Ruen 2022

Our last hike in the mountain of Osogovo was probably the most spontaneous large scale hike. On Tuesday during our lunch break husband and I checked the weather forecast, noticed that the cold and wet weather was expected during the weekend, but Wednesday and Thursday would be sunny and warm and - why not go to Ruen tomorrow? I phoned Osogovo hut, booked a double room and we frantically went back to work. As we work from home, as long as we sent our materials on time, we can work  wherever and whenever we please. And thus, early on the next day we started for Kyustendil.

This was our third hike to climb Ruen and it was completely different from the other two. Because the route is considered long, difficult and remote, it is not very popular and on a work day we were the only hikers along the long trail. The only other people we met during the eight hours of our hike were two mountain bikers and three farmers in a truck. Hiking along a lonely track is such a different experience from being one of the hundreds of people up or down a hill.

:The grassy hills of Osogovo mountain are truly surreal, they never stop to amaze me!

:We felt in great shape, the weather was just perfect, so this time, instead of going around, we climbed most of the peaks on the way, including Tzurni vruh and Mali Ruen

 

Hike info:

Destination: Peak Ruen

Mountain: Osogovo

Total length: 27 km

Elevation: 580 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 8 hours

Average difficulty: 7 / 10

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Knipmode cargo pants

I: lingerie, Sabrina Slims, Burda T-shirt, hoodie

:Osogovo is known for its poisonous viper snakes, but the only snake we met was this harmless small one

:On the second day of our small break we went to see the giant sequoias in the Yuchbunar preserved area, and then sightseeing in Kyustendil. Hurray for spontaneous breaks!