On July 10, 2023, the "Edelweiss flower" mountaineering section of the Association of Slovenians "Triglav" Banja Luka held its first meeting, as befits mountaineers, in a beautiful green environment on Trešnjik, on Banj brdo, as it is now called. We still affectionately call it Šehovi.
Although it was very hot, a small but select group of enthusiastic mountaineers gathered at Alibaba and cheerfully headed up the hill. As soon as we reached the shade provided by the trees, the heat was out of the question. We talked and, step by step, while deeply inhaling the oxygen that the forest selflessly provided us, in about 40 minutes arrived at Trešnjik. For most mountaineers, this was not the first time they went to Šehitluci, but the more times you go, the more you like it, and over time, as we say in jargon, we get "hooked" and it becomes a frequent pleasure for us.
The plan was to get to Trešnjik, refresh and rest a bit and move on. Everyone took something out of their backpacks, we had a nice treat.
We enjoyed being surrounded on one side by a tall pine tree and on the other side by a deciduous forest. Then the section leader Ivan Memon briefly introduced us to some basic things that are important for hiking. He pointed out that the most important thing is love for nature and a good mood. To begin with, the most important hiking shoes are hiking boots, which should be deep, to protect the joint from injuries. So, part by part, we will gradually get to know what mountaineering equipment is, what to pack in a backpack, what food to bring, the importance of hiking poles, movement in nature, hiking signs in nature and a number of other practical and useful things.
For the first time there was a lot of information and we slowly moved on. The road continued along the path below Trešnjik to the Novak cafe and further below the monument we went down the serpentines to the Serbian Spa - Šeher. There we rested a bit and watched as the preparations for tomorrow's opening of the Spa were coming to an end. We returned along the road past Vrbas to Alibaba. We walked about 10 kilometers. And of course, we refreshed ourselves at Alibaba. We all toasted to the successful work of our section and future gatherings. We were already thinking about what could be our next destination.
Ljiljana Memon
