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Croatia: Summer Vacation, Day 5: Hike Across The Velebit - Stage 3 - From Alan to Skorpovac

Velebit is the largest mountain range in Croatia, stretching for about 145 kilometers along the Adriatic coast, separating the coastal region from the interior of the country and Nada, Bronco and me decided to hike from its start at Vratnik pass to an end, peak Crnopac, above Zrmanja river, where it transitions into the Dalmatian hinterland.

After two days of hiking our legs were still a little bit tired, still after our usual morning schedule, we left the mountain hut Alan and we headed to shelter Skorpovac. On the way we admired Adriatic coast on the right, peacefulness on our path and calmness on forests on the left.

Previous days of our Summer Vacation 2024: Day 4 - 16209, Day 3 - 16208, Day 2 - 16207 and Day 1 - 16206.

The mountain hut Alan is located on the edge of a beech forest at the coastal beginning of Veliki Alan's highest road crossing, at an altitude of 1340 m. It was built in 1957 as a log cabin for the workers of the Jablanac Forestry, for the transport of logs by industrial cable car from Alan to Stinica. The cable car was British war aid to the country at that time.

After a few meters on the asphalt road we continued towards Baške Oštarije, our goal for tomorrow.

Back on Premužić Trail.

Above the Adriatic with island Pag.

Looking over our shoulder to island Rab, Dolin and the northern tip of Pag.

Terrain was easier than yesterday, especially for Bronco's paws.

Where is everyone?

From time to time we wished that we would simply be lying on the beach.

Still on Premužić trail.

Nature at its best.

Harsh environment consequences.

The beauty of the wild.

Leaving the Northern Velebit National Park and entering the middle section of the Velebit.

The Sun was still on our left side, so it wasn't too hot yet.

The Knafelc blaze showed us, that we were on the right path. Alojz Knafelc (23.6.1859 - 26.4.1937) was a Slovene cartographer, mountaineer and the inventor of the Slovene trail blaze.

Bronco guarding my backpack.

 

Stunning view were with us all the time.

Water (Bunar) 10 mins off our track. Time to refill our supplies.

Nada and Bronco waited, while I did a descent to refill our water.

 

Fresh water located and refilled.

Sometimes we felt, that we were in the middle of nowhere.

 

Waiting and resting at one of the crossroads.

Last section before our shelter Skorpovac.

Yeah, we made it to the shelter, stage 3 done. Time to relax, cook and drink.

Spaghetti, salami, honey-schnaps, cheese and much more was quickly on our table.

Our third day on Velebit.

Geocaches found (all received a visit by trackable items "MissJenn’s 5 Cents", TB9K7R9 and "Second Angel of peace", TBA8B55):

- uaaaaaaaaaaaa, GC4EXHP

- Tu sam duže nego ti i ostati ću duže......, GC8YPNA

#hiking #CatahoulaLeopardDog #SummerVacation #Velebit #geocaching