The next morning after a delicious breakfast (ham and eggs), we got on the bus to head to our hike for the day. The drive up was just gorgeous. It was hard to get a good photo at times, but the winding roads, mountains, geology, sheep - just beautiful. We were initially supposed to hike Bobotuv Kuk, the highest point, and our guide showed us where we would have started. We continued on, and finally stopped at a pull out area with benches and a frame as photo ops. There were plenty of cars with tourists obviously taking advantage of the nice weather, but for the moment we had the spot to ourselves.
Our guide was like, how can I make you guys move? For the second time actually - he was very nice about it, but liked to tease those who took many photos. The first twenty minutes were pretty steep, pretty much straight uphill. Then we got to an area with nice meadows and only a slight gradient, then another section uphill, until we got a nice long path that was either fairly flat or a low grade. It was just lovely. I also noted (a geologist, with
geo hazard specialty) the many sinkholes in the area, which I had actually noticed on the drive. We came across one that was small in diameter that Milan pointed out; one of the girls went to stick her leg and hes like what are you doing??? We all laughed, but he tried to impress on us there were many in the area. We actually stopped at a fairly large one for a short break before we started uphill again. Already, we were loving this hike and thanked him for changing it.
We saw a few people passing us or that we would later pass, so it was fairly popular. The next section was pretty steep in places, but the steep sections were fairly short, so the hike itself was still pleasant. I was up with Gh and Luke with the rest behind. Gh was the first to get to the top of this area, I was the third - I saw them back down this little rocky section, warning me that the top was cold and windy. So, I put my sweatshirt on under my jacket, pulled my balaclava up and readied myself, and then warned the
rest of the group. So we had another short break here to prepare and grab a bite of our snacks. And yes, the top of this hill was indeed cold and windy! But, oh my god the view was amazing!!! Directly across was some really cool geology, with lots of folds and Bobotuv Kuk right next to it. It was a beautiful day with blue skies, and the green vegetation really stood out. So incredible.
We of course took more photos, then continued on. Again, this was a fairly low gradient that skirted the inside of the mountain valley, so amazing views across the whole way. After about 40 more minutes of hiking, we took a longer break, near where some other hikers who had passed also sat. It was right on the top of the peak, so we got incredible views on both sides. We got some more snacks, with our guide apologizing about forgetting our lunch - I was like, we would have had to carry it anyway. No worries. We watched the other hikers as they took off and started up the much steeper slope to the peak.
moved on. The slope was steep, but it was not crazy, like Bobotuv would have been. However, each time we thought we got to the top, nope, it was still further. However, we continued to see amazing geology. And the top of this long steep slope showed vertical bedding right across - so amazing. Then we climbed a little more before we got to a section with slightly more challenging climbing - along vertical rock faces and very narrow trails. He had the one girl who had not hiked before walk with him. Gh, Luke and I went first up the final slope and I was awarded with finally reaching the summit!
Ive climbed to the top of plenty of mountains before, but this was my first time to reach one with the sign / marker and guestbook, at 2,393m. It was actually pretty cool and fulfilling. We waited for everyone else to climb up and, of course, took lots and lots of photos. We were able to take a longer break here to admire the amazing views.
