Thanks for the kind words. And yeah I agree- especially considering how well established a lot of the paths and routes seemed to be. Having said that, I'm glad it's underrated because I prefer to get away from the crowds!
Great video! I am a Bulgarian that grew up right next to Rila mountain, and planning on doing the E4 hopefully this summer. Thanks for making the video and sharing your experience from the mountains of Bulgaria
Nice video (once more)! Was in Rila and Pirin last year too (last week of August, beginning of Sept). Unfortunately, missed the famous narrow ridge walk on the way to the peak of Pirin, as we got stuck in strong storm with snow and 3-4 walk to the summit and had to turn back (without winter gear). Looking forward to your next video to see what we missed!
Kelli Rustin thanks. I’m looking forward to getting the rest edited. And yeah it is a shame about the solplex. It’s a great tent, but more suited to the settled weather conditions found on lower altitude hikes I think.
Haha:) I remember the descent too:) There is no real trail down from Rila to Pirin:-) I have seen you hiked the Pyrenees too. If you are preparing for PCT, it is a great way to prepare yourself. We did the same. Next go to hike GR20 on Corsica..and you are ready for the PCT or other thousands kilometers long trail:)
Yes it was an interesting way down! :D I've thought about the GR20 and the PCT, but I think they're both already very busy with other walkers, so I am looking at less crowded places to hike now... maybe one day though! I did the Caucasus Mountains last summer and I'm still editing all of the footage from that trip! Thanks for watching the video :)
@@RichardHartfield If you hike fast, it is not overcrowded:) Maybe a Corsica... but not the PCT. Of course, at the start...you can see 20-30 ppl per day...but later you can have days without seeing a person or just few (especially in the High Sierra in the snow or more on the north in North Oregon or in Washington). PCT was so far the best experience of hiking. In the second part of the PCT is very common to hike 150 - 250 km without a way to resupply (no other road - it is really so long between two roads). We hiked it in 2017 (the high snow year, record snow year:) ). I was trying to catch the PCT as much natural as possible - i wanted to show how it is - sometimes it was borring...etc. So there are not just highlights, but even boring parts (imagine you walk 4 days in dense forest almost wihout no view to mountains...etc. And you are eaten alive by moscitos.:) It is not rly fun:) ). If you are interested in therere are veryday videos: ruclips.net/video/-iUZ7uPAWcI/видео.html (if you want dramatic parts - it starts with day 39. :-) ).
Thanks Stu! My rucksack is still the ULA OHM, which is bombproof and light, can't see myself changing that any time soon. And yes I forked out some serious cash for the zpacks Solplex for this trip but was left disappointed by it's inability to withstand as high winds as my Tarptent Notch. I'm gonna go back to my Notch for this summer. I don't trust the Solplex in mountains any more! :(
You could try the MLD duomid, I took it along the hrp last summer and loved it!! It stood up to all the weather that was thrown at it (including really high winds and golf ball sized hail that put several holes in a duplex I was camped near), only problem is it's quite expensive for the cuben fibre version
Yeah the DUOMID's look great! I'm just going to stick to my trusty Tarptent Notch for the time being. I think I'm a bit heavy handed to get away with using a cuben fiber shelter!
Apocalypse Meow from memory it was early August. It was very hot most of the time (up to 30 deg C at times when in valleys!) but then when camped high or on on cloudy/rainy days up high it got close to freezing at times. Typical summer alpine temps I suppose! Enjoy your trip!
I never thought about it to be honest. I guess I'm lucky that I wasn't tasty enough for the dogs to try biting me. The benefits of being a smelly hiker maybe!
![Hiking The Bulgarian E4 - The Pirin Mountains [Balkans Ep5]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/iCpJEo2bcwg/mqdefault.jpg)
![Baby Kia - GLOVES & DRACS (BLACK AF1s) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ajm8LeB0qQk/mqdefault.jpg)
Awesome, I enjoy watching your stuff! The Balkans are definitely an underrated region for hikers.
Thanks for the kind words. And yeah I agree- especially considering how well established a lot of the paths and routes seemed to be. Having said that, I'm glad it's underrated because I prefer to get away from the crowds!
Really enjoyed all your videos Richard. Thanks for sharing..
Thanks for the kind words :)
Great video! I am a Bulgarian that grew up right next to Rila mountain, and planning on doing the E4 hopefully this summer. Thanks for making the video and sharing your experience from the mountains of Bulgaria
Thanks for watching Lyubo, I wish I lived so close to such beautiful mountains! You're very lucky! Good luck on the E4 :)
@@RichardHartfield Thank you! Good luck on your future adventures as well :)
Nice video (once more)! Was in Rila and Pirin last year too (last week of August, beginning of Sept). Unfortunately, missed the famous narrow ridge walk on the way to the peak of Pirin, as we got stuck in strong storm with snow and 3-4 walk to the summit and had to turn back (without winter gear). Looking forward to your next video to see what we missed!
Dano S cheers! Glad the weather wasn’t like that when I was there!
Really enjoyed the videos!
Too bad about the solplex not standing up to the high winds.
Looking forward to more videos!
Kelli Rustin thanks. I’m looking forward to getting the rest edited. And yeah it is a shame about the solplex. It’s a great tent, but more suited to the settled weather conditions found on lower altitude hikes I think.
I liked it! ❤️
Inspiring stuff, thanks for sharing
Gaetan De Waele thank you!
Really nice vlogs. Epic.
Christian Trolle cheers! Thanks for watching
Haha:) I remember the descent too:) There is no real trail down from Rila to Pirin:-) I have seen you hiked the Pyrenees too. If you are preparing for PCT, it is a great way to prepare yourself. We did the same. Next go to hike GR20 on Corsica..and you are ready for the PCT or other thousands kilometers long trail:)
Yes it was an interesting way down! :D I've thought about the GR20 and the PCT, but I think they're both already very busy with other walkers, so I am looking at less crowded places to hike now... maybe one day though! I did the Caucasus Mountains last summer and I'm still editing all of the footage from that trip! Thanks for watching the video :)
@@RichardHartfield If you hike fast, it is not overcrowded:) Maybe a Corsica... but not the PCT. Of course, at the start...you can see 20-30 ppl per day...but later you can have days without seeing a person or just few (especially in the High Sierra in the snow or more on the north in North Oregon or in Washington).
PCT was so far the best experience of hiking. In the second part of the PCT is very common to hike 150 - 250 km without a way to resupply (no other road - it is really so long between two roads).
We hiked it in 2017 (the high snow year, record snow year:) ). I was trying to catch the PCT as much natural as possible - i wanted to show how it is - sometimes it was borring...etc. So there are not just highlights, but even boring parts (imagine you walk 4 days in dense forest almost wihout no view to mountains...etc. And you are eaten alive by moscitos.:) It is not rly fun:) ). If you are interested in therere are veryday videos: ruclips.net/video/-iUZ7uPAWcI/видео.html (if you want dramatic parts - it starts with day 39. :-) ).
I was sure you were gonna blaze up a joint at 4: 20 7:23
Great video, looks like you changed up your pack and tent from the high pyrenees, how's the setup working out?
Thanks Stu! My rucksack is still the ULA OHM, which is bombproof and light, can't see myself changing that any time soon. And yes I forked out some serious cash for the zpacks Solplex for this trip but was left disappointed by it's inability to withstand as high winds as my Tarptent Notch. I'm gonna go back to my Notch for this summer. I don't trust the Solplex in mountains any more! :(
You could try the MLD duomid, I took it along the hrp last summer and loved it!! It stood up to all the weather that was thrown at it (including really high winds and golf ball sized hail that put several holes in a duplex I was camped near), only problem is it's quite expensive for the cuben fibre version
Yeah the DUOMID's look great! I'm just going to stick to my trusty Tarptent Notch for the time being. I think I'm a bit heavy handed to get away with using a cuben fiber shelter!
Did you use a water filter if so witch
i wanted to ask when exactly you were there and what the temperatures were, as I'm planning on doing that trip myself. Thanks in advance!
Apocalypse Meow from memory it was early August. It was very hot most of the time (up to 30 deg C at times when in valleys!) but then when camped high or on on cloudy/rainy days up high it got close to freezing at times. Typical summer alpine temps I suppose! Enjoy your trip!
@@RichardHartfield thank you! Appreciate the heads up about freezing temps😅
PS. Were you concerned about rabies?
I never thought about it to be honest. I guess I'm lucky that I wasn't tasty enough for the dogs to try biting me. The benefits of being a smelly hiker maybe!