The hike of my life

• Lilyc's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Zabljak

Trip Start Aug 25, 2007 Previous
Entry Trip End Mar 25, 2008 Next
Entry

  Zabljak, Serbia and Montenegro
Thursday, October 18, 2007

Woke up and looked around my apartment. For 10 Euros, I had the run of a flat, 12 beds, 4 rooms. 2 bathrooms and one large kitchen. All to myself. I thought I would be dreading coming back to emptiness cause it was such a huge place. But it turned out to be great to have all this space. I could do whatever I want and whenever. It was like renting out the entire cabin for Mammoth. In fact, Zabljak reminded me of Mammoth, hiking haven during the summer and ski mecca during the winters. After a good night's rest, I was ready to take advantage of the one good day in Zabljak. The forecast in the coming days was dismal.

I was now showered in Montenegran generosity and niceness, something I wasn't used to. But as I travel further, I concluded that Montenegrans are probably the most openly nice people in the Western Balkans/Eastern Europe area, esp in this small town. The tourist info was very helpful. He gave me directions to walk around Black Lake (2.5 hrs), other viewpoints (7km OW). Then he added enthusiastically that on "this clearest day of the summer," he would hike the mountains, Savin Kuk, Kulina, Bobotov Kuk (peaks of 2500meters). Hearing it would take at least 4 hours one-way, I was tempted but decided to do easy circuit around the lake. Becuase I am all about S-A-F-E-T-Y (that's for my parents). And 8 hours on the mountain when the weather is inclement tonight does not sound safe. I head out. I was followed by a stray dog who had a gimpy right hind leg and limped alongside me. I think he had an urinary tract infection cause he had to pee every kilometer or so. Well, at least if I got lost, the search dogs can pick up his scent easily. I named him Benji, after another dog I know who's smart but not too cute.

At the bend of the lake, I see this guy strolling down and taking photos. We strike up a conversation and it turns out he was heading to the Ski Center at the base of the mountain. Well, that's better than just a loop around the lake so I joined him. Tony's a restauranteer and an avid expert snowboarder so his vacation goals include scouting out future bar/restaurant locations and the next ski season. We hiked for 2 hours to reach this Ski Center. Maybe there was an operating chairlift. The thought of leisurely sitting and enjoying the beautiful views was very appealing. My hopes of being chairlifted to the top of the mountain were dashed. It has been closed for a few weeks after summer season. After some deliberation, Tony, Benji, and I decided to tackle Kulina, the second highest mountain. It looked benign, sitting there just taunting us. It was only 800meters change in altitude to 2400m high. Can't be all that bad. So we started hiking, up the grass, next to the chairlift, another plateau, repeat, up the loose gravel, slip/sliding, repeat. At some midway point I wanted to tell Tony I was heading back. But I gritted my teeth and thought "this better be a darn good view." Then there were the harrowing paths around the mountain. Each couple meters or so, we would feel the drop in temperature from the chilling winds. On the way up, I kept taking pictures becuase 1) it was truly beautiful and 2) I needed the rest. After 2.5 hours of climbing at 45 degrees incline, we finally reached Kulina peak. It was breathtaking, 360deg panoramic view of all the surrounding peaks and other countries (it was that clear of a day), the little houses below of Zabljak county, and even a small glacier. We didn't dawdle for too long considering the time it took us to climb up. It was already 3pm and the sun sets earlier in the mountains. Looking at his topographical map, there was another path downwards so we don't double back. We searched and searched for the bullseye painted on the rock, which in Eastern Europe means a marked path. We looked down the other side of the mountain, couldn't find any bullseye but it didn't look too steep. We decided to make our own path down the mountain. Through rocks, knolls, loose gravel, and finally a forest. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures since I needed both hands free for balance. Benji even with his bad leg had no problems zooming past and snoozing while we caught up. Ankle sprains every couple switchbacks. I pretty much sidestepped down in zigzag fashion cause it became very steep. It was very difficult to finding footing at each step. The entire time I was thinking of different anatomical structures I could be tearing- ACL, MCL, medial meniscus, ankle complex, heck even Ligament of Bigelow, TBI, SCI... Let's just say all my medical terms came back in a hurry, usually followed by an expletive. Usually hiking down takes half the time as the hike up. By the time we got down (safely I might add), we had been sidestepping an hour longer than the ascent. When we finally climbed down, we saw that the mountain face was at least 70 degrees inclined. It would be 4km of level walking back to Zabljak. We had very little energy reserve. So we used our thumbs and got back in 15 minutes. Cooked beef stew for dinner. It's nice to travel with a restaurant owner/cook.

This was probably the hardest hike I have ever done. Half Dome is second. Total hike time: 7 excruciating but rewarding hours. 

Lesson learned: Don't judge a mountain by its face.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family Pictures

Black Lake in Crno Gora	my four-legged friend at midway up	Durmitor National Park's Hotel Zabljak on day 1	what a cute little house!
the only houses on our walk	at the bottom of what looks like a small hill	follow the bullseye	half way up
the long awaited view from the top	I made it to the top!	stacking stones at the top	the downward path

Slideshow Print this entry Share Zabljak hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry