Recently I discovered a new passion.
Hiking.
So far it was trekking mainly.
My family is into these kinds of sports.
Since well,forever actually.
I think this is genetics...
Bosnia being small and hilly makes it perfect terren for hikers.
So,
when a friend suggested a first climb - it took only 2 sec to think it over,
a day to arrange things at home,
and I was away for the weekend.
Hopefully first of many to come...
Maglic is the highest peak of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Sutjeska national park is very popular among nature lovers.
Here, many mountains summit,
plus - you enter a rarity - prime-evil forest of Perucica.
This was my third hike.
You can see the top here a bit to diagonally to the right, over my head.
And you can clearly see the two most demanding routes here.
The one to my left *that wee took,
and the amazing one on my right (for that one you need ropes and bolts).
There is also another route that you can not see here - the infamous route we took down over the gravel.
Maglic is a very demanding mountain.
Hikers dream of it.
We took the so called Postman's path.
Why Postman's?
Ages ago, apparently post was delivered to Montenegro over this root.
Now this is a hikers path.
And part of it is a smugglers part.
You cross border Bosnia/Montenegro several times.
Rarely you see any border police there...
At the beginning,
the path goes over greenery.
You pick up all kinds of wild berries.
Refreshing and sweet.
Two and half to three hours of constant climbing up,
and it is just a bit over 5 km!
Last hour and half are over the cliffs and rocks.
Constantly.
It feels both great and awful.
People who tried this - know exactly what I mean by this.
Up,up,up.
I forgot to tell you that you take all you need with you.
We did arrange mules to take the tents, but that was it.
My backpack was among the lightest, only 12 kg.
You need a lots of water - and there is no water well on the way up.
This was my backpack.
* I take Stribor, my little solar buddy on these trips.
He gives me light at night, plus he smiles all the time.
Stribor is a mole.
On some parts the route is secured - though this security line is very,very old - so, please do rely on yourself if you ever decide to visit.
And the view is amazing.
After some time I thought I would stay there.
Forever.
Backpack was starting to be quite annoying,
and I was losing strength.
But I never give up.
I do rethink things over,
but I never give up.
Decided that this mountain will not win me over.
I am stronger than that.
Plus, there is no way I could stay here...
Well,
I did climb.
All the way to the top.
View from the top is amazing.
Totally worth it.
The way down goes over the rib of the mountain.
And all the way towards the most beautiful lake.
Lake Trnovo.
Settled at approx 1500 m.
Beautiful, heart shaped lake.
The route down at this point where the photo is taken becomes almost vertical.
And you walk over gravel.
Horrible it is.
You have to be extra careful.
If you have weak knees - be prepared to feel pain.
If you do not have weak knees - be prepared to gain it.
This route down takes a bit over of one and half hour walking.
I think even two.
On the photo bellow,
you can clearly see these white marks.
That is the route we took down...
We have settled by the lake.
Mr. Milos is a man who lives here during the hiking/hunting season.
With him, you can arrange a meal and drinks.
Basics of course.
Things he grows at this small garden *potato, some salad.
And a barbecue *fish, meat (he is also a hunter).
I put out a tent.
With a little help :).
Beautiful it is.
The view,
warm socks and warm blanket.
Tea by the camp fire.
In the morning,
I went exploring.
The lake was warm.
Swimming was a must.
:)
After a refreshing walk,
we agreed to go and pay a visit to the family near by.
A man lives here with his six children, wife and his mother.
At the mountain home called katun.
Katun is a shepard's home.
It is very basic.
No electricity.
But running water from the near by well.
We decided to order a meal there.
Lamb plus some side dishes (very simple of course).
The lamb was made by a special recipe.
First it was cooked then it was covered in sour cream and baked.
Every part of Bosnia treasures its own lamb recipe.
My folks like to bake it with lots of salt.
Lamb usually has this weird smell,
but these mountain one doesn't.
Cicvara, janjetina, pura, kajmak.
Plus a specially baked bread.
This is a little girl who lives here over the summer with her 5 brothers and sisters.
I felt bad not knowing about these folks - could have arranged clothes and a few toys for these angels...
I loved it there.
It amazes me, every time, how you can have interesting conversations with the people who live in Bosnian villages.
Different characters, difficult and simple lives...
Well,
we rested a bit - and it was time to move on.
Home this time.
And home was two hours walk plus 8 hours drive.
...
Luckily, we managed to arrange several horses this time and packed most of the stuff.
We took another route, over Prijevor, to the meeting point.
6 km, not much.
The downside was the rain.
Please take a close attention to this path.
Horses walk this path several times a day.
Sometimes without escort.
And each can be carrying 50 kg of load.
Amazing animals.
So,
I did it folks.
And judging the smiles and 'up fives' of my crew members - turned out I did a very big thing.
'Not many beginners decide to walk over Maglic mountain. You should be proud', both our guides said.
These two accompanied us there.
Bosnian mountaineers know well who these two are.
And I am lucky to have met them.
Plus,
I had a guardian angel there.
At this point here.
Sory G., I have no photo of you...
But you know I appreciate you helping me when I needed it most.
Thanks much.
You are a true guardian angel.
...
Unfortunately, it started to rain heavily.
The guide decided to skip the trip to the primeval forest.
And I was looking forward to seeing this 70m tall waterfall.
Next time I guess.
Jane of the Jungle adventures continue...
....
