The time is now. For everything.: July 2015

Belive it or not,
Bosnia offers much for nature lovers.
Mountaineering, hiking, MTBikng, camping, river rafting...
It is all in mountains.
When I was a child they used to teach that if you could flatten Bosnia - it would be bigger than the former Russia (SSSR).

I am not a member of any of the mountaineer society * I believe there are more than three only in my hometown.
But some of my close friends plus family members are.
I join them from time to time, I am very light, can carry much and walk fast - so, no special training needed.
And I am a very funny character - so they like me tagging along :).
I am thinking of joining this Summit club.
They offer many nice hiking paths.
And they are very serious.
Much walking, less eating and drinking by the camp fire.
Good.

Last weekend I was hiking with Klekovača mountaineers.

After hiking Grand Šator mountain (take a look here)

we settled at the mountain home 'Mala Klekovača'.

Very simple.

Of course.

I do not know how they even built it.

Basic facilities.

For 2.5 eur *hikers price you get a roof over your head.

Three dorms with bunk beds (or you take out your tent outside),

kitchen with a stove that burns wood,

and a shade where you can sit and eat if the weather is bad.

Outside is the toilette with the shower (water is technical water), and two gallons with water - the two little beauty spots I call them.

And that is it.
I am very simple, but I am not sure if I could do the sleeping here again.
But, then at the end, I lack nothing - slept well in my sleeping bag.
Ear plugs as accessory.
My friend V., poor soul, forgot the earl plugs...

You can't even see this place from the road.

The weather was not so great that morning.

Foggy and it started raining.

Some people decided not to go.

The plan was Velika Klekovača mountain combined wit Mala Klekovača mountain.

But the wind on Velika K. tends to be really strong - so the guide decided to do only Mala K.

Some people said there is no point of going even there because you will be all wet, cold and you can not see anything.

But - we did go.

And it was something I will cherish.

Because I got really scared there at one point.

Mala K. is a walking path for me.

You can see it here - rocky mountain :).

Narrow path that goes trough the forest, combined with beautiful rock formations, two steep spots and beautiful flora.
...

Only, that day it was raining.

Foggy rain.

Cold and windy.

Slippery.

If you would hold onto a rock it would not hold your weight.

You had to be really careful.

I fell twice and at the end of the route I hurt my ankle.

Nothing serious, one ibuprofen and an ice pack healed it.

But it was my fault.

I did not wear proper clothes.
Shoes yes, but no covers over them.

I did not have a rain coat.

And I had cotton leggings.

My clothes absorbed the rain.
And all this water went into my walking shoes.

Note: Water and mud in walking shoes equals slippery feet.

I have learned it the hard way :).

This one here is the narrowest part.

One foot wide.

And many feet down.

Vertically.

This mountain you either like and return many times - or you come only once.

Narrow paths, rocks you have to climb over.

Sharp and slippery edges.

Not very high, just around 1800m, but very interesting.

This here we would do if the weather was nice.

Take a look.

Rock climbing.

Because of the rain, we had to walk over the rocks that day.

Now, that was a challenge...

Take a look of the flora at Mala K.

My Laganini group made me throw this bouquet away.

The wasps were crazy about it.

And I was mad.

Because it was not easy taking it all the way down.

Laganini group then decided that this bouqet will be on our logo.

To comfort me.

It did not help.

I mean just look at this color.

Even in the rain and fog, this mountain is amazing.

Since it was raining constantly - I took out this plastic bag raincoat cover.

Did not help much.

Our friend was mocking us.

Me and V.

He said 'Now I realize that these plastic bags I see in the nature are actually former hikers'.

Someone once told me I would look great even wrapped in a plastic bag.

Ahahaha,

I bet you would change your mind after seeing this.

Time to add extra power to those legs and ass and climb up.

Over the slippery, muddy path.

I still can not believe we climbed up this path.

But then again - how did we went back down is still a mystery to me.

We could not go to Velika K. from here because of the wind.

So we had to take THIS SAME PATH down.

Yeeeeey you people!

We are at the top of the mountain.

There is a small note book inside here.

We signed in.

Of course.

On the way down,

the group split in two.

I was holding onto the first one, but my shoes became so heavy at one point that I needed to adjust them, take the excess water out.

Tie the laces better.

So I stopped.

To take care of it.

This is the visibility I had.

The guide passed me by, asking if all is Ok and if I am able to follow the path.
I said all good and they went by.

When I reached a place with toll grass, instead of going up I took left.

Grass was so tall and all this fog covered the trail.

I started walking fast to reach the first group.

Then, at one point, the path became very narrow and I realized that I am not that sure that this is THE path.

I started walking faster further on, taking a close look at each rock searching for a mark - but I could not see one.

At one point I realized - I took the wrong turn.

In this weather.

Reckless idiot.

That is who I am.

First time on this mountain - and I did not stick with the group.

In such bad weather.

'Ok', I thought.

'Looks like you will be all over the news tomorrow...'

...

I started walking really fast back.

And at one point I reached a marked rock.

It looked like the path was going up.

But I was not sure.

I mean we were just up, we should be going down.

What if I take this path up - will it take me all the way to Velika K.

and the wind blows me away.

How sad would it be that the only thing that would mark my being there would be this horrible plastic rain cover I had over???

OMG.

And then the desperate move.

Calling people.

...

No reply.

...

And when I finally decided I should accept my destiny - one of the hikers from the second group heard me and came back.

And yes, the path was going upwards actually.

Idiot.

I will never do this again.

I mean - fog, rain, tall grass. New path.

Stick with the group, idiot...

At the mountain home - a nice surprise.

Fire at the fire place,

warm soup and tea.

People greeting you with a smile.

Asking if you need warm dry clothes.

Or soup, tea - maybe coffee.

We decided to stay at this shelter a little bit - then pack and go home.

By the lunch time - the weather starting clearing.

And since at Velika K. you have the gravel road all the way up (very popular for MTB tours - have a look here),

we decided to take the max of that day - and my Laganini group, six of us, took the ride with our friend's Nissan to Velika K.

We added the jeep safari to the program that day.
And this trip turned out to be the highlight of this weekend.
Only six of us, very friendly and funny group.
We differ in age, but we have compatible characters.
Then, what age is... just a number.

Oh, how I love this car.
The comfort, the power.
Silly little compartments.
Should start working harder and save for one.
Yeah, like that is possible :P.
Thanks S. for taking us there.
Free of charge.
Only you can do something like that...

...

Hikers usually come here over Mala K. then you take a wan or you go by foot to that mountain home.
That day, I walked 15km in total.
Jeep ride is not included in this, of course.

Velika K. is known for its grand views.
Easy going graveled road, takes you all the way up to that former military complex (now it is a ruin).

We left the car in the nowhere zone and decided to climb up.
It was actually a nice walk.
No climbing.
Just absorbing the beauty.

The flora here is very interesting.
Grass and many flowers at the top.
And pine forest around it.

This was military ground.
Now it is a place for nature enthusiasts.
On the top you can see what is left of that complex.

From here,
a magnificent view towards Mala K. mountain - one that proved me I am not as smart as I think I am.
Saved my ass that day that mountain.
:)

Beautiful she is, isn't she?

My Laganini group.

And silly V. climbed over here in flip-flops!

We enjoyed it here.
Opened a canned meat, small chocolate.
Three slices of bread.
And shared.

It is amazing how simple things make you happy.
I mean - dark chocolate with hole nuts!
Eheey!

And you can see the Grand Šator mountain from here,
the one we climbed the day before.