We got up at 06:30, with our roommates still fast asleep. By 07:00 we were standing outside the dining room, where a queue had already formed.

Caro eating breakfast in the busy dining room at Dom na Komni
Breakfast in the busy dining room before we headed down.

Breakfast consisted of weak coffee, an assortment of cereals, bread with spreads, and eggs. By 08:00 we were packed and ready to head down. It was windy and chilly at the top, but as soon as we started descending it became hot and humid again.

Lake Bohinj glowing in the distance beneath clouds, seen from Dom na Komni
One last look at Lake Bohinj from our room before the descent.

We followed the zigzagging white-stone track down, with its carefully built retaining walls. It reminded us of the Swartberg Pass, but for walkers. The route was not originally built for hikers: during the First World War, Bohinj was an important supply base for Austro-Hungarian troops on the Isonzo Front. Mule tracks and cableways ran from Ukanc up to the Komna plateau and onward towards the Krn mountains, carrying food, ammunition and other supplies. Much of this infrastructure was built with the labour of prisoners of war, particularly Russians.

Caro descending the stone-built zigzag track through the forest below Komna
The carefully built zigzags of the old military supply route.

By 11:00 we reached the bottom, having taken three hours rather than the advertised hour and a half.

Caro making a circle with her arms where the descending trail crossed the previous day's route
Closing the circle: this was where our descent crossed the route we had started on the previous morning.

We went straight to a beach on Lake Bohinj for a much-needed refreshing dip. The water was unbelievably clear. Bohinj is an oligotrophic, flow-through Alpine lake, which means it is naturally low in nutrients and therefore has relatively little algae. Much of its water comes from clean karst springs in its sparsely populated mountain catchment, and the lake’s water is renewed about three times a year.

Clear emerald water flowing over pale stones near Lake Bohinj
The water around Bohinj really was this clear.

Just as we got out of the water and started walking towards the bus stop, it began to rain. We had messaged our next host to ask whether we could check in early and, luckily, they said yes. From the last bus stop it was only 180 metres to the apartment, so we checked in immediately.

Caro pointing to the apartment building in Ribcev Laz beneath storm clouds
Our home in Ribčev Laz, with the storm clouds gathering above it.

Our host was very friendly, and we had a quaint rooftop apartment with a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. After taking every bit of cold medicine at our disposal, we fell into a deep sleep.

Caro sitting in the compact kitchen of the rooftop apartment
The compact kitchen where our improvised soup would later come together.
Wood-panelled bedroom beneath the sloping roof of the apartment
The cosy bedroom was exactly what two sick hikers needed.

Just after 17:00 we dragged ourselves out of bed and walked to the only shop in town, about 800 metres away.

Rows of colourful painted beehive panels on a wooden apiary near Bohinj
Colourful painted beehives spotted on our walk to the shop.

Feeling ill and with very little enthusiasm for cooking, we improvised. We found a packet of soup vegetables containing two carrots, a few pieces of celery, some celeriac and an onion, then added instant chicken-flavoured soup powder, noodles and a tin of beans. That became dinner, along with pizza-flavoured bruschettas.

A long queue filled almost the entire shop. Just as we reached the front, we realised we still needed a lemon. Caro dashed off to fetch one and made it back just as the last item was being scanned.

By then we had very little sense of taste left, but luckily we had also found a grinder of bird’s-eye chilli flakes. That pulled the soup through.

After dinner, we went straight back to bed.

Our two-day hike, in motion:

Two days in the Julian Alps: up the Komarča cliff to Dom na Komni, then back down to Lake Bohinj.