Climbing Kelio and Stefanov Peak in Pirin

In mid-November, we were wondering what an easy hike to do, and in the end, we chose to tackle the side peaks south of Solishte – Kelio, Kotsov Grob, and Stefanov Peak.

Sunday, November 16, arrived. We left Blagoevgrad at 7 a.m., nine people in two higher-clearance cars, so we could park directly at the Begovitsa (Kamenitsa) hut. It was around 9 a.m. By the time we got ready to leave, it was already 9:30.

From the Begovitsa hut, we took the trail to Solishte, which is marked with brown markings and continues to the Pirin and Trite Reki huts. In its first part, the trail climbs gently through the forest until it becomes quite steep. In the last part of the climb, there was a little icy snow on the trail, enough to make you slip unpleasantly if you weren't careful.

At times, there were stunning views of the opposite peaks - Sinanitsa and Gergiitsa. At a slow pace and with breaks, we reached Solishte at around 11 a.m. There we took another break to wait for the group to gather. We had already completed the main climb.

From Solishte, we headed towards Kelio Peak (2484 m), which rises gently to the south-southwest. There was hard-packed snow covering the pine forest, making it very easy to walk uphill. In fact, this was the highest peak of our leisurely adventure today.

From Kelio, there is a slight descent, passing another slightly protruding peak before approaching a meadow with a concrete pyramid. This is Kotsov Grob (2462). From there, we continued a little further along the ridge before reaching the final short climb to Stefanov Peak (2408).

The weather was wonderful – sunny and with a very light wind, which disappeared if you stood slightly south of the peak. We reached Stefanov Peak in 3 hours – just in time for lunch. We ate and then lay down in the sun.

At some point, it was time to head back. The snow from Kelio to Solishte had softened slightly and was not slippery. However, the descent down the steep path to the Begovitsa hut was challenging in its upper part. But we managed to descend without incident.

Around 3 p.m., we were at the hut—just in time for a beer before heading back to Blagoevgrad.