@@OvertheHills seems like you two are the only avid hikers on many of the European trails that you visit! Which is really suprising as I thought many Europeans like to hike as a leisurely past time.
@@laurenbouchie2394 At least half the people we met were Czech but we didn't meet many at all. Europeans (aside from Czechs) don't seem to like camping in a tent too much so, even in the more popular Alpine regions, the number of hikers is limited by the number of places in the refuges. It's a sort of informal quota because, unlike the USA, there are no quota systems. The secret is that the National Alpine Club refuges have a policy of never turning people away. We had to sleep once on a mattress on the floor in an Italian refuge but it was okay. At a French Alpine Club (CAF) refuge, we were prepared to sleep in our tent despite the awful weather. When I called them the guardian said they were full and we couldn't stay there but when we showed up asking where outside we could pitch our tent they said this was no weather to camp and, miraculously, they suddenly had beds available in an adjacent building!
@joebow-tv9hg I Yes, in many ways it's similar to the Dolomites, which we also like a lot. There are fewer people in Durmitor, but in Italy you can always stay indoors (and often, you have to) and the food's better! Italy is, of course, considerably more expensive. I don't recall ever seeing any Chamois in the Dolomites so seeing them in Durmitor was special. You get more of a feel that you're in the heart of Nature in Durmitor, at least on the west side. You see a lot more people as you approach the Black Lake on the east side.
@@OvertheHills I've never been to either mountain range, but the addition of Chamois make the Durmitor area very interesting, Thanks again for taking the time to share your travels.
Wow, the views were amazing!
@laurenbouchie2394 What's amazing is that there was no one else camping where we were. Lucky too, because there weren't many site possibilities.
@@OvertheHills seems like you two are the only avid hikers on many of the European trails that you visit! Which is really suprising as I thought many Europeans like to hike as a leisurely past time.
@@laurenbouchie2394 At least half the people we met were Czech but we didn't meet many at all. Europeans (aside from Czechs) don't seem to like camping in a tent too much so, even in the more popular Alpine regions, the number of hikers is limited by the number of places in the refuges. It's a sort of informal quota because, unlike the USA, there are no quota systems. The secret is that the National Alpine Club refuges have a policy of never turning people away. We had to sleep once on a mattress on the floor in an Italian refuge but it was okay. At a French Alpine Club (CAF) refuge, we were prepared to sleep in our tent despite the awful weather. When I called them the guardian said they were full and we couldn't stay there but when we showed up asking where outside we could pitch our tent they said this was no weather to camp and, miraculously, they suddenly had beds available in an adjacent building!
Wow very impressive views! Seems almost like the Dolomites.
@joebow-tv9hg I Yes, in many ways it's similar to the Dolomites, which we also like a lot. There are fewer people in Durmitor, but in Italy you can always stay indoors (and often, you have to) and the food's better! Italy is, of course, considerably more expensive. I don't recall ever seeing any Chamois in the Dolomites so seeing them in Durmitor was special. You get more of a feel that you're in the heart of Nature in Durmitor, at least on the west side. You see a lot more people as you approach the Black Lake on the east side.
@@OvertheHills I've never been to either mountain range, but the addition of Chamois make the Durmitor area very interesting, Thanks again for taking the time to share your travels.