The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Hiking the White Mountains of Crete

The rugged peaks, dramatic gorges, and scenic coastal paths make western Crete a wonderful hiking destination. The White Mountains, (Lefka Ori in Greek), composed chiefly of limestone, are the southern-most range in Europe. Nonetheless, they’re high enough to receive snow during the winter months and hold it until early spring. Both the snow covered uplands and the blanched limestone rocks contribute to the name of the range, the largest on Crete, occupying a considerable area of the central and western portions of the island. A good introductory reference on the Lefka Ori may be found here.

My one-week trip to western Crete was, once again, with KE Adventures, whose itinerary includes descending the longest gorge in Europe, climbing the highest peak in the White Mountains, as well as scenic coastal walking. With three separate guest house bases, we were able to cover a wide range of the natural highlights of the western Crete. Enjoy the photos!

Morning view from my Hotel Exari balcony, Omalos. This mountain hamlet was our home for the first two nights.

Our first day’s hike was to the summit of Mount Gingilos. At 1980m, it is not as high as other peaks, but its relatively easy access, purported great views, and exciting trail to the summit made it a good – if a bit challenging – choice for our first hike.

The North face of Mount Gingilos from the end-of-road trailhead. Our route to its summit is from the right side up to the obvious saddle.
A natural arch on the path up Mount Gingilos
A majestic Mediterranean cypress (Cupressus sempervirens)
Mediterranean wild thyme (Thymbra capitata)
Mount Gingilos summit pole. The fog had completely obscured any view long before we reached the summit.
Three of our group of 5 descending one of the numerous scrambly bits near the summit.
A Mediterranean cypress living on the edge

Our second day’s hike, down Samaria Gorge, could not have been more different. From the same trailhead as the previous day, we descended this wildly popular gorge to the sea, about 15 km and more than 1200 meters lower. Most of the 1000 or so daily hikers came by bus from the popular tourist resorts in eastern Crete, so we had plenty of company.

A view down Samaria Gorge from near the top
A lovely stream with oleanders
The chapel of Agios (saint) Nikolaos
A friendly wild Kri-kri goat (Capra hircus cretica), endemic to Crete and highly endangered
View up the Samaria Gorge
A stream flows along large parts of the gorge, including the last 10 km.

After descending the gorge, we stayed in the remote hamlet of Agia Roumeli near its base. This village is only accessible by water or foot, and was quite charming once the day-trippers from the Samaria Gorge left in late afternoon. Following a rest day, we continued our hiking week along a coastal section of the long distance E4 walking path.

Morning view from my balcony in Artemis Studios, Agia Roumeli
Our coastal hike was from Agia Roumeli to Loutro along the E4. Here is a typical view through a pine forest along the route, with the Libyan Sea to the right.
The remote (and welcoming) Agios Pavlos (Saint Paul) taverna
The Agios Pavlos byzantine church
Coastal view with Marmara beach bottom center (not seen here)
The Marmara beach restaurant, where we had lunch. This photo was taken a couple of days later when we returned here to start our final hike.
Marmara beach and caves. The warm water and a couple of swim-through caves made our two hours relaxing here quite enjoyable. As one must either take a boat or walk, this beach was never too crowded.
Phoenician fort archaeological area near Loutro along the E4
Loutro, the end point of our lovely coastal walk. Loutro is yet another town on the south coast of Crete without direct road access.

At the conclusion of our coastal walk, we transferred about one hour by ferry to Sfakia, where we stayed for our final three nights. Despite having road access, Sfakia was charming nonetheless, with numerous harbor-side tavernas and not too much tourist kitsch. The hotel we stayed in was completely forgettable; I would recommend the Xenia Hotel instead if you’re ever in the area.

Our penultimate hike was to the summit of Mount Pachnes. We ascended a jeep road that took us 90 minutes to reach the trailhead at its terminus.

Mount Troharis (2401m) from near the trailhead. We couldn’t see our objective, hidden in the central Lefka Ori, for for the first hour or so of the hike.
Some of our group climbing towards Mount Pachnes’ summit (at right)
The Vagabond Hiker on Pachnes’ summit (2453m). While relatively warm even at that altitude, the strong winds made wearing a buff on my head seem sensible.
Summit view west towards Volakias with Gingilos behind to the right (above the white patch of scree)

Our final hike was a horseshoe from Marmara beach up the Aradena Gorge to the ancient town of Anopoli, with a descent to Loutro after lunch. The Aradena Gorge, one of more than 50 on Crete, is in many ways more spectacular than Samaria Gorge – and with far fewer people!

The entrance to Aradena Gorge behind Marmara beach
A griffon vulture over the gorge. Although we saw these majestic birds nearly every day, getting a photo of one was another thing entirely.
Lilac chastetree (Vitex agnus-castus), or Monk’s pepper. Along with Oleander, one of the few flowers we saw this late in the season. We also saw numerous sea onion or red squill, also common on Sardinia (see my post from last September).
A friendly goat (not wild) we saw in the Aradena Gorge. Goats are a major cause of the environmental degradation throughout the Lefka Ori.
Some hikers on a deviation to avoid rockfall in the gorge.
Our group in the Aradena Gorge
The Aradena bridge. At 138m, the highest in Crete.
A portion of the abandoned village of Aradena, deserted after a family feud in 1948 left multiple dead
Church of Archangel Michael near Aradena village. Mount Troharis is in the background.
View of prickly pear cactus and a cistern on the outskirts of Anopoli (literally, “high town”) where we had lunch. I ended the hike here, taking a taxi back to Sfakia while the others punished their knees in 34C heat on the 700m descent to Loutro.

I’m back in the UK for the next few days, before returning to the US on Thursday. Four days of hiking the South West Coast Path this past week provided quite a contrast to Crete, and will be the subject of my next blog post.

Now that summer’s over, get outside and enjoy the cooler weather this autumn!

The Vagabond Hiker

Pakistan’s K2 Basecamp Trek

August 2024 Postscript

Another sad addendum to the story of the two Russian climbers attempting the SE ridge, a new route on Gasherbrum IV. Sergey Nilov led a group of mountaineers this month to recover the body of his partner, Dmitry Golovchenko, who fell to his death in September 2023. Sadly, a serac collapse injured two othes and killed Nilov. His body has not been recovered. As Federico Bernardi noted, “This tragic story reminds us of the brutal reality of the mountains, which remains impassive of the small destinies of human lives.”

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Long on my bucket list, the trek to K2 Basecamp will be without a doubt the highlight of my summer 2023 travels. Objectively, the 14 day trek is not a particularly difficult one, with a gradual ascents up the Braldu Valley and moderate distances: 183 km (114 miles) and 4170 meters (13,700 ft) total elevation gain. However, the limited food choices (there are no villages along the route), dubious water quality at higher camps, and a recurrence of my old nemesis, gout, provided challenges aplenty. Despite these issues, the palpable sense of history when scrambling up the Art Gilkey Memorial and the awe-inspiring huge south face of the second highest mountain on Earth seen from the Godwin-Austen glacier are experiences I will never forget. They provide ample rewards for the adventurous traveler.

The trip began in Islamabad where the group of eleven clients and our western leader, Bart, met over lunch the first day. Early the next morning, we departed for Skardu. Fortunately, the weather was good enough for the one-hour flight, avoiding the necessity of traveling about 14 hours up the Karakoram Highway. Baltistan, with Skardu as its capital, is home to most of the high peaks in the Karakoram mountain range. With an elevation of about 2250 m (7400 ft), a night spent there while our trekking permits were sorted also helped our altitude acclimatization. Early the following morning we took a convoy of Toyota Land Cruisers on the six-hour drive over increasingly sketchy roads up to Askole, the last permanently-inhabited village in the upper Braldu Valley, where the trek commenced the next day.

Early morning view of the Hindu Kush from my overnight London to Islamabad flight
Nanga Parbat (8125m) from the flight to Skardu from Islamabad on Pakistan International Airways (currently banned from EU airspace due to fake pilot licenses). While the flight proved uneventful, the stupendous views of the 9th highest mountain in the world made it one of the more exciting flights I’ve taken. Here one sees the Diamir (west) face and the heavily snow-covered Mazeno Ridge (on the right side). The unseen south-southeast Rupal Face (at 4600m) is the largest wall in the world.
View from the Concordia Hotel balcony in Skardu. Providing only basic accommodations, on our return the cold water shower seemed divine.
Map of the Central Karakoram National Park, Gilgit-Baltistan. Skardu (lower left) and Askole (center) are circled in black. Our trekking route is the thin black line heading generally to the right (east) from Askole, before it turns north towards K2 basecamp at Concordia.
This Land Cruiser convoy provided transport for our 6 hour journey from Skardu to Askole. Here we were stopped at a military checkpoint to verify our permits.
A Braldu River bridge seen from the back seat of my Land Cruiser. The last two hours to Askole were exciting to say the least.
Askole village view. Our campsite the first night (before the trek started) was right in the middle of the village.

Day 1 – Askole to Jhola: 18 km, 520 m elevation gain

To beat the heat, each day we started trekking between 6 and 6:30 AM. The first day and a half were on jeep roads, enabling good distance as we headed up the Upper Braldu Valley.

Here are some farming terraces on the south bench above the Braldu River. I enjoyed the greenery while I could.
Three of our trekking mules. Porters also carried much of our equipment.
Our three guides: Karim, Bart, and Gharfor. Bart, our western leader, literally wrote the book on trekking in Pakistan (it will be published in December by Cicerone). Our head local guide, Karim, was well-respected up and down the valley.
Landscape with junipers
Two mules crossing a rickety bridge
The Army-built Jhola Bridge, by a long way the best-engineered bridge we encountered

Day 2 – Johla to Paiju: 20 km, 640 m elevation gain

We would leave the jeep track behind today, though since a river crossing 10 km above Askole has no vehicular bridge, vehicles had to be helicoptered in above that point; consequently we saw none.

Bart seen here crossing a rather wobbly bridge. Some of us walked and others crawled across.
Braldu River vista
Paiju camp view upstream. This was my favorite camp, with shady spots for our tents and well-maintained toilets.

Day 3 – Rest Day at Paiju

To aid acclimatization, we spent a day in camp (at 3400 m). This was our only rest day on the trek, and I can confidently say it was enjoyed by all.

The hills behind Paiju camp looked excellent for scrambling. Tempting though they were, I took a true rest day instead.
Sunset view looking upstream from Paiju camp

Day 4 – Paiju to Horbose: 13 km, 610 m elevation gain

After Paiju, we would shortly reach the Baltoro glacier, drastically increasing the difficulty of the terrain for the subsequent week.

A morning view shortly after leaving camp
The snout of the Baltoro glacier, with the Braldu River. (This photo was actually taken on the descent as the rising sun in the east made photographs problematic at this point).
Upstream view along the Baltoro glacier towards the Trango Towers. The glacier was mostly covered with rocks and rubble.
Broad-leaf fireweed (Epilobium latifolium), a frequent sight at these elevations
Setting up tents at Horbose camp. Paiju Peak (6610 m) is seen to the left, with Great Trango Tower (6287 m) to the right. At 1340 m, Great Trango’s east face is the world’s greatest nearly vertical drop. (Mt. Thor on Baffin Island is the world’s greatest purely vertical drop).

Day 5 – Horbose to Urdukas: 6 km, 270 m elevation gain

A short day as we continued to gain elevation. Horbose and Urdukas camps were both on the lateral moraine, not on Baltoro glacier itself. This day we had to cross two side glaciers entering from the south.

Mandu Glacier, seen entering the Upper Braldu Valley. Masherbrum (7821 m) is not visible here, but rises behind on the right.
Some of our group descending a side glacier (either Mandu or Yermanendi)
Guides and mules, looking back down towards Trango and Paiju
Saxifrage. Of course, there were few flowers at the higher elevations, but I did get photos of several.

Day 6 – Urdukas to Goro 2: 11.5 km, 330 m elevation gain

A longish day in which we would leave the relative warmth of lateral moraine campsites for the next five nights, camping on the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers.

Early morning view down valley from Urdukas camp
The massively complex Baltoro Glacier. Melting snow and ice led to almost constant rockfall in some areas.
Baltoro glacier view towards Lobsang Spire
Bart crossing an ice bridge with Lobsang Spire in the background
The Vagabond hiker resting at camp. The days were hot (approaching 31C or 88F), so I often resorted to wearing a buff soaked in glacier melt water to cool off.
My tent in evening light, looking up valley towards Gasherbrum IV
Alpenglow on Gasherbrum IV (zoom)

Day 7 – Goro 2 to Concordia: 13 km, 360 m elevation gain

Today we trekked to Concordia, the junction of three glaciers and the place that American climber and photographer Galen Rowell aptly named the ‘Throne Room of the Mountain Gods.’ Nowhere else on earth can you stand so close to so many of the world’s highest peaks, including Broad Peak (8047m), Gasherbrum (8080m) and the stupendous south face of K2 (8611m).

Gasherbrum IV (7932 m). By mid-August, all climbers had left the Central Karakorum, with the exception of two Russians attempting a new route on G IV*. Gasherbrum II is the tiny white bump that appears halfway up G IV’s right (southwest) ridge.
A zoom photo of Broad Peak (8047 m), the 12th highest mountain in the world, from Concordia
K2 (8611m)! Shortly before entering the sprawling Concordia camp we finally saw The Savage Mountain.
G IV in the evening light from Concordia camp

Day 8 – Concordia to K2 BC to the Gilkey Memorial to Broad Peak BC: 19 km, 560 m elevation gain

This was the BIG DAY we had all been physically and mentally preparing for. Six of the 11 clients made it to the Art Gilkey memorial on K2, and three of us also reached the empty K2 Basecamp.

The crux of the day’s trek took place shortly after leaving camp: Ascending onto the Godwin-Austen glacier. Ice screws were employed for a line-assist and micro-spikes were needed (at least for clients – the porters and guides wore sneakers)!
Portions of the Godwin-Austen Glacier were anything but straight-forward
With Jackie and Matt at K2 Basecamp with K2 rising behind. The two young Canadians were the strongest trekkers in our group. I dubbed the three of us ‘Team North America.’
Art Gilkey memorial and Savoia Glacier. The red arrow points to the memorial, originally to the mountaineer who died in Charlie Houston’s epic 1953 summit attempt.
Shrubby cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa) on the scramble up to the Gilkey Memorial
Gilkey Memorial and Godwin-Austen Glacier, seen from standing behind the memorial on K2
View looking south along G-A glacier as the weather started deteriorating. Still a long way back to Broad Peak Basecamp where our campsite was located.
‘Team North America’ descending the G-A glacier. Note the pedestal rock, a sign that the glacier has been thinning.
K2 wreathed in clouds from near Broad Peak camp

Days 9-14 – Descent back to Korophon (Askole): 82 km and 880 m elevation gain

Six more days trekking were required to essentially retrace our steps back to Askole. A couple of camps were different and some daily distances greater, with of course less elevation gain on the undulating terrain heading down valley. Our final camp was at Korophon, about 10 km before Askole village. Some of us (myself included) took a jeep from there. Here are a few of the photo highlights I took of the descent.

K2 in the morning on Day 9. The summit had finally reappeared.
Vittorio Sella’s famous 1909 photograph of K2 from the Godwin-Austen Glacier at sunrise. Numerous books document the fascinating history of the exploration and climbing of K2.
Garphor looking towards G IV and Broad Peak on the morning of Day 10. Our assistant guide was hugely strong and had led ‘Team North America’ to K2 Basecamp.
Evening view of G IV on Day 10. Please pardon the numerous repeats, but the views of Gasherbrum IV were some of the best on the entire trek.
Karim and Caroline (on horse) with Trango and Paiju Peak on Day 11. Many of us were afflicted (most likely by the water at Concordia), but Caroline was particularly hard-hit and rode a mule two days during the return trek.
Horbose camp with Trango and Paiju, showing its location on the lateral moraine.
Russian Sage (Salvia yangii) on Day 12. Many of my photos on the return trek were of the various flowers and shrubs.
Some of our group en-route to camp on Day 13
Jeep ride back to Askole from Korophon on Day 14 of the trek. I saw no shame in avoiding the final 10 km of the jeep track, with some porters joining four clients and Bart. Use full screen mode to view the video, courtesy of another client.

I’ll spare the reader details of our onward journey to Skardu and then the flight to Islamabad where we went on a city tour, had a celebratory final dinner, and dispersed for our returns home.

* — a sad postscript on the two strong Russian climbers attempting to open a new route on Gasherbrum IV. Yesterday Dimitry Golovchenko was confirmed dead after falling on the south-east ridge. His climbing partner, Sergey Nilov, is currently in a hospital in Islamabad recovering from frostbite and other injuries.

Back in the UK, I’m packing for my next trip – a week hiking on Crete, with my plane departing tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for my next blog post of the White Mountains and some coastal walks on that rugged Greek island.

The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, Trekking, and Culture in the Caucasus, Part 2: Georgia

A short one-hour flight from Yerevan and I was in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, where I had rented an AirBnb apartment for the duration of my 12 day stay in the country. After KE Adventure cancelled the Georgia trip I had booked, online I found Trek Georgia, a company that leads some multi-day hikes and treks. I signed up for a four-day trip to the Greater Caucasus mountains in the Kazbegi region north of Tbilisi. Three others eventually signed up, making for some intelligent conversations with an eclectic group of clients.

Note: Due to a glitch, no e-mail notification of my previous post on Armenia was delayed. For a short background on the Caucasus region, including a map, you might want to skip down to read that post first.

Tbilisi’s National Museum Map of the Occupation (areas shown in red). While Armenians seem generally friendly towards Russians, such cannot be said for Georgians. Although their governing party is pro-Putin, nearly all Georgians despise him. The two bites he took out of the country in 2008 go a long way to understanding why.
View from the Ananuri Fortress Complex and Zhinvali Reservoir. We stopped briefly on our way north to the mountains.
A stream running through Khada gorge. Our first hike was a short one on the way to our guesthouse in Kazbegi. Sadly, road and tunnel construction made this hike the least enjoyable of the four, although the wildflowers compensated somewhat. . .
Thyme broomrape (Orobanche alba Stephan). To be honest, I couldn’t tell this parasitic plant apart from its relative, slender broomrape. My PlantNet app gave it a much higher likelihood of being Thyme broomrape, though.
Big betony (Betonica macrantha). This species has a much smaller range than common betony, which I also saw in Armenia.
Persian elephant flower (Rhynchocorys elephas). Although also native to Italy, I’d never seen this wildflower before. One of the botanical highlights of my trip.
Mt Kazbek from the Military Highway. Not a great photo as we were driving, but sadly the only sighting I had of this iconic Caucasian peak, 3rd highest in Georgia and by a long way the most popular with climbers.
The town of Kazbegi, in the district of the same name. This view is to the east from our guesthouse balcony where we spent three nights. This mountain town, now formally called Stepantsminda, is the last town before the border with Russia.
Juta Valley vista on our 2nd day hike. Many tourists were enjoying the good weather on a summer weekend in this beautiful valley.
Broad-leaved marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza majalis) in Juta Valley
Fragrant orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea). A slightly better photo than my one from Lago di Garda in June. Once again I forgot to smell it.
A Juta valley waterfall on our second hike, heading towards Chaukhi pass.
Gentian speedwell (Veronica gentianoides). It took many photo attempts, but I finally got a decent one of this miniature wildflower. The Juta Valley had an amazing variety of wildflowers; I’ve only included three here.
The Vagabond Hiker with our guide, Nugo, on the third day of hiking. Only one other client and I hiked up to Altihut on this misty day. Altihut is the first of two refuges used on the normal ascent route of Mount Kazbek.
A religious memorial located at a pass on the way to Altihut where we had lunch.
A panel from the Russia–Georgia Friendship Monument along the military highway. This monument was erected during Soviet times, but remains a popular tourist destination, in part for its dramatic location.
View northwest from the Russia–Georgia Friendship Monument
Our fourth and final hike was up to Lomisa Church, a medieval Christian shrine. We were accompanied by many pilgrims on the path to this holy site.
View south from Lomisa Church. Russian-occupied Georgia starts immediately below my feet on this ridge and continues into the far distance.

After four days of hiking in the mountains, I joined a cultural group tour for a day, focused on the wine and food of Georgia. The informative (and filling!) day was provided by EatThis!, an expat-led company offering a number of different food and wine tours in Georgia. Our trip was centered in the Kakheti region, the largest – though not the only – wine growing region in Georgia. It’s location to the east of Tbilisi made it doable as a single day trip, though the company also offers multi-day trips.

Gia Togonidze, the proprietor of the eponymous winery we visited. The different wines were amazing and Gia’s wife cooked a delicious lunch for our group of five. Unlike in Armenia, I had no difficulty finding good vegetarian and vegan food in Georgia.
Qvevris drying in the sun. These large amphorae, buried in the ground, are used to age traditional Georgian wine.
Alaverdi monastery, where we stopped for a dose of history.
Gombori Pass sunset view on our return journey to Tbilisi after a very long day of eating and drinking.

I hope you have enjoyed the brief two part tour through the Caucasus. I’ll include some photos from Tbilisi (and Yerevan) later this autumn when I post some photos from the cities I visited in 2023.

My next adventure will be in Pakistan. In a few days I will leave the UK to Islamabad, and then north to Baltistan where our KE Adventures group will trek to K2 basecamp, a trip that’s long been on my bucket list. Until then, enjoy the rest of the summer.

The Vagabond Hiker

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