When Duško and I set off again for the mountain peaks after a long break, we were afraid of our physical (in)abilities. When we conquered Veliko Ćedilo on Orjen on May 1st, we thought that we had surpassed ourselves at that moment and that the next day we would only be walking around Vrbanja. While we were chatting with our friend Neck in “Papagaj” about the surrounding peaks, Odijevo was mentioned. I immediately started researching where it starts from and how it gets there on the internet. But I couldn’t find any useful information. At that moment, a photo of my hiking friend Milena from Odijevo popped up on my Facebook. (I stopped believing in coincidences a long time ago.) Milena told me everything I was interested in: it starts from the same place as for Veliko Ćedilo, from the parking lot below the “Za Vratlom” mountain lodge; it has about 500 meters of elevation gain and you have to go through a lot of forest. We can do it! She also mentioned a circular tour via the Kamenski Cable, but said that experienced Orjen connoisseurs did not recommend it to her because she was with children.
And so the next morning, almost at the same time, at 8:15, we were in the parking lot. We were lonely again. I looked towards Kamenski Kabal, which rises just above the parking lot, and thought: there's no way you can get down this way. (At the time, I didn't think it was possible to climb there because I already had the route to Odijevo in my head). I didn't even remember to take a photo of it. Later, I found a photo from the previous day while I was looking at this peak from the opposite side, from the Starčević serpentine.
The climb (and the return) from the parking lot to the lodge is always too difficult for me. Once my legs are warmed up after that, everything goes easier. We hoped to meet someone at the lodge to ask about a potential circular tour, but we didn't. We set off on an already familiar path because the path for the climb to Odijevo and Subra coincides in the initial part. The sky was cloudless, the temperature pleasant.
The paths diverged after about 40 minutes. For Subra we turned right, and for Odijevo we continued straight, through the forest. The forest was sometimes very dense, sometimes sparse, and from time to time we would come out into clearings. Then we would see Subra on the right, which followed us for a good part of the way. All the way to Šljeme. Šljeme surprised us. It turned out that it was also one of the peaks of Orjen, although when you reach the sign for it, you somehow don't get the impression that you are on a peak. But that's how they say it is. Not far from here, in the densest forest, the paths to Odijevo and Vrbanja diverge, which have coincided up to this point. Although the tree said that it would take 40 minutes to reach the top, that's completely subjective. Some people get there faster, some slower. You have to follow your own rhythm and just get there.
From here to the very top, the trail leads through a beautiful, dense beech forest. The problem is that I was already tired by this point, and the climb only picked up speed from here. But one step at a time, with frequent breaks to “get some air,” we slowly made progress.
It was hard to tell where we would end up from the forest, but there were markings that guided us and that we never lost sight of, especially on this part of the trail. When we came out of the forest, another short climb awaited us, and then… a more than enchanting view of the Bay of Kotor. I shouted with delight: “Is it possible that this peak is not much more visited and that it is not constantly written about? Well, this is phenomenal!” We were right above Herceg Novi. A little to the right, we could see Igalo, Sutorina. Njivice. We were now towering over the village of Zvinji, which rises above the bay, by over 1100 meters. We could also see Prevlaka and Luštica. All of this just at first glance.
The view to the left encompasses the entire Luštica, the Bay of Tivat, many smaller towns on the bay, and stretches to Lovćen, Štirovnik, and further to Rumija. The effort we put in to reach Odijevo was worth it when it came to the view. As for the clarity of the air, we couldn't be more proud.
A look to the right revealed a good part of Konavle and the Croatian coast with Molunat in the center. We were taking a loop, so the next thing we could see was the road leading to Trebinje. We even spotted the former toll booth. Behind us stretched Orjen, and that view was only slightly behind this sea view. Subra is, of course, in the center of attention, but there was much more to see. We also spotted Veliko Ćedilo, from which we had looked at Odijevo the previous day, not realizing that we would meet it so soon.
We would have stayed here much longer if it hadn't started to get cloudy, even though the sky was almost cloudless. But that's how Orjen is. Knowing his temper and the speed of changing weather conditions, I packed for the return trip. I was thinking about how we would get back faster now that we were descending the steep slope. Duško, however, had other plans. He was intrigued by the circular path that leads back to the base via Kamenski Kabal.
The stone said it would take 2 hours to get there. However, we didn't know anything about this tour, we didn't have time to ask around. I don't like to rush into things, especially when it comes to Orjen. The view of this peak from the parking lot came to mind. Since Duško was adamant, I consoled myself: "We must get down before him." We didn't get down before him. We passed almost the entire ridge of Dobroštica (whose highest peak is Odijevo), climbing more than descending. We walked along the ridge the whole time with a view that could be seen from Odijevo. The camera ended up in my backpack because this terrain required my full concentration. Carrying a camera is really tiring on tours like this. A phone is much more practical. In general, we reached Kamenski Kabal in exactly 2 hours, which was amazing to me. We didn't even register Vilina pećina because I only heard about it later. Only then did I take out my camera and take a picture of the ridge we had just passed.
It seemed completely tame, which is a big lie. In fact, if I had known what was waiting for me, if I had prepared myself and planned the tour this way from the beginning, it would have been a very solid Orjen mountaineering adventure for me. But I didn't. I kept wondering when we would start descending. Every new climb caused me to have a panic attack. "We'll be left for dead, here at this height," I often said. When we finally reached the end point on the ridge and when I looked down from here, some 220 meters deep to the "Pod Vratlom" hut, I was calm. There was no more uncertainty. I saw exactly what was ahead of us. "Just take it easy, without nervousness, concentrated and with a lot of help from the poles," was the mantra that was spinning in my head.
We descended without any problems, to my surprise and delight. Since we realized that we would arrive below the lodge, at Ploče od Vratla, we gave up on sitting in it. Because it is still a minimum of 5 minutes up and 5 down, and we had already been on our feet for seven hours. When we reached the car, I glanced at Kamenski Kabao again and clicked on my phone. It felt surreal to me that we had descended from such a steep slope. Although we were not descending on this scree that can be seen in the foreground, I said out loud so that “everyone” could hear me: “Orjen is beautiful, but for a while we are moving to the Kučke and Moračke mountains.”
Bonus video:
