PIFcamp participants at the Krn Lake in Slovenia © Makery
Life is intense at hacking PIFcamp in pristine Triglav National Park, Slovenia. Makery is embedded until its final Open Day on August 10, in Soča village on the river of the same name. Days 3 and 4.
The Soča (or Isonzo in Italian) is a 138-kilometres long river that flows through western Slovenia (96 kilometres) and northeastern Italy (43 kilometres). The river runs past the summer hacking PIFcamp, located in the village Soča named by it and participants can enjoy its cold water (10-12°C). Here PIFcamp participants jumping in the Soča after a good edible wild plants foraging hike.
An edible board game is improvised at the base later on:
Others look at microscopic wild life with Julian Chollet from Humus Sapiens (read our last spring article about Humus Sapiens):
Some follow Olivia Kotsifa for building outdoor workspaces in the woods:
While some go hiking, others stay at the base for tinkering:
Day 4, hiking to Krn lake, hacking at the base
The Soča goes through Bovec, Tolmin, Gorizia, and enter the Adriatic Sea close to the town of Monfalcone. An Alpine river in character, Soča source lies in the Trenta Valley, a bit up the location of the camp. The valley and river is known for intense battles during World War I, known as the twelve Battles of Isonzo (1,5 million casualties on the “Soča fronta”), as the valley was a narrow and strategic corridor between Northern Italy and Central Europe, also known as “Ljubljana Gate”.
Among many remains of the strategic history of the valley, Bovec hosts the Kluže Fortress, a fortress built in 1472, originaly to defend the Friuli against the Turks, then taken and destroyed by Napoleon in 1797, then rebuilt by the Austrians in late 19th Century. In 1903 part of Bovec was destroyed by a fire. What remained standing was ravaged in World War I, when the Italian-Austrian front (Battles of the Isonzo) crossed through the valley as the battle cut from north to south.
Just south of Bovec is the small village of Lepena. This is where 18 courageous participants of the PIFcamp started to climb from 700m to reach an altitude of about 1700m one hour later. Before heading to their final destination, the Krnsko Jezeo, Krn glacial lake at an altitude of about 1400 m.
Krn Lake is the largest Slovenian high mountains lake. It is nearly 400 metres long, 150 metres wide and 17 metres deep in its deepest part. There are 40 plant species living in the water ecosystem, which are mostly algae, and 24 species of lower animals, among which small crayfish prevail. Bathing is not allowed in the lake in order to preserve the ecosystem. The remains of the WW1 are seen in all the are of Krn mountain range.
Meanwhile at the base, others prefer hacking to hiking.
Makery is also preparing interviews and podcasts, stay tuned!
Read our report on Days 1 & 2.
More on PIFcamp.