Hiking in the Balkans – Day 2
Day 2 of our adventure hiking through the Balkans dawned somewhat damp. It had been raining overnight and had gotten a little heavier as the morning dawned. We were at around 1850 m of elevation in Montenegro camping on a lovely meadow with views out over the mountains – not that you would know it as we could barely see across the campsite through the mist and murk. I’d managed to sleep a little on and off, as presumably had Morgan who I’d been able to hear snoring and at times mumbling in his sleep from his tent next to mine!
As expected, I was up before Morgan so had coffee and wandered around camp a little. Once out of the tent the rain wasn’t that bad, but it was clear that we were probably going to have to pack up in the rain. I taped up my Achilles as it had been hurting for a couple of weeks before heading off on this adventure and I had been worried that it would cause problems. It had hurt yesterday on the climb so I’d iced it under the water of the spring and had now taped it up to help support. Whilst doing so I also realised that my back was quite sore too. I’m falling apart whilst the youthful Morgan was taking it all in his stride! He also kept telling me not to worry about it and that it would be OK.
I sat in my tent, reading a book letting Morgan sleep in. There was no need to leave early and maybe the rain would stop?
Once Morgan was up and about, we had a nice porridge breakfast with mixed nuts thrown in and then decided we may as well get on our way. It was still raining so this involved removing the inners of the tents so we could put them away relatively dry and then packing up the outers and stuffing them into the mesh pockets on the front of our rucksacks where they could try to dry out. I showed Morgan how to do this, we topped up our water bottles from the stream and double-checked our site to make sure we’d left nothing behind. I sent Anna a quick check-in from my satellite messenger and we set off. The thick cloud and somewhat sheltered location of our campsite with a big wall of rock behind us meant that it took a while to lock-on to satellites and send the message but it went in the end and I think Anna liked getting them so that she knew all was OK. It was reassuring knowing that we had an emergency SOS button with us as well.
Maja e Borit
The first task for the day was a steep climb out of the meadow and up the ridge to the summit of Maja e Borit (2074 m). We were soon warming up under our waterproofs as the gradient increased so stopped regularly. It was a steady climb and we soon had views through the clouds to our recently vacated camp site below.
The path was lined with blueberry bushes, pine trees and alpine succulents. We were out of the wind but there was no real sign of the weather clearing up and views in all directions were obscured by cloud. We headed in a general south westerly direction from Maja e Borit along an easy undulating track across a broad ridge. There were plenty of places to camp up here but no obvious water sources. Occasionally, we caught glimpses through the clouds of what looked like impressive mountains just to our west. On a clear day I think there would have been an amazing vista laid out before us. We were in the Prokletije National Park, renowned for its high limestone peaks of bare rock, towering pinnacles and inaccessible mountain tops. Zla Kolata, the highest peak in Montenegro was towering above us but we couldn’t see it today. What little we did see looked as though it would have been stunning.
After a while we reached the next summit and our highest point for the day, Bora Peak at 2106 m. Here we started heading SE along another ridge top and then down between two small lakes. We stopped for a while in the shelter of some rocks to watch shepherds herding a long flock of sheep across the hillside below. There was a bit of a cooling breeze on the ridge tops and still lots of cloud, mist and murk.
We soon started descending and once again entered into sparsely forested slopes as we headed towards the Borit Pass. Here we paused again to let another flock of sheep pass and were checked out by the shepherd dogs. Other than the shepherds we had only seen one or two hikers in the distance, they were on the way up from Vusanje which is where the official trail goes from here. We however, were leaving the trail for a short while and heading up to the Borit Pass (1850 m) where a marker post informed us that we were passing from Montenegro into Albania. You need border permits to pass from country to country and we had these in our bags, but there is very little chance of anyone actually asking to see them.
We also rejoined one version of the official Peaks of the Balkans Trail here. We were missing out the southern section of the Peaks of the Balkans route which heads to Vusanje, Theth and Valbone. From Valbone to Çerem the standard route goes along the road in the valley far below, but an alternative route heads up to this pass where we were now. The familiar red and white markers were once again seen painted on rocks along the trail. To be honest, these markers whilst nice to see, don’t really mean much. They are either a white background with a red stripe or a red background with a white stripe, and in some places, they will be concentric red and white circles (either way around) instead. However, they seem to be any of these variations and all trails seem to be marked with them. So, they show that you are on a trail, but you’re never quite sure which trail!
We crossed the border and started heading down a rocky path where we soon came upon a sign saying ‘Coffee’. I had seen this coffee stop marked on the map but the closer we got to it the more unlikely it seemed. We were high in the mountains, there was no one around, the place was shrouded in mist and murk and the paths were somewhat vague. Surely there couldn’t be a coffee shop just off the trail out here? We followed the sign anyway as a coffee stop would be exciting even if not entirely needed.
A small shack soon emerged out of the mist. The wooden walls were propped up with lengths of timber and supported a rusty corrugated roof. There were benches outside and a pipe from which water was spouting into a wooden trough. Beside the main cabin was a shelter containing a plastic table and chairs and just beyound this an outhouse that looked like it contain a toilet. There was no one around and the door was closed. We weren’t really sure what to do so we knocked on the door and then opened it to take a look. There was no one here but the cabin contained a bed, seating areas, a wood burning stove and stores of pots, pans, blankets and various foods. There was a price list for various items but no one was there.
Cans of coke and beer were being cooled by running water in the ‘sink’. We did think about taking one and leaving some money but what we really wanted was a hot drink. We weren’t about to start cooking so after a bit of exploring we closed the door leaving everything as we’d found it. It had been like stepping back in time or looking at an exhibit in a museum, except this was real and someone was living here so it had felt a little as though we were intruding. We sat under the shelter to eat some lunch. Peperami and wraps were a good combination and went down well along with dates, dried apple and dried mango. As we sat there eating, another sheep herder passed on horseback along the path that could just be seen through the mist. He didn’t seem too concerned with our presence here. I assume we were just unlucky that no one was at home, if they had been I’m sure a hot drink would have been provided.
Towards Çerem and the Vranica Pass
After a short break we hefted our backpacks on once again and continued down the hillside. The paths weren’t that clear here but in the most part they all followed the valley heading down on increasingly steep and muddy slopes. Karstic weathering of rocks could be seen here and there and mist still shrouded the mountains that were towering over us. We entered a flatter meadow at one point where more houses could be seen off to the left and another ‘Coffee’ sign beckoned. We didn’t follow this one but continued down, now into thicker forest, picking our way between the roots and rocks as we continued to descend. There were a few small stream crossings and we spotted a fire salamander at one of them. I’m glad we saw this as they are pretty cool and I knew they were here so wanted to see one.
After a while we came to a junction. The GPS trail that I had on my watch continued down into Çerem and then back out and up onto a track that led eventually to the Vranica Pass. The signs on the ground had the trail heading off to the left which looked as though it would contour around the hillside and cut out some descending and climbing. We decided to follow the markers on the path as they looked like the more direct and obvious route. If it came to nothing, we could always backtrack and follow the GPS trail.
The path now contoured around the hillside through meadows and forest and then emertged at a little farmstead on the outskirts of Çerem where cows grazed under the apple trees in a small orchard and beehives could be seen.
We joined a proper 4-wheel-drive trail here which would be our companion for the rest of the day all the way to the Vranica Pass. This was also where we re-joined the GPS trail on my watch. We stopped for a snack as a couple of vehicles passed with their occupants waving and smiling at us, some were enjoying a can of beer as they drove along! We were soon back on our feet for a steady climb along the trail for several miles. The next thing of significance on the map was a much anticipated ‘Kafe’ and toilets, but when we got there it was another deserted shepherd hut with no one around and therefore no coffee for us. Worse still, the toilets were barricaded up with a large piece of timber and well and truly locked with pieces of metal wire. I think both of us had been hoping to use the toilet here but it had been denied. We did of course have toilet facilities with us (a sturdy lightweight trowel to dig a big hole, toilet paper, bags to carry the used toilet paper out with us and some hand sanitiser) but Morgan in particular wasn’t too keen to have to use these.
There was however a water pipe emerging out of the hillside. It was about 1.5 miles to our intended campsite and as far as I could see there was no water at the campsite and none on the way there either. We were going to have to fill up with 3 litres here and carry it with us. We did so and I strapped the extra 3 kg of weight to my backpack. As soon as we got going though it slipped off. Morgan caught it and decided to strap it to the front of his pack using the karibiners he had there. It looked like a good solution but did mean that Morgan was carrying the extra weight, not me. He didn’t seem to mind though and I have to say that I was impressed with the way he was just taking it all in his stride. It looks as though he has matured quite a bit during his time in Canada. He’s always willing to help out, doesn’t moan about things like a typical teenager would, just puts up with the odd bit of discomfort here and there saying ‘it’ll be fine’ and just gets on with what needs to be done. I guess really at 19 he’s actually probably more capable of carrying the extra weight than I am these days and if anything, he’s not only carrying as much as I am but he seems a little faster too!
Next short stop was a ‘Panoramic Balcony’ viewpoint. I’m sure the views would once again have been spectacular but the mist and murk that had been with us all day was thick in the air and we could see nothing. We continued on up the hill, where mushrooms lined the track and puddles became more frequent.
Soon we double back on our selves and the gradient increased a little, as did the mud and puddles while we climbed towards the Vranica Pass and the border between Albania and Montenegro. This was our intended destination for the night. We were planning to make camp on the border, sleeping in Albania tonight but heading back into Montenegro for a short while the next morning.
Vranica Pass Camp
We arrived at the pass, scouted around for a while and decided on a camp spot. It was a little squeezed in as there wasn’t much flat ground around. We had a tent either side of the track with mine (which has quite a large footprint) overlapping the track somewhat. Packing the inners and outers of the tents separately had worked and the the tents felt fine depsite the rain when we packed them away and no opportunties to dry them during the day. We sent a check-in message via satellite to Anna so that she knew where we were spending the night.
We wandered around, cooked dinner chatted and played cards. We were settling in to a camp routine already. Although, tonights routine also involved breaking out the trowel and making like a bear in the woods. Morgan realised that it wasn’t actually as bad as he had anticipated. Talking of bears, there are bears in the Balkans and there had been a number of sightings recently and a fair few tracks and traces seen too. In general though they are timid and no precautions need to be taken. We hadn’t seen anyone all day but at one point we did hear a couple of people walk past the tent as dusk fell. We think they were probably looking for a campsite as they soon went back the other way and then disappeared. Perhaps they had been hoping to camp where we were.
A little later a 4WD truck also appeared at the pass itslef a short way along they track from us. People jumped out and scouted around with torches for a while. We’re not sure what they were doing but they stayed there for 10 minutes and then headed off again leaving us alone with the night closing in around us. The clouds were clearing and soon a bright moon illuminated our campsite as we settled in for a peaceful night under the stars. Today’s walk had been a little over 10 miles. We’d taken our time, stopped lots and had completed exactly what we wanted to do.
We were on track. Tomorrow was always planned as a shorter day as we’d be heading to Dobërdol where we had a room in a local guesthouse booked. The plan had always been two nights wild-camping, a night in a guest house where toilets and showers could be made use of, followed by 2 nights of wild camping and then another guesthouse. We were looking forward to it already. Morgan’s main hope was that there would be wifi at the guesthouse – it was going to be quite a remote guesthouse in a summer sheep herding community, so I wasn’t sure if there would be.
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Wel done to Morgan
It feels strange when your own children are fitter than you doesn’t it lol
It’s a strange feeling when ANYONE is fitter than me!! But I guess I’d better get used to it!