Slovenian Mountain Trail: Day 4

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2020-05-22 Chris 0 Comments

**Click any picture to see enlarged.**

  • Day 4: General Route

The image above depicts the section hiked for the day. The YELLOW path is supposed to be the trail based on sources and maps I used to plan my trip, while the RED path is the route my GPS app (GAIA) tracked on my phone. They are fairly close for the most part. More apparent deviations indicate that I either missed the appropriate trail marker, the real trail has alternative routing, or the true trail is not the route highlighted in yellow.

September 21, 2019

The alarm went off at 7AM. Even though I got another solid night of rest, I was feeling tired and a bit dehydrated. After drinking what was left in my water reservoir and packing up my gear, I headed down to the dining area for coffee (kava) and breakfast (zajtrk). A few of the folks from the night before were there as well.

Since the water at the mountain hut is not for drinking, I got a few bottles of water to hold me over til I got to another source. Breakfast was “klasičen zajtrk”, which is classic breakfast, that consists of bread served with a selection of honey, nutella and marmalade. I believe this came with scrambled eggs as well but I cant remember and didn’t make a note. Not all breakfasts would the same configuration at each mountain hut but the bread (and bread accessories) were pretty typical at a minimum.

Following breakfast and a couple rounds of coffee, I settled the bill and went outside. It was pretty brisk but the sun was out. I left my pack in front of the hut while I went up to the peak area, which is not a far walk. From the top you have an amazing 360 view of the region. You can see the mountains of the Kamniško-Savinjske Alpe in the distance west and the surrounding mountains, ridges and valleys of Koroška. The top of Uršlja Gora is about 1699m (¨5574ft) which is the fourth highest in the Koroška region, just behind Peca (2125m/~6971ft) Raduha (2062m/~6765ft), and Olševa (1929m/~6328ft).

The following are the views I experienced from Uršlja Gora in the morning. Click each picture for a larger view (opens in new tab). In one of the pictures you see a brass plate, which gives you the azimuth and feature in that direction. This helped out quite a bit in understanding which was what as I observed all around.

  • West-Southwest (Raduha center middlegroudn)
  • West (Govca in center)
  • West (Peca in center)
  • West (Peca on the left)
  • Northwest
  • North
  • Northeast
  • Compass with names and directions called out
  • Dom na Uršlji Gore

Dom na Uršlji Gore – Andrejev dom na Slemenu (~5.02mile/8.08km)

  • Segment 1: Route
  • Segment 1: Elevation Profile

After getting back to the mountain hut, I picked up my gear and departed Dom na Uršlji Gore around 0935AM. The first 1.5-2miles is all downhill, some parts gentle, others more aggressive. Within the first 2miles you lose over 2000ft. Most of this is through the forest, but eventually you break out of it and arrive at on open unobstructed area to get some spectacular views, as shown below.

Following the clearing the trail picks back up in the woods and eventually connects with a forest road. The forest road is the trail at this point as you begin walking along until it links up with a main paved road. The pictures below give you an perspective along the route and a sampling of the trail, conditions and views.

When you arrive at the paved road you’ll follow along the side of the road for a bit til you reach the sign indicating Andrejev dom na Slemenu. Walking along the paved road seemed odd though so I may have missed the appropriate signage for the foot trail, but I continued to see the trail blaze so I wasn’t entirely wrong. The road wasn’t busy with traffic as well so I wasn’t too concerned.

Andrejev dom na Slemenu

I arrived at Andrejev dom na Slemenu around 1220PM. With the weather being great and clear, I decided to sit outside for a bit to observe the valley and rolling hills south of the mountain hut. Since they were open as well, I figured I should take advantage and have a mid-day meal, while taking my time. Meanwhile my gear stayed outside to dry out, as well as my boots. Having sandals to switch into on breaks is a great way to dry your feet, socks and boots.

Lunch was a hearty bowl of ričet, which is a barley based soup with beans, various vegetables and pork. This has my first bowl of ričet of the whole trip and it was delicious! This became my go to dish for my lunch most days on the trail and I didn’t get tired of it. It is quite common at most mountain huts, though contents and style vary slightly, so if you like it you’re in luck. It was warm and I knew it would help replenish the salts and calories I would need for the remainder of my daily mileage. Bread is almost always served with every meal as well which is a good additional source of carbs and calories. Also beer with lunch was a nice addition and very atypical for me outside of the whole trip and experience…do what the locals do.

  • Andrejev dom na Slemenu
  • Andrejev dom na Slemenu
  • Inside the dining area
  • Rićet
  • Laško
  • Inside the dining area

While I sat inside during my meal there were a couple other groups that had arrived in the dining area. Outside on the porch was another group of elderly people taking shots of borovničke, which is a blueberry liqueur, and talking among each other. I sat outside for a bit longer while my clothes were drying in the sun and my feet where airing out. I took this time to check the rest of my route for the day and determined how many more hours were left.

Andrejev dom na Slemenu – Dom na Smrekovcu (~5.89mile/9.47km)

  • Segment 2: Route
  • Segment 2: Elevation Profile

After topping off my water, I departed Andrejev dom na Slemenu around 1400. The trail started out along another forest road. Along the marked trailed there are openings that allow you to observe the immediate landscape and the hills in the distances.

During one of the areas you could see a large church on top of the hill/mountain. That must have a been a nice spot, though the more and more along my trip I tended to see churches where ideal vantage points existed. This setup gives you a sense of how the church was within the country, and given the age of the structures there is certainly a lot of history these churches have seen over the decades and centuries. Although I am not a religious person, the churches, shrines and mini-chapels were still interesting to observer inside and out. Due to their frequency and placement along the Slovenian Mountain Trail its hard to not capture them and include along the journey blog.

  • Church on a mountain top
  • Small chapel
  • Partizan Memorial

As you approach Dom na Smrekovcu, the clearing opens up and the trail becomes more of a road. The time of the day passing through made all the colors pretty vivid.

  • Final stretch to the mountain hut

Dom na Smrekovcu

I arrived at Dom na Smrekovcu at 1655. Just shy of the estimated 3hrs that was posted on the sign leaving Andrejev dom na Slemenu. In general, I estimate an average rate of travel at 2 miles per hour with my pack.

At this time of day the sky was really clear, making the visibility really great. First I checked in with the host and made arrangements to stay the night. With my pack off, I proceeded to check out the surrounding features and views Smrekovcu had to offer.

This was definitely a large mountain hut and quite popular as seen by the number of vehicles parked along the road and parking areas. I wouldn’t blame them since this was a great day to be out hiking. The sense of fall was also in the air. I didn’t pass many people from the direction I was coming from so figured there must be something more captivating ahead for me.

The exterior of the building had lots of wood carved sculptures and the public water spout looked like a dragon or snake of some sort spewing water from its mount. The post with directions was elaborate as well. The views from the picnic tables look down toward the Šalek Valley, which contains the city of Velenje (6th largest city in the country).

The following pictures detail the exterior of the Smrekovcu mountain hut and surrounding features.

Daily Hiking Stats

  • Total Distance: ~10.88miles / 17.51KM
  • Estimated Elevation Gain/Loss: +3704ft / -4688ft
  • Total time hiked: 7 hours 20 minutes (1hr 40min mid-day break)

Relaxing Evening at Dom na Smrekovcu

Around 1800 it was time to get some food, drinks and desert. For dinner I had beef stew (telečja obara), followed by warm apple strudel (jabolčni štrudelj). Both were quite good and filling. And of course some beers to unwind and relax. This time they had Union beer.

  • “we offer you today”
  • inside the dining area
  • beef stew (telečja obara)
  • apple strudel (jabolčni štrudelj)

Following my meal I headed back outside to watch the Šalek Valley change colors as the sun was setting. The pictures above don’t give it justice. I stayed out for a good amount until the ambient light had decreased then headed back to the dining area to look at my route for the next day and assess my timing in light of the preceding days mileage and duration. These points during the day also allowed me to make my notes about the day, outside of my notes throughout the day, to be able to write these posts so far after the fact.

Sometime after it was dark out a couple of ladies came in and sat at the table opposite of me. I thought I heard them speaking in English so inquired where they were from. They were local to the area and it spurred some back and forth conversation. That lead into a very pleasant evening of conversation and I gained some insight into my next day of hiking. One of them even knew the mountain hut host at my next night’s destination, so she gave me a suggestion of something to order for dessert and to say hi. From then on I was able to chat with them, ask questions and get advice throughout my trip, which was certainly welcomed and very much appreciated. They were extremely friendly and helpful, and I’m glad I have been able to maintain a running dialogue to this day even.

After they departed and before heading to bed, I went outside to check out the night sky. Due to the lights from the lodge I had to walk further way to get a good view. I did this each night when the weather was good because the mountain huts are in ideal spots for star gazing for the most part. The general amount of light pollution is still very low so you don’t get much of the “big city” light effects along the Slovenian Mountain Trail.

Slovenian-English Translation

  • Zajtrk = Breakfast
  • voda = water
  • štrudelj = strudel
  • jabolčni = apple
  • borovničke = blueberry liqueur
  • čaj = tea

Current Trip Costs

The total daily cost was 42.35 EURO.

  • Transportation: 0 EURO
  • Food: 28.6 EURO
  • Lodging: 13.75 EURO
  • Running Total Cost: 827.85 EURO

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