Rain, rain, and more rain — the forecast promised three solid days of it. So what did we do? We suited up as best we could and headed out to hike Mostnica Gorge. With our three-day Lake Bohinj pass, we were able to park in a secure lot and set off up the trail.
At first, the path wound through the forest, rocky and damp but peaceful. We wore water shoes with socks, rain jackets, and I carried an umbrella. Surprisingly, despite the steady downpour, it wasn’t too cold. We passed only a few hikers early on, which made it feel like we had the gorge to ourselves.
The trail opened briefly into a pasture dotted with houses nestled in rolling grassy fields — beautiful, though no animals were out in the weather.
Soon after, we began to hear a roar: the sound of water rushing down the mountain. On a clear day, the river is known for its brilliant blue, but today it thundered past us in shades of brown and white, swollen from the storm.
We passed two guesthouses along the way, but the main waterfall was still another 45 minutes uphill. That surprised us — we thought we had already reached the highlight. Finally, we arrived, and it was worth every step. The falls are said to be the third largest in Slovenia, and today they were absolutely roaring. The spray blasted so strongly that we couldn’t even get close; we had to retreat to snap a few photos.
On the way back, we debated stopping for lunch at one of the guesthouses but decided instead to dry off first and eat later in town. Not long after, we spotted a farmhouse with a bench under an overhang. It made the perfect spot for a quick break: candy bars, water, and sausage to keep us going. We hiked a total of 7.1 miles and I could FEEL it!!
To spare my aching right knee (even with a brace it was throbbing), we took the longer paved road back instead of scrambling over rocks and roots. Seeing our little blue rental car in the lot was a sight for sore eyes. We peeled off our soaked layers — basically everything we were wearing — and drove back to the guesthouse. There, we hung up our dripping clothes in front of the heater, took gloriously hot showers, and finally felt human again.
Dinner downtown was exactly what we needed. Scotty had grilled chicken with mushrooms, gravy, and fries, while I tried the grilled trout with potato salad — almost certainly caught fresh from the nearby streams or lake. Delicious. And of course, we couldn’t resist a slice of Lake Bled cake back at the room to finish the day.
Tonight, our bed feels especially good. We hiked 7 miles in about four hours, in steady rain the entire time. We’ve decided that if we do another European hiking trip, we’ll invest in waterproof pants and neoprene socks. Our raincoats did just fine, but everything else was soaked.
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