A few weeks ago, B called me – she has some vacation days and is coming home to Rijeka. Instead of going for a couple of drinks in the evening, she would like to spend a day hiking with us. She has been living in Zagreb for a little over 3 years and we don’t often have the opportunity to see each other. So, a whole day spent together in nature seemed like a great idea.
I immediately included my brother, G, in the arrangements. We didn’t hang out like this for a really long time, and an additional reason was to get G out of the house for a bit – in his free time he just plays computer games, watches TV shows and surfs the net 😵. They are both total hiking beginners, if I can call them that at all – B was with us on one hiking trip a long time ago and G has never been hiking.
The deal was to go on Thursday, June 11th, as we all had a day off. For the route, we chose Northern Velebit – a part of the Premužić trail from Zavižan to Rossi’s shelter. We figured this could be a great hiking trip for beginners as it doesn’t have a big altitude difference, and yet it’s long enough that they can enjoy hiking all day. Also, it’s Velebit – it’s very beautiful (especially on a sunny day). We wanted to go somewhere further from our local hills (Učka, Hahlić, Platak) because who knows when the two of them will have the opportunity to go to Velebit again (since they never or very rarely hike).
B was delighted with the location, constantly repeating that she has a Velebit grandmother (in Croatian usually called „Baba“ 😄) who has been carrying lunch to pasture across Velebit all her life and that it would be okay for her (B) to finally see Velebit too – if Baba could, then it would be really easy for her too 😂. Not wanting to shatter her illusions, I decided to let her experience that climb on her own.
Two weeks before the trip, all our messaging in the joint group was about the hiking – but in two completely different perspectives.
B was very excited and could hardly wait for the trip – she immediately went in search of suitable sneakers in which she could go to the mountains 😄. On the other hand, G grumbled all the time about the trip and as an alternative suggested hanging out at his home, with beer, pizza and pancakes – he tried in vain, because none of us wanted to give up hiking.
B boasted that she was in good shape, that she walked to and from work every day, and that she did plank exercises in the apartment several times a week. G complained that he didn’t do anything during the corona virus lockdown, he couldn’t go to the gym, and he didn’t exercise at home either.
B watched the forecast for Thursday every day and hoped it would be nice weather. G summoned rain every day (self-proclaimed Rain Whisperer).
When we had to postpone the trip from Thursday to Saturday due to the weather conditions, B was happy that we would go anyway and that the weather would be nice, and G was referring to mysterious, other plans due to which he couldn’t go on Saturday 😅.
All joke aside, they actually both wanted to go, only their approach was different.
B was full of enthusiasm, without thinking about how difficult it could be and what it would be like – “I will call Miljenko from HGSS (Croatian Mountain Rescue Service) if it becomes too much” approach in which there is no defiance or pride (in Croatian we call this “dišpet” 😄) at the start (like “I have to be able to do it“), but only the attitude „I am going and it will be as it will be“.
On the other hand, G kept wondering if he would be able to do it and if he would be able to keep up with our pace. He obviously wanted to prove to himself and to us that he could do it (even he went to the Decathlon to buy a windbreaker and hiking pants, which is a sufficient indicator of the desire to go 😄).
Such fears or doubts often arise in most of us, when we plan on doing anything with people that have been doing this for a while, and we are total beginners (and we don’t want to be embarrassed). This is entirely human – I believe we are all (or at least most of us) like that and have similar fears and dilemmas. But, as I have told them (and all other friends who occasionally hike with us), this is not a reason for people not to try new things and determine if they like it and if they find themself in it. We were all total beginners in something once, and if we let our self-doubt, fear of failure or embarrassment prevent us from trying new things, we will miss many opportunities and, worst of all, we will miss life itself.
Let us not care what others think, but follow our dreams and desires and try everything we have a chance to try. In some things we will find ourselves and we will like those things very much, and for some we will just say “I tried it and I didn’t like it, it’s not for me!“. After all, if your friends are going to make fun of you for failure or poor performance, change them – they were never your friends to begin with and these are not the people you want to be surrounded with (but a little good-natured banter never hurts, in fact, it just raises motivation and creates that “dišpet” 😄). Surround yourself with positive people, people who will support your dreams, your endeavors or new experiences that make you happy. Or, as my awesome husband told them in the morning:
“Let’s understand each other right away and to take the burden of worry off your back – we’re not the people to whom everyone and everything should be cool and you must have a fear that you’ll embarrass yourself in front of us. You can’t keep up with our pace anyway. We have been hiking for over 10 years on hiking trips many times harder than this one, and you have never been to the mountains before. Don’t even bother to chase us and get tired unnecessarily. We are aware that you have never been hiking and we will adjust the pace. When you need a break or when you need to slow down, we will slow down. Walk at your own pace and enjoy the beautiful nature.”
A few days before the trip, I sent them a list of necessary things to pack – which clothes, food, how much water, etc., just for them to be better prepared and not miss anything. We started our car drive on Saturday at around 7am from Rijeka, parked at around 9am on Babić Siča (1300 m), bought tickets for the national park and ate sandwiches next to the car.
The two of us made a rough plan of the trip: ascent to the Zavižan mountain lodge (1594 m) along the Trail of Man, then from the Zavižan lodge a short ascent to Veliki Zavižan (1676 m), from which we would descend to Premužić trail (one of the most beautiful hiking trails in the world, as they say) and continue walking along it to the turn for Gromovača (1676 m), which we would also climb, and after that we would continue a little further along Premužić trail to Rossi’s shelter (1580 m). The return to the mountain lodge Zavižan would be direct, along the Premužić trail, and from the lodge Zavižan we would go down to Babić Siča in a circular route, this time along the Trail of Beasts.
Of course, we were aware that this route is over 25km and that we may have to change it along the way, depending on their condition and capabilities – as always, we plan for more, with the open possibility of shortening and/or facilitating the route 😊.
Right at the beginning, after less than 30 minutes of walking, it became clear to us that something from the plan would have to he crossed off 😁. To be honest, I expected that – the only thing that surprised me was the speed with which that fact crystallized 😁.
It all started nicely – we took a light and relaxed step through the forest, talking and enjoying the greenery and airy beech forest. My husband (D) led our small mountaineering team, setting a moderate pace of walking (although he would claim to have set an extra slow pace 😄) – he actually played the role of a rabbit in athletics (minus setting a speed record).
Maybe because of all that grumbling and complaining when arranging the trip, I expected G to be less motivated and slower, but (and I’m not writing this just because he’s my brother 😊) he was really great and it was clear that he was doing his best. He followed the set pace all the way, he never grumbled or moaned, although it was obvious that in some parts (uphills) it was difficult for him, which is, again, logical when you don’t usually hike and you don’t have that vertical condition. It seems that we still have something in our genes – that ease of walking and natural inclination to hike 😁.
B, on the other hand, was a total surprise, both to us and to herself. I actually expected her to be in much better shape, given the walking and exercise she mentioned doing, and her ardent desire to go to the hills. I think she also expected that herself and she was very unpleasantly surprised when every, even the mildest, climb started to be a problem. The conversation fell silent, the breathing grew louder, the footsteps behind us could be less and less heard.
Throughout the day, we all just waited for the uphill parts, where B would stop talking in half a sentence and we didn’t hear her for a while – at least until we got to the flatter part of the trail 😂. Now she’s there, now she’s gone. Where is B? 😂.
Upon arrival to Zavižan mountain lodge, we decided to eliminate the ascent to Veliki Zavižan from the plan and we immediately set off on Premužić’s trail. We definitely wanted to leave Gromovača on the route so with a brief assurance that they would like the view from the top and that the climb was short (only 20 minutes), we managed to climb to the top around 1pm. We took a little longer break there, took photos, ate, changed wet clothes and got some rest. I don’t even have to say that they liked the view and that in the end they were glad they climbed to the top 😊.
After brief consultations with them, about their condition and whether they want to continue a little further to Rossi’s shelter, the agreement was to go – they were probably impressed by the peak and fresh from the break, but also considered that it was still early and the day needed to be fullfilled to the max. It really didn’t take us long to get to Rossi’s and we took a longer break there again, lounging on the grass and sunbathing (us and a bunch of other hikers – the day was ideal for that).
On our way back, it was obvious that they were both tired – we had already covered 13 km, and we were only halfway there. At a slow pace we walked back along the same path to Zavižan and overcame this last ascent to the lodge.
After a short rest by the lodge, we entered the Trail of Beasts and made the final descent to Babić Siča and our car. They were both already dead tired at this point – their feet had hurt, their groins were stretched, their backs had hurt from their backpacks, they have had enough of the sun – all the things I call good fatigue and a sign of a great day 😁. The only thing that kept them going was the fact that only a short descent and a cold beer (or two) with which we promised to reward them upon arrival in Sv. Juraj were waiting for them.
Indescribable happiness at the moment when the redness of the car began to see through the greenery of the forest, and even greater at the sight of a cold and dewy beer on the seafront in Sv.Juraj.
With (someone’s) very sore muscles and with a larger respect to Velebit’s Baba, until the next story…