PPT: Orjen via Subra Amphitheatre to Herceg Novi

Day 10: 22.5 km (+ 825m. uphill and 2350m. downhill)

For starters: a few hundred meters downhill. 

After a walk over a battered trail with lots of fallen trees and over a meadow, I pause at this pretty amazing cistern.

Now, it’s time for today’s main: the climb up Subra Amphitheatre. A 500 meter wall.

Straight up.

Well, not quiet straight up: there’s a marked trail leading up the theatre.

After climbing about 150 meter there’s a sign. The warning sign-kind-of-sign, including an exclamation mark.

From here the trail goes straight up. Since hiking poles aren’t of much use I put them in my backpack. Hiking up becomes scrambling up and jumping rocks on boulder fields. The climb isn’t too complicated, though. It’s still early morning, so I am hiking in the shade and since it’s my last day out on trail my backpack isn’t too heavy.

It’s Sunday and I expected meet a least a few other hikers, but there’s none.

There’s about a 100 meters climbing left. Now, the trail leads to the other side of the mountain. As I see what lies ahead, or actually what’s beneath, I instantly want to turn around. Up here it’s windy, very windy and an endless depth laughs at me.

I don’t like depths.

I don’t like endless depths.

Cables leading along the endless depth confirm what I’m fearing: this is the way to go. Getting this close to the top: there’s no way I am turning around.

Before thinking ‘why am I out here and what am I doing?’, I reach for the cables and hike along the ridge.

Hophop.

Acting like a wannabe-mountain-goat  I climb along this stupid ridge, holding this stupid cable and ignoring the stupid depths.

Oh, how happy am I the get to Subra’s top! Yeah!

After chilling out for a bit, a hike down follows: first the rolling top at the easy side of Subra. After this there are rocks in any way, shape or form. I ignore the view on a 180m. deep sinkhole.

At around 13 pm I arrive at the next mountain hut: Dom Vratlo. Here I finally meet other hikers. Today’s the yearly Mountain Marathon and most of these people have come out here to support the runners.

I planned to camp at the Dom, but since it’s early I decide to hike on. Down to Herceg Novi: a shower is what I’d like. And a dinner in a restaurant.

About the PPT
Check this blog for more info about hiking the PPT – incl. GPS-tracks and waypoints of all watersources.

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Written on my mobile phone while hiking the PPT.