Guri i Nuses
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 7.52 mi
- Elevation gain
- 2,175 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Difficult
- Elevation loss
- 2,175 ft
- Max elevation
- 6,026 ft
- TrailRank
-
50
3.3
- Min elevation
- 4,631 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Time
- 9 hours 2 minutes
- Coordinates
- 486
- Uploaded
- July 16, 2013
- Recorded
- July 2013
near Lajthizë, Durrës (Albania)
Viewed 4792 times, downloaded 53 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
We continued our tour of the Rocks of Mirdita with Guri i Nuses, which translates into the Stone of the Bride. Don't even try to discover the long lost legend behind the name. Others tried before, including Ndue Dedaj (see www.albasoul.com), and abandoned the attempt in abhorrence over the endless variations of young girls' death and self-sacrifice, with or against their own will.
Guri i Nuses, with 1837 Meter altitude is not a summit in the strict sense. The highest point of the range to which Guri i Nuses belongs is Maja e Zebe, a rather benign looking knob topping out at 1987 Meter. But Guri i Nuses wins the first prize for drama and - as we shall see - remoteness.
Given the relative prominence of Guri i Nuses as a destination, with summit cross and exceptional visibility into the Valley, it is surprising that there are no established paths whatsoever, save for some very faint traces between waypoint E and F. But the terrain around Guri i Nuses is exceptionally confusing without clear views of where you are going. This makes for a rather torturous grass- and bushwhack. While beautiful to look at, movement is very difficult in the jumble of rocks, stones, dead trees, weeds and brambles. Treacherous carstic holes of uncertain depth make the passage less than straightforward.
Thus we are not sure whether to recommend this as a trail or leave it to your own imagination to find a better way. Having tried a different return path to our camp, we eventually joined our original trail, if this is to say anything. While after cleaning up the coordinates the GPS recorded a cumulative elevation gain of 663 Meter, the raw data had more than 775 Meter gain, accounting for the many more up and downs over the trail-less terrain. We gave the trail a difficult rating, owing to the difficulty of orientation and the exhausting hike.
We camped at the trailhead upon our return. Probably better and depending on the season, you may camp there the night before you hike, to avoid more of the heat of the day.
For the drive to the trailhead, check wikiloc #4853235
Guri i Nuses, with 1837 Meter altitude is not a summit in the strict sense. The highest point of the range to which Guri i Nuses belongs is Maja e Zebe, a rather benign looking knob topping out at 1987 Meter. But Guri i Nuses wins the first prize for drama and - as we shall see - remoteness.
Given the relative prominence of Guri i Nuses as a destination, with summit cross and exceptional visibility into the Valley, it is surprising that there are no established paths whatsoever, save for some very faint traces between waypoint E and F. But the terrain around Guri i Nuses is exceptionally confusing without clear views of where you are going. This makes for a rather torturous grass- and bushwhack. While beautiful to look at, movement is very difficult in the jumble of rocks, stones, dead trees, weeds and brambles. Treacherous carstic holes of uncertain depth make the passage less than straightforward.
Thus we are not sure whether to recommend this as a trail or leave it to your own imagination to find a better way. Having tried a different return path to our camp, we eventually joined our original trail, if this is to say anything. While after cleaning up the coordinates the GPS recorded a cumulative elevation gain of 663 Meter, the raw data had more than 775 Meter gain, accounting for the many more up and downs over the trail-less terrain. We gave the trail a difficult rating, owing to the difficulty of orientation and the exhausting hike.
We camped at the trailhead upon our return. Probably better and depending on the season, you may camp there the night before you hike, to avoid more of the heat of the day.
For the drive to the trailhead, check wikiloc #4853235
Waypoints
Lake
Mountain pass
Summit
6,007 ft
C- Secondary Summit
13-JUL-13 15:32:42
Waypoint
5,646 ft
E-Traces of a Path
E-Traces of a Path
Comments (3)
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While you were taking this picture, was Mum by any chance holding on to you incase you suddenly fell over the edge? :D 'Es hängt über!' https://www.wikiloc.com/outdoor-trails/guri-i-nuses-4853477#wp-4853481/photo-2471219
Yes, 20 cm more and I could have seen all of the 600 meter of the drop...:) https://www.wikiloc.com/outdoor-trails/guri-i-nuses-4853477#wp-4853481/photo-2471219
I have followed this trail View more
Information
Easy to follow
Scenery
Difficult
One has to be a fan of Mirdita which is easy to accomplish and its high plateaus to muster the patience required to follow a hike with GPS points alone. It can be enervating to traverse yet another carstic hole or steep rocky slope without a trail.
But just spending time in the highland and take a walk on the vast alps at an altitude of 1400 m without much of a summit in sight and not grazed by too many sheep is refreshing.