A lovely meeting on a rocky peak
Date: 25.10.2019
Starting point: Ljubelj 1058m
Top: 2181m
Altitude difference: 1123m
A sunny and warm Friday, free of work, arrived around the corner and the call was too loud, to not answer 😉 It always is. The pull to get out, to get high above the valleys, to feel the air and rest the eyes on the carpet of nature.
We slept in. Kiddo was tired, she is having eureka math moments lately and keeps her head in numbers late into the night. So, after a late coffee and a very late breakfast, we started hiking at around 10:30. The weather was perfect and we had enough time.
The first part of the hike, to Zelenica hut, we have walked (and skied) many times before. Once for this challenge too, adding Triangel peak. But this was the first time, that Sunny kid walked this path without snow. Admittedly different. For an hour till we reached Zelenica hut, kiddo was relentless in adding and subtracting two and three-digit numbers. Outloud. Expecting me to control if the results are right or not. I couldn’t even fake it, cause she tricks me by saying it wrong on purpose and checks if I ll correct her or not. Shit. I haven’t done so much mental math since the 4th grade.
When we reached the hut I told her that my brain hurts and that I needed a break. 😉 Like, till the evening at least. The trail changed at that point anyway, we have never walked it before and the new sights kept my mathematician quiet for a while.
The 46000 challenge has been an enormous focus also in homeschooling Sunny kid. Having such a goal in our lives and being occupied with it, brought lots of both: spontaneous learning and also structure. I am working on a longer post about it. I will let you know.
So, continuing towards Vrtača we ascended above the Zelenica hut and traversed under Vrtača massive towards the highest peak of Karavanke – Stol. The fall colors were shining around us, while the temperatures were summerlike. It was impossibly hot for the last days of the month of October.
The trail climbs steadily up, with views becoming more and more beautiful with each altitude meter gained. The path is easy to follow and rated not difficult except the last part on the ridge, where a little attention on a safe step is needed.
The trail takes us around the mountain, where we climb up to the ridge and continue on it till the top.
The giant ace axe and the rope hanging on it can be seen from afar. The iron statue marks the top of Vrtača mountain. We made it.
There was a group of hikers on the top. One of the ladies and Sunny kid got into a conversation about mountains and the kiddo ended up showing her mountain journal. Oh the thrills, on both sides. It was a really lovely meeting with these ladies and a young man. Especially one of them, being an experienced mountaineer and a former alpinist, had a lot to talk about with my enthusiastic daughter. Not sure which one of them was more impressed with the other 😉
We walked down on a different route then they did, but met again at Zelenica hut for a long break, more laughs and some fantastic food. Sunny kid hardly waited to put the numbers together and check if we have passed the 40.000 mark or not. You can see for yourself in the video below.
Thanks for reading 🙂
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