Serbia – Midžor (2,169 m)
🕒 Summit at 19:00
📍 Coordinates: 43°23′38″N, 22°40′54″E
🗺️ Route: Gornji Lom – Babin Zub – Midžor Summit – Return
🚗 Transport to region: 1,091 km total
• 397 km drive Utulna → Brod (Rudoka attempt area, Kosovo)
• 111 km drive Brod → Pristina Airport
• 19 km bus Pristina Airport → Pristina
• 93 km bus Pristina → Skopje
• 230 km bus Skopje → Sofia
• 9 km train Sofia → Sofia Airport
• 145 km drive Sofia Airport → Chiprovtsi
• 34 km drive Chiprovtsi → Montana
• 53 km drive Montana → Gornji Lom (Midžor trailhead)
💤 Accommodation: Hostel in Sofia (night of 19/20 August)
🌤️ Conditions: Warm, sunny, and calm — perfect hiking weather
🚑 A morning that changed the plan
After finishing Maglić, the idea was to climb Rudoka in Kosovo, but fatigue, time, and logistics made it impossible. So I redirected my route toward Serbia’s Midžor, one of the gentlest peaks of the Balkans or so I thought.
The real challenge came not from the mountain, but from the morning itself. While preparing to climb, Magda suddenly fell ill, seriously enough that the hike instantly stopped being a priority. I rushed her down winding roads from Gornji Lom to Montana Hospital in Bulgaria, around 45 minutes away, and stayed there until she was stabilized. Those hours were tense, the kind where the entire expedition feels like it could collapse at any moment.
⛰️ A fast climb with a heavy mind
Once Magda was safe and recovering in the hospital, I drove back toward Babin Zub in the afternoon, torn between worry and the sense of duty to continue the project. I started the hike later than ever, around 17:05, pushing at a near-running pace up the gentle ridge.
Despite mental fatigue, I maintained a strong rhythm, averaging 5.6 km/h, covering 13.86 km and 1,319 m of elevation gain in just under three hours. I reached the summit at 19:00, under a calm evening sky, wind brushing over the golden grass of the ridge.
It was beautiful, but my thoughts were elsewhere, on the road back to Montana, where Magda was still in the hospital. I stayed only a few minutes, snapped a quick summit photo, and immediately began descending.
🚙 Straight back to her
By 20:00, I was back at the car and speeding down the serpentine road toward Bulgaria. The sunset painted the horizon red, but I hardly noticed. I arrived at the hospital late in the evening, tired, dusty, but relieved to see her resting and feeling better.
💭 Reflection
Midžor was one of the easiest summits of the expedition, technically. But emotionally, it was among the hardest. It reminded me that behind every summit, there’s real life waiting just below the clouds. Some days, you climb for yourself; other days, you climb so you can come back to the people who matter most.
📅 Date: 21 August 2025
