Home alone

Yesterday I drove Marko to the airport, he has gone on a business trip for two weeks. And this morning I dropped off Matej, he is off on a school trip for a week. So, I am home alone. What to do? Go hiking, of course! Which is easier said than done. The hills and mountains are still white with snow – and this includes the hill behind my house which got a fresh sprinkling a few days ago.

I set off towards the Kamnik Alps, a huge mountain range not too far to the north of Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. I took my winter clothes, including hat and gloves and was prepared for the conditions so I figured I would just go up as far as I could before the snow devoured me. While driving to the foot of the mountains I had the radio on and they were discussing skiing conditions. Sometimes I wonder how I managed to grow up in this country where it seems that I am the only one who doesn’t ski.

It was actually very nice going up the trail at the beginning, the sun was shining and since I went up the southern slope the snow had mostly melted so it was easy for the first hour or so. After that there was more and more snow the further I went and I finally gave up when I started sinking knee-deep into the snow. I met skiers on the way (obviously, people don’t hike up mountains in the snow, they go there to ski off them!) and I decided it was really time to turn back when I reached a clearing that looked like the aftermath of an avalanche. Enough snow for me today, thank you.