To prepare, we went to the gym 2-3 times a week and bought hiking boots and poles, gloves and a backpack to carry 3 L of water. Perry watched videos of people hiking Triglav. Susan used Perry's usual backpack and we carried one change of clothes and a tiny bag of toiletries, first-aid kit, energy bars, nuts, etc.
On Sunday, August 12th we drove 3 hours to Slovenia to stay overnight in a hostel close to the starting point of the hike. Monday we met at 6 am and were at the meeting spot by 7 am. We started at about 1,500-2,000 feet in altitude. There was a gentle walk of about 30 minutes to the start of the trail. For the first part of the trail we were walking next to a stream, up the valley through a path that wound through the trees, roots and rocks. We crossed a large meadow and then had the beginning of many "ups and downs:" climbing up the switchbacks to the top of a mountain, flat in the valley above, up switchbacks to another mountain.
We are at about the half-way spot here. Our final destination is obscured by the clouds in the background. The Planika Dom "hut" where we slept is just below the cloud level on the highest mountain--directly above Susan's head in the picture.
After climbing up and over two mountain passes, we were on a trail that cut across the side of a small mountain range, gradually climbing upward, while providing a beautiful view of the valleys below. The scenery was gorgeous as we were surrounded by green mountains. But with uneven rocks to climb we needed to keep our eyes on the trail most of the time. During the easier parts of the hike it was fun to talk with President and Sister Melonakos, Eric Melonakos and his wife Quincey or Laura Melonakos. Towards the first third of the hike the altitude seemed to be affecting Perry, but after getting over the second mountain pass he had no problems the rest of the way. During the gradual ascent across the mountain range, we crossed many areas of landslides, where the way was rather treacherous. Some steep mountainsides had to be traversed with fairly simple "via ferrata's"--metal stepping pegs bolted into the side of the rock face for feet, a steel cable to grasp and sometimes a 30+ foot straight down drop below where the mountain had given way.
And then after a long but gradual ascent, we came to the last section before our arrival to Planika Dom, the "hostel" where we would stay the night as the "base-camp" below Triglav. Susan's worst experience was this last hour of the hike. It was steep, with switchbacks that climbed probably another 2,000 feet up the mountain. Susan's legs were so tired she had to stop often and it was totally uphill. We reached the Planika Dom hut at 3:30 pm after 8 hours of hiking. The hike was a lot longer and more difficult than we expected. The trip was about 15 kilometers, with an ascent starting from 1,500/2,000 feet up to the Planika Dom at 8,000 feet (and then to 9,600 feet for Triglav).
The hut where we stayed 2 nights is really spartan--not your regular Marriott. All of the supplies for the hut have to be brought in by helicopter twice a month--food, water, everything. We had only "Outhouses"--with holes in the ground for latrines and no running water. But it had cozy, clean "dorm" rooms that we all shared with comfortable twin beds and they served good simple food like stew and pasta for dinner and eggs and ham and bread for breakfast.
In inaccessibility of the hut made us grateful for Heavenly Father watching out over all of us during our trip. A simple twisted ankle, gash from a rock or even some minor medical emergencies would have been difficult to overcome in such a remote area.
We were exhausted and slept well. The next day our scale to the top of Triglav was thwarted by rain all day, so we decided to stay the second night and book a 3rd night after our return from Triglav.
On the third day, the weather cleared up about 11:00 am and we made a quick decision to climb to the top. The ascent would take us to over 9,600 feet. The top of the mountain was mostly obscured by clouds, but the rest had blue skies. About 1/4 of the way up, three of our group decided it was too "extreme" due in part to their not having great hiking shoes. The final 3/4 of the trip was made by Perry, President and Sister Melonakos, Laura Melonakos and Boža (pronounced Bozs-uh) a local Slovenia member. The way was really a climb that someone compared to a "Spiderman" climb. There were steel cables about 1/3 of the way, along with lots of steel pegs for climbing steep sections. You could choose to "tie-in" with a harness to the cables while climbing or just pull yourself up with gloved hands.
So the picture below is from the Dom Planika, our "Holiday Inn" for three nights. The mountain on the right below is the "small Triglav" while the one partially obscured by the clouds on the left is the highest Triglav, our destination. We had to climb up the "small Triglag" and walk along the ridge between the two. If you look very closely or enlarge the picture below, you will see tiny figures (people) all along the "knife-edge" ridge between the two mountains. That was our pathway to the top.
The picture below is about 2/3rds of the way on the final day up Triglav. Notice the dormitory huts on the picture below, way below on the left from where we were climbing, probably 1,000+ feet down. Needless to say, I did not take too many pictures during the most precarious parts.
One example of the 2,000 feet of "knife-edge" ridge we walked along, with drops on both sides.
On the top. Just before the bad weather set in.......
Perry really enjoyed the climb and said there were only two sections that made him nervous:
1) After a steep climb up pegs and cables, there was a section that required you to let go of a cable, with about 6 more feet before you could grab a steel peg for safety. The way required a tight "hug" of a jagged boulder while walking around the boulder on a two-foot ledge with a 500-foot drop below. Needless to say, Perry grabbed the peg as soon as he could and helped others navigate that tough section.
2) Across the top of the mountain from "Little Triglav" to the "big Triglav" there was a knife-edge ridge that ran about 2,000 feet long. The ridge was normally 2 to 6 feet in width, with drops on both sides of the ridge of over 1,000 feet down to the above the valley floor. A steel cable stretched across most of the top of the ridge and you could tie-in to the cable or just hold on. Perry held on. That was the easy part. The worst was a section of about 50 feet with no cable. The surface was about 3-4 feet wide, but because it was "flat-ish" they must have felt it did not need a cable. That was weird--edging your way along, hunched over to grab the ground if balance was lost. But again, the dropoff on either side was 1,000 feet down. OK--not straight down, but maybe at an almost perpendicular angle so it looked straight down and would have provided a person with a wrong step a straight "ride" to the bottom.
On the way down from the peak the weather set in. First, light rain, then hail and more rain. And it got much colder. It was treacherous going down due to the slick rocks and weather. We took our time going down. We helped each other every step of the way, literally. The hut staff was worried when we did not show up on time and were minutes away from calling emergency crews in to help look for us, but we made it. Wet. Cold. Feeling blessed and safe. We were treated to wonderful chicken soup broth and blankets to warm us up. And a great dinner!
So that was the adventure.
Then we descended down the mountain. I have added more pictures as we noticed something funny. When you ascend, you want your feet a lot to make sure your footing is sure. Sometimes you miss the good view. When you descend, you get to see more of the view you missed going up. Sorry for all the pictures.
We are at about the half-way spot here. Our final destination is obscured by the clouds in the background. The Planika Dom "hut" where we slept is just below the cloud level on the highest mountain--directly above Susan's head in the picture.
After climbing up and over two mountain passes, we were on a trail that cut across the side of a small mountain range, gradually climbing upward, while providing a beautiful view of the valleys below. The scenery was gorgeous as we were surrounded by green mountains. But with uneven rocks to climb we needed to keep our eyes on the trail most of the time. During the easier parts of the hike it was fun to talk with President and Sister Melonakos, Eric Melonakos and his wife Quincey or Laura Melonakos. Towards the first third of the hike the altitude seemed to be affecting Perry, but after getting over the second mountain pass he had no problems the rest of the way. During the gradual ascent across the mountain range, we crossed many areas of landslides, where the way was rather treacherous. Some steep mountainsides had to be traversed with fairly simple "via ferrata's"--metal stepping pegs bolted into the side of the rock face for feet, a steel cable to grasp and sometimes a 30+ foot straight down drop below where the mountain had given way.
And then after a long but gradual ascent, we came to the last section before our arrival to Planika Dom, the "hostel" where we would stay the night as the "base-camp" below Triglav. Susan's worst experience was this last hour of the hike. It was steep, with switchbacks that climbed probably another 2,000 feet up the mountain. Susan's legs were so tired she had to stop often and it was totally uphill. We reached the Planika Dom hut at 3:30 pm after 8 hours of hiking. The hike was a lot longer and more difficult than we expected. The trip was about 15 kilometers, with an ascent starting from 1,500/2,000 feet up to the Planika Dom at 8,000 feet (and then to 9,600 feet for Triglav).
The hut where we stayed 2 nights is really spartan--not your regular Marriott. All of the supplies for the hut have to be brought in by helicopter twice a month--food, water, everything. We had only "Outhouses"--with holes in the ground for latrines and no running water. But it had cozy, clean "dorm" rooms that we all shared with comfortable twin beds and they served good simple food like stew and pasta for dinner and eggs and ham and bread for breakfast.
In inaccessibility of the hut made us grateful for Heavenly Father watching out over all of us during our trip. A simple twisted ankle, gash from a rock or even some minor medical emergencies would have been difficult to overcome in such a remote area.
We were exhausted and slept well. The next day our scale to the top of Triglav was thwarted by rain all day, so we decided to stay the second night and book a 3rd night after our return from Triglav.
On the third day, the weather cleared up about 11:00 am and we made a quick decision to climb to the top. The ascent would take us to over 9,600 feet. The top of the mountain was mostly obscured by clouds, but the rest had blue skies. About 1/4 of the way up, three of our group decided it was too "extreme" due in part to their not having great hiking shoes. The final 3/4 of the trip was made by Perry, President and Sister Melonakos, Laura Melonakos and Boža (pronounced Bozs-uh) a local Slovenia member. The way was really a climb that someone compared to a "Spiderman" climb. There were steel cables about 1/3 of the way, along with lots of steel pegs for climbing steep sections. You could choose to "tie-in" with a harness to the cables while climbing or just pull yourself up with gloved hands.
So the picture below is from the Dom Planika, our "Holiday Inn" for three nights. The mountain on the right below is the "small Triglav" while the one partially obscured by the clouds on the left is the highest Triglav, our destination. We had to climb up the "small Triglag" and walk along the ridge between the two. If you look very closely or enlarge the picture below, you will see tiny figures (people) all along the "knife-edge" ridge between the two mountains. That was our pathway to the top.
The picture below is about 2/3rds of the way on the final day up Triglav. Notice the dormitory huts on the picture below, way below on the left from where we were climbing, probably 1,000+ feet down. Needless to say, I did not take too many pictures during the most precarious parts.
One example of the 2,000 feet of "knife-edge" ridge we walked along, with drops on both sides.
On the top. Just before the bad weather set in.......
Perry really enjoyed the climb and said there were only two sections that made him nervous:
1) After a steep climb up pegs and cables, there was a section that required you to let go of a cable, with about 6 more feet before you could grab a steel peg for safety. The way required a tight "hug" of a jagged boulder while walking around the boulder on a two-foot ledge with a 500-foot drop below. Needless to say, Perry grabbed the peg as soon as he could and helped others navigate that tough section.
2) Across the top of the mountain from "Little Triglav" to the "big Triglav" there was a knife-edge ridge that ran about 2,000 feet long. The ridge was normally 2 to 6 feet in width, with drops on both sides of the ridge of over 1,000 feet down to the above the valley floor. A steel cable stretched across most of the top of the ridge and you could tie-in to the cable or just hold on. Perry held on. That was the easy part. The worst was a section of about 50 feet with no cable. The surface was about 3-4 feet wide, but because it was "flat-ish" they must have felt it did not need a cable. That was weird--edging your way along, hunched over to grab the ground if balance was lost. But again, the dropoff on either side was 1,000 feet down. OK--not straight down, but maybe at an almost perpendicular angle so it looked straight down and would have provided a person with a wrong step a straight "ride" to the bottom.
On the way down from the peak the weather set in. First, light rain, then hail and more rain. And it got much colder. It was treacherous going down due to the slick rocks and weather. We took our time going down. We helped each other every step of the way, literally. The hut staff was worried when we did not show up on time and were minutes away from calling emergency crews in to help look for us, but we made it. Wet. Cold. Feeling blessed and safe. We were treated to wonderful chicken soup broth and blankets to warm us up. And a great dinner!
So that was the adventure.
Then we descended down the mountain. I have added more pictures as we noticed something funny. When you ascend, you want your feet a lot to make sure your footing is sure. Sometimes you miss the good view. When you descend, you get to see more of the view you missed going up. Sorry for all the pictures.
