Prsivec

I have to say I am a bit ashamed of this as it demonstrates how not to go about a walk in the mountains.

The day started with a nice stroll to Slap Savica which was about 3km from our hotel. We were fortunately dressed appropriately, with hiking boots and fleeces with waterproofs in the rucsack, a map and some fruit. The waterfall was ok and we came back down the path. Someway along the path between the hotel and the start of Slap Savica was a right turn signposted to the mountain, Prsivec. The sign suggested 1¾hrs for the ascent.

At the top, I had been told there was a very picturesque plateau, hence I was quite keen to up and take a look at it. I did not appreciate at this stage how difficult the climb would be.

Off we set, after a short period our youngest daughter was clearly unhappy about it but the rest of us wanted to continue so we coaxed her to carry on. This was a mistake because she became very slow and caused a considerable delay getting to the top. Instead of the suggested time it took us more like 3 hours to reach the summit. The top was very rewarding as there was a lake - Orlic at 1455m, surrounded by mountains and reminded me of an Enid Blyton novel from childhood which described this very scene.

Bohinj from the climb. Orlic The view from the top of Prsivec

On the way up we had met a very pleasant German man who walked with us and pointed to where we needed to go, he was on his way to work! He was heading for Seven Lakes a couple of hours further on. That's him in the photograph above.

We headed towards Planinska Koca at 1625m, a steady climb, the plateau was just past here. Again the 1¼hrs shown on the sign became 2 hours and we arrived at Planinska Koca at around 4pm. This was very worrying as we had a 4 hour walk to get to Stara Fuzina, the village at the far end of the lake. Thoughts of seeing the plateau were forgotton in our haste to get down. At Planinska Koca were some huts with many walkers milling around. We asked the way, there was some confusion and we took a path to Prsivec (1761m) which turned out the wrong one. I realised it was the wrong path after about 15 minutes but decided that the map showed it as joining the one we wanted and it would be better to continue rather than go back. We reached the top of Prsivec and were rewarded with the best view I have ever encountered. A horseshoe of mountains with Lake Bohinj below, breathtaking. We continued along the path for another 15 minutes but then found that the descent was so difficult I would not dare take the children down. So we turned back at about 5pm. All the way back to the huts at Planinska Koca and we arrived at 6pm. I was pretty well panicking at this stage as our 4 hour walk down was now from 6pm instead of 4pm which meant descending the mountain in the pitch dark.

Julie had arrived just before me and enquired at the hut for ways out of our mess. The people there turned out to be exceptionally friendly and came to our rescue. They offered us accommodation at the hut, in a second building adjacent or said we could stay in the main hut with them. We gratefully accepted the adjacent hut so our dilemma was virtually over.

We stayed in the one on the far left Grace on the top!

Our new friends, Silvania, Daniel and their son Sandi were superb hosts. They entertained us all evening and made us feel very welcome. Of course, I felt really stupid having led my family into danger by not taking enough care in the mountains but our hosts helped by treating us with a mature compassion.

We slept in the roof of the 210 year old hut and could see the night sky through the skylights, the building was quite comfortable and was warm. After a thunderstorm overnight we arose at about 7am had some breakfast, swopped details with Silvania and left by the path that they pointed out. A 4 hour descent, starting at 8.15am they estimated we would be in Stara Fuzina by midday. They weren't far wrong, we arrived at Stara Fuzina at 1215, the way down was a really good interesting journey, it rained and we emerged on the road at the end in sunshine. We did actually see the plateau, as it was en route and it was beautiful. Not a plateau by our standards, more like a very hilly, undulating rocky area with trees, flora, all kinds of colours, wildlife and vegetation.

On reaching the road, Grace, bless her, announced she wanted to complete the walk rather than catch the bus back so while Julie and Livvy caught the bus, Grace and I walked back to Ukanc along the north side of the lake.

It was a great relief to get back to the hotel, put our feet up and take a shower. So ended a frightening but nonetheless enjoyable and educational 2 days.

What did we gain from this?

Me: Respect the mountain, don't try to do too much, read the map properly before setting out, always pack a torch, compass, warm clothing and food in your rucksack even for the silliest shortest journeys.

Grace: Staying in absolute isolation on a mountain top.

Livvy: Same as Grace and that she can do more than she thinks when the pressure is on.

Julie: Never trust Roger