta by the bumpy-stony road. The parking place here is almost full when we are there at 9a.m. Luckily we find a place though.

It’s already hot and sunny. Initially we follow the mountain road taking us to the bottom station of the Pogačnikov Dom cable-railway. We proceed there by the mule track built during World War I. We ascend through the wood of hornbeams and larches that changes to scrubby pines gradually and then to rocks.

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We are at the Pogačnikov Dom after 3.5 hours walk. It’s sunny still and we have a magnificent view on the mountains around, on two lakes and Zadjnica valley.

We return by the same mule track – downhill it appears to be longer then uphill 🙁  We are down in the parking place at 4.30p.m. We have walked 23km in 7.5 hours, height difference 1450m.

Download file: Pogacnikov Dom.gpx

Our car needs a small repair – we have to leave it in a local repair shop for a couple of hours. Meantime we take a walk along the Klopeinersee, ascend the nearby hill Georgi and find there a lovely little Georgi church. Bit by bit we have walked 10km.

To relax from the walk we go to our private bathing-place for a swim one more time. Then we take our car and go to Slovenia to find our next apartment in village Rateče. We find it easily, leave here our belongings and drive to the Vršič mountain pass. The sky is covered by clouds and and it rains lightly here and there. Still the weather is warm and sun shows up once in a while.

We leave our car on the pass and walk the steep path to the Vratica pass. Further on the walk is (as Benita puts it) almost promenade.

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Sun shines brightly on the Slemenova Špica (summit) and we can enjoy there brilliant views on the whitish rock walls. Time to plan the adventures for the next days.

For the return we select another route – the path goes by the rock wall across the stony fields. This is not a big deal though and we are soon back on the pass. We have walked about 6km in 2.5 hours. The height difference 500m.

For the first day we have a light walk in the Logarska Dolina (valley) to the Slap Rinka waterfall. The Logarska Dolina is in Slovenia – we have to drive about 45km across the Pavlich mountain pass.

It is hot and sunny when we start to walk. Luckily enough the path mainly goes through the forest the trees gives us a shadow. The path follows the Savinja stream. The stream has a plenty of water – the herd of black and brown longhair cows enjoys the coolness here. Further on we find that the stream flows out from beneath the large black rock – this is called the Black source. Behind the Black source we walk by (or on) the dry river bed. We are at the waterfall after 2.5 hours of walk.

Rinka waterfall is 105 meters high. The water flows out from a narrow gap in the rock and then falls down 90 meters in a free fall.

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We return by the same route.

While driving back to Austria we have an adventure called – find a gas station. It is Sunday and the first two stations are closed. Lucky enough the second half of the route goes downhill. To save the fuel we avoid to use breaks as much as possible. This brings in some adrenaline 🙂 The third gas station is open – what a relief.

In the evening we walk to lake Klopeiner to make use of the private bathing-place of our apartment.

Download file: Logarska Dolina.gpx

We are going to Julian Alps (Slovenia) by car in a good company of our friends Benita and Imants. The trip has two parts – the Nordic Walking championship in Austria and the Slovenian Alps. We drive through Lithuania and Poland to Czechia where we stay in a hotel on the outskirts of Olomouc.

On the next day we have a short tour in Punkevna caves of the Moravsky Kras Nature park and then drive to village Klopein in Austria. The second part of our trip starts on September 11th 2011 after 4 days spent on the road and in Austria. We still are staying in Klopein – close to the Slovenian border.

diary:

Logarska Dolina

Slemenova Špica

Pogačnikov Dom

Debela Peč

Korita Mostnice and lake Bohinja

Mala Mojstrovka

Visoki Kanin

Tromeja