E3: Vratnik Pass to Chumerna Hut: Day 10

A tiring day walking through woods ending with climbing my first proper peak.

After packing up my tent, I walked to the first tourist site of the day at Aglikina Polyana. In this small clearing in the woods there was a monument consisting of a block of granite with words inscribed on it. It commemorated the rebels who fought the occupying Turks in the 19th century. This was the place where a rebel government was to be announced, but the insurrection failed, and the 14 rebels who gathered here were captured and killed. There was a small, white shrine nearby with icons inside. I sat on its steps and munched on some breakfast thinking how the stories of the fight against the Turks shaped the national identity. 

Monument to rebels at Aglikina Polyana.

There were many hills to climb up and down today as I walked through the endless forest. Until the final peak of Chumerna there were not really any milestones to break up the day. I stopped at a covered picnic table to eat half a bar of chocolate for elevenses, and ate the other half for lunch. There were a few limited views of adjacent forested hills and a group of horses. I took several photos of the tree lined track, magnificent beech trees, rising to the sky, and that was about it.

Beech trees rising into the sky.

The final climb to Chumerna summit was steep and tiring, but the reward was a summit area free of trees from which I could at last admire a view of distant mountain ranges, melting into the mist. The Danube plain was indistinct in the haze to the north. There were a group of abandoned buildings, once a military installation. The main compound had a few barking dogs in it.

View from Chumerna Summit (1536 metres).

Chumerna hut dated from Soviet times with unchanged fittings and would benefit from extra cleaning in places. In contrast to its chunky, old fashioned features, with a few modern grey plastic pipes looking like a DIY addition, it does have WiFi! The man in charge was not expecting me despite Lyuben from Bulguides having booked for me. Consequently dinner was whatever was in the bottom of the pan which was "боб", or in English "beans", served as soup. Still not much alternative, at least none volunteered. I noticed the men's toilet was a squat type but the ladies has a sit down loo. Something to consider in the morning.

Bathroom in Chumerna Hut.

24.6 kilometres walked and over 1300 metres of ascent.