CROSSING THE RAPALLO BORDER

VIA ALPINA DAY 05  – FRIDAY 26 JUNE 2026

IDRIJA TO GORENJI NOVAKI

DISTANCE HIKED: 30 km
ELEVATION GAIN:  1,690 m

TOTAL DISTANCE HIKED: 137.3 km
TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN: 5,561 m

Despite a very warm night, in a room with no air conditioning, we slept remarkably well. Through an open window I could hear distant bird twitter.  Time to get going. However we had to wait till 7am for the store to open.

With churchbells ringing we stepped out into the cool morning air, feeling refreshed and energised. It was at least 10° cooler outside then in our room. A tent out the front on the grass would have been way cooler then our room. I have a feeling that these old stone buildings are designed to trap and hold heat. I read yesterday that some Parisians had taken to sleeping outside in parks to get respite from the heat.

Walking trough town on our way out we passed two rows of really neat looking houses.  A sign at the end described them as miners houses built by the Idrija Mercury Company in the late 1800’s. How generous they appear now.

Once we left the town and  started the 4km uphill section we were so relieved that we didn’t do it in yesterday afternoons heat. The cool morning air certainly made it somewhat easier.

It was a steep climb with switchbacks – we stopped at a seat half way up to take in the view of the town and that georgeous emerald river snaking through the middle.

It took us a sweaty couple of hours to make the climb out of Idrija and  reach the Summit of Mt Golice.

From the summit we had our first glimpse of Mt Triglav and other peaks of the Julian Alps. Well be heading there in a few days time.  Exciting, intimidating and daunting all at the same time.

We descended from the mountain through a beautiful green tunnel. The dappled green light  shining through the leaves was so similar to  sections of the Appalachian Trail.

We soon left the forest and hiked on a road through a very picturesque valley.  Churches and neat looking houses dotted the landscape.  We stopped for lunch at a water fountain in a beautiful small town,  Ledine. Even the churchbell rang while we there.

At the end of stage R7 we left the sealed road behind. After a short section through a grassy meadow we soon entered a forest of towering pines. The first pine trees we’we seen on this trail.

The coolness on the shade was welcomed.  This respite from the heat didn’t last. Before too long we were back on the road exposed to the sun. Glimpses of imposing mountains in the distance.  The road walking was all uphill exposed to the sun, this really  tested our resolve.

Towards the end of stage R8 we crossed the Rapallo border. An old border beteeen Italy and the Kingdoms of Slovenia, Bosnia and Serbia. Today it is hard to imagine how tightly these border crossings were controlled. It was marked by a concrete post indicating the directions of control.

We reached Ermenovic Mountain Hut in the afternoon. I was so annoyed with myself as we had planned to bypass this hut. I only had the Stage R8 map open so I didn’t see the loop back till it was too late   It was an unnecessary  2km in and 2 km back on the same trail.

However the hut was open, and we got a cold drink before heading back out. All the huts we’ve passed so far are only open on the weekend.  Had the weather been cooler we probably would have stayed at the hut.

As we hiked into the afternoon, the hills were humming to the sounds of farmers making hay while the sun shines. Earlier in the day the trail took us right though the middle of a farm where two farmers on tractors were raking and baling hay. It felt strange to walk right through their work space.   

Late afternoon  was really quite pleasant time of day to be walking. Temperature started to drop a little and there was a breeze.  We both felt like we could have gone on. But thought it better to save some energy for tomorrow.