Hi there Hive Family,
This weekend we decided to visit a rarely known place where hardly anybody lives, especially at winter times. We were in for many surprises which I am going to share with you 🙃
We arrived at Bansko and went to the nearby Supermarket to buy some snacks, protein bars, energy drinks and beverages in general. For our misfortune my Friend Tony forgot his Red Bull on the roof of the car. He then started the car and we turned right to exit the Supermarket. While gearing and turning, the red bull suddenly fell off of the car and caused Tony to lose his concentration as he looked at the side mirror and at the same time unconsciously, due to a reflex he shifted very sharply the wheel bumping the right tyre directly into the pavement. It was not a high sidewalk but the maneuver was so sharp and quick, it slashed the tyre completely and immediately.
Surely, we did not expect that to happen in the middle of the city. We did not have spare time to waste, we were already late for the mountain. Turns out, Tony did not bring a spare tyre too. Completely caught off guard, we called a local Friend and asked him for help. He gave us the number of a guy who had a mobile van and different sizes tyres and could help us on the spot.
In a nutshell, here is what happened. We called the guy, let him know what size tyre we want. We took a second hand one to decrease the overall charge of the service. He came relatively quickly, changed the tyre and we were ready to continue our trip. Everytime when we think it is going to be a chill ride, something happens and we end up experiencing abnormal things.
That is the smudgy, damaged super gree Red Bull, that caused this mess. There is a famous ad saying Red Bull gives you wings... Well in our case the slogan would be - Red Bull slashes your tyres 😂
We stopped shortly for tank refuel and enjoyed breathtaking views of Pirin mountain. We are actually heading to Rila mountain and the interesting part is that we were going to stop the car at the intersection of these 2 gorgeous mountains. The place is a small village or should I say camping place with hotels and vacation houses called the verge.
We had to park near the highway as it was in close proximity to our starting point.
Our itinerary will lead us to the top parts of the mountain where you see the snowy peak.
We passed by this camping place. Almost completely deserted for now. There were mostly barking dogs, cats and I guess other animals.
As we were walking, to our big surprise, a wolf crossbreed dog followed us and decided to join our mission. Little that it knew, it was going to be a harsh ride. We were very happy to see him and welcomed his presense with open arms. Now that we had a bodyguard, we were a little calmer. Since the place was really deserted that there were no human footsteps. On the contrary, there were big paw steps resembling bear prints. A troubling sign. We knew that the place is used for traversing the mountains and is the main way going south by the animals.
Anyway, we passed by one of the last buidings, a new lovely chapel and now we were at the mercy of the nature itself.
Our company is on fire. This dog is frightening but at the same time also friendly and curious.
Little by little, we were increasing our denivelation and so the snow became thicker and lumpier.
Doggy was having fun. Well, we were still in the lower parts of the mountain. we had more than 600 metres of denivelation left. The peak stood at around 2200 meters high.
These red mark points guided us very well through the woods. As we were the first ones to step foot at this route. We had to cross this soily road. A nightmare that we later realized. The soil was not completely hardened and sticked on our snowshoes, causing them to become 2 times as heavy on our legs. The mud lumps just blended and glued on the sole parts and were impossible to remove. We had to move on with extra burden.
Combine that with levels of fluffy and unstable deep snow and you get the recipe for a disaster. At least doggy was having fun. Well it did not weigh over 90 kilos. We had our entire alpine gear with us, just in case we needed something. We did not know the region so had to come prepared.
Doggy was sniffing around trying to predict if we were going to give up on our objective. It seemed that he was getting cold. But we did not even think about aborting our mission. The panoramic views just got started. We did not want to miss them.
Giving up in not part of our DNA. We are fighers. We see the whole beauty of Pirin mountain in distance. Also the city of Razlog and other villages at the outskirts. We started our hike at the lowest section. So much denivelation. Over 1200 meters.
A quick snack stop before the peak area. The sun is ready to set. We were fortunate to have reached our goal just before Sunset and the beautiful clear sky.
We are finally there. Peak Kapatnik. That is its name. The famous Bulgarian E4 Route passes through his region. The lane covers many kilometers traversing 5 mountains in Bulgaria connecting the northwestern part with southwestern part up to Greece´s border. Amazing place with amazing views.
And here are the different time lapses of the Sunset. From its setting point to the eclipse. Staggering experience.
Some photos after the Sunset. Time to go home. Rock and Roll baby. Headtorches on! Music on! Time pick up the pace. We were delighted of this hike and absolutely satisfied.
Thank you for checking out my blog :)
Stay happy, be peaceful!
Namaste
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