After battling the dying whale, we got up the next morning and made our way downstairs for breakfast. The kitchen had just as many amazing meals available for breakfast as for dinner. My favorite, and the one I ate over and over again and all the refuges, was the greek omelet. The thing looked like a PIZZA. It was huge and full of awesomeness and super tasty.
This was also where Andy and I got introduced to coffee in Greece. We had been drinking a lot of cappuccinos because we couldn’t find a way to translate/explain the Greek equivalent of “black” coffee. No one really knew what we were talking about. We finally asked Thomas and he suggested to use the words “filtered” or “plain.” In true expert-Thomas style, that worked. Until we figured that out, however, we had become addicted to Greek coffee, an incredibly strong and flavorful brew made from Greek coffee beans in a percolator-type item called a Briki. Greek coffee usually is served with foam on the top with the grounds sitting in the bottom of the cup. I thought it was super tasty, but Andy wasn’t a big fan.
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| The omelet! |
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| Greek coffee |
Once we all got our things together we said goodbye to Petrostruga and set out for day two. We continued moving through the beautiful trees, amongst the Bosnian pine, evergreen broadleaf, and other deciduous oak trees. We also saw many shrubs common in this area including elm, cherry plum, European yew, hazel, holly, and maple. There was beautiful greenery along the hillside and beautiful green rolling plateaus.
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| Andy and Thomas heading up the trail |
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| Above us is Zeus’s throne |
We hiked about 4 hours that day. As we climbed higher, the views got more and more beautiful. At one point, we stopped at a peak with a gorgeous view and took some pictures.
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| Andy on the peak |
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| Don on the peak |
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| Andy hiking along |
We finally got to the next refuge, called Christos Kakalos at the southwest edge of the Muses’ Plateau. This refuge is part of the Greek Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing (E.O.O.A.). It was very similar to Petrostruga; there was a dining area, a small kitchen, and a sleeping area. Christos Kakalos was much smaller than Petrostruga – no large staircases, but there was a long ladder/narrow staircase up to the sleeping area. The bathroom was outside, along a small gravel path towards the bottom of the small hill that the refuge was perched on. It was clean and well maintained.
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| Heading towards Christos Kakalos |
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| Andy in front of the Christos Kakalos flag |
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| The dining area |
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| Looking down from the sleeping area |
Don really came alive at Christos Kakalos. I think he enjoyed the cool breeze and the views of Mt. Olympus.
We were surprisingly tired after only hiking 3 hours or so. We had some lunch out on the picnic benches overlooking the valley area, and then took a quick nap upstairs.
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| Protecting ourselves from the wind during lunch |
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| Andy enjoying his coffee |
Thomas really had an eye for when the best times were to attempt to get to the top. Apparently if Mytikas gets too large of a cloud cover, it’s near to impossible to safely climb all the way to the highest peak. Thomas had indicated that we could climb Mytikas later that afternoon or the next day depending upon our mood and energy level. We were assuming we would just climb it the next day, but Thomas woke us up about 3pm suggesting we attempt the climb at that time since the sky was clear. Since Thomas was the expert, we climbed out of bed and got all of our things together.
As I mentioned in the previous Mt. Olympus blog, the hike up to Mt. Olympus is a clear trail all the way up to the last section, which is a YDS Class 3 Rock Scramble. We weren’t entirely sure what this meant, but when Thomas equipped us with climbing harnesses and helmets, we assumed it was getting pretty serious. Thomas carried a rope with him, but assured us it was just in case we felt more comfortable with it. We only ended up using it on a small section heading back down from the top. I actually found it easier and less restraining without the rope, but Thomas was prepared either way.
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| Our helmets |
We left all of our things at the refuge (including Don….I was so sad), and just carried our cameras, a light jacket, and some water. Along with Andy and I climbing to the top, one of Thomas’ friends, Stefano, came with us for this last leg. He was very nice and interesting; he was climbing Mytikas as his own personal accomplishment – he was Greek but had always been afraid of heights and never attempted to climb Mytikas. He mentioned at one point he had stood at the base of the rock scramble, stared up to the top and turned away. He was determined to make it up this time.
Andy and I, along with Thomas and Stefano, hiked along a narrow trail at the base of Zeus’s Throne (named because the side of the mountain looks like the crown of a King). The trail and side areas were full of wild goats, which of course, I insisted Andy take a picture of (and name…it was Gerry by the way). They were super cute, and bouncing all along the gravel and grassy area.
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| Zeus’s throne |
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| Gerry! (top left) |
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| Gerry’s friends |
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| Thomas pointing the way! |
When we got to the base of the rock scramble it was obvious why we had helmets and why Thomas had brought the rope. I wouldn’t refer to this last stretch as “rock climbing” per se, but it was steep and required hand and foot holds to make it to the top. Loose rocks were everywhere, and precision with hand placement and a confidence with heights was a necessity. Thomas walked us through the safety rules, which included yelling “stone” or “rock” if you saw a sizeable rock falling below your feet, as well as climbing slowly and using the rope if you needed it. Thomas also knew, for the most part, where loose rocks were and which ones to hold on to and which ones not to. He lead the way, with Stefano behind him, me in the middle, and Andy at the end (Andy wanted to make sure he could see me the entire way up).
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| Me waving |
The rock scramble was probably my favorite part of the entire hike. It was a perfect level of thrill and it felt like such a rewarding accomplishment to make it through that part. The four of us climbed slowly but surely, leaving enough space in between each one of us but always making sure everyone was okay. We alerted each other of loose rocks and Thomas checked in with us on occasion to see if we had changed our minds about wanting the rope.
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| Thomas and Stefano heading up |
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| All smiles |
Finally, Thomas pulled himself up over a large rock at the top and proudly announced “You made it!” We scrambled up the last few feet and there we were – at the TOP of Mt. Olympus, the highest peak in the country of Greece. It was a great achievement and it felt so good to have made it. We had the perfect weather, a fantastic guide, and enough courage and confidence to not turn back. It felt awesome.
As you can see, at the top was a Greek flag, proudly situated at the highest point, along with a notebook to write in that you were there and where you were from. Andy and I signed it, along with Thomas and Stefano. People had etched encouraging messages and personal words on the sides of some of the rocks as well.
Heading down from Mytikas was hard. It was difficult to say goodbye and we kept thinking we had missed the perfect picture. We would probably never be at the top again, so we took our time to give Mytikas the attention it deserved. Plus, we had to prepare ourselves for the scramble down. What none of us (except Thomas probably) were realizing while going up was that we eventually would have to go down. It was almost physically impossible to go down in the same position as you went up, for the simple fact that you couldn’t see where you were placing your feet. Thus, the only real safe way to do it was to go feet first and snake your way down with your back to the mountain. It was more dangerous because there was a greater chance you could fall forward. It was also physically awkward because your hands were behind your back and you couldn’t see over your feet without leaning dangerously forward.
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| Looking down |
At this point, Thomas busted out the rope. We all decided it was best to do it safely, at least for the first half down. Thomas did a figure eight knot, roped us in with our harnesses, and lowered us each down carefully. He came last, and lowered us all down again a second time. We finally got to a point where we felt comfortable without the rope, and continued to make our way down to the bottom. It took probably three times as long to get down than to get up. But, we had done it safely, and that was what was important.
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| Don made it to the “top” too! |
We made our way back to the refuge with pride, and spent the rest of the evening eating dinner and drinking tsiporo with Thomas and Stefano and chatting about our ascent. We ordered beef with rice that night and drank some wine. Andy also tried a LouxCola, the Greek equivalent of Coca-Cola. He said it was surprisingly similar.
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| Andy and his LouxCola |
Andy retired up to bed before me and I stayed downstairs chatting with Ksenya, Thomas, and Stefano. On the way down the mountain, Andy and I had run into a group of British tourists who were coming down off Mytikas at the same time we were. They were seated in the dining room and kindly offered for me to sit with them when Andy went to bed. They were hysterical, and full of contagious joy for life and traveling. I loved getting to know them. They were all from Durham, England, and had met through a climbing club in their hometown. They were in Greece for a mutual friend’s wedding and had decided to throw in a trip up Mytikas while they were there. I spent a couple hours with them, playing games and chatting until I was too exhausted to stay up.
More adventures to embark on and more fun people to meet tomorrow!
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