09 October 2009

Kamnik Alps - Day 3

We woke up to another beautiful morning. Breakfast at dawn, a few photos in front of the hut and off we went.



The surrounding peaks were already illuminated by orange sun rays and while hiking along the scree below the Kalska gora rock face we kept stopping and taking pictures of Grintovec and Kocna.

After less than an hour we stood on top of Kalska gora, which is one of the best lookout points with views towards the whole Kamnik Alps (except the easternmost part). The peaks seemed within easy reach.


Struca and its peculiar shape.

The sun was just above Velika planina.

We returned to the junction along the ridge and continued towards our next goal, Kalski greben in the background.

The trail was diverse, but only one section made our heart beat a little faster. A ten-meter vertical drop equipped with steel cable requires a lot of strength in your hands.

The whole trail offer fantastic views. We kept turning our heads back.

The last stretch of the climb to Kalski greben.

At the top we found a nice little grassy patch to sit down, have lunch and enjoy the vistas.
Kocna, one of the few mountains we left out, will have to wait until next year.

The valley was foggy. Krvavec seemed deceptively close from here.

The descent was an easy stroll across the grassy slopes and later through mountain pine. The Jez ridge in the background.

We opted for the trail to Dolga njiva.

A few sun rays shone brightly on the larches.

There was one more ascent of about 200 altitude meters.

On Krvavec views to the south opened up and we saw Kamniski vrh, my favorite short climb, from the northern side.

With very sore feet we scrambled across the meadows to our final destination. Our eagerness to take photos dwindled a bit, and on top of that sheep didn't seem to like being photographed. They all showed us their backs. :)

Disappointingly, the Gospinc hut was closed and jota we had both fantasized about for the last hour had to be replaced by sandwiches that still lay around in our backpacks.

To sum up: this was a wonderful traverse of the Kamnik Alps, and although I had done it a few times before, I would do it again. Maybe in the opposite direction the next time. :)

More photos here and on Sandi's blog.

Day 1 here.
Day 2 here.

2 comments:

Luka said...

great photos Ana - again! And next week we go together to Julian Alps - let's hope for the best with the weather and autumn colours...

Ana Pogačar said...

I'm keeping my fingers crossed!