We thought we had done our research. Triglav peaks just below 3000 meters, lower than what both of us had experienced before (given on skies rather than on foot) and we had read a bunch of articles about the place, one of which included the words: "... maybe the most family-friendly trail in Slovenia." so we were not too worried.
We got off to a rocky start, figuratively and literally. I got food poisoning on the bus heading to the trailhead and threw up. A lot. Luckily, we had the most wonderful bus driver. He kept asking me if I was okay as we went along and helped me clean up. Furthermore, he encouraged me to just keep going and get it all out so I was ready to enter the mountains and ensured me several times that I was the most beautiful girl to ever throw up on his bus mixing the perfect amount of humor with kindness.
Up we go gaining elevation fast in the beginning of the trail
Then there were literal rocks as soon as we started hiking and the trail was steep instantly and continuesly, no mercy. Ten minutes in and I wanted to turn back. Of course we did not do that. After about an hour, our packs started to feel lighter, we got used to the steep terrain and we slept in a cozy mountain hut located on the edge of a lake encapsulated by green hills in the company of happy people and happy cows.
Our first climpse of our home for the night
The morning after a good night's sleep ready for a long time on the trail on our second day
The next day, we got off to an early start in the chilly morning air with golden sunlight streaming through the trees. As we gained elevation, our surroundings became less green and more grey and white. We entered a valley of rocks where the trail got obscure and hard to follow. Our only guiding points where the same red circle with a white dot in the middle that liked to play hide and seek as we jumped from boulder to boulder. When we thought a piece of rock was so big or tall that we would have to go around it, we were surprised to see red lines drawn across the it. We literally had to get our hands dirty and simply climb those things. Why make trails unnecessarily longer?
The sun rising over the trees
Hiking out of the forest and up over the tree line
A very excited Erika
I think the exact thing going through my mind is "Daaamn!"
Now, if we thought climbing upwards was challenging, we were in for (another) surprise. Getting closer to get our first actual view of the summit, we had to go down a steep slope of small, loose rocks and gravel and with the heavy packs on our backs, we were sliding with every single step we took. No hiking poles to take some of the weight. Fortunately, we took no falls (for now) though there were some close calls and after a couple more hours of upward hiking, we reached our stop for the night: a hut just at the foot of Triglav. With one hell of a view, we cracked open a couple of beers to celebrate our hard work of the day. As the sun set just behind the summit, Erika was full of confidence while I looked up on the rocky peak full of nerves and what I would deem an acceptable amount of fear.
Me doing my best not to fall going down steep, loose rocks
The white dots and lines in the bed of dark green are words and drawings made with rocks by creative hikers
Our second home in the mountains
Clouds touch down upon Triglav. "Are we really going up there?" was a constant thought in my head that second evening
The third day was the big one. Just after sunrise, we headed for the summit and it quickly went from hiking to crawling to climbing. Bolts and cables appeared throughout the trail to assist us climbing vertically up or walking along a less than one meter wide ridge with terrifying side wind. After 1,5 hours of climbing, fighting, some waiting and a lot of smiling, we reached the summit. On the top, we found people hugging, ice, snow and one guy selling beer at 9 in the morning. We were so happy but we were not relieved yet.
Getting up with the sun on our third day saying goodbye to the comfort of our second mountain hut (that is the meaning of the cute little peace sign Erika is making)
Heading for the summit. That is the hut you can spot down below to the left
Then the first round of cables started coming
Up we go
We made it!...
...and the view was amazing!
Me looking all cool on top of the summit
We knew long before reaching the summit that climbing down would be the hardest part not physically but technically and mentally. We took a different route going down that was just as steep as going up though the thin ridge was replaced by a long, exposed crack that separated two smaller peaks. Our big backpacks limited our movements and challenged our balance but after a bit more than an hour, we said goodbye to bolts and hand holds. We still had a long way to go that day, a lot of steep and slippery parts to go up and down with the burning sun reflecting off the white rock.
If you look below the piece of brigt white rock the big cliff to the left, you can see a few people going up
Our only falls that day were Erika sliding down on her bum going down some loose rocks and me twisting my ankle on a dirt path. These days of intense hiking did take their toll on us. Erika suffered from heat exhaustion and so beautifully made our trip come full circle by throwing up that night in our third, last hut. Fortunately, she hit the toilet and not the floor of a crowded bus.
Getting sunburned going down to the third hut
Our fourth and last day ended up being a long one still having quite a way to go before reaching our starting point down in the valley. Instead of white rock, we walked through lush slopes and damp forrest but the trails were no less steep. We kept hiking up and down gaining as much elevation as we had just lost. We were sustained by dark chocolate, good conversation and a burning desire to reach the bottom.
Saying goodbye to the last hut
Still a long way to go to get down to the bottom of the valley
Finally after six hours on the trail, we did just that and it was the best feeling in the world! We were all smiles laughing and hugging. Back in Ljubljana, we got some well-deserved pizza and french fries and promised ourselves that in Romania, our next stop, we would choose some more easy hikes (like hell we would!).
