Blog

When it comes to rafting, most people associate it with adventure, fun, socializing and enjoying the charms of untouched nature, but the very beginnings of rafting were not fun at all, and nature did not remain untouched, on the contrary – “scars” are still visible today...

At the end of the 19th century, the Austro-Hungarian government organized the exploitation of the forest in the Tara canyon, and since transport on steep and narrow roads was impossible, the indomitable power of the river was used.

The logs were connected with steel cables, and then such bearings, called trifts, set off on their uncertain path to Foča, where further wood processing was carried out.

The job of the trifter himself was physically extremely strenuous and, above all, very risky. It often happened that the logs got stuck in the narrow parts of the canyon or on a rock so the camps about ten meters of height were formed. It was then very important to have trifters with skills, who were not only physically strong, but rather skillful, fast, and wise altogether, for every wrong step was often paid for by its life. The most skilful among them were the "postmen" whose task was to head off the entire camp, which would continue its journey with a deafening noise. The last triptych was called Hodarica and their task was to imprint the logs that were left behind in the thick bush along the shore.

The job was well paid, but many trifters eventually paid with their lives. There are many places on Tara that are named after them, such as Laz's stone and Sob's stone, and the names of beeches such as Mahnita vrela and Vučje grlo vividly describe the dangers that these fearless people faced.

In certain places on the river, trees have been stopped for marking and classification, and one such place is Uzlup, a narrowing in the part of the canyon where the Tara is deepest in its lower course. There was a dam on Uzlup, the remains of which we can still see today, and which are silent witnesses to the futile attempts of people to restrain the power of Tara.

In the Foča Museum, you can find information that the first descent for recreation and enjoying the charms of nature was organized in 1906, when an Austrian forestry engineer hired a trifter to lower it through Tara from Šćepan polje to Foča on a wooden raft. This could be considered the beginnings of rafting, but today's modern rafting is experiencing its full momentum at the end of the XX and the beginning of the XXI century.

Although trifting is now a distant past, and trifting has become a legend, we must pay tribute to their courage and feel gratitude because getting to know the course of the river and its temper enabled us to enjoy rafting safely today.