The sacred eye of the Rhodopes - Syutka Peak

Hi there Hive Family,

Today I would like to show you a special hike to the Rhodopes. This mountain is different from the rest and you will see why. It just has different spirit but the feeling is wonderful.

We had a gathering in the center of Rakitovo village from where we will be heading to our starting point. I am eating a very traditional pastry dish. Bulgaria banitsa delight. This is basically put on layers of whisked eggs, natural yogurt, and pieces of feta cheese. The mixture is then baked in an oven. The drink is called Ayran and is a cold beverage made mixing yogurt, salt, and water.

We gathered. A total of 5 people and drove to the outskirts. On our way we saw a very interesting frozen waterfall. It was full of these icicles.

Some of us had snowshoes so they put them on. Then with a fresh gait, we headed to the sacred eye.

The weather was very calm. No wind, temperature was maybe 2 or 3 degrees which is perfect so I decided that it was time for some cold exposure. I switched on my chronometer and removed my winter gear. From now on I am climbing with no clothes.

We passed through a river. Also saw the first sign for peak Syutka. It is 2185 meter high, so not to be underestimated at all. If you are wondering what the green words mean I will translate. "The time we spend climbing the mountain is much more meaningful than the time spent on the peak itself". Written by Stacy Allison. The first American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

We continued our ascend and as we were getting higher and higher, the snow was getting also more abundant. The views became impressive and the trees were so full of snow that I could hardly believe what I was seeing. We also reached a second Syutka peak sign.

This looks surreal. So much snow, the trees actually resemble statues or figures. Some of them are so heavy, they get squashed and brake to one side.
And this is just the beginning.

So much trees. In the distance, one could see Old Mountain. The longest one in Bulgaria.

I am actually trying to summarize my experience. I have tons of pictures and having a really difficult time choosing the best ones. They are all just breathtaking. We just entered the fancy zone. Now the trees are just full of snow, we can hardly see any greens on them. Some of them are even touching the ground with their peaks. I mean this is absurd. So much heavy snow and glued to the trees.

The statues are amazing but check out what we did real-time. The last 3 pictures from this set represent the snow on this spruce tree, its removal from my friend, and its natural state. Can you imagine just how much snow all those spruces are holding. These are Bodybuilder trees 🤣🤣🤣

Next up, I present to you the beast mesh. Those are pictures from inside the trees' skirts. No its not a woman, but gosh... is this an amazing place.

The craze just before the summit itself. The snow becomes just too much.

These are the summit surroundings. We took a brake in this wooden shelter, ate and relaxed for a bit.

Some mad shots of our snowshoes and the peak sign.

The views from the shelter. Pristine nature covered in white. They weather worsened while we were chilling so we had to move on.

On our way down my friend Tony took the binoculars and saw Peak Botev and the whole traverse from Ambaritza. An amazing sight. We want to visit this region next year, when the prognose allows it. Old mountain is great!

We finished our day in a thermal SPA hotel near the city of Velingrad. Replenished all our strengths and recovered our feet from the intense climbing. A perfect ending to our adventure.

As always, thank you so much for checking out my blog :)

Stay happy, be peaceful!

Namaste

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