Hike photos

Hiking in the Rila Mtns

Praying before starting. We needed it. The hike was stunning. 

Two things stood out besides the amazing natural beauty: the threatening thunderstorms that we had to sit out high in the Balkans, and a dog that followed us for the entire 5-hour hike. Whenever we would stop, so too would our shadow. It was eerie, especially when it ran off and killed other wildlife and brought it back to us. Despite this, we lived and the hike was sublime. 

Still beaming from another rapturous response to our song-and-dance number the night before, we began our descent to freedom and away from Nazi capture.

Look in the background on the trail. That dog followed us the entire trip. It never got any closer during the 5 hours.