From Kriski podi to Vrsic

Day 2

After a beautiful day of hiking to Kriski podi Jaka woke up with a painful knee. Luckily we chose a route that could be modified in case of emergency. Just as the day was beginning to break we started our ascent to the Planja saddle. First the trail went down a bit and looking back we observed the hut waking up into the violet dawn light.

The scree can be a pain: one step up and two steps back down. :(

An ibex surprised us but it didn't seem to be surprised by us in the least. It just lay there chewing on some grass.

The trail to the Planja saddle involved a little bit of climbing.

Soon Triglav appeared from behind Mt. Bovski Gamsovec.

Looking back to the trail behind us.

Triglav in all its glory. Kredarica hut to the left.

We had a short break at the saddle to take in all the gorgeous views, but we didn't stay long because the wind was so cold my fingers almost froze. The first sun rays peeked from behind Mt. Razor.

The panorama on the other side of the saddle was just as magnificent. From left to right: Jalovec, Mangart, Prisojnik.

Descending from the saddle there was some more climbing.

Jaka finally caved in and bandaged his knee. Finally! :p

Climbing. Down. :)

The ominous Razor rock face from below. We had breakfast here.

Instead of climbing Prisojnik summit we had to change the original plan. The injury dictated taking the shorted and easier route around Prisojnik to the Vrsic pass.

This trail was also beautiful with great views, and by that time it was also scorching hot!

In the forest, it was hot AND humid.

It didn't take long before the clouds started to envelope the peaks, including Mt. Razor.

The rock face with the trail we had taken when descending from Razor.

A chunk of Mt. Prisojnik crashed down a couple of years ago.

A perfect conclusion of any hike: jota and beer! :)

In the end we were both very happy we had made it to Vrsic. Knee injury can be dangerous when you're in the middle of the mountains with hours of strenuous hiking or even climbing to the nearest road or town. Prisojnik isn't going anywhere and I'm sure we'll have another crack at it soon. ;)
More photos here.

Hiking via Krnica to Kriski podi

The weather forecast looked promising last Monday so I picked up the phone and called Jaka to ask him to join me on a two-day hike in the Julian Alps the following day. It didn't take him long to agree. :)

Day 1
Having packed heavy rucksacks we set off at 4 a.m., parked the car at the 3rd hairpin bend on the Vrsic road and started walking towards the hut in the Krnica valley. It was still pretty dark, but we preferred walking without our headlamps on. The trail ascended slowly across some meadows and through the forest, and when it emerged onto a dry riverbed we started to take photos. The sky had just gotten bright enough to eliminate the need for a tripod.

It took quite some time to get to the end of the valley. On the map, it's more than 3 kms as the crow flies. We stood in front of a rock face.

Surrounded by mountains.

The Kriska stena face was easy climbing.

We had beautiful views of the valley behind us and the mountains around us, especially Mt. Razor.

From the top of Kriska stena it was a quick hike to the top of Mt. Kriz (2410 m), which is a gorgeous lookout point. Triglav was so close I could almost touch it with my own hands. :)

Kriski podi and the Pogacnik hut were right below us.

On the trail down to the hut we went past one of the three small lakes.

We had lunch and rested a bit in front of the hut, enjoying the views. When the sun was close to the horizon, we explored the nearby area. The hut has an impressive backdrop of Mt. Planja and Mt. Razor. Do you see a visitor in the bottom right corner?

The cheeky ibex wasn't even afraid of me photographing it from a few meters. :)

It wasn't as cheeky anymore when a big ibex showed up and chased it away.

The light was becoming sweeter and sweeter.

Mt. Bovski Gamsovec was on fire.

There were about 40 people at the hut, and everybody was watching this wonderful display nature was putting on for us.

Orange layers.

The Prehodavci hut and Mt. Zelnarica.

The Prehodavci hut and Mt. Zelnarica half an hour later.

Lepo spicje range and Mt. Zadnjiski ozebnik in the foreground.

By now it was dark. This is a 15-second exposure. Lugging our tripods with us paid off, I hope. :)

It was time to pack our gear and call it a night.

Velika planina in dusk

OK, I know I'm beginning to repeat myself, but I can't help it. Yes, I hiked to Velika planina again. Another quickie, at 6 p.m. And again the sun hid from me behind the clouds. I was rewarded with nice light after dusk though. We met an old friend there who then invited us to her cabin for a drink, so our descent back to the valley in pitch dark was an adventure in itself. Well, there was the moon, but it hid behind the clouds too. I think it's all a conspiracy.






And I forgot to take a photo of soured milk again. There's another reason for me to visit Velika planina again soon. ;)

Fuerteventura 9: Around Tindaya, Ajuy

The morning of seventh day on Fuerteventura was a mixed bag of clouds and sun. Driving to Tindaya we were treated to some otherwordly landscapes again.



It was cloudy around the Betancuria pass, but we stopped anyway because I was intrigued by the shape of the hill in the background. ;)

When we reached the village of Ajuy, the skies cleared up a bit. The black volcanic sand and limestone cliffs made for a postcard-perfect photo.

It still looked pretty ominous in the other direction though.

There's a trail on top of the cliff which leads to some caves ...

... that are stuffy, damp and full of bats.

The view from the cliff was very nice.

O hai! :)

There is only a handful of colorful houses in Ajuy.

Our lunch - sea food platter. Yummy!

To be continued ...