Climbing Mrežce

In early April I wanted to spend some more time on the snow before it was finally gone, so the decision was made: I was going to climb one of the peaks above Pokljuka. I left home relatively late, hoping to catch a nice sunset at the top. After leaving the car at Planina Javorniki at about 3 p.m. I hurried uphill to the Lipanca hut. I had been thinking of hiking to Debela peč for a few weeks but I changed my mind at the hut as I knew the views would be much better from Mrežce.

Lipanca hut with my final destination, Mrežce, looming over it.

From the hut up the trail wasn't well-trodden at all. I had to trudge through heavy snow and this was actually one of the few sections with footprints. Not that they helped. :)

This was great exercise! Sloshing through wet snow and having to lift your feet high with every step - yeah!

Soon I reached the ridge and caught the first glimpse of the mountains beyond.

The summit wasn't far, but I sank into the snow up to my butt quite a few times slowing my progress considerably. :)

Glorious views. From Mali Draški vrh and Veliki Draški vrh (left) to Triglav and Rž (right).

Ski tourers' trails.

In a matter of seconds the clouds turned dark.

... and a few minutes later, when I had a quick self-portrait photo session, the mood changed completely.

I was patient and I waited. Sure enough, 20 minutes later the sun peeked from behind the clouds again.

Triglav and sun rays.

My goal was to wait for the sunset as it looked it was going to be a nice one.


But more clouds came and it didn't seem they were going away any time soon. These were the last beams illuminating Planika hut before it got completely cloudy and I rushed back down.

One last look back to where I had been, and off I was.

More photos here.

Pokljuka

Pokljuka is one of those places that I keep returning to regardless of the season and weather. Admittedly, these photos are a few months old, but they are still winter photos, taken on a particularly moody day: the sun, puffy clouds and an ominous dark mass obscuring the sky, all in a matter of hours. :)

In the morning, the sky was perfect blue with very picturesque puffy streaks.

From the south, though, layers of grey clouds started to hide the sun.

Soon there was drama in the sky! Perfect time for HDRs. ;)


The sun never reappeared that day.

Famous Pokljuka forests and some PS work. ;)

Pokljuka

It was one of those days when the weather was impossible to predict, especially the fog. Heading to Pokljuka around noon, we first wanted to climb Mt. Viševnik, but seeing there would probably be no views from the top we opted for skiing on the nearby course. There are only two short ski lifts, but as the queues weren't long, it was actually possible to get some good exercise. The fog kept rolling in and out, luckily it only reached tree tops, and for a few fleeting moments we saw the sun, too.







After skiing we drove around Pokljuka for a while.

Planina Javornik was fighting the fog.

The road was snowy but quite passable.

One of the cabins on Pokljuka.

A cabin in an enchanted forest? ;)

The sweet light just before sunset on the hills around Šijec peat bog.

Sunlit tree tops.

A snowman was guarding the peat bog.

The sun set and the clouds turned orange.

One more look across the snowy marshes and off we went.

Driving home we stopped at Gorjuše to take the last few photos for the day.


More photos here.