Last month I had the pleasure of joining the Austrian sustainable tourism group called the Trail Angels on a scouting expedition of the new long-distance, transnational trail they are developing in the Western Balkans. A group of inspiring visionary outdoor enthusiasts, Trail Angels specializes in the consulting and development of fair trails around the world, with a portfolio of 43 projects in 14 countries.

Trail Angels Guenter Mussnig and Stefan Lieb-Lind arrived in Ohrid, North Macedonia in mid-September, and parted ways to lead two simultaneous scouting treks of the 20-stage High Scardus Trail, each joined by a group of regional experts and stakeholders in the project. Guenter led the group scouting the Southern half of the route, and I joined Stefan for the Northern half. My responsibility was to photograph the expedition of this unique and untouched trail that promises its visitors a glimpse into “the heart and soul of the Balkan mountains.” They asked me to write a guest blog post to share my impressions from the trek. You can find this post (English and Deutsch versions) along with a selection of my photos at the link to their blog here.