Today’s hike was to be another fairly long one. The book stated 21km and 440m up and 220m down but somehow we have learned that the reality seems to be often somewhat longer than that and it ended up being 24km with 685m up and 440m down. I am sure we didn’t take any wrong turns (maybe one small one) but either way we have learned to expect to have to travel a bit further than advertised on these routes.
The day started early for us and while the cloud was still sitting in Kobarid we woke for breakfast at about 7. It was 10 euros for a buffet breakfast so we loaded up ready for our day and even took some rolls and what looked like pate for our lunch along the way.
Our hike began by following the route back towards where we had spent our previous day but as we were earlier we got to enjoy the sights without anyone else around. We soon turned off the main tourist area though and joined our track which was to run the whole way along the Soca river to our destination of Bovec.
Our path while rocky was fairly well maintained and I was naive to believe that the day ahead of us was to be a lovely stroll with a gentle elevation gain while enjoying the views of the turquoise river and the valley around. It wasn’t long before reality set in and we started climbing to get around a cliff that descended straight into the river below. Up and up we went and although this time we were able to enjoy some switchbacks the following descent was straight down some narrow steps. The path then continued up and down quite steeply next to a fairly steep cliff for the next couple of hours.
It was to be fair quite tiring and while the views were magnificent we were getting pretty exhausted. It was also very slow going and we were getting a little concerned as to how long the day was actually going to take. Still we carried on as there really wasn’t anything else we could do.
The other thing that was slightly concerning us was that an encounter with a bear at this point wouldn’t be good as there was a fair drop down the the river on one side and a cliff rising up on the other. We had been told the day before by the waiter/owner in the local bar that there were 6 bears living and roaming around the valley. If a bear was to be roaming about here then it would be either coming up behind us or we were going to meet it head on. We were talking as much as possible and blowing our whistles occasionally too to make sure that any bears would hear us and hopefully run away.
We were about a quarter of the way into our day when our path joined a much wider bridle path and we were able to walk side by side which is always a lot more enjoyable and it wasn’t long after we joined this path that we came across an American couple from Oregon and we said hi and stopped to have a quick chat. It turned out they were also doing the Juliana trail and due to their different start point only had 4 days to go and we were the first people they had encountered on the trail doing the whole loop!
They let us walk ahead and then all of a sudden we were encountering loads of other hikers and mountain bikers on the route. Well to be honest “loads” might be a bit of an exaggeration more like about ten!!! Still it was actually quite nice to be able to wave and say hi to a few people.
We decided to keep a look out for a path that took us down next to the river so that we could break our day up and have a relax. After a while we discovered a track which lead down to the river and it wasn’t long before we had our chairs set up and our shoes off and enjoyed sitting in the sun looking at the river and mountain around.
We weren’t really ready for what followed but down the river floated a group (flotilla?) of canoeists quickly followed by some rafters and kayakers and our break was filled watching them all negotiate the stretch of small rapids that we were relaxing in front of. This certainly is an area that is a lot more popular than we have encountered so far.
Refreshed after our break we got back on the path and continued our walk up the valley. The views continued to amaze us and while our bodies started to get sore as our back packs started to feel heavier we were still enjoying our hike through the area.
Our arrival in Bovec involved us hiking up a fair hill from the river (just what you want for your last couple of kilometres) but as we got into the town we noticed that there were loads of activities being offered. Obviously white water rafting and canoeing but also e biking, mountain biking, paragliding and all sorts of other sports. There were also lots of people in the main street sat in restaurants and bars enjoying the sunshine and we felt like we had arrived at a proper holiday destination. The beers that were being enjoyed certainly did look nice!
Our place that we had booked to stay was right up the top of town and while one of the more expensive places we have booked on this trip was a bit of a rundown crappy apartment. Still it was clean and the shower was hot (for a little bit) so we quickly got freshened up. (We double checked why on earth we had booked this place and quickly realised that it was surprisingly expensive to stay here in Bovec and what you seemed to get for your money wasn’t the best)
Anyway not to worry we headed down to the town for a beer where we bumped into our Oregon couple so we had a great chat with them before heading off for some grilled meats and chips before passing out in bed for a well earned sleep. T