I had slightly got ahead of myself on this trail so far. Which was kind of good. Most people tend to hike this trail in around 10 days, but I had to get back to work. I only had 6 full days and the half day I started to get this done. I had crushed some miles early and now had a few more relaxed days to the end.
Today started much colder than before. I needed my puffy jacket when having breakfast and packing up. The trail followed the river first continuing down into the valley below before hitting long woodland trails and then the road. I crossed into Kosovo the day before and many people do skip this section purely due to the road walking. But this section didn't last long. I soon started up the next side of the valley to a flat grassy plateau at the top. A near dried up lake was my only water source up there but a quick collection and I started the very long descent down the other side of the pass.
Backpacker radio was keeping me company again as I continued down. I struggle much more going down hill, it really does knackers my legs, and this was a long one. Over 1000m and it was steep the whole way. There was some bush-whacking most of the way down before dropping into the woods. The trail got steeper and steeper before finally hitting the road at the bottom.
It was lunch now and I had planned to hit the restaurant on the edge of this village. I was able to charge my phone and met a German hiker who was also hiking the trail, though mostly hut to hut. We had lunch together before making the final hike together to his guesthouse. There were other hikers at the guesthouse and we spoke about the trail so far and what they had to come. I topped up with water, said my goodbyes and continued up the next pass. I only had a few miles to go to camp and soon made the climb to the top of the pass. The views from the gravel path were spectacular, like much of the trail.
Just off the track, I found a flat spot in the woods next to a big grassy clearing. I did my usual evening routine watching the cows cross the clearing as I ate my dinner. I soon wrapped myself up in my quilt as the temperature dropped. Just 2 days left to go.
