At the Iron Gates of the Danube

The visit to Mount Maljen and the ascent to the highest peak, Veliki Strbac, began at 6 in the morning when we started gathering. We were early due to the announcement of a hot day with temperatures around 35 degrees Celsius.

That's why I decided to do the back-and-forth version of the ascent instead of the circular trek. The circular version takes about 40 minutes of walking through fields where there is no protection from the sun, while the there and back version can be done in the shade of the forest.

Due to the works on the road, we arrived at the track around 10 o'clock. Lightly equipped, we set off immediately. The temperature was already close to 30 degrees and the air humidity was huge. In about 40 minutes, we climbed the first part to the Ploče viewpoint and continued deeper into the forest without stopping, where the temperatures were much more pleasant.

It took us exactly two hours to reach the top. The view from Veliki Štrpac is always stunning. As if in the palm of your hand, you can see all the magnificence of the Danube and the Iron Gate, as this part of the Đerdap gorge is called. We took a short break, but the sun was burning mercilessly, so we soon returned under the cover of the forest.

With frequent breaks and light conversations, but at a very brisk pace, we finished the hike in less than two hours.

In total, we spent five hours on the trail, of which about 3:30 were on the move. We climbed a total of about 730 meters and reached 769 meters above sea level.

Our activity monitors do not completely agree on the calories burned, which is to be expected because they are are much younger than me, but the consumption is around 1700-1900 calories for this beautiful hike. By the way, I think this is the jubilee 20th time I've been on this top 😁

This concludes our preparations for the upcoming tour to the Dolomites. My opinion is that we are far from the desired form, we had almost no altitude preparation, so the Dolomites will probably chew us up in the first couple of days... I just must remember to slow down a bit and everything will be ok... but that's one thing I always forget 🤣

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Hiking