Hiking in Thithe, Albania

OCTOBER 7, 2012

In a decade’s time the town of Thithe will be one of those mountain retreat destinations we’ll read about in Conde Nast magazine, were some notable celebrity has their own villa that they helicopter for holiday each spring.  For now, it remains a canyon town located between nothing and nothing else where a few ranchers somehow tough it out year round. 

The area surrounding the village is wild and untouched.  We stopped at a house with a tourist information sign out front.  A woman let us in to her home and patiently drew us a map on an 8-½  x 11 sheet of paper.  It was rough at best and our chances of finding the waterfall we were seeking seemed to be about 50/50.  We were to follow the river to a “musli house” of some kind where we would veer right on  a road that would turn to a walking path.  For those unfamiliar with what a musli house is (like me), these dirctions were spotty at best.

Yet, turn by turn, the landmarks on the map appeared.  The universe, in its continued effort to guide those of us Seakers, produced another gem today.  As we rounded a corner away from the river, about to head into what could best be described as a backcountry gated community, an old man appeared from the other direction waving us down.  We approached cautiously.  He continued to wave us to follow him into a small out building on the fringe of the little community.  Opening the door, we were invited into the tiny building that could have measured no more than 50 square feet.  And inside, his animated gestures showed us exactly how the grain funneled through a hopper on to a water-powered stone mill and produced flour.  The musli house!

Town center

From there it was only forty five minutes by foot until we were reward with an amazing waterfall and some of the clearest freshwater I’ve ever seen. 

Though the water measured only 2.3 degrees celcius above freezing by Chris’s watch, we had to dive in.   The shock to my system was nearly unbearable and I did all I could just to breast stroke to shore as my heart raced and whole body stung with pins and needles.

Back at the ranch that night we were again treated to an amazing meal of pasta, potatoes, and bread.  Chris’s also had some local game on his carnivore menu.  And, of course, raki.  We were carbed up and refueled from a solid six hours on trail.