Solunska Glava, an expedition into wild beauty

  I was planning this expedition for quite a while, this is a place I wanted to check out in the right conditions, and at the right time. There was a fair amount of "unknown" in it because I didn't know precisely how to get to the summit, just a general idea from the information I found on the net and also because I had no maps....


  Did I say without maps?


  Let me stand corrected, I finally did find some detailed maps, after a long search, but it didn't give me the directions to where I was going, just details of the area. 
  But a good start.
  You can find these maps on the website of Makpetrol, of all places. They're a bit out of date, but hey, what do you want for nothing?  a rubber biscuit?

Map of the area courtesy of Makpetrol.

  Anyway, map or no  map, I was still going to haul my ass up to the summit of Solunska Glava, it was right in front of me, all I had to do was go up ! 
  It is the highest peak on the Jakupica mountain range and fourth highest in Macedonia, at 2540m alt.
  You can find loads of interesting information on the mountain, so I won't get into all that, but it is a place to check out, believe me.

Solunska Glava

  You can see the summit from Skopje, and if you happen to have some binoculars handy, you can even see the military installation there. At night it's easy, it's the only summit with lights at the top. Like a Christmas tree.

The military base at the summit. It almost looks good in this pic with the moon.

It appears to be not far, and if you trace a straight line, it isn't. From the center of Skopje to the summit, it's less then 35 km. But if you do it like I did, "old school" style, you have 122km of train to Bogomila, followed by 9km of road to Nezilovo, and from there you have about 15km of trekking to the summit, if you take the fast route.
Otherwise, it's about a two hour drive to Nezilovo.
.
  This was the first time I took the train in Macedonia. It was the only form of transportation I hadn't taken yet, and I really enjoyed it. And it was pretty cheap, just under 300 denari for a return trip. Not bad I reckon. You get to see things nice and slow, and it goes through some very scenic places. The thing that got me was the variety of scenery for such a short distance. Green lush forests, dry landscape, mountains, small villages, rivers, tundra, bush, ...it's eye candy for me. 
  In my experience, trains are a great way to discover a country, and this was no exception. 


  After studying the information I found on the internet, I planned my trip and patiently waited for the "right" time to go there.
  What is the right time, you ask?
  Let me tell you.
  The right time is when you're camping on a summit and it's the full moon. Nothing beats it.


  Okay, maybe camping on a summit when it's the full moon with several young Swedish nurses and a couple of bottles of the finest whiskey.....


  Just joking.

  My plan was to, on day 1, take an early train to Bogomila, a small village and the last place where I could buy food and stuff, then hike up the road to Nezilovo, the last village before the mountain, and then climb up to the Ceples mountain refuge. I would spend the night there, either in my tent or in the refuge depending on the circumstances.
  On day two, I would climb up to the summit of Solunska Glave, and bivouac there.
  On day three, I would leave the summit in the morning and go directly to Bogomila for a 20;13pm train to Skopje, or more likely, I would bivouac somewhere along the way down to Bogomila, and go back to Skopje on day four.
  That was the general idea. Of course, it could be changed at any time, either because I wanted to or either because I was forced too. In the mountains, the weather changes very fast, and I still didn't know the exact route to the summit from Nezilovo.
  Lastly, it also depended on whom I met. Half the fun of these solo expeditions is meeting people and having conversations about all and nothing and generally having a good time. Sometimes I meet no one, but when I do, the people here love to talk, and that's nice.


  The day came when the moon was just right. 


  Every expedition has highlights, and this one was no exception. When I departed for it, it was smack in the middle of a heat wave, with temperatures hitting over 40°c.
  But the moon can't wait, nor could I. I presumed that there was plenty of water and streams over there, plus fresh mountain air and I could  cool down from the Skopje inferno. That was all bonus.
  However, in the end the heatwave followed me all along, it was very hot up till 1900m alt. to my big surprise, only above that did I get some fresh mountain air, but by that time I had melted, sort of like the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz, except that in my case it was of heat, not of being a wicked bitch witch !  


  I arrived in Bogomila around 8.40am after a very interesting train ride. Train was full. It was, believe or not, already grusomely hot, I was thirsty for something cold and I promptly set out looking for a café.  Pronto. 
  Even though it's heyday has unfortunately passed, the village is quite nice, located in a beautiful green and scenic valley. The Babuna river runs through it, and there is an elaborate water canal system for irrigation, a masterpiece of ingeniousity. There is also very few cars, so no noise pollution. Peaceful place.


  On a side note, history suggests that the village and river gave their names to a Gnostic social-religious sect named "Bogomilism", founded by the priest Bogomil in the 10th century during the reign of Petar 1 of Bulgaria, as a reaction to state and clerical oppression of the Byzantine church.
  The members were referred to as "Babuni" in several historical documents. 
  The Bogomilism movement quickly expanded through the Balkans, reaching what is now western Europe. 
  More information on all this can be easily found, but it may well be possible that the movement started in Bogomila. I found this to be very interesting, and Macedonia is full of such history. 
  

Bogomila and one of the water canals.

The expansion of Bogomilism.

   I found my café, and proceeded to order the biggest and coldest beer available to mankind. 

Mine was bigger, no joking.

   No sooner had the beer arrived that it met it's destiny...so I ordered another one. I chatted with some people there, I met a guy from Skopje who came to Bogomila to collect some freshwater worms from the Babuna to sell to fishermen in Skopje. Learned some interesting stuff on the river and it's history. This dude was drinking beer and Rakija at 9 am. Real mountain man stuff.
  I wanted to purchase some bread, but had to wait till 10.30 for the baker from Veles to deliver it. Not a problem, I was working on my beer and having a great, relaxing time in the shade. 


  While I was there, I saw a most fantastic expedition vehicle, the type which I'd never seen in Europe.  It was an off road vehicle, the owners had mountain bikes attached at the rear, it was preceded by a Land Rover and you could presumably go just about anywhere with it. They were coming back from Nezilovo., where I was going.
  When I got back to Skopje, I found out what it was and it's the stuff dreams are made out of.
  Made me feel like an explorer ! 

Outbound expedition vehicle from the Netherlands, your portable home for real expeditions..

  I got my bread and started hiking in the direction of Nezilovo. It's about 9km from the train station. You basically follow the Babuna upstream.  
  The hike itself is not a complicated one, but considering that it was  40°, I was starting to suffer a bit, to put it modestly. The asphalt road didn't make things easier, and most of it was out of the shade. 
   It was also full of small flies and other flying insects, they didn't sting (thank you Jesus H. Christ), just gave me some shit for the hell of it.

The road to Nezilovo.

   No gain without pain, as they say.


  The thing I do not like about trekking in very hot weather in Macedonia is the fact that I have to carry enough water to survive till the next water source, which are usually scarce, far and occasionally dry.  Of course I could of boiled some water from the river in case I ran out (too long, too hot, burns up valuable energy) or just added some water purification tablets to make things easy, but I save those for emergencies, and it also tastes like crap. I have had problems with drinking water in other countries, and believe me, the last thing I wanted was to curl up by the road with stomach problems.


  A bit  of wisdom; never drink water directly out of a river or stream, no matter how clean it looks. Unless you are drinking directly out of a spring, you just don't know what's in the water. There may well be a dead animal rotting in the stream a few meters upstream and you don't know, see, smell or taste it. But in a short while, your going to feel it !


  So I estimate where I will find drinking water, what my needs are, fill up my water containers and put them in my backpack. It's a dead weight, but I have no choice. And of course the hotter it is, the more water you need. 
 I add some lemon flavoured water sweetener in my main canteen, with a tiny pinch of salt  to make an electrolyte drink. In these extreme temperatures, dehydration is a possibility, .so rehydration is important. And I also drink often.


I enjoyed the hike along the Babuna, I even stopped for a while and took out my mini spin fishing kit. Tried to fish for about ten minutes, but had to stop because I couldn't cross the river in my hiking boots. I will have to come back one day just to fish in the area.
I continued up the scenic route until lunchtime,  I found a nice place by the river and 
had some chow. 
  Took off most of my clothes to dry also, as I was completely soaked from top to bottom, something that almost never happens to me. 
  The sound of a mountain stream was something I missed, it was music to my ears.

The Babuna river, beautiful clean and fresh water.

  After desert, I had the pleasure of meeting a local trout fisherman. His name was Nikola. We shared some Turkish figs and had some Mastika to drink. We talked for a couple of hours, he showed me his catch of the day and invited me to his home in Nezilovo after I came back down from Solunska Glava. Had a great time, talked about the area, the local wildlife, the village and a other things, but around four I had to leave as I still had some walking to do. We shared phone numbers and off I went.

Nikola's catch of the day, not bad for such a small river. 

  The asphalt road suddenly becomes a dirt road as you arrive in Nezilovo. This road splits in two, left you go directly to the Nezilovo restaurant and the start of the path to the Ceples mountain refuge, and right you end up in the center of small village. I went right, of course. 


  Nezilovo is a very small, I was told that about 20 people live there year round  if I'm not mistaken, it is a typical Macedonian village surrounded by mountains, very pretty. I found a water spring and filled up my water containers. I also had a chat with a couple of local "babas", very friendly and horrified that I was going to go up the mountain with my large backpack in this heat. And to make things worse, by myself.

Nezilovo

  After a good long drink of fresh water, I left the "babas" to their occupations and went out to find the path to Ceples mountain refuge. All I knew was that there was a signpost next to the restaurant and that you had two options, go left, which is the faster way, or go right and do the scenic route which takes you past the source of the Babuna river. However, it is longer, 11 km if I was correct..

The famous signpost. This is where the two trails to Ceples mountain refuge start.

  The restaurant is actually quite a nice and modern place, it's also a hotel and a fish farm. I thought that it would be a good idea to stop there on the way back for a cold beer. 
  As a matter of fact, even if it was a dumb idea I would of stopped there anyway as it was the only place where you could find cold beer in the vicinity.
  I asked a couple of local dudes about the distance to the refuge and they said three, maybe four kilometres.
  I got to the signpost and went left, I did not know how long or difficult the path was and I didn't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere in the dark, so i took the fast way.
  The path follows the Cepleska river, a beautiful little mountain stream for about 1.6km, then you cross the river and up you start going.  Nezilovo is at 690m alt. Cheples mountain refuge is at 1410m alt. 
  The first kilometers are not too difficult, but it gets harder towards the end, especially when it's so goddamn hot , you haven't  slept enough and you've had too much Mastika. 

  It was a bit longer then expected,about 5.5km. but I went hardcore and finally arrived at the refuge, just as night was falling. 
It is located on one of the rare flat parts in the area and It was fairly empty when I arrived there, just a few people and some kids. I took a bed at the exorbitant price of 180 denars because all I had in mind was to take a shower, eat and go to sleep. And that's exactly what I did. 
  I had to shower outside because there was none working in the place. That was a great experience ,I found a tree in the woods, hung my portable shower from it and had a wonderful shower by the moonlight. I felt like a new man after that.
  I went back to the refuge, cooked myself some diner, in this case some kebab with onions and hot peppers, some ramen noodles and figs for desert, then went back to my empty room and slept like a bear.

Ceples mountain refuge. A nice place in the mountains.

  
   When I got up, I had some Vitalia muesli for breakfast, washed some clothes, packed my sleeping bag, filled my water bag and gathered some valuable information from the people at the refuge.  
  With all that done, I started off to the summit. The path actually starts in between the refuge and the kitchen. Practical, I thought. It is also very well marked, you can't lose yourself. 
  
  The first part goes through a nice forest, and you continue the path until you get to the most fantastic spring in Macedonia. The water is very cold and delicious, I couldn't drink enough of it ! 

The forest on the way up.

The best water spring in Macedonia.

  The place was very beautiful, with a great view of  Jakupica mountain range and the surroundings. I put down my backpack and had a good look around. I found a makeshift camp site, possibly used by hunters or local dudes. Where there's water, there's life !
   I took a few pictures, had some lunch and just enjoyed the peace and beauty of the place.
After a good break, I prepared the water I would  take with me. I needed 2 litres for a shower, washing the dishes and possibly some clothing, two more for the trek up to the summit in the heat, and a couple more for the bivouac and the trip back down. Now that's a lot of water, and a lot of weight added to my backpack. But in this weather, it was a necessity. I was told that this was the last source of water  before the summit, up there none was to be found.  
  Turned out to be incorrect, more on that later.
   I decided to lighten my backpack and leave behind some of the things  that I wouldn't need at the summit. I had taken roughly four days worth of food with me from Skopje, I didn't need all of it up there. I left my fishing gear and some other stuff, I just put it in a waterproof bag and hid it high up a tree ( so the animals wouldn't get to it ) in the forest. 
This took a few kilos off my back. but the pack still felt too heavy ( they always feel too heavy, don't they )!   
  Once ready, I started the trek back up. From the spring, it's about 5km to Solunska Glava summit, all uphill.
  
  This is the part I enjoyed the most, because the scenery changes quite a bit, you go through forests at first, then it becomes more barren with smaller vegetation and shrub, and then you're  out in the open. That was nice  because there was some fresh wind to finally cool me down. 
  Not surprisingly, the barometer on my watch was going down very fast, which meant either rain or a storm. Couldn't see that from where I was. just a few white clouds. as in the picture below. 
  But up there, it's a different ball game.

Once above the tree line and out of the dense vegetation, you can clearly see the summit.

  This last stretch was what I was waiting for, pure mountain. Even though the heat of the day had sapped all my energy, I felt rejuvenated, like I could walk on and on.  And the temperature was nice finally. I had to go over 1900m to get out of the inferno, unbelievable ! But I still had insects giving me shit, I was surprised to find so many at this altitude.


  I could see my final destination clearly now, and I was enjoying every second of the trek there.


  I found snow a bit further up, it was beautiful, and an eventual source of water should I fall short of some. 

This snow drift was actually quite large, about 200m in length top to bottom.

  Now, my sights were set on finding a place to bivouac for the night. A place that was just right, of course. 


   I checked out a few places, but they weren't suitable. 
  You have to be careful bivouacing in the mountains, the weather can be a hazard, amongst other things. An electrical storm was always a possibility ( and my barometer was still going down ), something that happens frequently in the mountains in the summer and in the afternoons in particular. You have to choose your bivouac site accordingly. My ass had fried all day long due to the sun, I didn't want it to fry because of lighting LOL !!


  I found my perfect spot, and proceeded  to pitched my tent for the night, making sure it was set up in the right wind direction. This helps control the condensation that eventually builds up inside. 
  I also had a hell of a view, as I was right next to the eastern edge of  Solunska Glava, with a vertical drop several hundred meters deep. but with a ledge about 20 metres below and easily attainable should a violent electrical storm force me out of my tent for safety reasons. A tent provides absolutely no protection from lightning.
And I had some  rare bushes in the area to cut down the wind, a perfect spot indeed. 


  I did not want to be too close to the summit's military installation, because although I had not found any information forbidding camping on Solunska Glava, I figured that the military would not find an overnight guest to their liking. 
  And, to be honest, I did not want to see them either. For me, this installation spoiled the scenery somewhat.I have nothing against the military, I'm sure they must have valid reasons for being up there, but I was here for the mountain, not warfare. There is so much crap going on in the world that it's nice to forget about all that  for a while, you know.

 the summit.

My bivouac for the night. The bushes protected me from the wind and also helped me to dry my laundry.

  Once finished setting up camp, I sat down, had some Vitalia energy mix and  a good dose of Mastika.


  It was all I had hoped for. Nature at it's finest.


  Couple of minutes later, the clouds brutally changed shape and colour and it started raining, big drops of water. I had to go inside my tent for a while but after half an hour, it dissapeard just as suddenly as it had arrived and it was sunny again. 
  Temperature had dropped to 15°c by that time.  
  Mountain weather, what did I tell you?


  I tried to make a call with my cell phone, but even though I had good reception, no calls could be made or received. I suppose that the military really don't want anyone knowing what they're doing up there. 
  This is not good, as if a hiker or anyone else who happens to be in the vicinity has an accident or other problem, he can't phone for help. Even more so in my case, as I was alone. 
  However, I knew the blackout on communications couldn't be everywhere, so I walked away from the summit until I finally got out of the blackout zone. A kilometer away from the tent. 
  I made my call, reported on my status, and went dutifully back in the no man zone.
  It was going to get dark soon, so I had a quick shower and then started to prepare diner. The menu was appetizing; Mashed potatoes with a delicious goulash from Mik. 
For desert, I had my usual dried figs, with a cup of coffee.

A picture of the area west of my position, with patches of snow.

Sunset on Solunska Glava.

  By the time I fnished the dishes and put everything away, it was dark. I could here sheep and dogs a few kilometres away, but I couldn't see them. I supposed that there must be a compound for the summer months, as there was plenty of green grass and  water. There was a donkey also, who occasionally had his say.
  I had an mountaineering  jacket on, as the temperature was plummeting. I thought about all my friends in Skopje who were suffocating in the summer heat, but I was fine, as a matter of fact couldn't be better.


  After a long and hot day, it was time to go to bed, but before I had one last look at the most glorious full moon you ever saw, a sight to behold. I tried to take pictures, but I'm afraid my camera doesn't like nights.

The Macedonian moon, it is a sight to behold, but not a very good picture I'm afraid ! Now you know where I got the name of the blog from.

  The temperature had dropped to 8°C by the time I got in my sleeping bag, and it went down to 2°C during the night. From 40° to 2°, that's what I call a hell of a difference.


  The lights were on at the military base, and I put mine out, listened to the radio a bit, got loads of Greek radio stations, and fell asleep. I was awoken several times by  Shar Planina dogs guarding the sheep, I presume some wolves were trying to have an easy dinner. Macedonia supposedly has one of the largest grey wolf populations in the Balkans ( over 1000 and growing, that's a lot for such a small country ) according to several sources, although the exact  numbers are unknown, . A few hunting tour operators propose wolf safaris over here, and guarantee a successful hunt. Not my kind of thing though. Hunters and local people have told me that there were wolves on Solunska Glava, if there's sheep, there's wolves! 
  Nonetheless I was happy to share the mountain with them, as they have been virtually exterminated from most of western Europe for ignorant reasons, although they seem to be making a slight comeback in some areas. I firmly believe every living creature has it's place on this planet.


  After four in the morning, there was no more noise, either dinner had been served or the rising sun sent the wolves home.


  I woke up to a magnificent and sunny morning after a fairly good nights sleep. I had some coffee and Vitalia muesli to start me going. 
I started to pack my stuff away, my plan was to leave it there while I went to the summit (or near it, the military base is at the summit and you can't go inside of course),take some pics and films, and then collect my gear and head on back down the mountain. 
  I was less then two kilometres away from the summit. I went near it, but not right up to the military base. I had a good look around, but I could not see either Skopje nor Thessaloniki, even with binoculars. I did see where the sheep compound was, not very far from where I was bivouacking. Fairly large, in a crater with snow and water with a small mountain house and loads of sheep. Perfect place for the summer. Although it must be a bit lonely for the dudes who stay there. 


  On the way back to the camp site, I took loads of pics and met a young couple who had wisely chosen to do the climb very early in the morning. We had a chat, the girl was asking if I'd seen animals or snakes, and if I wasn't afraid by myself. And I said no, nothing up here. and scared of what ? 
  She had a nice Sombrero, way cool. But must of been a bitch in the wind.

The summit of Solunska Glava.The dudes at the base don't want to see cameras so I'm told. But they sure have a nice house up there. Must be something else in the middle of the winter.

  I  picked my stuff up and started going back down.
  I apprehended the long and steep descent ahead of me, kills my knees. I actually find it easier and more fun going up.


  But like they say, what goes up must come down.


However, it was faster. I stopped at the water spring, picked up the gear I had stashed away in a tree, had some lunch and back on the road.
When I arrived at the mountain refuge, it was full of people to my surprise. I talked to some of them, then continued my descent in the direction of Nezilovo. My plan was to meet up with Nikola, the fisherman, for some good times, then to find a spot in the woods to bivouac for the night.
But it didn't work out that way...


When I was about a kilometre from Nezilovo, I ran across three guys who were damn surprised to see a guy doing some solo camping in the area. And even more so from France.
Turns out one of the guys, Ilco Teovski, was the bodyguard of Macedonia's first president, the late Kiro Glogorov, and he survived the bomb attack on the president's life. He loves Paris, and the outdoors, so we started talking. And talking. His friends  who were also bodyguards of high ranking Macedonian politicians ( who will remain nameless ) joined in.
So we ended up at the Ribnik restoran for beers and trout diner
Well, I had a great time and met three fantastic dudes, we talked about everything and had loads of laughs too. We spent hours talking and working beers, time flew by, and time came for them to go back to Skopje.They insisted on paying the bill, which truly amazed me, and we parted ways.

Of course, by this time, the beers and heat (oh yeah, it was still goddamn hot again) had gotten the best of me. IIco had negotiated a room for me from the owner of the hotel, which was a feat in itself as the hotel was full.
And to make this story even more amazing, the hotel didn't accept credit cards, however I only had about 600 denars on me. The room was 1000. The owner said no problem, he gave me the room for 600.

Ribnik Restoran Nezilovo. Check out the yellow trout. They have a page on Facebook.

I was dumbstruck; not only had I had a great couple of days, but also I had met some great guys, had a million beers and now this.


The best of Macedonia.

I went to my room, had a shower and went to lie on the bed. I eventually fell asleep till the next morning. Breakfast, packed my stuff, and back on the road, in direction of Bogomila.
I wasn't quite sure what i was going to do, but i started walking. It was again a very hot day, 40°C, couldn't believe it. This heat was starting to take it's toll on me again, as I am not particularly used to these temperatures, at least not doing any trekking in them. As a matter of fact, I am not sure I would do it again. But, as they say, never say never.


I just walked, admiring the scenery, nice and slow. I stopped of for lunch in an abandoned house by the Babuna. The shade was nice, and I enjoyed it there.
  I formulated plans to come back one day and go on a fishing expeditionin the area. 
  I had a train around 2.30 pm and I decided to go for that option.
  When I arrived in Bogomila, I bought a liter of beer with my last pennies, sat at a table outside the shop and proceede to empty the bottle. This saved me from certain death due to dehydration.
I mean come on, water is good, but not as good as beer...


Caught my train on time, and went back to Skopje. It was full again, and I enjoyed the scenery.


  I came back totally awed and enchanted by my expedition to Solunska Glava. The place is nature at it's best, wild and untamed, and even though I suffered in the sweltering heat, it was a rip ! 
  I had the time of my life, and I met some really great people. 
  That's what it's all about for me. I couldn't of hoped for anything better.


Wild thing, I think I love you...






N.B.  For those who are interested, I can give you the GPS route map, either on Google Earth or Bing maps. Just contact me through the comments section. Thanks.