Our final day of snowshoeing, Friday, March 11, was totally and completely AMAZING!!!  Taking a rest day on Thursday gave me the energy and motivation to truly enjoy our final day exploring Rila Lakes.  Cool too?  Taking the ski lift up the first few kilometers!  The “seniors” (age 55+) took the option of the ski lift while the “youngins” hiked the steep hill to the lodge, where the four of us waited in warmth while sipping cappuccinos.  The best $6 I’ve ever spent!

Once everyone arrived, we headed out in the cold – about -25 degrees Celsius (-25 divided by 5 times 9 plus 32 = -13 degrees Fahrenheit…it was a joke within our group that I would state this formula out loud frequently to convert from C to F).  Ivo had warned us about the weather; however, since I heeded his advice, I wore many many layers and was mostly unaffected by the cold.

The hiking, the views, the snow – truly glorious!!!  For the first time all week, I felt confident and competent on my snowshoes, both going uphill and downhill.  I especially enjoyed trekking through the powder on the downhills – something that scared me earlier in the week.  There was only one point, when we were back to the forest, with a narrow icy downhill that I decided to butt slide!  Other than that, it was smooth shoeing the whole way.  Below are a few of my favorite pics, several taken by my travel buddies.