Pirin 1 - Vihren

The Pirin Mountains were planned to be our highlight in the Bulgarian interior. And indeed, it was. We reached it via a winding road, passing numerous small honey and cheese stands along the roadside. We stopped at a 'larger market' to get a closer look at the specialties and were stuffed with honey spoon samples and cut cheese pieces by the eager-selling grandmas. Saying 'no thank you, no more' was difficult due to language and profit barriers. After a round of petting stray puppies and with some new jars of honey in the trunk, we continued our journey and reached the mountain town of Bansko. Here, autumn, if not even early winter, was in full force, prompting us to find a heated accommodation after a small tour of the city center and researching hiking options. Anne's excellent research skills soon found us a modern and very cozy vacation apartment with a bathroom and kitchen at an unimaginable bargain price. Heating ourselves up and taking long showers, we planned the hiking routes for the next few days.

First, the next morning, we wanted to start with the ascent of Vihren (2914m), the highest mountain in the Pirin Mountains. Originally planned multi-day hike was no longer possible due to weather conditions and the end of the season. So we drove ourselves to an altitude of around 1700m and followed the steady climb to the summit from here. Massive walls of fog, complete silence, and unexpected cold (3°C at the start - Whaaat?) accompanied us on the almost empty path until we were finally surrounded by icicles and snowfields. A magnificent scenery. Hearing our own echo, we followed the colorful trail markings, which temporarily provided our only viewpoint. With increasing fog density, cold, and amount of snow, the ascent also increased and soon our running pace began to falter. The trail was snowed in and only the partially uncovered climbing chains and some snow tracks from previous hikers showed us roughly where to go. Our steps soon no longer touched the ground, but only tried to find a hold on the steeper wall in the harsh snow. Please do not slip or lose balance here! Not so easy while the hands clinging to the chains slowly froze. The fog offered no view of the summit and the uncertainty about the safety of our undertaking soon grew threateningly. What were we still trying to achieve here or what would await us at the summit, if we reached it? Certainly not the powerful gust of wind that quickly blows away the fog and gives us a breathtaking postcard panorama. Only 200m left to the summit, says the GPS. Half a lap around a stadium and the three hours of ascent would have reached their planned end. But there is no safe way forward here anymore. And climbing the same route back will also require strength and nerves. So, true to the motto: The journey is the destination, turn around at this point and rather have a way than no destination anymore. Still very unfortunate!

Before our return to the long-awaited hot shower, we took a look at the oldest and nearest tree in Bulgaria. With an age of 1300 years, a height of 26m, and a circumference of 7.8m, it was an intimidating encounter.