Can't can't do anything!

Just saying, “I can't” gives you a 90% chance of failing.  Turning that “I can't” into an “I'll try” decreases your chance of failing by 50%.  These are really just numbers I pulled out of my wazoo, but you get the point.  

People have a tendency of looking at the entire feat and letting it overwhelm them, myself included.  Never was there a more daunting day than when I looked up at the mighty Mt. Krn of the Julian Alps and thought about hiking my way to the top of 7632 feet!  How would I ever get myself to up there? I was not exactly in primo shape like most of my hiking group members, which was composed of an Iron Man competitor, Antarctica explorer, Mt. Kilimanjaro hiker and many other places in the world that I have trouble locating on a map.  Obviously Slovenia was the hiking trip you take when you have already checked off all those other places, but I like to think that Slovenia is the new Austria ;-)

The group started out and I was forced to just fall in line with the others because there was no alternative to climbing to the top.  We had hiked several hours the day before and slept in a mountain hut where I didn’t see any buses leaving for those that wanted to wimp out.  The comfortable mountain hut had several bunkrooms, bathrooms, many supplies and food so I doubt they were hiking or air lifting things in, but still I was not given the option of hopping a ride down the mountain.  A fun alternative would have been a giant escape slide taking me over the rocks, through the pastures, past the cows and back to Kobarid for a few more pints of Laško on a sunny patio…ahhh!  But, off I went with the rest of the group taking it one step at a time.   

There were points of the hike where it was not as steep and I was able to walk up the path enjoying the beautiful scenery around me as I made progress.  Not only did I enjoy the mountain flowers, but also the cannons and barracks left behind by the Italians from World War I.  Must have skipped the chapter where WWI was fought in the Julian Alps, but the town of Kobarid was very proud of their history and eager to tell us about how The Alps played a major role in the war.  Rounding the bend to find these war leftovers made me think about troops carrying these things up while hiking and picturing a part of a cannon strapped to my backpack that was already filled with water reservoir, powdered Gatorade, snack bars, trail mix, sleep sack, towel, bag of dirty undies, socks, shower gel, facial wipes, deodorant, phone and passport, made me realize that these guys may have had it a lot tougher than me and I was going to have to press on! 

My hiking pals and I have found it a good idea to sing while hiking to keep the bears away, but this time it was to fill my mind with song to keep the “I can’ts” out of there.  And what does one sing while hiking in The Alps you might ask, why songs from the Sound of Music, of course! All the usual “Do Re Mi” and “I Am Sixteen Going on Seventeen” songs rolled through my head quickly and then I spent a good hour or more trying to remember all the words to "The Lonely Goatherd" from the puppet show scene.  I could get the chorus, but somehow I couldn't connect the "Men drinking beer in a pub remote heard ladee odle ladee odle lay oo oo.” part to the rest of the song so I continued to noodle on it while I progressed.

The hike was no Julie Andrews spinning on the grassy hill hike like I had envisioned.  In fact, the grassy meadows were gone early on and then I was left with rough trails, which turned into rocks, rocks and more rocks.  I may have grumbled that I felt like I was hiking in Afghanistan, but for those of you that gaze at the beautiful snowcapped Alps, I’m here to tell you not all of them have snow on top; those are white rocks!  But since I didn't see a sign of an escape route for those who really don't think they can make it up the rock pile, I had to press on.  Of course there could have been a sign, but it would have been in Slovene which sometimes lacks vowels and is not the kind of language you can easily guess the words.  Perhaps learning zasilni izhod (Slovene for emergency exit) ahead of time would have been helpful. 

Step-by-step, song-by-song I made my way up and perfected the use of hiking poles, which are not just for show and eventually I summited Mt. Krn!  As it turns out my two friends and I beat the rest our over-achieving group, who in the fog, had missed the path up there and were resting in a nearby mountain hut.  This really was just a hut to get in out of the elements with no supplies so I don’t think there was an easier way up there.  I made it.  Yes! And from that day forward realized I can do so much more than I think I CAN! 

There is balanced, imbalanced and somewhere in between you'll find Kimbalanced.