A rucksack, camera and 550km of mountain trail – The Slovene High Level Route.

This is the second guest article by Roy and Justi and it helps to celebrate the publishing of their second book :
Trekking in Slovenia – the Slovene High Level Route by Justi Carey and Roy Clark.

“The outdoor life appears intrinsic in Slovenia’s culture, not only for many local rural
livelihoods but also for their recreation and great sense of adventure. For such a small
country it has a fantastic wealth of waymarked trails that crisscross every county and
over 300 manned mountain huts and valley refuges can be found strategically placed
along the routes. “

The PTR team have a special affinity with Slovenia following two trips there and this book and country come highly recommended to anyone who loves mountains and walking. This article, especially written for our photo travellers, touches on some of the trials and decisions photographers following the wilder paths have to face.

As well as having the more well known long distance trails that pass through the land, like the European E6 and E7 and the Via Alpina, it also has another, known mostly only to Slovenes themselves – the 550km long Transverzala or Slovenska Planinska Pot. This is a trail that crosses the country’s high ground, from Maribor in the north east to Ankaran on the Adriatic coast in the south. It takes in the Pohorje hills, the Kamnik-Savinja and Julian Alps, the Karavanke range that forms the natural border with Austria, the Bohinj mountains, many central lower hills and eventually passes through wild maquis and scrub as you approach the coast. When you realize just how passionate the Slovenes are about mountaineering and trekking, it doesn’t come as a great surprise to discover that the Transverzala was the first long distance route to be established in any of Europe’s alpine countries. Like all Slovene mountain trails, it is waymarked with the characteristic ‘target’ sign and also with a number 1.

It was a challenge to be taken up and being given the opportunity to write the first English language guidebook for the route was definitely an added bonus. One of the most enjoyable parts of the challenge for me was to get the best photos I could for the guidebook. As with our first book, the goal was to get descriptive shots that showed important sections of the route, cols and passes, path junctions, hut accommodation etc., but, as always, I was hoping for those magical elusive moments when good light and spectacular mountain scenery combine and a lone walker is highlighted on a summit ridge, adding scale and perspective – rare moments indeed when you have to keep walking to get the route done and meet publishing deadlines – you don’t have the luxury of being able to have a short walk and a purely ‘photos only’ day out!

I was not so concerned with getting useable shots in the high mountain sections – the Julian/Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the Bohinj hills offer enough drama and beauty for most folk with an interest in photography – but I had my doubts about the lower hills on the southern section of the route. Many of the southern hills are below the tree line and I wasn’t sure how I could make shots of forest paths and hill tops (where any available view would likely be of more endless tree tops) interesting. This proved to be the case for some sections, so I concentrated more on flower images and macro shots of butterflies when time allowed. Fortunately though, the route also travelled through scenic villages and passed many places of interest – like the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Škocjan caves.

As usual, I was trying to be selective with which camera kit to take/leave out – but even more so on such a long trail which involved more consecutive nights spent in mountain huts than was necessary for our last book about the Julian Alps. I used an old Nikon FE, as its low weight, solid construction and simple functions make it a good outdoor choice, complimented with some sharp primes, 50mm, 35mm and a 200mm in the high mountains. On the more featureless southern sections, I swapped the 200mm for a 100mm Macro. I took my smallish Gitzo (1.7kg) tripod with me for most of the route but swapped this for a more basic aluminium and plastic job to try and reduce the weight on the longer sections. I use a tripod a lot for setting up delayed timer shots, with myself in the picture when no-one else is around to add scale to the shot. Occasionally I took a small flash unit for hut interiors and fill flash. This was to be my last serious outing using 35mm film camera and lenses. I’ve always liked the excellent vibrancy and colour of good slide film and even the anticipation of picking up the results of your efforts from the developers, but this year a few ‘incidents’ left me looking forward to next year when I’ll be working with digital. Some examples being – having a few rolls of supposedly fresh film being developed with a strange magenta colour cast, the usual trials of loading film on exposed summits, but one of the worst moments was going to the developers to collect a week’s worth of film for a particularly remote section of the walk, only to find dozens of slides of a child’s christening! Fortunately disaster was averted and the proud parents of the child returned my slides to the developers, but only after six weeks of very anxious waiting and hoping.

For photographers looking for dramatic mountain shots, the Julian and Kamnik- Savinnja Alps won’t disappoint.  The Karavanke is a more gentle range – still high hills, but wonderful for grassy, flower covered slopes, and they also give great views of the higher ranges. One particular section, south of the main peaks, is a long escarpment high above the town of Ajdovšcina, known as the Gora. Its diversity of flowers, wildlife and interesting geology is stunning. It is also an area that appears to mark a strong change from an Alpine climate to a Mediterranean one.

Further south again, as the coast is approached, the scenery becomes less dramatic but there is plenty of scope for wild flowers, butterflies and sunsets over the the Adriatic Sea – the routes final destination. The Slovenska Planinska Pot is a beautiful route in a beautiful country, demanding in some sections, gentle and easy in others, where peace and solitude can be found, particularly in some of the less frequented southern sections where you may be more likely to encounter a deer or even a bear rather than people.

Links

The Julian Alps of Slovenia, Europe – walking and trekking the first book in this series.

Trekking in Slovenia – the Slovene High Level Route – Europe

See the first PTR article here.

Cicerone travel guides.

Email (Roy has kindly invited PTR readers to contact him if you wish any more details about this area or Slovenia in general)

In 2005, my partner, Justi Carey, and I were given the opportunity to write a new Cicerone guidebook for the Julian Alps of Slovenia. We had moved to Slovenia in 2002, from the Western Highlands of Scotland, where in the last few years of living there, I had begun to expand my interest and passion for photography. We had both been keen walkers and climbers for many years – it was our reason for being in the Highlands, and it was exciting to have been given the green light to produce a guidebook. We both felt it was a personal opportunity to ‘put something back’ after all the experiences we had both enjoyed in the mountains, hoping it might even give a little inspiration to others who look to the outdoors for their spiritual strength as well recreation.

Not having a job here in ’02 -indeed this was pre-EU time, work permits were required and enforced – meant my role in Slovenia was initially as the ‘house husband’ and Justi was bringing home the bread, teaching English in local schools. This gave me the opportunity to start exploring the hills and accumulating knowledge for our book.

Since arriving in Slovenia, I had begun to supply images for a stock travel library in the UK as well as a web library, as I found I had more time on my hands. Initially we lived in eastern Slovenia, not far from the Croatian border. The landscape and buildings in the east are mostly very rural, small forested hills, usually topped with a church or shrine, small farms and vineyards clinging to the hillsides, giving plenty of photo opportunities.

Slovenia has three distinct climatic areas: Alpine, Mediterranean, and Continental. Eastern Slovenia has the latter, with hot summers and cold winters, so it can be a good bet for even a short photo trip, the weather patterns being more stable than the NW Alpine region, where most UK visitors seem to head. Slovenia’s coastline is short and can be very busy, the medieval coastal town of Piran offering photo opportunities in the early morning, before the bustle starts. There is also an interesting area of abandoned salt pans at Secovlje that has been turned into a nature reserve- I’ve not had an opportunity to shoot there, but passing by while on a car trip to Croatia, has made me add the area to my ‘future photo locations’ memory store. The Julian Alps is the country’s mountain region most known to foreign visitors, and for good reason: stunning limestone peaks, steep forested foothills and incredibly beautiful wild flower meadows in the valleys. The town of Kranjska Gora is a good location as a base to get into the hills and with the tourist hot spot of Lake Bled only about 45km away, easily visited by bus for a day trip.

The Julian Alps can be a challenging arena for photography. When the sun is high, the contrast between the dark pine-clad lower slopes and the glaring, pale limestone peaks, can give serious contrast worries. Grey grads, and polarisers (treated carefully as even the modest altitude of the Julian Alps can darken your skies with overkill) are essential. It is especially true here that the best opportunities are in the early light (dawn or just after) and late evening when the glare is killed and the last light is catching the tops.

Unlike the Scottish hills, strong winds are not generally a problem here in the mountains. I use a small Gitzo- about 1.7kg, steady enough, and I would not want to carry anything heavier. I am still working with film at present; the main reason being that film is the preferred choice of our publisher. I will certainly be buying digital kit this year but expect to keep on using film for a while yet for our latest book project. The Slovene people have a long tradition of mountaineering. You will meet Slovenes of all ages and backgrounds travelling through the Julian Alps. Climbing Triglav, Slovenia’s highest peak, is considered almost an obligation of every Slovene, something that should be done at least once in their lifetime. It’s hard to overestimate the importance that Triglav has in the Slovene psyche.

The doms and kocas (mountain hut accommodation), are well placed in the mountains, being usually within 2-3hrs of each other. In July and August, especially at weekends, the huts can prove to be either a real haven, or a necessary evil. They are supplied with sheets/blankets and can offer all the food and drink you’ll need. This means you can travel light.

Unlike the higher mountains of the western Alps, there are no glaciers or significant snow fields, so there is no need to carry ice axes/crampons/rope. This means you can pack a fair amount of camera kit in your rucksack – but don’t be tempted to overdo it, like I have, more times than I’d wish to admit! The mountain paths can be grindingly steep, often with short sections of scrambling on near vertical rock that is protected with steel cables and pegs. Combined with the usual high summer temperatures, its best to sacrifice a bit of extraneous kit and take an extra bottle of water. In general, images taken for guidebooks need to be more descriptive than purely aesthetic. A hiker in a scene adds scale and perspective and is preferred in about 70% of picture content for a guidebook. So many times, I’ve sat becoming more and more impatient and anxious of the time slipping by, while waiting for a walker to come into view on a particularly impressive section of ridge or high path, and hoping they will be wearing something brightly coloured – a red fleece or tee-shirt can make all the difference for a good guidebook shot!

However, a photography trip to the Julian Alps does not require long hikes in the hills. There are endless opportunities for mountain landscape shots if climbing them is not your thing. Modest height gains can be made to find a planina (hill pasture), with chocolate box views of small wooden chalets/houses as foreground to impressive peaks like Spik and Jalovec. Buses go over the Vrsic pass (1611m) – a starting point for mountain trips, but also a good place for minor hikes to viewpoints.

Macro kit is good if you want to stay in the valleys, the wild flowers are amazing and there may be some good opportunities for candids too, when whole families gather to harvest the hay and stack it onto the big drying racks. Also, local festivals and fetes are plentiful. Its hard not to sound like an over-enthusiastic, fanatical patriot, newly employed by the Slovene tourist board, but this gem of a country rarely disappoints. What’s more, I soon realised that photography really has a special place in Slovenian life and culture. Almost every town has a photography club, with regular exhibitions and competitions and even in very small towns, I am often surprised to find a thriving photography shop. When to go: Mid-May to mid-June is a good time to be in the lower valleys – before the first cut of the flower meadows and when the high peaks are still snow capped. Its also a quiet time and accommodation is plentiful. There are less cultural events and festivals at this time though. July and August is the main hiking season when the high mountain huts are open. Winters are cold and snow plentiful- in January a high pressure system usually builds over the Alps and the weather is clear with lots of winter sun. Where to stay: The principle centres for the Julian Alps are Kranjska Gora, Bovec, Bohinj area and Tolmin.

Claire: “Thanks Roy for this informative and inspiring article. I highly recommend his book for any travellers in this region. The Julian Alps: Walking Routes and Short Treks“

By Claire

This trip came about due to a previous holiday in Skye that had been arranged by people who had met on an online photography site. Here I had the good fortune to meet with a Slovenian called Herman Cater and he agreed to organise a trip to his homeland. Two years after meeting this came to fruition. It was a meeting of people who shared a passion for nature, brought together friends new and old and proved to be a fantastic experience. Herman gave us an unforgettable introduction to his country; one that could never had been realised without his knowledge and planning. His photography is featured here and he is featured in an interview on PTR about his Siberian adventures.

I flew from Stansted, London to Ljubljana (with Easy Jet) at the end of May and the drive to the first house in the Logarska Dolina in the Solcava District gave us some idea what was to come, the light was beautiful and at every turn I was seeing things I wanted to shoot. My first impression was how green it was and how pristine and clean – the air had a startling purity.

This first photo was the very first I took on the trip. As soon as we arrived we walked up to touch the snow on the peaks behind our cabin. I never fail to be amazed at the incongruity of being hot and being near snow.

The weather was a surprise and we were lucky, T-shirts were the order of the day but the week before had been cold and wet.

The first morning was an early start to be in place for dawn at Robanov Kot. We met Herman’s friend, Lojze, who proved a wonderful guide. (I have to thank him for his sherpa services when the going got a bit tough on some steep bits later in the week.). Herman picked a fantastic spot and organised some wonderful colour in the sky. I’ve chosen these shots to show how the light changed and how the same stump gave foreground interest up and down the valley.

Later in the morning we walked to a viewpoint that gave us a chance to look down the Logarska Dolina. (Dolina means valley). The clouds were fantastic but quite a challenge to photograph as the contrast was high. We stayed and watched the sun slowly hit trees in the valley. I can’t imagine a more enchanting morning.

I was delighted to see so many meadow flowers. Any spring visitor to Slovenia will be guaranteed to come away with images of the meadows. They cut through the woodlands in perfect harmony, the mountains rise above. It is stunning and for those of us used to the landscapes where farming is intensive it is a joy to see.

The next morning found us up early again and on another meadow with great views. This rolling meadow in the distance really caught my eye and we had a short time with some rosy light on the mountains.

We headed a bit further along the valley and prepared to walk up to a cave through the forest. This next image was an attempt to capture a church with a mountain backdrop. People who know me know I love to shoot water and reflections – I’d found one at last! The churches all seemed to be on the top of hills, many inaccessible by car – great for photography but hard for devotees.

Wood is king here. The log piles probably seem very mundane to those who live here but to my eye they were a constant source of interest; as were all the uses wood was put to. The architecture seems to grow rather than being made, within the more remote areas man’s impact may be present but it never jars.

If you like shooting waterfalls you are spoilt for choice. Slap is the Slovenian word for waterfall and the slaps here are dramatic and abundant.

Herman had organised this trip but we were also guests of a camera club called SVIT. They organised a fun raft ride for us.

What a great morning, this proved to be. Watching Kaz (a friend from Poland) being baptised was especially entertaining. Thanks to all at SVIT for making us so welcome and organising such a fun event. They have many talented photographers.

We changed location to be near the Kranjska Gora region (see map) and I was keen to see the lakes that most tourists associate Slovenia with. Lake Bled is a view that I had seen many times on TV before my visit but the light had changed, it was still hot but hazy and I came home thinking I hadn’t got a picture of this but forgot we stopped briefly here one morning. The sky was not interesting so a B&W conversion helps.

Photography became more challenging as the weather became hot and humid, no dawn or sunsets so it was time to play. If you like flowers then overcast light is good and the opportunities are at every bend.

Later in the week we had one lovely afternoon on Lake Bohijn with a storm and rain and mists.

Religion is important in Slovenia so I had to have a go at adding some images of this aspect of life.

Our new location gave us access to views of the Julian Alps and another beautiful meadow and some brief morning colour.

I have never been in the Alps before and found myself shooting many vertical shots in order to try and capture the height and give some sense of the scale – difficult to do and you really need good light and something in the foreground to achieve this. Having only a week I failed to get the shot I wanted, this is something I’d like to try again but would want to find my “perfect” location and return again and again to find the shot I now have in my mind.

We visited a lake – by this time I was lost but I know I was near Triglav. The colour of the water in the rivers was astounding but I failed to capture it though I did at least get a chance to dabble in water. The water in the rivers is extraordinary. The rocks are white, being limestone, and the water takes on the colour of the land and sky. I cannot describe the colours we saw – was it green or blue? It was certainly something I’ve not seen before but you’ll have to visit to experience it.

The need for hay has a huge impact on the scenery in Slovenia and while agriculture in the UK often spoils the land here the creation of meadows seems so harmonious. I almost feared to walk on the meadows as in the UK wild flowers are so rare they are protected but here they are cut and fed to what I assume are the tastiest cows in the world. This final shot were taken minutes before we got into the car to head for the airport.

No one can say we didn’t make the most of the trip. A HUGE thanks to all who help make it happen and a special hug for Herman who couldn’t have organised a better trip.

I’ve been home a month but can’t shake off the beauty we saw. I will return. I want to experience winter and autumn and also I’m told the meadows get even more beautiful – this I have to see.

Highlights: Being in a meadow looking towards snow capped mountains with cuckoo calls echoing across the valley as the sun came up. Also, sharing this with people who have a passion to find good light in beautiful places.

Lowlights: I was bitten by an Alsatian dog. It was a scary experience but it did leave me with a lasting impression of how kind people can be when you are abroad and in need of help. Herman helped me with the language barrier, acquiring information about whether the dog was vaccinated and at the hospital. The police were helpful and efficient, the man who ran the Zirovnica Backpacker Hostel (Bookings via niko.jakelj@gmail.com) where we stayed drove me to the hospital and helped me understand what was happening and gave good advice. Hania (my Polish friend) held my hand and found the necessary dressings for the wound. The rest of the group had their holiday disrupted but were sympathetic and patient. I thank you all. This is a PTR lesson – you never know what will happen but around every unexpected corner there are people in this world who have big hearts and a possible crisis can be turned around.

Advice for travellers: I was only here for 7 days but I did talk a lot to people who know the areas we visited well. Photographers should aim to travel here in spring or autumn for a “gentle” experience and avoid July and August as the light is less dramatic. Winter in the mountain areas would be very challenging to do what we did. The snow makes most of the higher places we went to inaccessible without a great deal of effort and skill. Some of the places we visited are not on the tourist trail and I’d recommend a lot of research to make the most of good light.

We met an Englishman called Roy Clark who has made Slovenia his home. He writes walking guides and I’d highly recommend reading them. Look here .

Accommodation is cheap (around 20 – 25 Euros a night gets you a clean room, breakfast and evening meals in fabulous locations). This site features  the first mountain hut we stayed in (Alpine dairy cottage in LOGARSKI KOT).

At the Backpacker’s Hostel (Bookings via niko.jakelj@gmail.com) the owner will collect you for free from the train station and even substantially undercut taxi fares to drive you there from the airport. He was happy to accommodate meal times with our strange hours and will drive you to the lakes.

The history of this country isn’t easy to understand – the twists and turns are as tortuous as the mountain roads. The recent history is as complex as the distant past. It is a country that has won recent independence (read about the 10 day war) and is less scarred than other parts of the Yugoslav Republic. Economically it has challenges but everyone I spoke to had a confident air and they were sure that with the present independence and stability the future could be good. I hope so as they are a people who you cannot help but love and they have a treasure of a country that isn’t spoilt and should have the help of the European Community to ensure it can protect its beauty whilst enabling prosperity.

This final image is a sensitive portrait of a Slovenian man by Herman Cater.

Links

Slovenia Tourist Guide

The Solcava District

Kranjska Gora Region

Triglav National Park

To see what others achieved on this trip and a daily report by Herman visit here

Insurance
UK Travel Insurance recommended by PTR

UK Camera equipment insurance recommended by PTR

By Claire

Image by Kaz (Lake Bled)

PTR held its workshop in October 2008 and here I present some of the images taken by (and of) participants.

The workshop was a huge success. The accommodation turned out to be even better than expected, the apartments gave everyone a bedroom to themselves, two nice lounges where we could meet and free Internet access.

We had cooking facilities but the added bonus was home cooked food that had been reared and grown on the farm where we stayed.

Initially we had some confusion due to the clocks going back in Slovenia and people arriving from 4 different countries. For a day we couldn’t decide what the time really was and we had one early start waiting the sunrise, which turned up an hour later than expected! The added bonus to this was we arrived on the top of the mountains in the pitch dark and the stars were out, I can’t remember seeing stars like this before – magical. The clear sky that followed sunrise was a challenge but the mist in the valley was breathtaking.

Photo by Claire

The first two days proved to be the best weather wise and everyone got some good shots. This always lifts the mood, as you know you won’t be going back home disappointed.

Photo by Kaz

Image by Herman

Image by Bill

Slovenia in autumn was a delight. We had previously visited the location in May and had chosen the area around Lake Bled as “base camp” due to its proximity to water, forests and mountains. We had our fingers crossed that the autumn colours would hold on and we were not disappointed.

Photo by Kaz

Photo by Herman

The weather at this time of year is unpredictable, we could have had deep snow in the mountains but initially we were stripping off layers rather than adding them.

Photo by Claire

By mid-week the weather had changed and we sought some height to meet the snow. It was time to use all the cold weather gear we’d brought.

Photo by Roy

The last few days were wet. This found us still out and about and there were some brief moments of light worth catching…

Photo by Kaz

Photo by Bill

Image by Herman

There were villages to explore………

Photo by Bill

And the leaves took on even better colour after a wash……..

Photo by Claire

Photo by Herman

Bill also found some wildlife and demonstrated what a Canon G10 can do in capable hands.

Photo by Bill

We hope to repeat the Autumn trip in 2009 and if you want advance notification I can add you to a mailing list. As an added bonus we may add a day trip to Venice.

Image by Claire

A big thanks to those who have provided images for this article.

Claire