Mt. Krn not exactly as planned...

At the very southern end of the Julian Alps lies Mount Krn and it is one of the most important summits in this mountain range. This mountain is historically significant as it was a battleground during WWI between the Hungarians and Italians. An elite Italian unit took the peak in 1915. Besides importance, it is known to have incredible 360° views from the summit with lots of mountain peaks to see (unfortunately, we cannot attest to this).

Dan really wanted to do the via ferrata route up, but it added 2000 ft of elevation gain (already hiking 4500 ft of elevation gain), however the weather did not look good and we had a big canyoning day planned for the next day. So, I convinced Dan to do the 10 mile loop hike with a ridge (kind of like Franconia Ridge, but a little more elevation gain, a little longer and with cows and sheep). 

The cool looking waterfall on the drive to Mount Krn

An outhouse at the parking for Mt. Krn

We usually do not beat the time on the trail signs, but today we did 💪

Mt. Krn in the background not looking like good weather 

Dan giving the cow a wide berth

Still looking very Stormy in the higher peaks

You can buy cheese along the trail, after hiking for about one hour

The wildflowers were spectacular

Looking a little stormy behind me

Looking at the villages in the valley

One of the caves from WWI

Dan exploring a cave

And then it started to downpour. We quickly put on our rain gear, but we still got soaked. We could see the Hut in the distance, but it seemed like it took us forever to get there. We arrived at the hut cold and wet, but we were greeted with hot tea, a warm fire and nice conversation with the two people working there.

A fun trail blaze

Hiking in the pouring rain

More signs of WWI

Dan arriving at the hut

The hut caretakers were a young couple that are students at the University in Ljubljana during the school year. They shared with us some local milk and cheese and we gave them the rest of our kebab wraps from Bovec. They had wifi and checked the weather. It looked like we got caught in one system, then it was going to clear for a bit before another bigger system moved in. We didn't know exactly when it would hit or if it would be electrical so we made the decision to go back the way we came up rather than do the loop along the ridge. While we still reached the summit, it was a bummer to hike over 4000ft and then have to turn around. In retrospect, I wish we had done the loop since it stayed clear enough for the rest of the day. 

We took off most of our clothes and hung them near the wood stove to dry while we ate out lunches 

We were invited into the kitchen for some coffee, milk, and cheese "on the house"

The weather cleared up briefly so we made a dash for the summit. Alas, a view from the summit was not in the cards for us. Although, we did see some very cute sheep huddled together on the summit.

The hut during a brief break in the clouds

Another cave from WWI

The views were lacking on the summit

The summit stamp

On the summit on Mt. Kern with the stamp and other summit thingy on top

It cleared up enough on the summit for us to see that there were some death cliffs very close 

Sheep huddled on the summit 

On the hike down, the weather cleared a bunch, but still looked menacing in the distance. There was even a cool undercast for a while. However, the cows were laying down and the crickets were chirping so even the animals thought it was going to storm. I was bummed that our plans changed and we didn't get to see the views from the ridge and do a loop, but overall we had a great hike.

A cool undercast developed 

Well, hello there

Dan hiking by the locals 

Most of the cows laying down in anticipation of a storm near an old shepherds village 

Looking back at the summit in the clear

The milk truck heading up the mountain 

Bee hives along our drive. Slovenia is known for its honey

Looking back at the summit from a distance 

Scenes along the drive

Dan learning how to use the espresso machine in our apartment - it ended with espresso all over the place 

My Slovenian collection - they had to be small for me to consider hiking them out

Today was Slovenia's Day of Independence (June 25) since 1993. Nothing seemed different today except that everything was closed (but restaurants were open). Some Slovenians we had talked with about this day said that no one does anything special. Most people actually know about our 4th of July and how we celebrate. In fact, USA politics are a big topic of conversation here. They said that whatever happens in America impacts them which is why they follow it. I would venture to say that more people that we met while traveling know more about USA politics than most Americans. 

Kara's dinner (Dan would never be caught eating mushrooms)

Dan's dinner 

You guessed it - gelato to wrap up the day