A day jumping over boulders visiting the Tevno Ezera hut while worrying about rain.
Starting at 6:30 am first there was the inevitable climb up a valley from the Vihren hut. In this valley and the others I walked through today there were lots of cows enjoying the grazing, watched over by cowherds making noises like "Hi" to make the cows go where they wanted. The cowherds seemed to walk up to their cattle in the early morning and return home in the afternoon leaving the cattle spread out over the chosen pasture overnight.
The ascent passed lakes and people wild camping, not officially allowed in the National Park. The latter part of the climb was over boulders, hoping from one to another to reach the next red and white waymark. Once on the ridge the path went over various summits. I met people coming the other way or just standing around. They all seemed interested in where I was going. There seemed an opinion that Pirin hut (my destination for the night) was quite far. One party warned of bad weather after 2:00 pm and suggested I stayed at Tevno Ezera hut which was on my way. This warning made me hurry on, not stopping to enjoying some of the views from the narrow ridge I was crossing.
I reached the Tevno hut just before 12:00 and, after removing my boots, enjoyed a cup of Chai (tea) and some chicken soup. It is a small hut by a high lake. A crowd of mainly men were enjoying beers outside, so I headed off climbing over a final ridge before dropping steeply into a valley.
Around 1:00 pm, ahead of schedule it rained for a while. Initially quite heavy I did my usual pantomime act of struggling into my waterproof trousers, a case of "more haste less speed".
The rain did not last and I continued down the valley to the Pirin hut passing cows, waterfalls and fishermen. I had not seen any sign of fish in the lakes and streams so I thought the fishermen, with their long rods, were a bit hopeful.
The Pirin hut has an unusual architecture and is definitely a relic from a previous era, the mattresses and sheets as old and stained as the three storey building. However it is quieter than the last two huts and I have a dormitory to myself, which should make for a better sleep.
At dinner a group of four Czech students from North Bohemia invited me to join their table. We had been passing each other on the same route for the last few days, I had particularly noticed their happy laughter. I felt a bit guilty as my dinner, arranged with my booking, was rather larger than what they were having. However I was hungry, my belly has lost its usual plumpness and I suspect that with all the climbing I have been using a lot more calories than I have been consuming so my dinner (soup, salad, meatballs and melon) was very welcome, especially as I have another month of walking ahead of me...
Starting at 6:30 am first there was the inevitable climb up a valley from the Vihren hut. In this valley and the others I walked through today there were lots of cows enjoying the grazing, watched over by cowherds making noises like "Hi" to make the cows go where they wanted. The cowherds seemed to walk up to their cattle in the early morning and return home in the afternoon leaving the cattle spread out over the chosen pasture overnight.
The ascent passed lakes and people wild camping, not officially allowed in the National Park. The latter part of the climb was over boulders, hoping from one to another to reach the next red and white waymark. Once on the ridge the path went over various summits. I met people coming the other way or just standing around. They all seemed interested in where I was going. There seemed an opinion that Pirin hut (my destination for the night) was quite far. One party warned of bad weather after 2:00 pm and suggested I stayed at Tevno Ezera hut which was on my way. This warning made me hurry on, not stopping to enjoying some of the views from the narrow ridge I was crossing.
I reached the Tevno hut just before 12:00 and, after removing my boots, enjoyed a cup of Chai (tea) and some chicken soup. It is a small hut by a high lake. A crowd of mainly men were enjoying beers outside, so I headed off climbing over a final ridge before dropping steeply into a valley.
Around 1:00 pm, ahead of schedule it rained for a while. Initially quite heavy I did my usual pantomime act of struggling into my waterproof trousers, a case of "more haste less speed".
The rain did not last and I continued down the valley to the Pirin hut passing cows, waterfalls and fishermen. I had not seen any sign of fish in the lakes and streams so I thought the fishermen, with their long rods, were a bit hopeful.
The Pirin hut has an unusual architecture and is definitely a relic from a previous era, the mattresses and sheets as old and stained as the three storey building. However it is quieter than the last two huts and I have a dormitory to myself, which should make for a better sleep.
At dinner a group of four Czech students from North Bohemia invited me to join their table. We had been passing each other on the same route for the last few days, I had particularly noticed their happy laughter. I felt a bit guilty as my dinner, arranged with my booking, was rather larger than what they were having. However I was hungry, my belly has lost its usual plumpness and I suspect that with all the climbing I have been using a lot more calories than I have been consuming so my dinner (soup, salad, meatballs and melon) was very welcome, especially as I have another month of walking ahead of me...
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| A rocky section of path to traverse |
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| Curious cows with fluffy ears |
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| Stairwell of Pirin hut |
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