08:46: I woke an hour ago. I’ve cooked and eaten porridge breakfast and washed up and brushed by teeth. It took me a while to drop off to sleep, but I was comfortable enough on the uneven ground. It got cold during the night and I woke up chilly a few times but fell back to sleep quickly. My [sleeping] bag is really awful — even when I’m cold, it’s clammy inside. I’ll never buy a bag with that nylon material in it ever again. My old bag was always so snug and cotton-soft inside — and roomier. At a huge cost in bulk and weight, of course. Anyway I’m going to pack up now and aim for Trebnje today. There’s a possibility I might find cheap accomodation there. Further along, I also spotted a campsite in the river valley but it’s miles from the nearest town. I’ll drop in to the family house for a phone charge after I’ve broken camp.
09:31: Broke camp. I’m going to ask the family if I can wash my socks.1
09:50: On the road.
09:56: Stopped at the bar where I asked about accomodation2. I’m having a sweet fruit tea. It’s gonna be a hot day today.
10:06: Not so hot, says the girl at the bar. I’m on the move again.
10:08: Leaving Zavrstnik.
10:24: Šmartno. I need to buy lunch and dinner here.
10:56: €8.04 for bread rolls, cheese, mackerel, biscuits, mayo and jams.
11:00: Shit packed away. On the road again. I’m gonna have an early lunch of cheese on bread with mayo. The fish is oily enough by itself. Biscuits for extra energy. Need to fucking crack on.
11:09: Leaving Šmartno.
11:48: Selšek.
11:52: Cerovica.
12:04: Leaving Cerovica. I’m 4.5km out of Šmartno.3
13:07: Finishing lunch. I spent about an hour on it. Three bread rolls with mayo and cheese, biscuits with jam and the apple. Fish, bread and biscuits remain.
13:17: Moving again. Coated in Factor 50. I’m taking a shortcut on a small road.
13:37:27
13:37:37
13:39: Steep climb along switchbacks. Jablaniške Laze.
13:54: Leaving Jablaniške Laze. Still climbing.
13:59:07
14:41: I’ve inadvertently climbed the biggest hill for miles around — I’m at 785m!
15:16: 833m FFS.
15:23: OK, I’ve not descended at all, and now I’ve arrived in Velika Preska, which is the town at which I rejoin the main road, so I would have had to climb to the altitude anyway, just taken a longer road to do it.4
15:40: Leaving Velika Preska. Back on the main road. Extraordinary.
15:53: A sign says Šmartno is 15km behind me. That’s going the long way.
17:14:08: This stretch of road was unpaved fine gravel. Each car that went by kicked up choking clouds of dust.
17:21:47
17:41: Sopota. Going well the last two hours. I’d like to keep it up for another couple.
18:04:07
18:04:20
18:14:37
18:27: Just under 4km to Jagnjenica. I’m pretty much spent, but I’m gonna push on and find a friendly farmer to host me.
18:33: Zagrad.
18:39: Descending through a gorge.
19:01: Jagnjenica town limit.
19:11: Setting up my tent! I asked at pretty much the first house in the village and the man of the house said “yes”. I didn’t catch his name, but he’s told me I can fetch water from the side of the house. He’s gone to drop his daughter home — I think he said he’d be home in two hours. I’ll be asleep by then, hopefully!
19:31: Under the tent. I’m beside a stream, at the end of a thirty metre lawn. The road runs between the lawn and the house, which is built into the mountainside. I’ve oriented the tent so the morning sun will dry the dew on both sides of the pitched tarp. I’m going to lie down for a rest.
20:32: I’m utterly exhausted. I’m getting into the bag. I’ve put it inside the bivvy bag for extra warmth.
I’m getting super-presumptuous here! I have no idea if I actually did ask for these favours; I remember the layout of the house and garden below the road, the terrace where I ate dinner with the family, and the barn, woodpile and field where I camped, but not the interior of the house. I hope I forgot to ask them after I’d written these notes!↩
…the evening before.↩
…which makes my progress pretty typical. 4.5 to 5km/h was my typical pace.↩
I don’t mention it here, but this was one of the toughest climbs since crossing Col de la Schlucht in the Vosges in France. I was panting and sweating freely.↩