A later start today as the kitchen did not open until 7:30 am. I obtained a coffee but the promised French Toast seemed delayed. After not wanting to eat much at the start of this trip my appetite had now recovered. The smell and sound of cooking made me feel acutely hungry. I resorted to standing around the hatch, through which food was passed from the kitchen to the restaurant. Although they would have been only able to see the middle of my body, it seemed to work and my breakfast appeared.
Having eaten, I brushed my teeth and used the toilet, hoping no-one else wanted it as there was no lock. Then I gathered with some other walkers in the porch where we put our boots on. One of the others pointed out a herd of deer on the side of the mountain. A few horses were grazing nearby.
I set off along the side of the mountain but was soon climbing. The route involved crossing a number of peaks, each one seemed higher than the last until I reached the summit of Mount Vezhen at 2198 metres. Looking back I could see the TV Tower on Botev Peak in the distance, two days walk away, and the Arch of Freedom a little nearer. To the south I wondered which of the hazy grey mountains on the horizon was Vitosha, which rises up behind the capital Sofia. Eho hut and Kozya Stena hut were also visible as white spots. Where possible I took the "Summer routes", bypassing a few peaks. In one case I accidentally followed a path which was leaving the mountain. I had to double back on another path before I lost height.
After further peaks I reached the abandoned Planinski Izvori hut. Still standing but without windows. Here I left the ridge to walk down to Momina Polyana Hut. Juniper bushes were trying to close the path, streams and boulders made my progress slow. I felt disgruntled that I had to loose 300 metres in height to go to the hut. When I arrived I found many vehicles parked outside, music playing and lots of people about. After finding the hut keeper in the kitchen, she showed me to my room. Unfortunately I could not find my way back to the entrance I came in on. It seems there is an old and new part of the hut but I could not work out how to cross between without walking around the outside. Fortunately the large noisy party was in one part, myself and a few others were in the other part.
I did find a restaurant area and thanks to a girl speaking English I ordered a salad, soup and an omelette. The salad of cabbage and carrots was large, and I failed to finish it.
26.4 kilometres walked today with over 1400 metres of ascent.
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