The Hiking Series - Part 2: The Heart of the Julian Alps

This last week we had really gloomy weather here in Ljubljana, Slovenia where I live. I can actually see the Alps from the window of my apartment. They are mocking me for not conquering them! I also had some meetings at work so I did not really have the time to go hiking even if the weather was not as bad. So to refresh my sanity I decided I would browse through some old pictures and post a description of a trip that me and @urskaskamen took in the summer.

I happened upon some pictures that we took when we went on a 2-day trip to the heart of the Julian Alps to a nature reserve called Kriški podi. In the last ice age this place was the start of a glacier that carved the local mountains into ridges and valleys.

_{The start of the ancient glacier which we call Kriški podi which also boasts with three of the highest laying lakes in Slovenia.}

These mountains also offer some grizzly sights that remind us of the horrors of the first World War, as the mountains are riddled with bunkers and caverns from the soldiers where they tried to survive the war, avalanches and other harsh conditions.

_{Walking along the trail made by the Italian soldiers after World War 1, which goes along the side of the narrow valley made by the ancient glacier.}

The marked path actually follows an old mule trail that was built by the Italian soldiers after World War I when they occupied part of Slovenian territory. Such paths are extremely common and were of vital interest to the Italians during both great wars, so they could secure their border with, at the time, Yugoslavia!

What remains of this glacier is only a small creek that meets with the famous Soča river where the valley created by the glacier meets the neighbouring Soča valley.

_{Here we can see the beautiful Soča valley and me standing in front, being in the way.}

It is a pretty awe-inspiring place, full of natural and man-made history. Kriški podi and the surounding mountain peeks are also renowned for having the most beautiful view of the northern face of the Triglav mountain which is the highest mountain in Slovenia. The northern face is almost a kilometer high rock face only the bravest of climbers have climbed!

_{View of cloudy Triglav.}

People from other countries often hike through Kriški podi on their way to Triglav. This is not the easiest way but it offers some amazing sites along the way. One of the most amazing things is the local populations of mountain goats. They have been exterminated about 200 years ago, but animal and nature lovers have since repopulated them from other parts of Europe.

_{A mountain goat soaking the sun in. They are not shy at all and we came up to a few meters of them multiple times.}

Because of the multi-day hike they ussually stay in mountain lodges purpose built for hikers to enjoy the small confort of a warm meal after a tough hike. They are a common sight in our Slovenian mounntains.

_{Lodge in the Kriški podi area that houses weary hikers during their adventures.}

This lodge was built about 50 years ago by volunters who carried all the material by hand from the valley, as mules were too expensive. Amazing devotion and altruism.

This concludes this post. I hope you dont mind that I changed the format a bit in this one. I forgot most of the detail about the hike so it seemed very interesting to talk about some of the local natural and man-made history, which is pretty impresive.

Here are also some bonus photographs. Until next time! In the mean time you can check out the first post in the Hiking series.

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_{To always stay to date on my and Urška's adventures please follow me and Urška at @urskaskamen. If you like this post and want to keep it coming please upvote me. It trully means a lot to a beginner like me. Also If you have any questions feel free to comment and I will definitly try to answer you in a timely manner.}