After a restless night, but facing a beautiful morning, we were ready to leave for the summit at 7 a.m. We decided to leave the large backpack in the hut and take only the small one, which Bine would carry so I could be completely “unburdened.” At the start of the trail, a sign indicated that it would take 1.5 hours to reach the summit. We knew I would need more time, so we took that into account. My knee wasn’t hurting at that moment, and I had some hope it would stay that way. Wishful thinking, of course ☹.

After about half an hour of climbing, the pain returned, and I could no longer bend my knee. The trail became very steep, and I had to literally climb on my hands and feet—without any pegs or cables. I was terrified. Bine already suggested turning back, but I had come so far. I absolutely wanted to reach the summit because I knew I wouldn’t attempt this again. So, we continued. Since I couldn’t bend my knee, I had to take every step up first with my left leg, bring the right one up to join it, and then take the next step again with the left. It went extremely slow. Halfway through that first steep section, all I could think was: “There’s no way I can go back down this way.” But I kept quiet.

Eventually, we reached the first summit, called “Mali Triglav” (Little Triglav). From there, thankfully, there were cables and pegs to hold onto and pull myself up. That part went quite well. Bine stayed close behind me and guided me on where to place my feet. He was very patient and an enormous support! But of course, he was also very worried about how I would get back down safely. We frequently had to wait for other climbers—either descending or climbing up faster than we were—and let them pass.

My overall fitness was fine, so I’m sure that without the knee pain, it would’ve gone very differently. I have to admit, though, that this section was much steeper and longer than I had expected. The final stretch was nearly vertical along the rock face. It took us three and a half hours to reach the summit, but I was incredibly proud to have made it! And the view—wow!! We took about fifteen minutes to enjoy the scenery, recover a bit, and take some photos and videos. And then… we had to go back down.

Of course, this also went very slowly. Now I had to lead with my right leg going down to avoid bending the knee, carefully placing my foot, so the left could join. Bine went ahead this time, again offering guidance and help when needed. It went better than expected. But I absolutely didn’t want to go back the same way we had come. Bine suggested we descend on the other side of the mountain to a different hut—Kredarica instead of Planika. Although that route was steeper, it was shorter and had cables and pegs all the way. The plan was, that once we got to Kredarica, I would rest there, and Bine would go retrieve the backpack from Planika—about an hour’s hike each way. So that’s what we did. We began the descent to Kredarica and, oh my god, it was steep! Again, I had to lead with my right leg, so I wouldn’t have to bend my knee, followed by the left. Painfully slowly, we made our way down and arrived to the hut around 2 p.m.

Since we still had hours to go, and I absolutely did not want to spend another night in a hut, we decided that, while Bine went to get the backpack, I would begin descending slowly. I just had to follow the signs for Vodnikov Dom, the hut we had passed on the way up. We would meet again somewhere along the path. And so I went. Step by step, stiff-legged, down a path full of loose gravel and rocks. Twice I came across signs for Vodnikov Dom, which I followed correctly. But the trail kept getting steeper and more difficult. Still, I pressed on—until I suddenly found myself at another steep descent with cables and pegs. I looked around to see if Bine was nearby, but no sign of him. So, I clenched my teeth, held on tight, and climbed down. It was maybe only 20 meters, but terrifying without Bine to help me. I made it down without injury, but then… I couldn’t find the trail anymore. Just a sheer drop, no cables, nothing. I was completely confused and started doubting whether I had missed a turn, but that seemed unlikely—just before that section with the pegs, there was a sign saying it was still 1 hour to Vodnikov Dom. I called Bine to ask if he was nearby. I kept looking up the slope, hoping to spot him, but nothing. He asked where I was. Well… if only I knew! How could I even describe it? “Do you see that pointy rock if you look to the left?” Bine asked. Jesus, honey, all I see are rocks! I was standing on a tiny ledge with no way forward. We couldn’t find each other, and it was already around 4 p.m. Panic started to creep in. I already pictured myself dangling from a rescue helicopter, clutching a paramedic.

Tears welled up, and I had to try really hard not to completely freak out. I decided I had to climb back up so I could return to that last signpost, hoping Bine could spot me from there, since it was higher up. With my already injured and now trembling knees, I began climbing back up. It was terrifying! My heart was pounding. But I managed.

And just as I reached the top again, Bine called. “I see you!” he yelled. What a relief! “I’m down here on the grass below you, to your right.” Turns out Bine was already 200 meters lower than me, having taken a different trail. In the end, it turned out we had both taken the correct path, and we should have ended up on the same trail eventually—but neither of us had expected the path I took to be that difficult. If Bine had known, he would never have let me go alone. We thought it would be a “normal” gravel path, like the one we had taken up. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way. So now what? I was up there, and the only solution seemed to be for Bine to climb back up to me so we could descend together. We had already lost a lot of time and would lose at least another hour and a half doing this. Would we still make it?? Read the conclusion of our adventure in Part 3 😊.