I start the trail in Maribor, Slovenia, the Eastern terminus of the trail. Maribor is a buzzing, vibrant small city. I walk the three miles through the city, to the start of the Trail on the edge of town. There is a large interpretative sign explaining the concept of the trail-617.4 kilometers, across Slovenia’s highest country-and the oldest long-distance trail of its kind in Europe.
The sun is shining, and I smell the flowers blooming alongside the creek next to the terminus. I start up the trail. It is already quite warm, and sunny. The trail takes off steeply, up what looks like old cart tracks-through beech forest. This feels like European forest to me-a hundred ancient tracks through the forest, and you don’t know who created them, or who walked them.
I follow the red-and-white bullseyes as the track takes me steeply up, finally cresting a ridge above Maribor at a ski resort. I follow the ridge for some time, finally ending at the first mountain hut, Ruska Koča. The host brings me a huge, steaming bowl of cabbage and bean soup, a sausage, and what seems like half a loaf of bread. It is all delicious.
I fall asleep at 9 pm. I hiked 9.33 miles today, gaining about 3500 feet elevation.
I wake up in Ruska Koča, pack up and head down to the restaurant. The workers are just getting moving, at 8:10-eventually someone brings me coffee and a big plate of meats, cheeses, and bread. I will need to figure out how to start earlier in the morning-perhaps the hosts can pack a breakfast the night before, in the future if I ask. I pay for all of the food and the night, and head out. The trail goes down for some time to a waterfall area, then gently upwards, eventually arriving at koča Pescu.
I arrive around 3 pm, checking in with the host for the night, and I order what is translated as “deer goulash.” It is absolutely delicious. I take a hot shower and wash my clothes in the shower. I fall asleep at 10 pm, sleeping well in the soft bunk. I hiked 12 miles today, gaining about 3000 feet of elevation.
I wake up at 6:30, have a quick breakfast from the “lunch-bucket” the host had made for me the day before, and head out at 7:30. The sun is shining but it is deliciously cool and fresh, maybe in the high 60s. The trail gently gains and loses elevation in a rolling pattern, through the forest, finally opening up at the Pohorje Hills, a protected area that used to be pasture land.
I feel great. I’m hiking at a brisk pace, and I can’t believe how good and strong I feel.
In the early afternoon I come to the Kope ski resort, which has a restaurant. I order a pizza, just randomly choosing one off of the Slovenian menu. It comes to me with artichokes, olives, mushrooms, and….corn. It’s actually really tasty.
I eat half of it and carefully fold up the other half for later. I make my way on down the mountain towards the village of Slovenj Gradec. This is a huge descent, which starts out moderately and then becomes steeper and steeper as it enters the forest. I see a couple that started the same day I did, and say hello-they are Andrej and Bogie from
Hungary, which I realize is only one country over. We talk about hiking, and the different countries and different trails. Finally, we wearily spit out onto the paved road going into the village. In five minutes Andrej points out “Hofer”, which is Slovenian Aldi. We drop our packs outside to buy some food. I consider that maybe, 20 miles into the day, is kind of an extreme example of “going to the Supermarket hungry”. But I buy cheese, cookies, crackers, waffles, dates, jelly beans….whatever looks like it will get me the energy I need for this trail.
I wearily wander out of the supermarket. My feet, legs, back are aching, letting me know that they were there all day too when we were charging up and down the Pohorje hills. I shuffle slowly through the town center and take a look at the big church there-turns out, it was built in 1251.
It’s amazing how old buildings can be in Europe, and still used.
I finally make it to Hotel Hiša Ančka at 7:45 pm. The host meets me at the door- “I believe you are American! You are the fourth American today. Normally we get 2 Americans in six months.”
I laugh. “Was it how I pronounced ‘Slovenj Gradec?’ (The town I am in.).
I settle into my room and take an amazing shower, washing my clothes-this has become a daily indulgence, but also feels like a necessity, with how much I am sweating. I head out to the hotel’s restaurant. There is a large group of businessmen sitting at a big table across from me, several of whom are American. I order a
glass of wine, and “octopus salad.” I inwardly laugh when I hear a German man ask one of the Americans- “so, what’s up with all the guns in America?” I enjoy the amazing dinner and wine, and the conversation with the hotel host, turning in at 10 pm.
I wake up in my comfortable hotel room. 8.5 hours has flown by and I have been dead to the world. The hotel has an amazing breakfast-eggs, various kinds of cold cut meats, little cut vegetables, fruit, three kinds of cheeses, croissants, breads, local butter. The host from last night comes out. “Would you like some cooked eggs?”
“No, I think I can make do with what’s here,” I joke.
He brings me a little platter with an espresso and two kinds of juices. I eat as much as I feel won’t slow me down, pay for the hotel (all of 100 euros for everything), and head out.
It’s hot, but not Bishop-in-July hot. Still, I feel myself pouring buckets of sweat as I weave my way up country roads out of Slovenj Gradec, through some fields, past a barn. It is sunny and dense. I glimpse my Hungarian friends ahead of me and catch up when they take a break. We make our way to the first mountain hut, a few miles outside of town. They order lunch, and a drink called “Radler Isotonic.”
“What’s isotonic about it?” I ask.
“Oh, it has salts and magnesium and is good for when you hike,” Bogie tells me.
I order one too-it’s kind of like lemonade, with electrolytes added in. We have soup, and bread from the energetic host Mariana. Then, we start the steep part of the day. Bogie and Andrej take off up the hill at their faster pace, and I sweat my way up behind them, a mile an hour. Mercifully, it gets cooler the higher I climb on the steep trail up Ursulj Gorec. When I get to the junction to the very top, I drop my pack and carry just a couple of water bottles the last 15 minutes to the hut. The Hungarians are there, and maybe 4 other hikers. I see a sign in Slovenian over the bathroom tap that looks like it probably says “water not potable for drinking.” I return to the dining room and see the host, a young man with a ponytail that has none of the charisma that Mariana, the grandma that runs the first hut of the day, has.
“How should I go about getting water?” I ask.
He looks blankly at me. “Well, it isn’t recommended to drink the tap water, because it isn’t treated.”
“Oh….ok….what do people usually do?”
“I mean, a guy this morning had a filter, I think with charcoal, but it isn’t recommended to drink it,” he repeats.
I consider this. “Ok, thanks, I’ll take my chances.”
I fill up two bottles, say goodbye to my Hungarian friends who will stay the night here, and head back down to my backpack, where I filter the water and return it to the bottles.
I pick my way slowly down the other side of Ursilj Gorec. My quads and old Achilles injury are talking to me now, reminding me of yesterday’s 7000 feet descent. I wonder how many days I can keep this up without a break…well, I’ll have to figure that out later, I guess.
I cross a long, sweeping field turned golden in the late afternoon light, and re-enter the forest, following a dirt road for some time, the forest rising steeply on one side, dropping off equally steeply on the other. Finally, I come to another field, with a flat slice of forest at its end. I investigate and find a perfect place to tuck in under a tree on a mossy bed, hidden from view.
I set up my tent and wearily consider the upcoming itinerary again. It just feels like I need to play it by ear a little longer, to see what my body can do. I hiked 13.6 miles today, gaining about 5400 feet.
I wake up naturally at 5:30, when it gets light outside. I pack everything up and make my way down the trail-which really is a forest road for some miles more. There is active logging happening in this area-and I am surprised to find a huge chopped-downed tree, connected to a tractor with a chain, with an SMT blaze on it-completely blocking the dirt road and the route.
I imagine for a moment what a conniption this would cause on the AT or the PCT in the US. But I’m in a different country now, with different norms.
At 11:30 I reach a mountain hut, Dom na Smrekovcu-and I order a Radler Isotonic and whatever they are serving for lunch. The host brings out a steaming bowl of mushroom soup, with little squeaky fresh mushrooms; a bowl of full-fat sour cream, and of course about half a loaf of bread. Delicious.
I really like having a full hot meal in the middle of the day, it makes hiking feel much easier and fun, and I think to myself that I have probably been under feeding on many of the previous trails I have been on. I take off after this at a good pace. The trail gains a ridge and runs it for many miles, rolling up and down amongst short pine trees-I am above 5000 feet now, and here that starts to feel more alpine.
In the afternoon, the weather shifts-I hear a big clap of thunder, and rain starts.
At times the thunder and lightning seem as if they are directly over my head-but, I am in what my old friend Veggie would call “uniform trees”, and I feel pretty secure. Eventually the storm moves on. I drop down to a beautiful valley as the thunderhead pulls away and wearily begin the final ascent to the hut where I will stay, Koča na Loki.
I pull in at 6:15. The British guy that I saw on the first day is sitting in the porch, reading. I hurry in to find the host, who assures me that I am not too late for dinner, and yes there is a bed and a hot shower. She gives me a huge bowl of “deer” (venison) goulash and bread. I chat with the other hiker, whose name is Julian and who is actually German living in London-hence the Atom Pack, a British company-and he gives me some extremely pertinent information on which huts are closed ahead, and which trails are also closed in the high section ahead. I head upstairs to take an amazing hot shower and rinse out all my clothes. I wearily lay down in my bunk, as the moon rises outside the open window over the mountains I will soon climb. I hiked 14.6 miles today, gaining 5000 feet.
I wake up slowly this morning-there is soft grey light outside, and it has started to rain softly. It’s 4:50 am. I hear Julian quietly moving around in the room next to me, preparing to leave at 5 am.
I turn over and go back to sleep-everything feels tired and tight. I finally get up at 6:45. The host of Loki Hut prepares an amazing breakfast/eggs, cheeses, sausage, fresh vegetables, bread.
I start up towards Raduha peak, feeling my tiredness. Everything feels harder today. There are dozens of Slovenian day hikers out around me, also climbing Raduha-it’s Saturday.
I reach the peak in 2 hours. I can hazily see the huge wall of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps in front of me, but there are huge thunderheads hanging around ominously, and the wind picks up. It is beautiful, but the clouds are a good warning-the mountains don’t care much about your athletic pursuits.
I pick my way down the steep trail off of Raduha. My legs are tired. A gentle rain starts, and thunder cracks over the rock face of Raduho behind me. As I make my way down to the Grohotu Raduha hut, I decide to stay, to rest my legs and body.
Sitting in the dining hall with my guidebook planning the stages ahead, I see two hikers with the same guidebook. I approach them and ask if they are also hiking the Slovenian Mountain trail-they are. They started the trail on Wednesday. It is day four for them.
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