Hello there Hive Family,
I did something quite unusual (even for me) this time. I bought my crampons more than 3 months ago but never actually used them. I always went to places that did not require heavy alpine equipment but as March approached I was wondering, why the heck did I buy them if I am not going to use them. So without a second thought and after checking in with the weather forecast, I decided that the 3rd of March will be the debut. 3rd of March is actually a national holiday - Bulgaria Liberation Day. It is a day where all Bulgarians go to national monuments to commemorate our fallen heroes who gave their lives so that we can call ourselves Bulgarians instead of Turkish. We are great people who just happen to be in the center of the Balkans and everybody wants a piece of us. And everybody actually got one. We were at least twice the size of our current territory. Anyway, this post is more about hiking and less about history 😃
What I wanted to say is that most Bulgarians were very excited for this day because we get to do a lot of tourism and proudly wave the Bulgarian tricolor flag. This is why I chose peak Botev. This peak is actually the hardest and most technical one during winter in whole Bulgaria. Located in old mountain and standing at 2376 meters high, it is not to be underestimated. Every year, there are several people who fall victims to the raw conditions of the mountain because they underestimate the climate and go unprepared without proper gear. Peak Botev is named after Hristo Botev. He was a revolutionary and poet during the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria. Because of his feats of pure insaneness and unreserved love for our country, he will be remembered forever. He actually died fighting the Ottomans in an attempt to spike multiple revolts in North-Western Bulgaria. Outnumbered and without any help, he did not hesitate to sacrifice his own life for the life of the whole nation. And his deed did not go unseen by the Western World. As he had a lot of connections with wealthy people in Western Europe, he actually sent telegrams before his demise to a lot of Western newspaper agencies explaining what he is going to do and the current situation in Bulgaria. These telegrams became viral afterwards and helped spike multiple uprisings in Bulgaria, ultimately leading to Russia declaring war to Turkey and liberating us for their oppression.
As my journey to peak Botev was an intense one, one post will not be covering it indepth and it really deserves at least 2 parts. This is why I will dedicate time to share everything without skipping any interesting moments.
The plan was to reach the village of Apriltsi after work, so traveling afterdark by car. It is around 3 hours drive from Sofia. There we leave the car and head for hut Pleven where we will sleep and then hike during the day to the peak, catch the sunset, and then go back to hut Pleven, the car, and home in pitch dark. Sounds crazy? Yes it was! 😃
So we left the car on a Parking after the village of Apriltsi and headed to hut Pleven. It was already 23 o'clock. We had to climb for about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
That was the initial sign for hut Pleven and Botev Peak. As you can see, I was well prepared with ice-pick, flashlight and winter clothing. As it was night, I do not have a lot of good images during this time.
After close encounter with a owl 🦉 and his creepy flashing eyes, we made it safely to the hut.
This is how the hut looks from the outside. I will share more images from the inside during daytime.
This is the dining hall. Amazing place with amazing views.
If you take a closer look upstairs you will see a guy lifting a kettlebell. He was exercising meanwhile doing the laundry.
There were quite a few posters, but this one I liked best. Because of the alpine character.
View from the balcony. Not bad at all.
Zooming in a little we can see peak Botev's radio tower. This is where we are headed.
Let's go outside to check out the view.
Clear sky. Perfect weather conditions.
That's us. Only the 2 of us, because this journey is technical and very dangerous to be completed by a lot of people.
Some of the places ahead. We are headed towards Botev Shelter.
Well prepared with crampons and ice-picks on the back of the backpack.
The beauty of the forest.
View from the ridge after the forest.
My friend taking a lunch break before the most technical part of our journey.
And me with peak Botev in the background.
This is the beginning of the so called Milky Ridge. Very steep terrain that can only be overcomed with good equipment.
Action time.
View of the Milky Ridge. Almost half-way through.
A couple of nice shots before the end of the Milky Ridge.
We made it through and now we are in the middle of our journey. Next up Shelter and Peak Botev which we are going to intentionally reach for the sunset.
Part 2 of Peak Botev Experience will include amazing sunset photos and our way back to Hut Pleven and Home in pitch black.
Thank you for viewing and I will see you soon 🤗
Stay happy, be peaceful!
Namaste
 |  |  |
If you decide to support the Bulgarian community growth you can do it by delegating some HP that will be used only for that!
| HP10 | HP25 | HP50 |
|---|---|---|
| HP100 | HP250 | HP500 |
| HP1000 | HP2500 | HP5000 |
