The highest point of Croatia, mystical Dinara

Our last visit to Dinara was a snowy one with the goal of reaching the highest peak Triglav located behind the border with Bosnia and Hercegovina. If you haven seen that trip you can check it out on this link: Pume shelter of the great Dinara. This time I was going solo. No hiking buddy, so it was a good old me, myself and I. For the special occasion I chose a one day hike to the highest point of Croatia (1831 m) located on Dinara officially called…Dinara aka Sinjal.

As always, I checked the weather forecast several times before the trip, including the night before. All forecasts have foreseen sunshine throughout the day with only a bit of clouds early in the morning. Since I had to drive cca 1.5h I counted on the clouds disappearing by the time I get there.

The route

Morning

Driving in the car I noticed heavy grey and black clouds dominating in the sky. I thought to myself “the weather forecast people have fucked it up again…”. The enthusiasm was still high as I had another hour of drive so I consoled myself it could still change. Cca 1h later I was sitting in the car waiting for the bloody rain to stop. It was yet another evidence that the mountain forecast has to be taken with a reservation.

30 mins have passed and I was finally on my way. Since I was alone I could set my own pace to make up for the lost time. The first spot that definitely deserved a pause for observation was a medieval fortress.

The Dinarić aka Glavaš fortress built in the 15th century. It was built when the Ottoman invasion was very much expected. Dinarić fortress was a chain link of nearby fortresses in the Vrlika area. Another two are “Prozor” located above the Vrlika town while “Potravnik” sits in the south end of Peruča lake.

The weather was again going for the worse. Thick fog filled the valley and the rain started to drizzle again. I continued further because I have a decent gear, but hiking in rain is no fun especially if you have photo equipment.

Just when I thought “ok, I can handle this drizzle” it started pouring heavily and I had no choice but to hurry to the nearest shelter. The shelter that gave me the break from rain was called “Martinove košare”. It felt nice not being wet while cursing at everything alive and dead, weather forecasts and my bad luck. In the middle of my juiciest curse I got interrupted by few fellow hikers looking for a dry spot too.

We chatted for 30 mins and just when I was about to call it a day the rain stopped, heavy fog cleared up a bit and just like that my plans changed. I went all in with a ridiculously fast tempo to make up for the lost time. The only good thing about the fog was that it made scenery look very mystical, which is always a good thing (…unless you get lost, then it’s a thriller). But the mountains really get a special vibe in these conditions.

All the way from Martinove košare until the last section the weather served me fine, but of course just when I needed it to be good it went for the worse. The last incline had poor markings because the paint had faded away, so hikers used nearby stones to build cones for better visualisation of the route. All that goes down the drain when a thick fog swallows your sight and you are not able to see 3 m ahead.

Luckily I had my GPS watch with a preloaded GPX trail. I could not stress enough how important and valuable that small piece of technology is , especially in situations like that. Without it, I would have been lost.

This, honestly speaking shitty photo, just serves as an evidence of how thick the fog was and that I have actually reached the top. Good news were that the way down was much better.

AFTERNOON

I had no reason to stay on top for long as I could not see anything. It was heavily blowing, I was wearing crampons due to frozen snow below the peak, so I just wanted to get myself in a more visible and comfortable surroundings. For the next 30 mins the fog was still blocking the views all around me, but I could clearly see in a radius of 20m. At one point as I got beneath the cloud it all opened up right in front of me.

I might have not seen much before, but this has made it all worth it. The colour contrast of the unique Dianara grass and the distant dark fields, Peruča lake and other parts of Dinara was beautiful. Now I could slow down completely, take my time and enjoy the tranquillity of the ambient . I was not far away from start, so I had nowhere to hurry. Finally it was time for the drone. Take a minute to watch the video for a better understanding of the place.

I was just roaming around for 2 hours, taking shots and admiring the landscape, but then it was time to go on. Not much further ahead, another shelter was awaiting called Drago Grubać. The shelter got its name after a Croatian soldier and a mountaineer who passed away in 2016.

Evening

There was not much left to finish the trail, so I had to cherish every view. And I sure had something to glaze upon as the sun was setting. Only thing left to do was to sit back and observe the magic. The whole Vrlika area was on the palm of my hand. Breathtaking sight.

A crazy day full of turnarounds. All in all it ended amazing and Dinara showed herself in a completely different face to what I have experienced so far. When I approached the car parked by the mountain home, there was one someone so happy that I have returned. He has sent me off to the mountain in the morning and welcomed me back at night. A real good boy (he stole my sock).