Sunday, May 18, 2025
Stage 6 of the Juliana Trail
Goreljek on Pokljuka to Stara Fuzina ~ 36,000 Steps
Today we said goodbye to Susana and Hotel Jelka. She asked us about our final destination for today (Stara Fuzina) and which hotel we were headed to (Hotel Majer’ca). We’ve left our bags with her to get picked up by the taxi company, so I hope they find their way to our hotel instead of put up for auction on Ebay!
The place we are leaving, Goreljik is known for biathlon training, but we saw no evidence of that in the little village. We also didn’t stop by Hotel Sport while we were in the village, so maybe that is where all the training activities are.
Prior to leaving for the day, I checked the Juliana trail app for reviews of this stage. People both loved and hated it, go figure, but one thing I learned was that there is stinging nettle along the trail, and to wear long pants and look out for it. It would have been smart if I had taken that opportunity to find out what it looks like, but I spaced it. Whoops!
We are in the Triglav National Park, and there are quiet zones here to protect the flora and fauna. This is sensitive habitat for a type of grouse and ptarmigan, in addition to protecting the Pokljuka Bog.
We leave from the hotel and within minutes we were at the Peat Bog. I’m not sure what I expected, but this wasn’t it. The trailside interpretive signs tell about the bog, and its ecosystem. The bog only grows by 1 mm per year, and is very sensitive, but it has features that protect this area from the effects of climate change.
We also learned about the three types of carnivorous plants that grow in this area and realize we saw one of them yesterday and missed the opportunity to take a photo!
We keep hiking, mostly downhill, and pass high mountain cabins, little villages and farms. The forest is very magical, and the sun is out, at least for now.
We keep hiking downhill, and for a good portion of the morning the trail is soft, forest path, unlike the hard, rocky paths and roads from yesterday. It was a welcome change.
It was early on in the morning when we discovered we had cell service (4G!) and Nathan looked up the stinging nettle plant. We saw quite a bit of it, and at one point it was on both sides of the trail so we were glad we knew to avoid it.
At about 10:15 we came to our first bit of pavement walking and the village of Gorjuse. From there, we alternated short stretches of asphalt walking with short bits of forested trail. We really appreciated the soft forest trails, but when we got out into the open, that is where the mountain views were. Now, if only the clouds covering the mountains would move along.
We heard both cuckoos and the doot-doot-doot birds from Austria. At first, Nathan told me he heard a cuckoo clock. We were in the forest, and I was taking a bathroom break. There was no one around, and civilization wasn’t that far away, but there’s no cuckoo clock out here that you can hear. Those are real cuckoos you cuckoo!
We hiked the better part of half the day with cuckoos calling in the distance, and the other bird songs serenading us as well. Surreal.
We could see clouds building and while we were in a heavily forested area it started to lightly rain. We took the time to get pack covers on, and decided now, under the shelter of the trees, was a good time for lunch.
We had asked Susana from Hotel Jelka to prepare the sausage and cheese cold plate for us to take as a lunch. We sat down, under the trees to unwrap our enormous feast. It’s like they expected us to never eat again!
The lunch was delicious, and by the time we were ready to get going at 1 pm, the rain shower had passed. We still heard some thunder, but there were no additional showers.
We kept going, downhill, and alternating between pavement and path. We saw churches, crosses, cemeteries, and local life up close.
Every town and village we passed had a World War II memorial to their fallen soldiers.
At about 2:30 we stopped for a coffee and pastry at a restaurant. It was just the kind of break our tired feet needed to make it to our destination.
We left the restaurant, and continued on to Stara Fuzina, and our hotel.
We arrive at about 4 pm, get checked in and discover we’ve been upgraded again. We’re supposed to be in B11, and B11 might have more character, but room 14 is more spacious. The bathroom in room 14 seems nicer. We both take showers (no tub!) with a phenomenal amount of water pressure, and rinse off the day. Nathan’s allergies are kicking his butt, and he looks like he’s been crying all day.
Tomorrow is a shorter leg and supposed to be easy. We’ll see about that!
