Veliki Meded (Big Bear), Durmitor NP, Montenegro

Saturday, July 20, 2024, Žabljak
We set off this morning at 6:45 to make a loop in Durmitor climbing "The Bears", that is Mali Meded (2,217m, Little Bear) and Veliki Meded (2,287m & 2,285m, Big Bear).
As we were walking out of Žabljak, everyone else was walking toward us, presumably heading to the various restaurants for breakfast.
We passed by the Durmitor National Park entry station but it was closed so, once again, we avoided paying the entry fee.
After climbing the first thousand feet we were briefly overtaken by two young couples from Serbia. Not long after, one of the guys turned back. One of the women was struggling but was determined to complete the loop, the same loop we were doing. We leap-frogged with them for quite a while. Their strongest member was the other woman, Maja, 27 years of age, who is on the Serbian womens' Olympic team for the 400m sprint. There's no way we could have kept up with her.
Those three stayed on Mali Meded for quite some time so Patsy and I left them behind. The hike got pretty interesting from here on and past Veliki Meded. There were a lot of cable-protected sections because it was a knife-edge ridge route. It was pretty awesome but I wasn't really enjoying it because I wasn't feeling very good. I was suffering from a persistent cough that started this morning when we woke up and my stomach felt a bit upset.
Faced with the choice of making a side trip and climbing a further 500' to summit the third mountain on this ridge, Terzin Bogaz (2,306m), or descending from the saddle where we'd stopped, I was in favour of descending. I wasn't feeling very well and the sky looked a bit threatening, although not too bad. Patsy would have climbed it were it not for me advocating to descend.
The descent wasn't easy, down steep, loose limestone scree before we rejoined our now familiar route to Crno jezero. Rather than go to the restaurant/cafe at the lake again we followed an alternate path to Žabljak that went past the closed Durmitor NP visitor centre. There were a lot more cars and a lot more people here than on our "usual" route.
We returned to the apartment at 15:30, then went shopping at Voli because it's closed tomorrow. Patsy made a chicken salad for dinner.
I didn't know what was wrong with me. It felt as though I was suffering again from what we both contracted months earlier in Spain. My voice was hoarse from all the coughing and I felt a bit achy. I really didn't feel up to backpacking any time in the near future.
9.5 miles, 3,000' gain

[@joebow-tv9hg]

Wow! Very beautiful. Really amazing views. Nice that there were cables.

[@OvertheHills]

@joebow-tv9hg It's a really nice loop hike. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling up to snuff so we didn't climb the last peak on the ridge, Terzin bogaz, 2306 m. Veliki meded (Big Bear), which was our primary goal, is 2285 m so it wasn't a total loss. I was afraid I might have to turn back earlier in the day as I was suffering from a mild intestinal upset.

[@joebow-tv9hg]

@@OvertheHills Hi, thanks for the reply. I always try to comment because it's supposed to help increase the views via the youtube algorithim. I think a lot of hikers would appreciate your videos if they found them.

[@OvertheHills]

@joebow-tv9hg Maybe if we made videos about going on cruises we'd get a lot more views ;-) However, at present, just the thought of going on cruises is anathema to us. Thanks for watching ... and for commenting!

[@joebow-tv9hg]

@ Thank you for sharing them. We look forward to them every weekend.

[@laurenbouchie2394]

Wow, the mountains were breath taking along with the views! I know this was from last summer did you ever figure out what was causing your illness? I assume you got better. It would of been a big No for me climbing those razor edges cliff though. Although it would of been great views an spectacular to see!

[@OvertheHills]

Yes, thanks, we're well and fit now. That was a mild intestinal ailment but a mere foretaste of what was to come. A week or so later, after eating at Peraz Guesthouse in Vermosh, Albania, we both suffered a really bad intestinal disorder. It must have been Giardia, or something like that, even though we were being careful to filter the water if we thought it was suspect. We relaxed our guard and then couldn't leave the Hotel Vermoshi for four days. That was quite a salutary experience.