The plan was twenty kilometres. By the end, Christian and I had walked almost thirty. That seems to happen to my plans fairly often.
We crossed Ambarica, also called Levski, at 2,166 metres; Malka Ambarica at 2,145; Bezimenen at 2,017; and Maluk Kupen at 2,100. Four peaks, a long day and almost nobody else around.
What I loved most was how often the landscape changed. We walked through deep forest with small waterfalls, then out onto open hills and toward peaks that still held snow. There were pine woods too, and a stretch affected by an old forest fire that felt especially quiet.
We had other company along the way: cows, a goat, wild horses and some beautiful birds. For a day with so few people, there was plenty of life around us.
It was not my longest hike, but it was one of the most varied. I came home with more than four summit names to remember. The woods, waterfalls, animals and changing ground were just as much a part of it.
