After some days at a festival in Slovenia, two friends and I decided to stay in the country a little bit longer to check out the countryside. So when the festival ended, we made our way to Kranjska Gora and arriving in the small village we were already stunned by the towering mountains around it. Most of the mountains looked unhikeable from the distance, but we found one that was possible to go up to. As the weather looked good the next day we decided to go for it and tackle Mount Špik. We left early next morning with our car and followed the street out of Kranjska Gora towards the mountains. At the hairpin bend No. 3 we left our car in the designated parking lot and started our hike. The first part led through a lovely forest and along an almost dry river bed. Coming out on a clearing once, we were able to see all the huge mountains around us and we started to wonder if one of them was Mount Špik. We hoped not, as they all looked unscalable. :) 30 minutes after our start and without really gaining any height we arrived at the Krnica hut. Continuing onwards after a short break we walked deeper into the valley and not much later the ascent finally started. The path was narrow and steep, but mainly well maintained and well marked. We soon gained some height and the effort was forgotten once we were able to have a look at our surroundings. With towering mountains on all sides, this was definitely one of the most stunning valleys that I ever walked into!
We hiked onwards higher and higher and only after one and a half hour we came out of the shade and at around the same time met the first other human being. A guy from Israel was walking so fast he overtook us easily. "See you at the top" he said, but we were not so sure about that, as we had a much slower pace than he had. But there was no reason to change our pace anyway. The weather was good, we were on time and the landscape was so beautiful we had to stop every now and then to enjoy the views. And once above the tree line the view got even better. We were now also able to see further ahead and we were still wondering which mountain exactly Mount Špik was. Luckily we knew now that it was none of them which we saw early in the morning. Still ascending steadily we arrived at a viewpoint at about three hours after our start. There we were able to see towards the other side for the first time and there we also met some other people that were already coming down again. We thought the summit must be close now and kept on walking after a short break. Half an hour later we arrived at a short climbing spot. As there was a steel rope and as there were many rocks to hold on to, we managed the climbing without any difficulties. Once we were over all the rocks we thought the next peak in sight would be the summit of Mount Špik. Well, it was not. :) We came upon that peak and looked straight at the real peak of Mount Špik and wondered how the hell we should get up there.
But we came that far already, there was no turning back now. We made our way slowly along the ridge to the right, taking our time to make sure we had a foothold at all times. Sometimes there was even a small path between all the rocks and after about 20 minutes walking and scrambling we arrived at the "bottom" of the peak where the final ascent started. Again we took our time climbing and scrambling over the rocks. As there was a lot of rubble we stayed close to the markings, making sure not to step on the loose gravel. We were also lucky that no one was descending from the summit as there could have been stones falling, detached through other people. No wonder they recommend to wear a helmet in this part. Well, we made it to the summit safe and sound and enjoyed a well deserved long break, the incredible views, a hearty lunch and the mandatory summit beer. And to our surprise even the guy from Israel was still there. We weren't that slow after all. :) On the top there was also a Slovenian lady and as we asked her about the descent, she told us that the path we wanted to take was not difficult at all, because it wouldn't be exposed and there would be no climbing involved. That sounded good to us and with that in mind we started our descent. For the first part we had to retrace our steps. As the risk of slipping on the rubble was still there we kept again to the bigger rocks and descended quite slowly. Arriving at the "bottom" of the peak, we took a different path from there on. Well, path was may be not the right word. The way was full of loose gravel and it was more of a slipping down than walking down. We even sled down some part on a snowfield next to the path because it was easier (and much more fun :)) to go down there than to walk on the gravel. The way continued like this for almost an hour. While sometimes it was a real pain in the ass, there were also some parts that were real fun as we were able to run down in the gravel covering a large distance in no time at all. But the best thing about this part was definitely the view. It was simply amazing and worth all the struggle.
The path finally changed once we were back below the tree line and the first thing we did there was emptying our shoes of all the gravel that made it inside. :) From there on, there was no more rubble, but the way was still full of loose rocks and there was also quite a bit of scrambling involved. Combined with the steepness of the descent and also because the view did vanish behind the trees, the going down was much harder than anticipated. We almost admired the Slovenian lady who found this way easy and not difficult... But may be it was also because we were getting tired and sore. It was a long day already and our legs and knees started to hurt. But even though the descent was hard and tiresome we arrived back at the bottom of the valley with a smile on our lips. Following the river bed back to our starting point we passed the clearing from the early morning again. Now with the cows out and the sun shining at the mountains all the pain was forgotten and we all agreed that to go on this hike had been a really good idea!
Highlights of the day: the views, the beauty of the landscape, the scrambling, the company of my friends
This hike is for you if:
- you're looking for a challenge
- you want astonishing views of the Slovenian Alps
- you want to escape the crowds
- you don't mind scrambling and climbing over rocks
This hike is not for you if:
- you don't know how to move in alpine regions
- you're not in shape
- you mind covering a huge difference in altitude
Danke. :-)
Traumhafti bilder häsch vo dere wanderig mitbracht. 😍