Meanwhile in the Bulgarian Mountains.

Have you ever been to a winter mountain trek? If you have some mountains nearby and you have not done this yet, you should know, you are definitely missing A LOT. Yes, mountains are always beautiful, but winter mountains.. oh.. winter mountains. They have the most special place in my heart. Snow and sun create magic together and
there is nothing compared to the beauty that you can find there.

You can become witness to some breathtaking scenaries and you can feel timelessness, inner piece and gratitude just for being alive to see it. At least that's my case. When I try to remember the most beautiful places, that I've ever visit, I can't think of anything else but my winter trekking or ski-touring experiences.
And if you've done some winter trekking, I am sure you know what I'm talking about.
If not, let me show you what I'm talking about.

These photos are from a trek to Yonchevo lake in Rila Mountain, Bulgaria. Spring is already here so technically it is not a winter trek, but there is still plenty of snow, actually it was snowing in Rila even today. But yesterday the day was gorgeous - warm and sunny, but with some beautiful clouds changing all the time because of the strong wind.

It is a relatively easy and short trek from around 1600m to 2050. It took me a little less than 4 hours with the hundreds photos I took. The first part of the trail is through a pine forest, then a ski piste for a while, then again a pine forest, and as you climb higher, the trees becomes less and less and the views more and more spectacular.

The whole time you can see Vitosha Mountain in the distance. It is a mountain near Sofia - the capital of Bulgaria. And also you can see the spreading spring. But that's only when you look to the left.

The next two photos are taken almost from the same place, the first one while climbing up, the second while coming back. The wind was really strong and the sky was different literally every minute. Lucky me to be there in such a beautiful day.

And when you look to the right - winter is still here. I really like this contrast!

The Balkan Mountains in the distance - mountains everywhere :).

These were the only people that I met there. They were with snowshoes, which was great, because they were first and had actually made the trail for me. It would have been more difficult without them. And also the pictures looks great with them :).

Here was the end point of my trek, actually I was right next to the lake, but it was covered with snow, so no lake - just snow field. Probably in a week or two it will show up :) I wanted to stay there for at least an hour just watching these mountains and the changing clouds, but the wind was really strong, so I had to go. It was even hard to breathe while I was walking towards the lake, and when I turned around it was like someone was pushing my back hard . As if the wind was trying to kick me out, because it wanted to enjoy that beauty without annoying people around :D. So I just started running, it was easier, but continued to turn back to see the changes in the sky.
Here is a panoramic video of the place, that I posted yesterday -

Back to the parking from where I started I saw this waterfall falling from roof of the hut - the snow is actively melting.
My shoes were so wet because of the running as if I had crossed a river, my face was burning, but that didn't matter. My soul was rejoicing like every time after being in the mountains :)

Thank you for reading!