The Hills Are Alive With...... Mushrooms?

The Skofja Loka Hills to the west of town was the site of my first genuine hike in Slovenia. Our destination? The Dom na Lubnik mountain hut at the summit of Lubnik (1025 M).


I have to confess I didn’t realize how much I have been missing the forest while living in the city of Ljubljana, until I actually stepped onto the trail and breathed in the sights, sounds and scents of the trees and the trails.
Fall has arrived here in Slovenia and the locals complain it happened too quickly and it is too cold, but I find the transition very gradual, and the days still quite balmy.


Anyone who has hiked with me in the past will remember that I tend to enjoy the little delights of Mother Nature as I truck along. My fascination with the local mushroom species seemed to amuse my hiking companions immensely as I continuously stopped to take pictures of the flora along the way.




En route to the summit we passed the village of Gabrovo, where I stopped for a photo of the 'toplarji' or hay-drying racks, a feature of the countryside that is evidently unique to Slovenia.

The most common is the single rack, a very narrow with a series of crossbars and a roof, it allows a large amount of hay to be draped over each rung and dry protected from the rain. These are quite common in the farming area and some, like the one I photographed, are larger and quite complex. In places where they are no longer used for drying hay, they make attractive plant stands or places for posters.
I also took note of the small still, with smoke merrily belching out of its chimney This one was brewing pear schnapps. Mmmmmm!


The very top of Lubnik mountain offers a beautiful view on sunny and clear days.

There is the directional slab with engraved names of nearby and more distant mountains, to help the hiker orient themselves. The Alpine mountain hut, managed by the Mountaineering Club Škofja Loka, offers its visitors refreshment and lodging. We had a cool and welcome drink of lemonade, basked a little in the sunshine before descending the trail back to Skofja Loka.


Pretty terrain, stunning vistas and a good aerobic workout!



Those are the Julian Alps, and yep, there is fresh snow on them there hills!!!!!!