Bobotov Kuk
After giving the knee a good rest of a couple of days it was time to head for the main goal of our (or at least my) trip to Durmitor. Bobotov Kuk, at 2522m, is the highest peak of Durmitor but only the 4th highest mountain in Montenegro. I think one could climb the mountain in a day from Ẑabljak, but it would be a very long day indeed. We weren't in a hurry and wanted to enjoy the mountains and the views they offered on the way so we hauled all our gear up the mountain.
The Apollo butterfly I saw
We didn't know if there was fresh water available on the way to the summit so I packed all the water I could carry in my backpack. As far as I can remember I had 8 liters of water in addition to all the food and other gear in my backpack, and I think in total I was carrying about 30kg on my back. Luckily Inna's backpack wasn't as heavy, but it wasn't particularly light either. The way up was pretty grueling because of the weight and sun, but the scenery more than made up for it! I even got to see an Apollo butterfly on the way!
We didn't know much about the climb before hand and hoped to find a good place for camping before nightfall, and we did! There was already one tent there quite close to a water source and a dwelling of a local man. The local man living up there in the mountains had some animals there and seemed to be enjoying his life. He happily told us in some language (probably a combination of signs and Montenegrin) that we could stay there close to his house. Later he would come to chat with us and wanted his share of my Snickers bar. I didn't have much to spare, but gave him some anyway for his hospitality. I'm sure he needed the energy to take care of the pigs, sheep, horses and the dog he had there with him.
Bobotov Kuk in the middle
Later in the evening we had a bit of time to kill and decided to check out a nearby cave that we saw in one of the mountain faces. The cave wasn't all that far from the bottom of the wall so naturally I wanted to climb there. The climb up wasn't difficult, but problems arose on the way down. I wasn't able to see or feel any of the foot holds and Inna had to guide me all the way down. I was glad to have had her around!
The next day was going to be the summit day. Armed with the latest mountaineering gear, such as sandals with holes in the soles, we headed for the highest peak around. The way up turned out to be quite special. Not only it was very beautiful, but we met a Serb who claimed to have fought against Al-Qaeda in the mountains of Serbia, crossed a glacier with Inna wearing his mountain sandals and finally made it to the rocky parts higher up in the mountain and saw the famous striped mountain walls of Durmitor. That moment was worth all the physical challenges for me :).
Scenery on the other side of Bobotov Kuk
The path leading to the summit was a bit exposed and Inna felt better staying behind while I climbed the last 50 meters to the top. The view was amazing with very few clouds obscuring the view. I was able to see Ẑabljak and many of the lakes surrounding it and it felt strange that it would take so long to get back there when it seemed that they were so close. I didn't want to let Inna wait for too long so I climbed down back to her and we started the hike back. Getting back was amazing as the tent was waiting for us, but that wasn't all: Inna had put her solar shower next to the tent in the morning and we had enough warm water to take a nice shower up there in the mountains!
The next morning didn't start as well as the previous evening had ended. I woke up hearing loud thuds outside our tent and quickly realized that there was a big animal out there. A horse. Of course as soon as I could realize that it was a horse it would stumble on the guy lines of the tent, causing havoc inside. But naturally that was only the beginning. Soon after the initial contact the horse started pushing its head against the tent, breaking one of the poles while doing so. I had to push the horse's head back to where it belonged to avoid any further damage. I hated horses after that episode for quite some time!
Perhaps one of these horses attacked our tent?
View from our camp site. The water source was not far down the valley and saved us a lot of trouble!
The camp site of ours.
There is a dog hidden in there somewhere.
View from the cave that I climbed to
Inna in her well-ventilated mountaineering sandals
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