Another tiring day in the snowy mountains with a disappointing end.
It was an unpleasant start to the day as my boots were so frozen I had difficulty getting them on. My socks were wet but warm as I kept them in my sleeping bag overnight. My boots gradually thawed as I climbed steeply through trees to the top of Vrh Štrubej. I did not stay long at the top, I was worried about weather, it felt a bit like being in the "death zone" on Everest but it was only 940 m high! I followed various trail markings down and then south. The snow slowed me down especially where drifting had made it deep. The track was very variable, deeply rutted in places beneath the snow as a result of logging operations which made me slither about. At only 2.1 km/hr I was achieving almost half my normal pace. I had planned to cross Vratna mountain but bypassed it as it looked steep and rocky and I was just too tired.
On the approach to the mountain of Veliki Vulcan I came across my first footprints of the day, left by a group of people! I felt sad when my route turned off theirs. My route took me up the mountain of Mali Vulcan. The last section was very steep but well waymarked, although fallen trees made the climb more difficult. Although within 20 metres of the top of Mali Vulcan I did not go to the summit as my chosen route headed down before the then. Probably a mistake as it was difficult to find my planned path down and I knew there were other trails from the top. Due to snow obscuring the track I lost the path for much of the time, any trail markings were very faint. I was heavily dependant on my GPS which was not convenient when you need both hands to balance and in one I had my trekking pole which stopped me falling a number of times. Somewhere the basket on the bottom of my pole sheared off. Maybe no great loss as it tended to grow a ball of ice and snow. I was floundering in the snow on the steep and wooded slope, tripping and slipping on hidden branches. It would have been a poor path even in good weather, overgrown in places. Eventually I joined another path coming down from the summit with the footprints of walkers. They must have come down from the summit earlier by a better route. I easily followed their tracks down to the road. It was then a quick and easy walk through a narrow valley surrounded by mountains to Gornjak monastery passing another abandoned monastery cut into the cliffs.
As daylight waned I reached Gornjak and admit I was hoping for a welcome like I had received at Tumane, and maybe even a bed and something to eat. Unfortunately the lone lady at the monastery did not understand me and I did not understand her, my fault for not speaking the language of the country at all but it would have been nice to see the church (I think I was there a little before closing time at 6:00 pm). Instead I was directed to the exit. There appeared to be some accommodation opposite but it was all closed up and deserted except for the inevitable dog.
So I walked up the valley and camped by a spring where there was a picnic table on a little bit of higher ground. Camping close to the river I thought unwise as the snow was melting and the river looked close to flooding. It would have been a pleasant picnic spot in nice weather. There was a deserted tunnel and an old building nearby, created by the Germans in the second world war. As I went to sleep big drops of water from melting snow were landing on my tent.
A 27.7 kilometre walk today with just under a 1000 metres of climbing. A gpx file of my route can be found on Wikiloc.com, and WanderMap.net. The route can also be downloaded from Viewranger.com as johnpon0027.
It was an unpleasant start to the day as my boots were so frozen I had difficulty getting them on. My socks were wet but warm as I kept them in my sleeping bag overnight. My boots gradually thawed as I climbed steeply through trees to the top of Vrh Štrubej. I did not stay long at the top, I was worried about weather, it felt a bit like being in the "death zone" on Everest but it was only 940 m high! I followed various trail markings down and then south. The snow slowed me down especially where drifting had made it deep. The track was very variable, deeply rutted in places beneath the snow as a result of logging operations which made me slither about. At only 2.1 km/hr I was achieving almost half my normal pace. I had planned to cross Vratna mountain but bypassed it as it looked steep and rocky and I was just too tired.
On the approach to the mountain of Veliki Vulcan I came across my first footprints of the day, left by a group of people! I felt sad when my route turned off theirs. My route took me up the mountain of Mali Vulcan. The last section was very steep but well waymarked, although fallen trees made the climb more difficult. Although within 20 metres of the top of Mali Vulcan I did not go to the summit as my chosen route headed down before the then. Probably a mistake as it was difficult to find my planned path down and I knew there were other trails from the top. Due to snow obscuring the track I lost the path for much of the time, any trail markings were very faint. I was heavily dependant on my GPS which was not convenient when you need both hands to balance and in one I had my trekking pole which stopped me falling a number of times. Somewhere the basket on the bottom of my pole sheared off. Maybe no great loss as it tended to grow a ball of ice and snow. I was floundering in the snow on the steep and wooded slope, tripping and slipping on hidden branches. It would have been a poor path even in good weather, overgrown in places. Eventually I joined another path coming down from the summit with the footprints of walkers. They must have come down from the summit earlier by a better route. I easily followed their tracks down to the road. It was then a quick and easy walk through a narrow valley surrounded by mountains to Gornjak monastery passing another abandoned monastery cut into the cliffs.
As daylight waned I reached Gornjak and admit I was hoping for a welcome like I had received at Tumane, and maybe even a bed and something to eat. Unfortunately the lone lady at the monastery did not understand me and I did not understand her, my fault for not speaking the language of the country at all but it would have been nice to see the church (I think I was there a little before closing time at 6:00 pm). Instead I was directed to the exit. There appeared to be some accommodation opposite but it was all closed up and deserted except for the inevitable dog.
So I walked up the valley and camped by a spring where there was a picnic table on a little bit of higher ground. Camping close to the river I thought unwise as the snow was melting and the river looked close to flooding. It would have been a pleasant picnic spot in nice weather. There was a deserted tunnel and an old building nearby, created by the Germans in the second world war. As I went to sleep big drops of water from melting snow were landing on my tent.
A 27.7 kilometre walk today with just under a 1000 metres of climbing. A gpx file of my route can be found on Wikiloc.com, and WanderMap.net. The route can also be downloaded from Viewranger.com as johnpon0027.
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| On the summit of Vrh Stubej |
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| Snow drifts making the going difficult, Vratna mountain ahead |
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| Snowy views |
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| Road to Gornjak monastery, note old monastery in cliff ahead |
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