Another fine day in the mountains, a bit shorter than previous days.
Over breakfast I exchanged a few words with a trio who were also walking the Kom-Emine but in the opposite direction to me. It was helpful that they were around as I could copy what they did, such as filling a mug of chai (tea) from a big saucepan keeping warm on top of the stove that was heating the room.
Breakfast was late (8 am) but I only had 22 kilometres to walk today. Unfortunately, first I had a 300 metre climb from the hut back onto the ridge. On the climb I tried to zig-zag up the mountainside using the various paths, made difficult as the morning sun was shining into my eyes but the ground ahead of me was in dark shadow. Unfortunately the paths tended to disappear in juniper bushes or I just lost them. Throughout the day paths appeared and disappeared, and I frequently lost the one I should have been following. Horses were frequently responsible, creating paths parallel to the one I should be on. Horse poo was everywhere, along with older cowpats. After the initial climb to almost the top of Kartala Peak there was some walking on more or less horizontal ground. It was not to last, there were several steep descents and ascents over the day, as well as a length of path contouring the mountainside. Large stones and boulders on the route slowed me down. A line of men passed me each carrying a large bowl and carried what looked like a few plastic sacks on their backs. I assumed they going to pick some berries, maybe juniper, or I had seen some red berries in the undergrowth. We exchanged hellos but due to the lack of a common language I was not able to determine what they were about to harvest.
As on previous days, views to the north and south were extensive. Lines of mountain extended into the distance getter progressively a whiter shade of grey. In a broad, flat bottomed valley immediately to the south there was the industrial town of Pirdop, steam from chimneys rising vertically into the still air. At times the cold wind picked up. The morning started with frost whitening all the grasses, the frozen mud crunched under my feet, but once the sun was up the frost disappeared except in the shadows.
As I knew the distance was not great today I sat down to admire the view more often, getting through my supply of snacks in the process. Towards the end of the day the route dropped down to the Kashana Pass and a return to woodland and beech forest. As the sun lowered in the sky I became impatient to arrive. I left the Kom-Emine trail and walked through woods to the Murgana Hut, which had a impressive view over the valley below from its veranda. On being shown to my room I decided a shower was in order. As is typical in these places the shower was with the toilet in a "wet room" affair. Unfortunately I failed to notice the water was not draining away. Soon the bathroom was flooded. A squeezy mop was leaving against the wall and I spent half an hour using this to empty the bathroom of standing water. Fortunately only a little had escaped to the corridor outside.
Dinner was a more successful affair, after the extensive use of Google Translate I had chicken soup, salad and a pork steak with a few chips. Unfortunately my phone charger has broken. I had been blaming Bulgarian plugs for not working but with the help of a bedside lamp I have shown my charger is at fault. I have a fully charged power pack but am not sure how long that will last.
22.7 kilometres walked today and over 1000 metres of ascent.
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