The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

The High Peaks of the Balkans

This past week I took an amazing trekking journey through four Balkan countries: Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia, standing on the highest point of each.  Starting the week in Albania our KE group summited its tallest peak, Mount Korab (2764 m, 9068 ft), located on the border between Albania and Macedonia. Next we headed to Kosovo,  recently independent from Serbia, spending a night in the historic Ottoman trading center of Gjakova.  Starting a three-day trek the next morning, we climbed Mount Gjeravica (2656m), Kosovo’s highest peak and the second highest in the Dinaric Alps range, one of the most rugged and extensively mountainous areas of Europe.  After Kosovo we cross-border trekked between Albania and Montenegro through a remote and wild landscape before finishing our adventure by summiting the highest point in Montenegro, Zla Kolata (2534m), on the Albanian border. More alpine in aspect than the other peaks, it was also a bit of a scramble with a (mild) knife edge traverse to the summit.  Early the final morning we took a ferry along the length of Lake Koman in northern Albania, enjoying this amazing gorge before returning to our starting point in the capital of Tirana.  Truly a wonderful trip with some culture and a lot of history thrown in.

Vista of the lower portion of our ascent route on Mt Korab
Grass of Parnassus. I also saw this flower in the Val d’Aosta in Italy, but wasn’t able to get a good photo
Our guide, Dritan, on the Mt Korab ascent. Only 24 years old, it is his first year as a head guide.
Looking Southeast into Macedonia from the col before Mt Korab’s summit ridge
Atmospheric view Northeast into Macedonia from the summit of Mt Korab (2764m), the high point of both Albania and Macedonia
Our group summit photo on Mt Korab. Amazingly, we all made it to the top despite the heat and various individual issues
An interesting unidentified pink flower
Likely Willow Gentians
Mt Gjeravica, Kosovo’s high point (2656m) from near our trailhead, the start of a three day trek
The Vagabond Hiker on Mt Gjeravica’s summit with the Albanian flag.  Interestingly, the American flag was also there.
Aptly named Heart Lake, seen during the steep descent from Mt Gjeravica
An unidentified pink orchid
A few of the huts in the seasonal hamlet of Doberdol (1791m)
Our horsemen removing some of our luggage at the primitive Doberdol shepherd hut where we stayed one night
Some chill Doberdol sheep. One we named Bob Marley.
Likely a Greek Stream Frog, seen on our hike to the village of Ceremi
Mountain view on our trek to Ceremi, where we stayed in a basic guest house without electricity
Dianthus, possibly sylvestris (Wood Pinks)
Some of our group ascending Zla Kolata, the high point in Montenegro
Will and Geoff on Zla Kolata’s summit ridge
Zla Kolata summit vista. The day was cloudy but fortunately the rains held off until that evening after dinner in our camp.
A view down to the Valbona Valley, the final descent of our trek
A view of Lake Koman from our ferry

I am back in Italy now, preparing to head off tomorrow morning for five days climbing Via Ferrate and four nights enjoying rustic Italian cuisine in mountain rifugios. Until next post,

Happy Trails,

The Vagabond Hiker

Hikes and Flowers of the Val d’Aosta, Italy

Last month when I arrived at my AirBnb accommodation in La Salle, just down the Val d’Aosta from the famous resort town of Courmayeur, I didn’t know what to expect for the next four weeks.   I vaguely remembered Courmayeur from three years ago when I completed the somewhat grueling Ultimate Tour du Mont Blanc, hiking ten straight days while averaging 4300 ft of ascent (and descent!) each day.  (See the Slideshow page for some photos from that trek). At the time I thought a major shortcoming of the organized trek was the lack of a rest day on the Italian side of Mont Blanc. Alas, that was not in the itinerary and so I vowed to return when I had more time to explore the “sunny side” of the Alps.  This I have now done.

The first thing I discovered is that there are more than enough hikes for a lifetime in the numerous valleys and ridges radiating off the Val d’Aosta. The valleys, such as Val Ferret and Val Veny, near Mont Blanc (or Monte Bianco as they say in Italy) are more popular with tourists, including copious Tour du Mont Blanc trekkers. Further away the valleys and surrounding mountains are no less impressive but generally quieter.  The Parco Nationale Gran Paradiso (PNGP for short) consists of several valleys and ridges covering more than 170,000 acres and was the focus of several of the hikes I took. Italy’s first national park, PNGP started as the king’s private hunting reserve and was thus protected for the most part from the depredations of hunters (other than royal ones anyway) and has since provided endangered ibex for reintroduction in many other areas of the Alps. Two Cicerone guides, Mont Blanc Walks and Walking and Trekking in the Gran Paradiso, purchased for my Kindle, were invaluable.  I augmented these descriptions with two 1:25000 IGC maps, #102 and #107. These Italian maps, while very helpful with the major geographic features, were sometimes lacking in accuracy with regard to the trails.

The second thing I discovered is that this time of year is ideal for observing the flora of the region. Adapted to the harsh alpine environment and very short growing seasons, many of the flowers have been at their peak this past month.  Fully two thirds of the following photos feature the botany of the region.  With much help from the Cicerone guide Alpine Flowers and a website on Alpine flowers I managed to identify almost seventy species that I saw on my hikes (and failed to identify several more).  A link to a downloadable pdf is included at the end of this post for those who find the blog photos simply insufficient. (The power point show may also be found in the Slideshow tab above).

I hope these photos give you an idea of the beauty and diversity of the Val d’Aosta!

Rosebay Willowherb with view down to Val Grisenche, West of PNGP, on my way up to the Col du Mont
Bladder Gentians, one of several species of Gentian I saw in bloom this past month.
Black Vanilla Orchid. Its smell was more like cocoa.
Vallone di San Grato, seen on the way up to the Col du Mont on the border with France.
View back into Italy (E) from Col du Mont (2639m). Micro-spikes would have helped me here!
Clusius’s (trumpet) Gentian
Granny’s Nightcap (Aquilegia Vulgaris)
Flowered view traversing towards Col des Chavannes (2603m), above its eponymous valley. Val Veny, below Mont Blanc, is on the other side of this col.  I saw several chamois above the col, but was unable to get a good photo.
Alpine Mouse-ear growing in a crack near the Col des Chavannes.
View back down Val Savaranche towards Brueil, PNGP. Val Savaranche is one of the major valleys bisecting the park, and this hike utilized in part the old King’s Road, built to help protect the endangered ibex from hunters (other than the Royal Personage, of course).
A chamois stretching before running away, reflected in a pond high on Plan Borgnoz (2700m), PNGP. Unfortunately, I never did see any ibex.
Very distinctive Cobweb House-leeks
A Martagon Lily, one of the most beautiful flowers I saw
Mont Blanc (4810 m or 15,778 ft, the highest point in Europe outside of the Caucasus) from Punta Helbronner, 3466m. Punta Helbronner is the high station on the recently completed Monte Bianco Skyway from Courmayeur. Note the Aiguilles Noire and Blanche de Peuterey to the left. The main summit is the obvious high point toward the right side here. While in France, the high point in Italy is the summit Mont Blanc de Courmayeur (4765m), just to the left of the main summit in this photo.
Black-veined White butterfly on a primula at the Giardino Botanico Alpino Saussurea, Pavillon du Mont Frety, the intermediate stop on the Monte Bianco Skyway
Apollo butterfly on a thistle, Saussurea Botanic Garden
Goats at home in Planaval, above La Salle
Verticillate Lousewort and view looking up Val Planaval
Alpine Blues on Val Planaval. The most spectacular floral (and lepidoptera) displays were only a 15 minute drive up the side valley near my apartment.
A cool looking caterpillar, Val Planaval
Alpine Moon Daisy, Val Planaval
St. Bruno’s Lily, Val Planaval
Rifugio Bertone above Courmayeur on Monte della Saxe. The network of refugi can make hiking and trekking in the Alps seem most civilized. Monte della Saxe is a 3 km long whale-back ridge facing the Grandes Jorasses to the north across the Val Ferret.
Panorama of Mont Blanc from Monte della Saxe, stitched together from 8 photos. The cylindrical projection distorts the near view and Val Ferret below, and compresses everything horizontally, but a panorama is the only way to capture the whole of the massif in one photo.  The summit is the obvious high point on the left here, below which the still-mighty Brenva Glacier debouches. The Grandes Jorasses encompass the right side of the massif in this view.
Scorzonera-leaved Rampion with butterflies on Monte della Saxe
A flowered landscape below Col Sapin (Monte Della Saxe is off the photo to the right) with Courmayeur in the valley far below
Slender Broomrape, below Col Sapin
Meadow Clary, descending to Val Sapin
View down into Val Sapin during my hike down from the Col Sapin. Mont Blanc is seen on the right here.
The path above Rhemes Saint Georges, Parco Nationale Gran Paradiso. I never climbed Mont Blanc, but this hike was up the “little” Mont Blanc, all of 2205m (!)
A string of harebells. I took numerous photos of bellflowers, but few ever focused properly.
Two pollinators on a Woolly Thistle
Well-named Hairy Bellflowers
View down to Val Grisenche on my final hike, up to Bivacco Testafochi.
An orchid, possibly Broad Leaved Marsh. An infrequently seen beauty.
Rhaetian Alpine Poppy. Not as common as one might imagine, I only saw them on my final hike.
A bunch of Edelweiss. The rare and strictly protected iconic Alpine flower, I only saw Edelweiss on my final hike above Val Grisenche.
Maison Forte view above Val Grisenche on the way up to Bivacco Testafochi. Some of these fortifications date from the late 18th century when the locals built them to repel Napoleon’s forces.
Alpine Asters and view towards Val Grisenche, taken from near Maison Forte
Mountain Avens
Bladder Campions. I saw them everywhere and finally got a decent photo.
Panorama from Bivacco Testafochi (2695m). Val Grisenche and Lake Beauregard are about 1300 meters (4200 ft) below.  This amazing wildflower hike was on a ridge between Parco Nationale Gran Paradiso to the East and the French border to the West.
Out of order, but a good final photo: Maggie and I at Punta Helbronner with Mont Blanc behind. I was just trying to balance, but apparently having ones arms extended is reminiscent of a scene in the movie Titanic.

Here is the downloadable pdf I made of the alpine flora.

My Calendar has been updated through mid January 2019.

On Friday I leave for a one week trip to the High Peaks of the Balkans, which includes summitting the high points of three countries.  Returning to Italy, this will immediately be followed by one week climbing Via Ferratas in the Western (Brenta) Dolomites before settling down to three further weeks in the central Dolomites.  Sometime in there I hope to complete another couple blog posts on those experiences. . .

In the mean time, keep hiking – I will!

The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking Romania’s Carpathian Mountains

Having less than one week to hike Romania’s Carpathian Mountains is quite a challenge.  The endless choices make selecting a few hikes seem an impossible task.  We surmounted that obstacle by choosing only local hikes within a few minutes walk or drive of our AirBnB cottage above the town of Bran.  Two major mountain ranges border the town: Piatra Criaului to the West and Becegi to the East.  The photos that I chose below were taken on during the day hikes we made this past week, with one of Bran Castle thrown in for good measure.  The spring wildflowers were in full bloom. Enjoy!

View towards the village of Simon from the ridge behind our cottage above Bran
Viola from high on the ridge behind our Bran Cottage, converted from a shepherd’s hut
Zarnesti Gorge, Piatra Craiului Park
Maggie in Zarnesti gorge. Numerous placards explained the geology and botany as well as detailing some climbing routes on the limestone cliffs.
A Yellow Wagtail in Zarnesti Gorge. It was tough to get this little guy in focus.
Bark beetle trails in pine, Zarnesti Gorge
Bran Castle, a 15 minute walk from our cottage. Perhaps the inspiration for Dracula’s castle in Bram Stoker’s novel.
Simon creek, south of Bran. A pleasant walk to the start of the climb into the Bucegi Mountains.
Alpine Meadow wildflowers, including butter cups and forget me nots, Bucegi Mountains
We emerged from a long climb through the woods into this lovely meadow in the Bucegi Mountains above Simon Valley.
Giant Chickweed, Bucegi Mountains
Spring gentian (?), Bucegi Mountains
Another Bucegi Mountains vista
Cascada Maura Dracului, Bucegi Mountains
European Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris) at Cascada Maura Dracului
Another view of one of the cliffs in the Bucegi Mountains, near Cascada Maura Dracului

We are now enjoying some relaxing days in the Danube Delta, the largest wetlands in Europe, bird watching and enjoying the laid back ambience of Sulina, Romania. Next week it will be on to Peru, for an extended trek in the Cordillera Huayhuash.

Happy trails,

The Vagabond Hiker

 

 

 

 

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