Climbing Mt. Koroška Rinka in the Kamnik Alps

The weather hasn't been really inducive to hiking and mountaineering this summer as it's been very rainy and cold, so when the forecast said there would be two sunny days in a row, I quickly made plans for a 2-day trip in the Kamnik Alps. Aco dropped me off at Jezersko on Friday afternoon, and the first part of my hike began. Mt. Velika Baba on the left was where I was headed.


A trail through the forest took me to Jenkova planina first.


I quickly gained altitude and soon the village of Jezersko was far below me.


Forest gave way to rocks and soon Mt. Mala Baba was in front of me.


I timed the ascent to be at the top of Mt. Velika Baba in the late afternoon. The central Kamnik Alps basked in the sun: Mt. Planjava on the far left, then Koroška Rinka, Skuta and Dolgi hrbet.


Looking back toward Jezersko:


The descent was steep.


I took the left trail that goes on the Austrian side and climbed up to the saddle between Ledinski vrh and Storžek, just in time to catch the last sun rays.


Mt. Koroška Rinka lit up for a few minutes.


Soon the light turned to pink and then it was gone.


Far to the east, Mt. Planjava was losing color, too.


The Julian Alps with Mt. Triglav after sunset.


I spent the night at Kranjska koča hut at Ledine. Some other guests were partying until the wee hours keeping the rest of us awake. Nevertheless, I got up early enough to set off at sunrise.


The clouds went from pink to orange in a matter of minutes, and Mt. Kočna was already illuminated by the sun.


Mt. Kočna in the morning light.


The trail climbed up the scree slopes to the rockface of my goal, Mt. Koroška Rinka.


The ascent was not for the faint-hearted: very vertical, very airy, but with amazing views!


Soon I was standing at the top admiring the nearby peaks: Mt. Kranjska Rinka and Mt. Skuta.


After breakfast the unpleasant descent down the scree was inevitable, and then back up to climb Mt. Kranjska Rinka. Here I was almost at the top, looking back towards Koroška Rinka.


It was a beautiful sunny day, a Saturday, and many people decided to go hiking. I had to share my next destination, Mt. Turska gora with quite a few fellow mountaineers. Looking back towards Mts. Grintovec, Skuta and the three Rinkas.


Logar Valley (Logarska dolina) from Mt. Turska gora. You can also see the hut at the Kamnik Saddle (Kamniško sedlo), where I was headed next.


Climbing down Turska gora involves descending through a vertical opening equipped with steel cables. It's called a "bottomless barrel". :)


This stretch of the hike almost killed me twice. Just as a climbed up and out of a narrow gully, rocks started flying down from above and I escaped by a few seconds. Wearing a helmet wouldn't have helped me there. Just as I thought the worst was over, a hiker on a trail above me triggered a largish rock that came tumbling down as I was taking this photo, and I had to run out of the way to avoid it. Two narrow escapes within 15 minutes! Phew!


The hut at the Kamnik Saddle was teeming with day hikers. I did stop for some lunch though but then started the grueling descent back to the valley: the 1300 altitude meters did me in and by the time I reached the road, my soles were so inflamed I could hardly walk.


Inflamed soles aside, this was a wonderful hike mixed with some exhilarating climbing and amazing views. Now I am hoping for some nice weather in September so I can go hiking again!

Crazy sunset above the fog from Kamniški vrh

After the first serious snow of the season last week, I quickly climbed Kamniški vrh after work on Sunday. It was cloudy in the valley, but I didn't know how high the cloud cover was. It didn't look good from Bistričica, close to the starting point of the hike:



Ten minutes later and 150 meters higher it looked better:



The village of Zakal on the opposite slope:



I rushed up, but I was heading towards a thick layer of fog:



One more look back before I entered the fog:



At the saddle between Planjava and Kamniški vrh, I broke the fog, exhilarated with the light that awaited me!









I literally screamed with joy :) then hurried to the top of Kamniški vrh:



The display below me changed every minute with the wind chasing the fog around the mountain tops:



Velika planina behind me was also bathing in the late afternoon sun:



Trees down below:



The sun was quickly dipping into the sea of fog:



After the sun disappeared, the clouds and light turned pink:






Pink Velika planina:






I only had my small compact camera with me, but oh my, the light I saw on this climb was one of the most colorful I've ever experienced.

More photos here: http://anapogacar.smugmug.com/PhotoJournal/2014/Sunset-Kamniski-Jan-26-2014

Misty sunset from above Kamnik

I often climb the Špica hill above Kamnik, especially in the late afternoon to get in a nice sunset on top of some exercise. :) One day in early November the so-so day turned into an amazing orange-purple misty sunset.






















With the paraglider gliding into the post-sunset valley, I packed my little camera and ran down the hill.

More photos can be seen here.

First snow in Kamnik

After having a very warm October and hardly any fall colors, it snowed at the end of the month. While I love snow, I wasn't too thrilled about not having any autumn! :) But, to capture the unusual sight of green trees covered with snow I hiked the nearby Špica hill one afternoon to get some views of Kamnik. The views were foggy and the trail was slippery, and what I came away with were some cool pics and a bruised rib from a sudden fall when returning.

The road was ... interesting, to say the least!


Fog enveloped the hill I was headed to.


Lots of broken branches due to heavy wet snow.


The trail was extremely muddy and slippery.


Fall colors? :)


The fog descended upon Kamnik and the sun only peeked through occasionally for a few seconds.


On the way down I was passed by a jogger.


Just as I reached the road again, the sun reappeared in this spectacular display of red glow.


The rib still hurts more than a week later.