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| Day 3: July 12,
2007 - Bohinj |
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Bohinj - Debela Pec hike - Bled
Bohinj is a picturesque mountain village alongside
an alpine lake. We'll climb through pine forests
and fields of wildflowers to Debela Pec mountain
(6,611'), which will give us great views of
Mount Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia
(9,396'). Along the way we might stop at a
comfortable hut to sample some homemade schnapps!
The top of the mountain, with its carpets
of green grass, is an ideal place for a picnic
lunch. Afterwards, we will return to Bohinj
via Bled, a picturesque lake that once provided
summer homes to the Yugoslavian royal family
as well as President Tito. Its island is complete
with a quintessential 12th-century castle!
(4 hours hiking; 1,253' elevation gain/loss.)
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Today's
goal was to reach Debela Pec, a 2014 meter
peak in Triglav National Park. First we needed
a brief stop in town to re-provision our bread
and some other treats. The drive to the trail
head took us up and around some treacherous
roads. Along the way, Luka explained that
this was all new growth. The oak trees had
been cut down and pines replaced them. The
government actively manages the forest and
we could see many trees being cut.
Our hike began at about 1325 meters on a mild
elevation gain. The trail was wide and wound
through the huge straight pines for about
an hour. The trail was mostly packed dirt
with some limestone and trees. Along the way,
we spotted a few large puddles with tons of
tadpoles happily swimming about. The hike
got steeper and rockier until we reached the
meadow where the huts were. Huts are used
for a highland shepard to tend to cows and
sleep as well as a restaurant. We left Mom
and Art at the restaurant because it was going
to get steep, rocky, and difficult.
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As we got higher,
the trees shrunk and we noticed more mountain
flowers. They are tiny flowers that cling
to crevices and crags with tenacity. One of
the big highlights were powder blue forget-me-not's
that dotted the landscape between the white
and purple flowers. The trail narrowed and
became rockier and then we reached a meadow
where sheep and baby lambs were grazing.
We split into two groups with Luka leading
the fast group and Ursula staying with Kirsten
and Pat as the slow group. The slow group
would only go as far as the saddle, which
was another 15-20 minutes hike and gave nice
views of Triglav and the surrounding peaks.
The rest of the group continued on with Luka
on a very steep 45 minute climb to the summit.
From there, we had a wonderful view of Triglav,
Lake Bled, and the Julian Alps.
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| View of the valley from Debela Pec |
View of the valley from Debela Pec |
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We came back down
to the mountain hut where everyone was reunited
over hot bowls of soup and fresh bread. As
we ate, the rain clouds moved in and it poured.
After the rain passed, we packed ourselves
up and headed back through the forest to the
van. On the trip down, we saw many hikers
coming up with umbrellas.
We took the van into Bled and had a scenic
ride around the lake. As we descended, it
rained more and then the sun came out. Over
the lake, we saw a rainbow parallel to the
surface of the lake. It was amazing - no one
had ever seen a rainbow like that. At one
of the prettier spots, we discovered the finish
line for the 2000m rowing course - they even
had a few strings of buoys in place!
After the ride, we had a sugary snack in Bled
and then came back to the hotel. Dinner was
at the hotel and everyone retired with a big
day ahead. |
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| Horizontal rainbow over Lake Bled |
Church in the middle of Lake Bled |
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