Planning

  • factors considered
    • convenience of transport – availability by a car
    • density of huts with food

Diary

Day 00

  • daily stats: 3.6 km, +234 m, -0 m, (~580 km by car)
  • sleeping: under Altfinkenstein ruin

Day 01

  • daily stats: ~15 km, +1730 m, -800 m
  • sleeping: not Dovška Rožca, meadow nearby (~1 km)

Day 02

  • daily stats: ~14 km, +750 m, -790 m
  • sleeping: Bärensattel, hidden in mountain pines above the saddle

Day 03

  • daily stats: ~12.5 km, +744 m, -903 m
  • sleeping: koča na Zelenici

Whooshing glider

Day 04

  • daily stats: 13 km, +1100 m, -1600 m
  • sleeping: clearing under mountains
  • local minimum in Loiblpass (Ljubel), once it as a local maximum
  • unexpected klettersteig prevents us from finishing the ridge hike and therefore we turn down to the valley

Loiblpass descent

Day 05

  • daily stats: 6.5 km, +30 m, -485 m, 44 km by public transport, (~580 km by car)
  • sleeping: Prague

People

  • MoBlo Junge (he meant Mount Blanc)
  • introverted cowboy (he gave us water)
  • shrewd Golica hut operator (he charged us for water)
  • the expected group of Czech travel agency (we never met them)
  • German? couple co-sleeping in Bärensattel
  • (sky)runners
  • group of Brnenians
  • mountaneering Czech family
  • friendly but misleading operators of Zelenica hut
  • experienced Slovenian hikers couple, handless Slovenian former hiker
  • (responsible hiker, pair of Slovenian hiker/climber girls)

Misc

  • Annahüte burnt down in 1944 during fight between guerillas and (German?) police
  • whooshing gliders seen from top
  • Karavanke in Slovenian, Karawanken in German

COVID-19

  • vaccination certificate ready, nowhere checked
  • using facemasks in public transport

Practicals & lessons learnt

  • baggage ~18.5 kg (+salami, +tent share)
  • lessons
    • check the planned route in advance for signs of unpassability
      • klettersteig marks (add them when you know)
      • extremely dense countour lines
      • hiking poles not compatible with rope holding
    • transport
      • two cars for bigger environmental impact but easier return trip after passing the ridge
    • excessive sweating
      • not a common problem on forums
      • I would need to analyze it myself (metabolism efficiency, muscle efficiency, movement efficiency,…)
    • sunburns after sweating
      • oint forehead
      • use waterproof/resistant sunscreen
    • risk assessment of extreme costs with low probability

All photos are courtesy of my comrades.