Hi there Hive Family,
This weekend we decided to ascend a non-alpine peak and just have a good time and a long hike. We stopped our car at Hristo Smirnenski Hut and headed to Belmeken Dam. The real denivelation starts from there.
This is how the Hut looks like. We also met a group of dogs and there was a quarrel between 2 female dogs from different species. We were a bit suprised and disturbed as they were quite aggressive toward each other. We tried to separate them but it didn't work so we just went ahead and started our journey.
Luckily, the troublemaker dog decided that it had enough arguments and just followed us. She knew where we were headed and guided the way upfront.
Some of the scenery around us. This is actually a road and can be traversed with a vehicle. But we decided to walk the distance.
This car has stayed there for years. I guess it has become a local tourist attraction, especially in winter times.
This dark greyish wolf breed dog came from another hut called Belmeken which was probably 5 km apart. He also decided to follow us and now we had 2 bodyguards with us. The interesting part here was that this was a male and did not have any issues with the white female dog. But at our starting point the 2 females were very aggressive and intolerant. The female was the same wolf like breed. It was very interesting but ultimately we were happy to share our hike with them and they turn out to be super friendly to us and every one around.
We also passed through this exceptional section that had so much snow, it was as tall as myself. The wind was blowing and sprinking all over us snow particles. It was awesome. I can only assume how much effort it took to shovel all this snow and create a pass through for the vehicles.
We are finally at Belmeken Dam. It is all frozen up and covered with snow but in summer time, it is a vast basin with water with incredible views.
We are now beginning to ascend the mountain little by little. National Sport Base Belmeken and hut Belmeken are 2 km apart in other direction so we will not go that way.
Basically, we were the first ones to ascend this peak since the last big snowfall which happened I think a couple of days ago. We had to create a path ourselves and make it good so that it helps future ascends by other people. The dogs visibly knew where the fastest route was. Even some shortcuts. We followed their traces as they did not have any issues walking in the snow.
We were having a lot of fun. Wolfy did some snopping around and scanned for unidentified objects. Then just lied down and relaxed for a bit.
We are half way through and the views are starting to unravel. A great place to be.
Unfortunately, the weather was changing every minute and there were some thick clouds on the way. So the greatest views were not going to be seen. Such weather conditions in summer time would have been devastating and life threatening. We already played this game last summer when a thunder storm hit us on the highest altitudes and where we had nowhere to hide.
We were determined and were not going to give up, just because our views will be ruined. We sticked together ahead, despite knowing what was yet to come.
This were the last clear shots before the peak. It was quickly heaped with clouds and the sky became dark and gloomy.
Here are some of my best shorts from peak Belmeken at 2626 meters high. We ate very quick and took some pictures with the Bulgarian flag and prepared to come down as apart from the freezing temperatures, the sun was going down and we were already late. Sunset was very close and we were certainly going to use our headtorches. We just hoped to use them on the more plain terrain and less on the big denivations.
Speaking of freezing temperatures. It was like -15 degress celsius. My beard and eyebrows had icicles. The dog also had frozen part but its tongue was perfectly in shape for licking 😄😄
Anyway, we had to hurry because it was getting dark and we did not want to have to search for our trails when its barely visible. It was enough of a challenge as it was. We came down without issues and happily dinnered at hut
Hristo Smirnenski
Thank you for checking out my blog :)
Stay happy, be peaceful!
Namaste
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