Vihren

~ Veselin

The peak in the back is Vihren.

Last year, I set a personal goal to go back to it. I think good personal goals should be difficult, and back in 2024, this felt like a tough one.

Zoom in to see people going uphill. The whole path is consistently steep, consistently slippery, and feels long. The final limestone hill is about 1/5 of the whole hike, and probably the easiest part.

We did it.

I think it’s better for younger and lighter folks. It didn’t strike me as a difficult peak when I was in my 20s but felt like Everest this time. We crawled so slowly that the Apple Watch kept suggesting to end the hiking session, and wasn’t able to count the steps. First 1 hour was 1000 steps, according to it. We didn’t enjoy any part of it, it was hard all the way, and remained painful after we were back.

In any case, the main walking goal for 2025 is achieved. I’ll try finding some longer but less steep hikes that require patience and endurance rather than good knees for the next goal. An alternative would be to set a goal for the whole family because adding the kids to the equation makes everything far more challenging. One of the kids seems to be interested in hiking. A potential route could be Malyovitza, another peak I mentioned here as a place I’m unlikely to visit again. It’s less steep, the main path is longer, and goes by lakes that can make good blog posts 🙂

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13 thoughts on “Vihren”

  3. Bansko is great, we went there last year for the jazz festival, and we liked it so much that we went there for a second time at the end of the month

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      1. There are a few off the beaten track that are really great and very affordable. At least that was the case last year, this year things might be different, inflation is brutal

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      2. Can you share one? I know several great but very expensive restaurants. The only one that’s okay price-wise and won’t give you stomach issues is Eagle’s nest.

        And I noticed that even some $$$$ places are quite bad lately.

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  4. Thanks for making me feel older! (LOL) You look about 40. I’m 70 and a recent *paved* path in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, USA, felt like torture six weeks ago. Of course, we’re around 70.

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    1. Hiking at 70 is great, torture or not 🙂 The more you do it, the less torturous it should feel. I knew old folks from my grandparents’ circle who kept mountaineering in their 80s and 90s.

      6 years ago, after decades of computers and sedentary lifestyle, I was in such a terrible shape that I struggled with stairs. Stopped visiting our co-working space because I couldn’t imagine going up 4 floors. Climbing Vihren is a big achievement for me, it means a lot as I managed to undo at least some of the damage I did to myself.

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      1. A similar issue here with the sedentary life, made worse that mostly I prefer it to exercise. I enjoy outdoors but not as much as so many indoor activities. Good for you.

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