Hija Paskal..and Hillary Clinton

These winter hikes will always be one of my favorite memories in Bulgaria..and Hija Paskal and Mt. Paskal more than lived up to my expectations of a snow-filled winter adventure! We head up there every year for the hut-keepers birthday celebration. Last year I was christened with my hiking name Kositsa (it’s a small mountain that intersects a lot of larger mountains, including Paskal). To christen me, they removed my shoes and dipped my feet in a tub of water :) Like the picture below..

And, as you may know from previous posts, when it is a person’s birthday, they have to ‘chirpia’ (to treat)..but before we get to that..

The hike was 3-3.5 hours up to the hut from the village Pirdop..with lots of snow, and creeks to cross that were iced over, and an overall sunny day. We were all expecting freezing temperatures and wind, so we were a little overdressed, and even removing many layers of clothing throughout the hike, between the snow and sweat, my clothes were drenched..so we did a quick clothing change and snack at the hija before 12 of us headed back out for the summit. Now..I don’t know how correct this is, but Bulgarians tell me this is one of the windiest mountains in Bulgaria..and when I’m at the top of this mountain, oh yeah..that’s exactly what it feels like.

Only 3 of us made it to the summit..as we had to stay together in tight groups because the fog was so thick..there are many markers, but with the fog..it was still difficult to see each..Now Stancho’s got white frost patches covering his exposed face..and Rosi has a few bangs uncovered, they’re completely white and frozen. We have to stand in one place and wait to get a small break from the wind buffeting us around to take a few steps forward, as we walk along the top of the mountain. Finally, as Stancho calls it, and we head back the wind catches him a bit, crashing into us. I could seriously see Rosi walking sideways with her poles planted in the snow. I remember one part on the way up where the snow was so deep, and not quite hard enough that I took a step on what I thought was hardened snow..and the next thing I know, I’m up to my waist in it..it became a little disconcerting when I couldn’t seem to pull myself back onto solid ground..and I look back and see the 3 behind me in the same predicament..then I remembered my friend Daisy telling me about hikers earlier in the day getting caught in the wind at the summit – the wind had been so strong they had to go down the mountain on their hands and knees. So, I started crawling until I reached firmer ground. (This is also where I lost my sunglasses – amazingly saved when another hiker found them later on). But..running/skiing down a mountain with lots of snow..that’s the most fun!

Last year, the ground was frozen solid, and there had been patches that were like ice..this year, the snow was fluffy..I don’t know which was harder..because the ice was especially scary when going down the mountain with the wind blowing so hard..or the fluffy snow that was so difficult to get through on the way up, quickly sapping away my energy. I gotta say – they’re both adrenaline inducing..

The hike gave such a rush, I didn’t even nap afterwards before starting in on the evening festivities of chatting, dancing, and celebrating birthdays. If you click through my newest pictures here, you’ll see a few pics..and the video below is from a fellow hiker Atanas Atanasov. By the time I stumbled to bed at 2 in the morning I slept sooo soundly, even though in the hija we are in rooms with about 10 people and half of them were still celebrating downstairs.


Oh..and about Hillary Clinton. Apparently, she was visiting Bulgaria from February 2nd to 5th after a visit to Germany. The American Embassy was kind enough to invite Peace Corps volunteers to a 15 minute Meet’n’Greet with her. And..lucky me..I was able to catch a ride from my hike to the embassy and attend! Below is a snippet of the speech she gave before coming around to shake our hands!

From Paskal_2012