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Friday, May 28, 2021

First day out hiking in the Albanian Alps

Well, I had said yesterday that we didn't want to jump right into a big hike because we hadn't done one for a while.

And what did we do? We ended up doing 13 kms (8 miles)! But, it was only an elevation gain of about 360 meters (1,200') so it wasn't really that strenuous. Of course we have lots of pictures to show you!

The first thing we wanted to see was a rock overhang located above where our apartment is. There is a path leading up there, and the path continues up into the mountains. But we will do that continuation another day. Remember, we were trying to keep it light!

Scenery at Boga, Albania.

More scenery.

Ruth, enjoying the view.

Boga, Albania. 
Home for the next week.

Ruth, climbing up for a better view.

Walking on top of the rock ledge.

Little blue flowers.

Ruth, at the rock overhang,
She looks like she's in the spotlight!

Me!

And another view.

Ruth.

From there, we just decided to walk along the paved road. It was a steady but not steep incline, so we would get some exercise without it being too strenuous. Then, we would just turn around and come back down when we felt like it.

At least that was the plan.





This new building looks like it will be a cafe of some kind.

Scenery along the way.

Still lots of snow up there.

Looking back at where we came from.

Ruth, admiring the view from the road.

But then we came to this sign.
A well, and a cave.

And so, we started following the path that led up into the mountains. You would think that with a nice big sign on the road, there would be an easy to follow well marked path to the cave. 

But you would be mistaken.

Ruth, and the scenery.

Me, and the scenery.

What a beautiful spot.



Snow!

So we continued following this trail that switchbacked its way up the mountain. It didn't show on any of my mapping apps, and either did the cave that was marked on the sign.

Looking down on our road.


Taking a break.

Scenery along the way.

Zoomed in on the other side of the valley.

This little fellow posed for us.

Lots of snow up there still!

We never did find the cave. We went as far as the trail did, and we even found another trail that was marked... until it wasn't. It just seemed to end.

But, we still had a great day, and we feel fine this morning so I guess we didn't overdo it. Good thing, because there is more exploring to be done today!

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9 comments:

  1. Lovely hike and views! Too bad about the cave. It does seem like they would have a more obvious trail, with the sign there, I agree.

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    Replies
    1. It was a great hike and yes, the views were beautiful to say the least. When we came back from our hike I tried googling the cave and didn't really come up with anything. I did find it's position providing it was correct and it was past the tree line and at the moment would have had a pile of snow in front of it so I don't think we would have found it anyways. Couldn't see any pictures of it online though so I doubt many people make it up there.

      You would think that it would have been better marked as well but it isn't. Maybe as tourism grows then perhaps the trails will get marked better. Also maybe if you had a guide with you who knew the area but we prefer to hike on our own.

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  2. What views you saw! Lovely areas! You hit the some beautiful areas! Well done, Rawn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is an fantastic area and the views all around are stunning. This is the kind of scenery that we love, we definitely hit the jackpot here. :-)

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    2. I believe you are in beautiful areas!

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  3. I’m amazed at how the tree line and vegetation is so close to the tops of those mountains?! Must be a different species?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The mountains aren't all that high, one of the tallest in the area is only 2,180 m (7,152 ft), so the tree line would definitely go higher up these mountains then say the ones in the Rockies which are quite a bit higher. Also it can depend on the location, the average temperatures as well and the amount of moisture the trees can get.

      Delete

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