My first running and climbing mountain experience. Perfect gift for...

Hi there Hive Family,

I had a birthday on the 9th of August but as this was a Monday I decided to to take my Saturday as my real celebration day.

And how better to celebrate it elsewhere than in the mountain. My second home. Mountain it is!

Last year I ascended Black Peak from the traditional route for my birthday but this year I wanted something new. An inception, a new beginning. And there it is. My first speed climbing is a fact. Me and my best Friend ran and climbed approximately 35 km. of a trail that is very suited for running as most of it is part of Vitosha 100. Vitosha 100 is a trail of 100 km. and every year people make this circle route to test their endurance and agility. We made a promise to ourselves that next year, we will definitely enroll to this event. Which means we have to prepare for it. And the best way to prepare is to take small sections of the whole route and traverse them so that we know the route by heart and we also know our own strengths and abilities. So that was exactly what we did:

We started off by taking the bus to its last stop in the village of Zheleznitsa.

Took a selfie to set a start to our new experience and the run began.

I tried taking pictures while running. Not an easy task.

We passed through the road and into the woods. I loved it. Most of the route was plain and perfect for running.

We stumbled upon some fallen trees but that was our fault as we got carried away and did not look at the GPS. We lost the main trail and ended up in a place that was not cleared of logs.

We made a rush for it to escape the wild region quickly.

Next stop Yarema saddle. It was a small village in the low mountain pass. We restocked on water. Passed through some houses and continued our way.

My friend is not joking. Even his normal walk looks like he is running.

We took a brake for some posing pictures. The light was amazing between those trees.

One of my personal favorites. Running in action. Just look at the scenery. Beauty and beasts!

The scenery is out of this world. We had tons of fun running here.

We passed through the village of Yarlovo and now it is time for climbing. The running is over.

Bee Hives with a sign where to head for Black Peak. Nice!

Climbing was now more tiring as we already ran for about 20 km. But there is no turning back.

No problems. We also had plain regions and enjoyed the views. These fields remind me of the movie The Gladiator and his home. And the scene where the Pretorians killed Maximus family. An incredible movie that should be watched more than one time :)

One of the few signs for Black Peak. 51 means that we will see 51 more poles until the crossroads of another famous route to Black Peak and then we will have about 30 minutes more to reach the final destination.

Forgot to mention that we started the hike at 16:30 as my Friend had to work in the morning. That meant, we will also be in the mountain for quite some time in darkness. And now the Sun was setting.

We followed the Sun as it was going down.

Here is where we stood and took last pictures before the complete Sunset.

I love the panoramic views. So stunning!

Time to put on our headtorches as we still have a long way to Black Peak.

Not much of good pictures afterdark.

The symbol of Black Peak. A wooden bear. We reached Black Peak at midnight.

We could only be in the hallway as the owners of the Lodge were already going to sleep.

We took a 15 minute break and headed down home.

These are the lights of Sofia city. A couple of hours later we were back home.

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This is what the Health Application showed. I took 2 pictures as at midnight the timer is nullified and will not show what I have done during the day. So in summary around 47 000 steps, 35 km. distance, and 49% running to 51% walking ratio. I am happy. Definitely a good start and perfect birthday for me :)