crisp mountain air

Sigh - I heart my Mondays. I don't tromp in the woods or in the mountains every week, but it's a great week if I get the chance :) On Monday (22 sept) I went to Mt. Luboten - the highest peak of the Sharr mountains (24oo meters). I had been there in January of this year - in lots of snow and ice. This time we were thinking it would be clear and pre-fall - but it was lots of fog and ice (frozen fog). Yet, despite not having the view we were hoping for, it was still beautiful.

It was also hard work as evidenced by my sore legs 3 days later! We walked 4 hours up and 2 1/2 down - stopping to add or subtract layers, eat, and pick flowers. We also had a bit of a sheep dog scare, but they calmed down after awhile.



The fog also made it a little more interesting as the path was a smidge more difficult to follow. It was pretty exciting to know that there is a path, however, as the January experience entailed foot-wedging and walking directly behind someone who made stairs in the steep slope. The fog was also fun to "race" - we'd get up to a certain spot and it would be clear...until I got my camera out. I have a lot of white pictures!

Highlights:

...hearing a shepherd (with a herd of several hundred) playing beautifully on his grass flute

...fall foliage smells in the woods

...sore muscles

...making it to the top - and knowing I wouldn't have made it without my fellow hiking friends

...being outside on a day when there was no power inside

...crunching on frozen fog (yes!!)

...eating potato soup when we got home