I had chosen a few hikes again while in Bulgaria. The first hike took me to the Pirin National Park. But I could also have imagined Mt Orelyak while having an espresso at Popov Meadows. BTW Pirin is a little village on the 198 road.
Via Bansko I went up to my pitch at Banderitsa Camping. Camping is an overstatement. It is a mountain hut with a restaurant and you can stand there for free. Food is good and cheap, there is a standing toilet and nothing else really.
But it is a good starting point to see the Baikushev's pine tree, which is 1300 years old and Mt Vihren with 2'914 m high and many other tours
I had decided to tackle the lakes that are up to 2'400 m high. The most famous one is Lake Okoto.
But things turned out differently than expected. Although my pitch was at 1,800 m and it was sunny and pleasantly warm. However the northern slopes were still covered with snow. The start of my hike up to the Vihren Chalet brought me thru a forest in spring, but after that I had to hike snow-covered slopes.
At 10:00 in the morning the surface was still frozen and so I made good progress. Around noon it got soggy and I started to become a serious challenge and often sank in. The whole leg!
Lake Okoto was frozen, so I almost missed it. The 2 other lakes were also partly frozen and hence I decided to adjust my tour and go back over the southern slope.
Let's see if I have more success at Belmeken Hut in Rila National Park.