Hiking in CROATIA and the JMT?

[ShelterLeopard]

These are two separate thread topics combined into one (sorry, I just thought maybe I should consolidate a bit).

I have a whole extra semester on which I did not plan (I'm going to Mount Holyoke next year, but starting in January instead of September), and would like to spend September hiking. My questions:

CROATIA:
Does anyone here know of any interesting hiking trails in Croatia? Any length, from a couple weeks to a month and a couple weeks of hiking?

JMT:
When is the best time to hike the John Muir? When does snow begin to fall? (And I don't mean just at the summits)

I'm leaning towards Croatia right now. But I really don't know enough about it to hike there. I already am planning a trip to Croatia in May (as a backpacker, but not a hiker), and was considering switching it to September and extending it. Any thoughts?

[Snowleopard]

I'm not sure about Croatia, but if you can get up to Slovenia the Julian Alps are supposed to be beautiful, about 250 km from Zagreb. I was thinking of heading there after a trip to Germany in 2 weeks, but it's looking like the trip won't happen at all. I think I have the Lonely Planet guidebook; if I can find it you can have it.

[fiddlehead]

I have friends who lived in Croatia (American man, Brazilian woman) I will try to contact them.
I don't believe they are long distance hikers but I did some short hikes with them in Brazil.
They did send some amazing pictures from Croatia and it immedietly went on my "bucket list"
I would lean in that direction (but I have hiked the JMT a few times and although it is a really great, classic trail, I prefer new journeys)
good luck in your decision.
A quick search found this: http://www.croatiatraveller.com/Activities/Hiking.htm

It appears to be like typical hiking in Europe where most hikers basically do day hikes and go down to sleep in big huts or hostels at night that you pay for and get a meal and a bed.
We found on our PYrenees hike in '99 that if you bring your tent and do it "AT" style, you will have the mountains to yourself after 3:00 PM.
Here'a a writeup i did on that hike: (complete with some pics) http://fiddlehead.wordpress.com/2007/12/18/pyrenees-high-route-our-journey-across-the-frontier/

[fiddlehead]

Best time to hike the JMT is September IMO (after school starts to escape the crowds)