| jerque30. 11. 2024 22:31:05 |
This I'm writing with a one-week delay, but today it was probably more or less the same. Anyway, Planina Polje impresses in all conditions, just need to choose the right part  . In drier conditions it's the northern edge with numerous sinkholes. Just mmg., whoever is more interested in the "background" will surely find plenty in the geography diploma thesis.
Without knowing about it beforehand, we walked the northern variant of Scilkina path or along the northern edge. Convenient starting point is Grčarevec, where they've nicely arranged a parking lot with info board at the bus stop towards Planina, and it's also handy for destinations west of the field (e.g. northern parts of Planina Mountain, Pod Srnjakom...), yet it wasn't even nearly full. As far as I know, parking options at the other end in Laze (at the branch school and dairy) are somewhat more limited, especially on weekdays. While in Grčarevec, we can pop over to the nearby St. Luke's chapel a few meters away, then across the main road, from where there are actually two path variants: besides our lowland one (separating the meadow part of the field on one side and forest on the other) there's also a "highland" one through the forest, which we left for another time as a detour for flood conditions.
As far as I can tell, the lowland path (actually a gravel forest road with quite a few benches and also an info board) to the marked junction should be passable most of the time except in "extraordinary conditions", but the continuation from the junction towards Jakovica might be more questionable. But already to the junction "things happen". First, right after the last village house we notice some concrete semi-cylinder like a bunker in not the most suitable spot. The cultural heritage map says it's a water collector. In the Grčarevec "corner" of Planina Polje there are also some so-called "rup" or more learnedly estavelles, which depending on conditions serve as both springs and sinks. In spring "mode" they probably never spout like geysers, otherwise they'd surely be a tourist attraction already. Further on the landscape already resembles an "artillery range", so many of these funnel-shaped sinkholes, often you can find a "gap" in the electric fence and get closer, apparently even walking on these "sieve-like" sinkholes isn't dangerous, but better not tempt fate too much. But don't turn back yet, because this isn't even the highlight. By the way, although Unica supposedly has enough water even in drought for "export" to the Coast, in "normal" conditions most of it sinks already in the southern half of the field, specifically in the "ključi" along the eastern edge near Ivanje Selo. Just that those sinkholes apparently aren't visible to the untrained eye or at all as attractive as the northern ones, which we'll have to verify with our own eyes sometime. But about halfway to the junction there's finally some action. Unica flowing here disappears into one sinkhole of the Kacanovce group, what it can't "swallow" though somehow "bounces" at a sharp angle towards the east.
From the junction it was possible to go directly to Jakovica. The path (still gravel road) runs right across the Unica streambed, which had just disappeared underground before this crossing and, as it turned out later, reappeared a bit further in the streambed. In Jakovica uphill through the village core and St. Michael's churches, but few mention in their trip reports the chapel of Our Lady in Leščevje right below the church on the northern side of the "ridge", with a bit of peasant smarts you can quickly reach it too. From there quickly to Laze, won't say too much about it, maybe just that the new Jakovica viewpoint isn't such "added value", because similar views of the southern part of Planina Polje are already offered from in front of St. Michael's church and the highest point of Jakovski Hill, where we quickly find a trodden path just before the road to Laze reaches the forest edge.
Then from Laze under Jakovica towards the sources (we didn't even know there was a shortcut north of Jakovica, but no big deal). Before reaching that Unica crossing again, a cart track branches left (east) leading to the again somewhat filled streambed and Strževce sinkholes, where most water finally sinks. Somewhere there another quite overgrown path branches left (north) to the Škofji Lom sinkholes on the NE edge of the field. Already here there are "craters" like on the Moon, but this isn't even the peak.
In dry conditions you could find some shortcut along the edge, but that way you'd miss some attractions. Back to the path from Jakovica, at the crossing another opportunity. On the principle "when the grass isn't growing, pawing doesn't hurt" we go along the streambed, from where another quite watery branch splits north. Which soon brings us to those most "real" and picturesque sinkholes with the aptly named Pod stenami. Water actually runs out completely before, finally under the vertical wall we spot those two famous Putickove štirni, more learnedly katavothra, well-like holes that were artificially widened or even dug out and protected above with "cages". Seems to me human handiwork also the paved part of the streambed right before the "štirni". Why, the streambed right under the wall is much more rugged anyway, so you can't walk comfortably on it. Besides the štirni under the wall there are more "holey" sinkholes protected with ugly grates, in front of the wall again full of "craters", the wall adds to the ambience calling for snapping photos. And when we return to Grčarevec via the lowland path past the junction, it turns out this otherwise just a few km long walk took almost 5 hours. Well, definitely need to return, first in "average" conditions when Putickove štirni aren't "unemployed", and during some major flood...
Since we're poking around Unica sinks, it'd be logical to hop to Vrhnika and see how the same water emerges from underground again, this time in numerous Ljubljanica springs (but no rush, water supposedly takes 2 to 5 days to flow there). Now with little water in Unica, it'd be logical to expect similar in Ljubljanica. And in such conditions both "windows" in Retovje gorge (no official paths to them, but...) are personally much more spectacular to me (emerald green, reflections...) and also more accessible (less likely to flood parts of unofficial paths). While in wetter conditions probably the nearby "triple spring" under the climbing rock is more impressive, along which there's also an easy walking path between Mirke and Verd....
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43
| (+2) |  | |
|
|