A day in the mountains on some good trails and some where there may once have been a path...
After leaving Elati the route recommended by Nikolas of Hotel Kroupi took me off the tarmac onto a dirt road. A little way along a farmer greeted me and indicated that the way ahead was a "monopati", a footpath, and a very pleasant one, taking me up through trees, some fallen, and over a brook to a tarmaced road.
After a little way on the road I turned off onto another dirt track then a very small path, which I initially missed as I was busy admiring the surrounding snowy, sharp peaked mountains and the view back to Elati. The path was marked with strips of the red and white plastic warning tape, the red faded to a weak yellow. It's location was not always clear with fallen trees blocking the path in places but it took me without too much difficulty back to the road some way further on.
Then it was off on another path which proved invisible to the naked eye! Following my GPS track I climbed through the pine woods, following animal trails until they died out. This was easy in places but in others, branches, the rotten remains of old trees and juniper bushes made progress slow, especially with the frequent checks of my GPS to ensure I was headed in the right direction. The path was marked on the Anavasi map and I came across one black and yellow waymark of the type that marks the E4, so I was on the right route. It broadly followed a ridge and periodically I had great views back to Elati.
It was a joy when the trees finally ended and I climbed up a rocky, limestone section unimpeded by branches. After an initial peak I contoured around the steep side of the mountain (which began to make the edges of my feet painful). Following a slippery grassy section there were alternating ridges of rock and snow coming down the hillside. Fortunately the snow was soft, but not too soft, so I could dig my feet in and get a grip on the steeply falling slope, helped by my trekking pole, as I traversed the chutes of snow. I was glad of my gloves as I used my hands to maintain balance on the cold snow.
After a final section of grassy ridge I rejoined a dirt track which took me along the side of another mountain. Villages and winding roads were spread out below me on the side of the valley, including Psarro where my hotel was. To reach it I left the track after a few kilometres and followed a valley downhill, pushing through beech saplings beside the stream to reach a final dirt track. There may well have been better routes down, one is described in trekkingpsarro.com for which I was handed a leaflet at the hotel this evening. The dirt track took me over a scree slope, it's fallen rocks spread across the track, through a herd of goats, to my destination, a section of freshly poured concrete being my final obstacle (being a thoughtful person I climbed down the slope to avoid it rather than leave my boot prints permanently frozen in the roadway).
So now I am in front of the log fire at the Hotel Zampaka Panorama having enjoyed my dinner and a beer, well deserved after 9 hours on the trail. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, and I will be camping....
26.2 kilometres today (not including the extra distance due to missing a turn) with a total ascent of 1220 metres.
A GPX file of my track can be downloaded from wikiloc.com or you can download my route onto your smartphone from myviewranger.com code johnpon0041.
After leaving Elati the route recommended by Nikolas of Hotel Kroupi took me off the tarmac onto a dirt road. A little way along a farmer greeted me and indicated that the way ahead was a "monopati", a footpath, and a very pleasant one, taking me up through trees, some fallen, and over a brook to a tarmaced road.
After a little way on the road I turned off onto another dirt track then a very small path, which I initially missed as I was busy admiring the surrounding snowy, sharp peaked mountains and the view back to Elati. The path was marked with strips of the red and white plastic warning tape, the red faded to a weak yellow. It's location was not always clear with fallen trees blocking the path in places but it took me without too much difficulty back to the road some way further on.
Then it was off on another path which proved invisible to the naked eye! Following my GPS track I climbed through the pine woods, following animal trails until they died out. This was easy in places but in others, branches, the rotten remains of old trees and juniper bushes made progress slow, especially with the frequent checks of my GPS to ensure I was headed in the right direction. The path was marked on the Anavasi map and I came across one black and yellow waymark of the type that marks the E4, so I was on the right route. It broadly followed a ridge and periodically I had great views back to Elati.
It was a joy when the trees finally ended and I climbed up a rocky, limestone section unimpeded by branches. After an initial peak I contoured around the steep side of the mountain (which began to make the edges of my feet painful). Following a slippery grassy section there were alternating ridges of rock and snow coming down the hillside. Fortunately the snow was soft, but not too soft, so I could dig my feet in and get a grip on the steeply falling slope, helped by my trekking pole, as I traversed the chutes of snow. I was glad of my gloves as I used my hands to maintain balance on the cold snow.
After a final section of grassy ridge I rejoined a dirt track which took me along the side of another mountain. Villages and winding roads were spread out below me on the side of the valley, including Psarro where my hotel was. To reach it I left the track after a few kilometres and followed a valley downhill, pushing through beech saplings beside the stream to reach a final dirt track. There may well have been better routes down, one is described in trekkingpsarro.com for which I was handed a leaflet at the hotel this evening. The dirt track took me over a scree slope, it's fallen rocks spread across the track, through a herd of goats, to my destination, a section of freshly poured concrete being my final obstacle (being a thoughtful person I climbed down the slope to avoid it rather than leave my boot prints permanently frozen in the roadway).
So now I am in front of the log fire at the Hotel Zampaka Panorama having enjoyed my dinner and a beer, well deserved after 9 hours on the trail. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, and I will be camping....
26.2 kilometres today (not including the extra distance due to missing a turn) with a total ascent of 1220 metres.
A GPX file of my track can be downloaded from wikiloc.com or you can download my route onto your smartphone from myviewranger.com code johnpon0041.
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| Sort of a path in places if you look hard and a rare yellow and black E4 waymark |
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| Some steep chutes of snow to cross |
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| Looking down on villages and winding roads in the valley |
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