Jablanica - mountain coloured in yellow.
A new weekend and a new hiking adventure. Organized by the hiking group in the company I work in, we took on a 18 km team building journey with 18 people, this time through the not so explored western parts of our country Macedonia, through the mountain of Jablanica.
With not so many expectations, we started our journey from the village of Gorna Belica and headed towards “Crn Kamen”, our goal for the day. With 2.258m it is the highest peak beside couple of others which are more then 2000m above sea level as well.
As we walked, yellow and blue, the mountain started opening to us.
As we went deeper into the open landscape, one could feel the mellow mood of autumn. Gentle as the weather, intense in the colors, we were becoming more and more bewildered of the massive surroundings. A shy sun and just enough light to be able to take a glimpse into the far blue, where the mountains and the sky blend into unreal nature.
And turning with our backs we were facing the even bluer, lake of Ohrid, floating gently into the distance.
Soon after this first touch of nature, we headed uphill through the warm fields of soft grass, reaching the “peak” of our experience.
We climbed and talked. I remembered how much I loved walking in the mountains. It’s in the vast landscapes, in the colors, as if they resemble part of yourself and you start feeling comfortable in that striking beauty of fields.
It occurred to me, it’s in the mountain. Sharp and honest, powerful and humble, as we people are.
As one of our guides would say, we wear no masks in The Mountain, we are just us.
Succumbing to its beauty, I felt overwhelmed by the immense feeling of flow. Finally we reached it.
From the peak we headed towards “Vevchanska Lokva” (“Puddle of Vevchani”) which is a beautiful lake lying just on the other side of the peak.
On our way down our roads crossed with a herd of sheep accompanied by their Shepard, to our great relief. We crossed our ways successfully and continued down the lake.
We took a chance and had a little rest at the lake, cooling our feet in the cold mountain water.
From the lake we were faced with the challenge to make the efforts for the last climbing, the toughest one. It is called “Porta” (“Gate”), a massive steep between two high surroundings. The hardest part and challenge beside the steepness were the slippery rocks we were climbing on.
So the climb started. I could feel my heart beating faster and faster as we climbed through the Gate. It seemed as it would never end.
It was a particular moment, the moment that it was the most difficult for us, being exhausted and nauseous, that we bonded with each other the most. It was right here that we found that this was a mutual task, to overcome the journey together.
And then there we were, while feeling the soft breeze of the afternoon we rested and enjoyed on top of the Gate in the achievement of our self strength in that past hour.
We were transformed.
And after some time there we were, down in the village, just before sunset. A journey of 9 hours, 18 km, dear new friends and a glimpse of Jablanica in autumn as beautiful as one could never forget.
A big thanks to our new friends, Bobi, Igor, Antonio and Dime for organizing this unforgettable adventure, to my colleagues for sharing the experience and for Netcetera for making it possible.
