Home of the Gods
- swbennett97
- Jul 21, 2017
- 4 min read
Last Friday morning, we hopped on our big blue bus for one last weekend trip in Greece. Where to this time? The highest point in Greece, and also the highlight of my six week trip- Mount Olympus. The 2,918 meter (9,573 ft) high mountain was about an hour and a half drive from our apartments in Thessaloniki. We all packed our backpacks for the night, where we would stay in a lodge at about 2,100 meters. Our first day spottings included a dog leading a group of pack donkeys, a man carrying his dog in his backpack, and some really amazing views.
After four hours of hiking on Friday, we finally arrived at Spilios Agapitos refuge, all of us hungry, sweaty, exhausted, but so happy to have anywhere to sit. Mountaineers from all over the world stayed at the lodge, eager to summit to the Throne of Zeus. After switching our shoes for slippers or sandals (refuge policy), most of us ordered a well-deserved meal of spaghetti bolognese or Greek salad. Our dinner view was like none other. Fog rising through the trees made me feel as if I were in a movie, and the cold temperature of the high altitude was a nice break from the 80-100+ degree Fahrenheit weather we had been experiencing for most of our trip throughout all of Greece.
Once the sun set (yet another beautiful scene), we were greeted by a thunderstorm that carried on through the night. Before heading off to our bunk beds, some friends and I watched the lightning and fog roll through our shelter. It was such an amazing feeling to really be in the clouds and see them moving around you. At 10:30 PM, the lodge's generator was shut down, leaving us with no light or heat. It was time to head to our shared Parent Trap-camp-like rooms. We bundled up for bed, being allowed three blankets each, and slept like babies through the storm until our next morning's adventure. We woke up at 7 AM on Saturday, ate breakfast and got dressed. Considering the only running water was sourced from a freezing mountain stream, showers were barely an option, no matter how disgusting we all felt.
So we headed off to climb, sometimes crawl, to the very top of Mount Olympus. We got going around 8:20 AM and reached the Plateau of Muses around noon. It was the most strenuous, terrifying, and exhilarating thing I have ever done. At some points, trails were wide enough for only one foot, with loose rock everywhere. When we reached the Christos Kakalos refuge at the base of the peak, we carbo-loaded with some more spaghetti and hot chocolate. The temperature had dropped so much with the altitude that we were all still shivering even with sweatpants and sweatshirts on. Even though it was so cloudy that the view of the land below was obscured, the sense of accomplishment was worth it all. I have never felt more proud of a group and myself in my life. Our two guides, Annie and Vasilis made the hike as safe and simple for our group of 30 (give or take a few) college students. One of my favorite memories of the hike was, of course, the dog that followed us from our first lodge up to the second. Her name was Mariza, and she continued to follow us all the way down the mountain as well, despite running into some other dogs that she didn't like quite as much as us. As we started our trek down, our guide stopped us to watch another group of donkeys bringing people and their packs to the lodge. The mountain was full of donkeys and the evidence they left behind. We also spotted a wild goat on the top of a hill in the distance. Ironically, I had said moments before that our hiking trip would be complete for me if I could see a goat; voila! Now I was ready to return to the bottom.
Our first stretch of land down was a much easier landscape; a flat, grassy meadow lead us down until we reached the rockier ridges. We then teetered across the lower rockier peaks and took a break to lay down and enjoy the flowers and herbs. While we relaxed, it started to rain so it was time to pick up our pace. The rain didn't last long but it was a nice relief from sweating. We reached another grassy, more foresty area after some very steep hills that we tried not to roll our ankles on (most of us were successful). From this point on, our trails were clearly marked and much less steep. The last leg of our hike was through the forest for the next three hours to the bottom, with one more break at another refuge.
As the trees cleared, we were all so thankful to be back on flat ground. I actually jogged the last ten yards because I was so ready to sit down. Our knees were trembling as we waited for our bus to pick us up again. The trip was absolutely incredible and I would never trade it for anything, but our joints didn't quite share the same excitement. As I look back on our hike (which was actually a week ago) I still am in awe of our accomplishment after no training, and without proper hiking shoes. We took on the mountain, and we'll never look back. 'Til next time!
Disclaimer: This blog should've been written a week ago but my last week in Greece was a crazy, busy ball of fun; more on that in my next and final blog.
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