High Mountains of Bulgaria: Part 2

 

True views

Staying at cabin Vehzen, named after the peak it sits below, was easily the most interesting night of the trip. Once I arrived I was greeted by three Bulgarians, one of which spoke English and had recently returned from a trip to Denver where his son lives. His name was Ivan and immediately upon my arrival he offered me a shot of his Johnny Walker. I politely declined as I had abstained from alcohol and tobacco the last week in order to be at my best for the hike. He went on to explain all the rules he violated in America, especially in the parks of Colorado where he was fined for cooking over an open fire and having his boat in a restricted area during a fishing trip. I explained to him were pretty restrictive when it comes to nature, a stark contrast to most of Eastern Europe.

That night I paid 5 lev for them to cook me a meal on top of the 10 lev I paid to stay the night, a total of seven dollars. The meal included a home made fetta omelet with unlimited bread, bean soup, and a taste of some home made Bulgarian brandy, which during mealtime is customary to drink, so I obliged for one drink. We talked much about the mountains of Bulgaria and their lodging business. I thanked Ivan, the owners friend who spoke English, for keeping the cabin open and running, he replied, "In the high mountains of Bulgaria, you will never feel abandoned." This was reassuring, and the rest of the meal I explained the remainder of my trip I had planned. They couldn't quite understand why I wanted to go a certain direction even though it would take longer to reach my next destination, Istanbul. They kept explaining the fastest route, and I kept explaining the reason for my route was to "complete the hike I set out to do".

This was the only place we got lost in conversation, and an important lesson fell upon me; not everyone has your best interest in mind, even when someone is trying to help you. Most times it takes a good friend for reliable advice, and sometimes a solid understanding of a culture or language is necessary. This was only a small part of the conversation, however, and I still ended up with several options for how to best take the bus or hitch hike out of Chiflik, the tiny village where I would end my hike.

Wild horses. A nice surprise

I woke up the next morning relatively fresh, with caves and knees still aching and a worsening shoulder rash and soreness resulting from the weight of my bag and the pressure from my straps. I couldn't think about it too much, because waking up at 8am that morning meant I be would attempting to hike for ten straight hours, clean through the next cabin all the way to Chiflik.

Although the remainder of the hike would be a daunting task, this day made the hike, because aside from the hour and a half ascent and the three hour decent, I was walking exclusively along the ridge of the sierra plata mountain range, Bulgaria's largest span of mountains that extend East to West. Weather was sketchy with thick fog that morning, and once I summited Vehzen, the highest peak of this section of the National Park, a brief hailstorm ensued. Afterwards, however, it was lush grass, sunshine and rolling saddles and valleys for miles. I had never experienced quite that length of nature cinema in my life.

There were several points on this portion of the hike I really had to stop and gather myself to take in the views. It was so vast and expansive that walking while trying to gather a solid perception was impossible at times. It would make you dizzy and force you to slow down in order to process and appreciate what you were seeing. This happened to me several times indirectly as well. I would find myself making an ascent up a steep incline of rocks and roots when I would forget about the elevation and lookouts that were changing around me.

Meadow on the ridge

A prime example was on the first day when I remember clearly being frustrated with the guide books description of a "steady incline" and began wasting energy thinking about how inaccurate that description was. When I stopped and turned around to catch my breath at one point I realized I was staring straight into my first deep valley. It was as though nature was there just waiting to remind me the pay off you receive from putting all your effort into something. It was also there telling my to step back and slow down. That moment set a tone for the rest of the hike and again made me realize why I was doing this. Not for any recognition or self-validation, but to experience something I'd never experienced before, and to do it away from cities and in the most organic parts of our earth.

I ended the hike in just under the four days I set out to do it, clocked over 42 kilometers, and set the bar for the most difficult terrain I've ever completed. Luckily enough, Chiflik, where the trail ended, is a destination village mostly for their guest house mineral baths; pool style hot tubs with revitalizing minerals dissolved in the water. There couldn't have been a better place to end the hike, even with the awkward feeling I had eating a hardy pasta dish at a fancy hotel. That was only because the hotels in the area where the only places with restaurants. I was lucky to find a guest house charging almost half a night what the hotels were asking.

That feeling wading in the mineral bath at the guest house is something I will never forget; all soreness, anxiety and stress, relieved completely, even if it was only temporarily. Waking up I understood the healing qualities from the bath and felt relatively revived. The deep ache of my joints was something that would stay with me for several days, and to this day I still feel a slight soreness in my right knee due mostly to a lack of rest after the hike. 

In the end I think I speak for others when I say the pain and the hardship one goes through on an expedition tends to be worth it in the end. I feel lucky I only came out with a few scratches, some sore joints and a bag full of dirt caked clothing. Looking back I realize you could never truly measure the experience I gained in kilometers or kilograms. Its annoying converting to miles and pounds any how.

Fog Rising