Day One: Soča River Hike

The SOçA River

My route from Bovec to Trenta followed along the banks of The Soça River for 28 Km and took me longer than the suggested 7.5 hrs (Image from Google Maps)

The soça river flows for 138 km through western slovenia, a northeastern corner of italy & into the adriatic sea. the source of this river’s brilliantly blue water lies in the trenta valley surrounded by the julian alps. considered one of the most beautiful rivers in europe it carves its way through canyons & pools, offering epic rafting, kayaking, canyoning & fly fishing.

there is a trail that follows along side the soça river, part of the much larger aple adria trail stretching 720 km from austria to the adriatic sea. the slovenian section of this trail snakes through the soca valley, passing by mountains, forest & some interesting relics of world war One.

tHE bEGINNING:

bovec - trenta

17.39 miles / 28 km

and then, I Made a friend…

On this hike I was under a strict, self imposed rule to stop and smell the roses. On The West Highland Way I had rushed and in rushing denied myself many of the most enjoyable parts of camping and hiking. Things like stopping for a beer in town, making a warm drink in the morning, taking detours off trail, a long lunch or afternoon siesta. The result was a pretty grumpy hiker and I was determined not to repeat that.

On this trail I would enjoy every mighty view and every tiny flower, read every national park info sign I passed, swim in the river during a long lunch break, and enjoy a beer in the evening.

Just half an hour down the trail I came to a beautiful bridge where a kayaking school was starting their day. It was my first opportunity to enjoy a view and take it easy, so I took off my pack and found a nice spot to watch the kayakers for a little while.

A runner, a cool young woman, had also stopped to watch them, and before long we were chatting away. An outdoor enthusiast in her own right we discussed gear, rock climbing, and her job as a server in Ana Ros’s restaurant Hisa Franko, featured on season two of Chef’s Table. I was so sad to leave her company, but we exchanged info and have kept in touch.

Side nOTE:

Later that day she wrote to me on Instagram explaining how our meeting inspired her to finally put in noticed at work for a month off to complete a long distance hike of her own. She would go one to hike through the French Alps for several weeks and following her trek on instagram was awesome. Social media can be good.

For the next couple hours I would see many different groups of kayakers, many in the epic white waters of the lively Soça. One group in particular was making their way through this narrow gorge (pictures above).

The colors of their kayaks against the river were mesmerizing and I had never seen people running such crazy white water in person. I hung out and watched this group go by, wondering what it felt like to navigate water like this with what looked like so little room for error. I might have to return to Bovec for kayak school.

and then, I took a siesta…

I couldn’t decide if this was the luckiest or unluckiest tree (left).

It looked a bit stranded, but on its very own private island in the middle of one of the most beautiful rivers in Europe. So hopefully it feels lucky.

I stopped for lunch and a swim at a bend in the river where fly fishermen were plentiful. These fly fisher were all at the lodges and campsites positioned here, roughly half way to the village of Trenta. This is an epic spot where lots of fresh water trout hang out. While I ate some lunch I could see their little silhouettes riding and snacking in the river’s current.

Lunch:

My typical hiking lunch, when feasible, is an avocado sandwich. Back in Bovec I had found some sauerkraut sold in an aluminum bag that kept it cold while hiking. It added a fair bit of fanciness to my lunch.

and then, i walked along an epic gorge…

I am not completely sure what the correct geological, typographical term is to describe this part of the river, but it was gorge like: a steep valley of rock walls with a river laying at the bottom. Clearly this river, over many thousands of years, had carved its way through this rock. Nearby ground waters waterfalled to join the river and the volume of water traveling by in such a small crevasse created an epic, thunderous sound.

And then, I finally saw the mountains…

This trail was leading me to the Julian Alps, a mountainous region in the north east corner of Slovenia. Similar in appearance to the Austrian Alps, its close neighbors to the north, and the Italian Alps to the west, these mountains are all limestone and share a similar, distinct shape.

Spring was quite late this year, with lots of snow lingering in the higher elevation. Slovenia has a very cool mountain hut and refugio system in their mountains, but many were still closed due to remaining snow.

I heard whispers that many lodges and huts were finally opening this very week, so my fingers were crossed that I would be able to experience staying in the epic shelter system dotted throughout not only the Julian Alps but all the alps have similar systems.

the trail passed by this beautiful home, right on the banks of the soça

Even after an entire day of walking along this river, the color of the water remained unbelievable

A European Scene:

this sweet couple sat on the bank of the river taking in the sun in their undies,

while reading and sharing a beautiful smorgasbord.

and then, I set up camp…

Ever so slightly past Trenta is a campsite called Sergej Bolcina. It is a lovely place with great showers and lots of nice spots for camping, I ended up right next to the orange tent you see in the photograph below. The orange tent belonged to a group of young french friends on a little road trip, they were so kind and invited me to share their soup dinner.

I spent the evening simply enjoying. This campsite has a great little cafe where I ordered a beer and looked over maps before making friends with a German couple traveling around Slovenia by motorcycle. They were excellent company and very sweetly paid my bill in secret.

Note to my future self:

Many years from now, when I am older wiser and have some money, if I meet a young traveler and share a beer with them cover their bill in secret when you go to pay your own, because it will make their day.

by lily