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Bus to Sofia. Stupidly changed Macedonian money at bus station at bad rate: waste of $9. Changed euros at better rate at Mall of Sofia. Also bought A1 SIM card there (15 BGN, includes 15GB data for 30 days, each 10 BGN refill adds 5GB data for 30 days). BGN 84 at Hotel California in Lozenets area. $1 = 1.81 BGN.
Pullup bars in parks just north and just south of Mall of Sofia on Blvd General Skobolev, and in park behind church at Blvd Cherni Vrah and Zlaten Rog. Passed all these locations on walk from bus station to hotel.
Left hotel at 7:30. Skipped morning exercises other than pullups in park behind church. Walked to Vitosha metro stop. Bus 66 to Hotel Moreni. Drank 1L with breakfast and 3L with lunch at spring (running slow, about 1/2 liter/minute), carried 4.3L from spring. Camped same place as last year. Home again in the forest. Beautiful weather.
Mild headache in evening and difficulty taking asleep. Might have caught Covid again on bus trips (Skopje-Sofia, Sofia bus 66). Headache gone in morning, so recovered from illness during sleep, or maybe wasn't illness but rather change from idleness to hiking plus elevation change.
Spring along road running 1L/minute. Drank 1.7L with breakfast, another liter at spring, carrying 4.3L from spring. Camped same place as last year. Beautiful weather continues.
Walked into Samokov following Sultan's Trail route: tiresome road walk. 100 BGN through booking.com for 2 nights at Hotel Niko. Stayed here several years ago.
Mild soreness in morning. Pullup bars next to sports school Nikola Velchev, near river south of town center.
Bought: canned fish, yogurt and fruit to eat in town, 3 * 830g bread, 2 * 200g cheese, 6 * 200g peanuts, 6 * 85g dark chocolate. Buy lunch at Ribni Ezero and Semkovo huts, possibly buy breakfast at Makedonia hut. 6 days total to Razlog. Eat breakfast in town, only need limited food for last day, so carrying 3 days bread, 2 days cheese.
11:15 bus to Govedartsi for 2.4 BGN. Camped at usual spot in forest near Mechit Spring, which is running strong. Fountain at hut was running slow, perhaps because unusually hot and dry summer.
Headache yesterday evening and during night, gone in morning. Dark sky and thunder overhead in early afternoon but clear again by time I reached peak. About 1200m ascent, so most difficult day of Rila/Pirin tour. Camped at usual spot in valley before Ribni Ezero hut. Rain started as I arrived at camp, so gear got slightly wet. Rain stopped a few hours later.
3 meatballs, shopska salad, 10 slices bread at Ribni Ezero. Thunder and lightning in Pirin mountains to south. Camped at usual spot on way to Semkovo hut.
3 kebabs, tomato salad, lentil soup, 8 slices bread at Semkovo hut. Camped at usual spot before Makedonia hut.
Omelet and 5 slices bread at Makedonia hut. Could have managed without hut food, since cheese and plenty of bread, peanuts and chocolate left. Camped at usual spot.
Drizzling all day. Skipped morning exercises, but did pullups in Razlog park at Gotze Delchev and Alexander Stamboliski streets. 100 BGN for 2 nights at Hotel Nadezhda, same place as last year, which is no longer on booking.com for some reason.
Replaced small water bottle,which was year old. Unable to find flip-cap bottles but flip-cap from last year still in good condition and 3 spares in toiletries bag.
Bought flights to/from USA ($851 British Airways + $210 Southwest, $1061 total). Leave Sofia evening of Friday Nov 1, spend night in London Heathrow, arrive in San Francisco Saturday Nov 2. Flight from Oakland to Reno is evening of Sunday Nov 3 rather than morning like last year, so made booking.com hotel reservation ($102) for Saturday night, with option to cancel until Nov 1. Return flight leaves Reno early morning Feb 27, leaves San Francisco in afternoon, arrives in Madrid evening of Friday Feb 28. Bus to Granada (still need to buy that ticket) should arrive early Saturday March 1.
Left town with 1000g peanuts, 6*85g dark chocolate, 1200g bread, 150g cheese (in case some huts closed). 25 BGN for room without bath at Yavorov hut.
Big breakfast: omelet, 2 meatballs, 12 slices bread. Light rain in morning, stopped before I set out, resumed while hiking, stopped again in afternoon. Following same route as last year: south to summit where trails separate, yellow route to Blazhina Reka valley. Before reaching bottom of valley, picked up water from spring marked on map. Spring trampled by cattle/sheep but water seemed clean enough. 600m along abandoned and very overgrown dark red route to campsite at saddle that I used last year.
Light rain in morning, stopped about 9am. Better spring than yesterday, and also marked map, near little hut and yesterday's river crossing. Trail good to next junction (blue versus yellow on map). Yellow trail/road along river also good. Good campsite about 1km before bridge: use next year and save at least hour hiking. Rained on way to Sinanitsa hut. Clothes all wet: maybe poncho leaking, maybe condensation. Shopska salad, 3 meatballs, 6 bread at hut. Light rain on way to Spano Pole. Able to get good internet connection while walking on road after Spano Pole. Tripped and fell while descending and hit face on rock. Lucky not to knock out several teeth or break some bones. Tripping was result of hurrying, which in turn was result of yesterday's campsite being too far away. Tarp erected by 19:15 and still plenty of light, so no need to hurry and risk tripping.
Felt cold during night, though temperature well above freezing: maybe not yet acclimated to cold, maybe not enough food. Ate some peanuts and felt better. Sky clear in morning. Big meal at Begovitsa hut: salad, chicken soup, omelet, 2 meatballs, 10 slices bread. Hut dining room has wifi and electric outlet. Camped at usual spot on way to Pirin hut. Drizzle began on way to hut, turned into light rain just after tarp erected. Rain makes hiking more difficult but better too much than too little rain, which has been the situation all over southern Europe so far this year.
Headache in middle of night, continued until morning, also felt tired. Stayed under quilt several extra hours to recover. Felt recovered after morning exercises. Rain stopped and temperature cool and dry all day. Cold front finally rolled in from north and ended summer 2024 heat wave. Both Tri Reki and Pirin huts closed at noon when I arrived (Monday is rest day for many hut wardens, plus most hikers arrive in evening) so ate cheese and bread in backpack. Should have brought 250g instead of 150g cheese. Camped at usual spot in forest, 1km northeast of Pirin hut, just off E4.
Lunch at Tevno Ezero hut: lentil soup, shopska salad, omelet, 6 bread. Able to get mobile connection from hill southwest of hut. Camped at usual spot on way to Demyanitsa hut.
Drizzling all day. Poncho seems to be wetting through fabric, same problem as with silnylon. Maybe use goretex or maybe new poncho each year. Walked to Bansko (pullups in city park and Ploshtad Oborishte) then Razlog. 100 BGN for 2 nights at Hotel Nadezhda.
Upon packing up in morning, noticed hiking stick missing: left in hotel office Thursday while checking in. Luckily, still there. Always use wrist strap to hold stick if necessary to free hands, versus setting stick aside, unless removing backpack and putting stick under pack. Walked to usual campsite near Dobursko hut. Besides today's food, carrying 2*600g bread, 2*140g cheese, 900g peanuts, 5*85g dark chocolate. If huts open, won't need so much food, but want to be prepared in case huts closed.
Lunch at Makedonia hut: 3 meatballs, soup, salad, 10 smallish slices of bread. Camped at usual spot on way to Semkovo hut.
Felt cold all last night, even though temperatures above freezing. Maybe not eating enough. Lunch at Semkovo hut: omelet, soup, salad, 8 large slices of bread. Camped in field on way to Yakoruda, following Sultan's Trail henceforth.
Tarp soaked with dew in morning. Better campsite a few km further on. Piped spring along GPX just before Yakoruda. First 3km of GPX between Yakoruda and Cherna Mesta overgrown, including with thorns: stay on highway. Camped again in low lying field, so likely dew on tarp again tomorrow morning, plus dog nearby. Had to stop because getting late in day and unsure as to camping possibilities further on. Delay getting started this morning because of dew and cold, then too many rest breaks, then overgrown trail after Yakoruda added more delay. Piped spring next to campsite, so no need to haul water from Yakoruda.
Bought yogurt and fruit at store in Yundola. No water at fountain outside forestry school, so returned to store and bought 1.5L. No water at piped spring next to shelter at 1500m either. Camped at usual spot at 1600m.
Walked down to Velingrad. 144 BGN through booking.com for 2 nights at Къща за гости Шошови, same place as last year and year before. Same horrible pillows as last year and year before.
Camped at usual spot after Rakitovo. Skin cut in belly button, not sure how this happened.
Noticed tick on bugbivy netting in morning: crushed between rocks. Water running at chapel on highway, park just outside Batak, Teheran hut. Bought bread, cheese, fruit in Batak. Camped at usual spot at 1500m altitude, with very weak mobile connection.
Tore pants leg scrambling through brush and over blowdowns near Teheran hut, where fabric weakened by fall in Spain on 15 Apr. Sewed up tear immediately upon arriving at road. Pants were okay looking for tango dancing even after fall in Spain, but not now, as repair is functional but very crude looking. Incident highlights need to accumulate gear in storage locker somewhere in Europe, so only need spares for single hiking trip, and can replace damaged gear in summer or winter.
Rained in mid afternoon, then drizzle off and on continuing into evening. Camped at same spot as last year, which has good mobile connection.
92 BGN through booking.com for 2 nights at Къща за гости МЕЛИСА, same place as last year.
Store I shopped at in previous years closed, but other store better supplied now, including mackerel, kashkaval cheese in 200g packages, good peanuts. Poor selection of dark chocolate, however carried 8 bars from Velingrad, so not a problem.
Beautiful cool dry sunny weather. Picked up 2L at faucet before Trigrad. Camped at usual spot.
Picked up 3L near Mugla. Camped at 1900m elevation. Area mostly sloping and unsuitable for camping but found small clearing with flat spot about 30m from road.
Beautiful weather continues. Picked up 3L from piped spring along road, not far before usual camp spot.
120 BGN through booking.com for 3 nights at Hotel Katerina in Smolyan. Rained in evening.
Started day with 2200g bread, 4*200g cheese, 7*85g chocolate, 1000g peanuts, can of mackerel, 2 sweet peppers. Ate peppers, mackerel, peppers, some bread and 1 chocolate in town, ate more bread and 1 cheese during rest break. Drank 4L. Carried 3L from piped spring along road for use tomorrow. Camped at usual spot in forest.
Fountain dry after Хижа Момчил Юняк so took road to Хайдушки Поляни, because maps showed more fountains along road than GR8 route. Picked up 3L from first such fountain. Detour unnecessary because plenty of piped springs with water running after rejoining GR8. Light drizzle in afternoon. Camped further along GR8 than last year.
Felt drained of energy in morning due to not eating enough yesterday. Several piped springs running. Picked up 3L at one of them. Startled herd of wild pigs, they ran uphill into forest upon hearing me. Camped further along GR8 than last year.
Beautiful fall weather continues, mild temperature, cloudy, small amount of drizzle Wednesday but otherwise dry. Picked up 2L at fountain where GR8 joins paved road, another 1.5L from outside tap (next to chained dogs) at хижа сини връх. Camped about 1.5km after hut.
No water at fountain after Жьлт Камьк, so bought 3L at store in Panichkovo, along with food for today and tomorrow.Pullups using soccer goal across from store. Water in fountain shortly after Panichkovo. No water in fountain below Yonchovo. My GR8 GPX is wrong after Yonchovo but GR8 recently and very well waymarked for this section. Camped same spot as last year.
97 BGN through booking.com for 2 nights at Hotel National in Mineralni Bani. Pullups using gate at basketball court next to police station. Bought 5*85g bars 85% cacoa Roshen chocolate and 1300g quality roasted peanuts at store, which is enough to get to Plovdiv.
Started day with 4.5L water, 1600g bread, 2*200g cheese, 1000g peanuts, 6*85g chocolate, plus sardines, yogurt and fruit for today. Added 3L at piped spring near campsite (same as last year), so 4.5L for tomorrow.
Followed shortcut marked in yellow on bgmountains.org map, which runs close beside dry stream and which was clear dirt road for about 500m, then 1000m overgrown road (though not too difficult to get through because fairly open forest), then 500m more clear dirt road. Shortcut rejoins GPX at piped spring. Added 2.5L at this spring, so 4L for remainder of today and tomorrow. Stayed on roads shown on bgmountains.org map after spring, so somewhat north of GPX, and thereby managed to avoid most of bushwhacking of last year. Camped same spot as last year.
Bought bread, cheese, fruit, 5L water in Iskra at small store along GPX. Larger store and various cafes just east of second bridge, 200m south of where GPX crosses first bridge. Took shortcut road, shown on map, to same campsite as last year. Made booking.com reservation for Saturday.
Rash on right side of groin, maybe from pants rubbing, though not clear why no such rashes from pants rubbing previously.
Deviated again to south of GPX, passing excellent possible campsites in oak forests. Deviation probably better than GPX if roads muddy. Bought food and water in Cherven. Camped 800m from town, same spot as last year. Good campsite but too close to town and could be visited in early morning by dog walkers or bicyclists, so need to find better spot further on.
Pullup bar along GPX, west end of Asenovgrad water reservoir, another bar in riverside park. 54 BGN through booking.com at Central Guest Rooms in Asenovgrad.
Slept poorly,maybe because of neighbor talking loudly on phone until after midnight, maybe chemicals in bed. Woke up with headache. Beautiful weather but tedious road walking much of day. 55 BGN through booking.com at Best Rest Guest Rooms in Plovdiv.
Pullup bar in Lostovete park. In Stamboliyski, no vacancy at either Corner Hotel or Trakia Hotel, so backtracked and camped in brush just across from town cemetery. Made booking.com reservation for tomorrow.
Pullups using children's play equipment in town center park. True pullup bar in town center park of Trivoditsi. 150 BGN for 2 nights at Hotel Primavera 2 in Pazardzhik.
Pullup bars in schoolyard at Plovdivska and Doryran streets, sports complex at Dr Nikola Lamvrev and Milyo Voyvoda, children's playground on blvd Stefan Stambolev just east of Tsar Osvoboditel.
Nagging foot problem (Morton's neuroma symptoms) for past several days, so decided to stop hiking immediately versus continuing another week. Bought train ticket and made hotel reservations for tomorrow.
Sultan's Trail from Asenovgrad to Pazardzhik not very scenic, other than maybe for aficionados of garbage dumps, as trail often resembles walking through one: passing between heaps of bags and bottles and other plastic trash, old mattresses and sofas, construction rubble, etc. Perhaps use train to skip this section in future. Need to finish investigating trail to Sofia.
10 BGN train to Sofia. 407 BGN through booking.com for 7 nights at Easy Hotel in Sofia.
No vacancy at Easy Hotel, so had to move. 78 BGN through booking.com at Hotel California.
Flight to London on British Airways. Baggage retrieved in London. Slept several hours on scrap of carpet.
Flight to San Francisco. BART to Oakland. Walked to La Quinta Coliseum Motel, $102 through booking.com. Would have been $16 cheaper without cancel option, but I was unsure of plans several weeks ago when I made reservation. Hotel room stinks of chemicals. Should have planned to fly to Reno this evening rather than tomorrow. Kayak shows winter roundtrips SFO-RNO-SFO on United for $299, which is less than $210 on Southwest plus $36 BART roundtrip between SFO and OAK airports, $102 for motel. I got confused trying to duplicate last year's itinerary, which had morning flight on Sunday, which worked very well.
Room very quiet and stink dissipated through open window, so slept well. Evening flight to Reno on Southwest Airlines. Checked into familiar Motel6 in Sparks. Rates about $511/week ($73/night) versus about $398/week ($57/night) in February.
62 nights in Bulgaria (33 nights camping, 29 nights in hotels/huts). 1606 BGN total hotel expenses ($887), or average of about 55 BGN/night ($31/night).
Because no bicycle tour this year, last trip of year. Total of 90 nights camping this year.
Trip felt rushed due to need to return to Reno in early November to deal with postal service issue. In future, stay 3 rather than 2 nights at most town stops and continue hiking into November. Some nice trails in mountains south of Asenovgrad and Plovdiv.
Looking forwards to end of Ukraine-Russia war, to allow spending winters in Kyiv and reduce travel between Europe and USA to once every few years versus annually. Trips to USA can be mid November through mid December, which typically has fewer snowstorms that might impact air travel than January/February. Eventually elimination of physical debit/credit cards eliminates most common reason to either visit USA or arrange mail forwarding. Passport can be renewed at embassy every 9 years. Only remaining need to visit USA is driver's license vision exam every 4 years. Possibly replace driver's license with state identification card.