Via Dinarica 2015: Day 5 - Sinjajevina (23rd June)

link to wikiloc.com

The prospect of hiking 70km across the Sinjajevina with no facilities or water was slightly daunting. I left the Hikers Den Hostel in Zabljak at around 7am, since that's when the supermarket opened. I quickly bought a few bits and bobs, and then began the endless hike along fairly flat and very quiet roads towards Zminica Lake. I stopped at the lake for a few minutes for food and drink. Soon after the road became forest track, and then turned into open grassy hillside.

The trail then petered out to nothing apart from the occasional paint mark on a rock on rough grassy tussocky hillside. The trail rose up to a summit at around 1860m which provided a great vantage point. After dropping off this hill, there were a number of trails going off in different directions, which was slightly confusing. I also spotted a few Katuns or farm dwellings which appeared to have water tanks fed from the metal roof and guttering.

I realised this might be my only chance of finding any water today, so managed to get inside the picket fence to one of the boarded up houses, and turned the tap on the tank. Thick red rusty sludge trickled out, which was slightly disappointing. I then tried the other tank with less hope, and perfect clear rain water gushed out. So I was saved!

I continued cross-country until I hit a better track that led to Lake Zabojsko. I had thought that this lake might make a good camping spot to break the Sinjajevina halfway. But when I got there, I decided to carry on for 3 reasons: 1) I couldn't see any easy way to get down to the lake, 2) I was getting savaged by mosquitoes just stopping for a few seconds to consider options, and 3) it was still relatively early so I thought I might as well carry on and make more ground.

So I managed to plod on for another 9km, across increasingly rough and pathless hillside, before I suddenly decided I'd had enough and might as well stop and put up the tent. I'd done nearly 44km, so I was well over halfway, and should easily be able to reach Mojkovac tomorrow morning.