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| I spent the past two days hiking on mount Krn in the Julian Alps and in the nearby mountain range. Below follows a step by step report of the wildlife (with landscapes) encountered along the way. (Similar trip to Krn in this post). |
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| Mount Krn (the left, whitish summit) is 2244 meters high. Here an initial view from the starting point - Planina Kuhinja (991 m). |
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| Cirsium eriophorum & cow - both are very common at altitudes around 1000 m, on the mountain pastures. |
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| Gentiana cruciata is another quite common flower on mountain pastures. |
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| Aconitum angustifolium - an endemic species in the Krn-Bohinj mountain range and a few other localities in western Slovenia. Common and very prominent on Krn where it grows at almost all altitudes, from pastures to the very summit. |
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| Two record shots of an Apollo Parnassius apollo - a rare butterfly found on sunny grassy slopes, where the larvae feed on Sedum album. The adult butterflies like purple and reddish-coloured flowers, hence they are frequently seen on Carduus & Cirsium species. Very mobile and quite restless in sunny weather - thus difficult to photograph. |
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| The way up through some wonderful mountain flower meadows, full of butterflies. |
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| Dianthus monspessulanus (D. hyssopifolius) is very common on the sunny, grassy slopes. |
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| Steep grassy slopes of Krn, looking south-eastwards. |
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| Rdeči rob in the distance. This is a characteristic reddish mountain, sticking out of the predominantly white-coloured limestone. One of the most interesting geological phenomena in the Julian Alps (and Slovenia). |
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| Somewhere half way to the summit. |
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| Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus - frequently seen exploiting thermals above Krn's slopes. Saw up to 11 birds together, followed later by two superb Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos. |
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| Clouded Apollo Parnassius mnemosyne - another record shot of a rare and restless butterfly. |
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| Campanula scheuchzeri |
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| Mountain meadows with Scabiosa lucida, Cirsium, Rumex, Hypericum and a lot more (Krn's summit visible in the back). |
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| Scorzonera rosea |
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| Scabiosa lucida |
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| The first bunch of Geranium argenteum, one of Krn's most typical flowers. It is very common around the top of the mountain, where grassy meadows give way to rocky terrain. |
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| Nigritella rhellicani |
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| Saxifraga squarrosa |
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| Getting closer to the top! |
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| Potentilla nitida starts to appear around 2000 m.a.s.l. and above, where the terrain gets rockier. |
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| Mountain hut close to the summit. |
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| View from one of the coolest benches in Slovenia - by Krn's mountain hut, looking down into the valley. |
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| Conquered the summit - on the top of mount Krn! |
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| Views toward mount Triglav (Slovenia's highest peak) and surrounding alpine landscape in the Triglav National Park - Goldhorn's kingdom. |
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| Sunset from Krn's hut - a view over the mountains that border with Italy (Kanin mountain range). |
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| Something completely different is the sunrise at 05.55 from Krn's summit, looking north-east. As usual, Triglav is the most prominent landmark. |
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| Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris is a common bird around Krn's summit - saw different family parties of more that 20 birds. Also a few Alpine Choughs Pyrrhocorax graculus were around. |
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| Even more interesting was the Snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis. I didn't really expect it, so I was very glad to see two of them on the summit. |
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| View down to the Soča valley and Krn's mountain pastures (south-west slopes). |
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| Potentilla nitida in full bloom. |
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| Krn's rocky summit. |
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| Phyteuma sieberi is quite common on the northern rocky slopes and screes. |
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| Saxifraga crustata |
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| Achillea atrata - a counterpart of the commoner A. clavennae. |
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| Krn's north-eastern slopes - a completely different world from the sunny grassy ridges sloping to the south. Here Marmots Marmota marmota are frequently heard alarming. |
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| Cerastium carinthiacum/uniflorum |
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| Mt. Vrh nad Peski & sheep. |
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| Geranium argenteum in its full beauty. Entire sub-alpine grasslands are covered with this beautiful flower which has very characteristic silver-coloured leaves. In Slovenia it is rare and found mostly in the Krn mountain range (southernmost chain of the Julian Alps). |
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| Dianthus sternbergii growing in swathes on rocky screes. |
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| Screes in the Vrh nad Peski valley. |
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| Armeria alpina is a beautiful flower that gives colour to the white screes. |
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| Papaver alpinum ssp. victoris - endemic poppy of the Krn-Bohinj mountains. |
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| Aquilegia iulia - Slovenian endemic species. Once thought to be A. bertolonii (which is mostly distributed in the Western Alps of Italy) and now regarded as a separate species. It grows on rocky mountain meadows and screes in the southern Julian Alps, part of the Kamnik Alps and in Trnovski gozd (Trnovo forest). |
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| Lužnica lake (Jezero v Lužnici) - one of the three alpine lakes around Krn. |
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| Campanula zoysii - one of the most interesting alpine flowers at all. It is a very old, ice age relict, found in the Julian, Kamnik & Carnic Alps and Karavanke mountains, as well as in the northern edge of Trnovski gozd. Unlike other Campanula species, it has a distinctive conical "bell" with a very narrow opening. Its pollination strategy remains a mystery. |
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| Potentilla clusiana |
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| Aster alpinus |
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| Aconitum angustifolium |
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| The descend reveals Krn's grassy slopes from another prospective. |
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| Quite steep descend on the slopes south-east from mount Krn. |
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| Linum viscosum on the way back, at the edge of a mountain pasture. |
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| Gentiana cruciata - once again down on the grassy plateau of Planina Kuhinja. |
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| A last look at mount Krn from Planina Kuhinja. Goodbye! |
