From the heavy rain last night my tee shirt, underpants, trousers and socks were all wet. Yesterday I squeezed as much water out of them as I could but they were still soaked this morning. I had hoped for a sunny day to help dry my clothes but the morning sky was grey and overcast and remained so all day. A little light drizzle was falling during the morning. Wanting to preserve some dry clothes I had no alternative but to put on my cold, wet underwear, socks and trousers. I left my tee shirt in my bag until later and put on my fleece, which I had not been wearing in the rain yesterday, so at least I had something dry and warm on around my "core". Then I added my "waterproof" jacket, wet but not holding the water which slid off in drops. I headed off, the wet vegetation making my trousers wetter still. Diverting off the route slightly I went to the shop at Podgorac which I had visited on my last trip. I had not expected it to be open being Sunday but three men were drinking beer outside the wooden shack that housed the shop. I went in and bought a can of cold latte, chocolate and water. Although not essential purchases, it gave me a morale boost as I felt more in control, and chocolate was a treat. Then I followed the E4 route to the mountain of Veliki Malinik. A long, steady, uphill walk on a good track through trees. There were a few fire salamanders on the track, sluggish with the cold, they would only move away slowly if I approached.
Near the top three 4 x 4 vehicles were parked with men standing outside, noticeable as I saw few if any people away from towns and villages. Maybe a hunting trip. I did not approach as the E4 went around the summit of Veliki Malinik to the south. Following the ridge east I stopped by a picnic table to see the Lazarev Canyon from above. The weather was not ideal to view this long, deep, irregular gash through the green landscape, the ragged cut exposing cliffs of the grey limestone, beneath the thin skin of vegetation. The thin path down to the second viewpoint was more difficult and tortuous than I recalled, overgrown, with fallen trees to negotiate. The lower outlook was more popular. There was a group standing on the rocks above the tall, vertical cliff on the edge of the gorge, listening to a guide.
Nearby a crude building housed a place selling food and drink. A new facility where I bought a late lunch of meat, potato and carrot stew served with cabbage salad and bread. Dessert was two pastries similar to scones with the jam baked inside. Replete, as I left a group on ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles) roared down the track. From the outlook it was a good track and path down to the bottom of the valley. There is a show cave at the end of the canyon but it was closed.
Roads and tracks through farmland took me north. The telegraph poles were intriguing, made of irregular tree trunks they looked very flimsy. I had hoped to reach Borsko Jezero, a reservoir and tourist resort, but I was not going to make it tonight, so around 6 pm after walking 11 hours, I turned off into woods to find a spot to camp. A flat spot was difficult to find so I made do with a small patch, less sloping than the rest. There was no phone signal so I used my satellite communicator, new this trip, to send a message to my wife confirming I was OK.
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