Only 10 minutes from the top but, who cares?

We had a beautiful walk along the Vikos gorge yesterday. Although it was still quite long (5 hours), it was fairly easy and relatively flat, as most walks along a river tend to be. So today we are looking for something a bit more challenging. We are climbing Gamila, the second highest peak of the Timfi mountains (2,497m).

The trek stars in the enchanted village of Mikros Papigo, where we came yesterday to get some information. Although we were told by the locals that it would be fine to sleep in Dora at the car park by the church, we stayed just outside the village, in a layby by the road. The car park next to the church was quite small, we didn’t want to abuse taking up half of the space with fat Dora.

I wake up quite early, excited and a bit nervous. I usually feel like this before we attempt a fairly serious mountain.

I look out the window. The mountains look glorious this morning. The dawn light is already touching their summits. There is not one cloud in the sky. This promises to be a lovely day.

To pick up the mountain path, we walk trough the village. It is very quiet, the village is still asleep. The sun is slowly rising up in the sky.

We walk first through the woods. The path is easy, flat, wide and well maintained. The dappled light falls through the leaves.

Soon after, we leave the trees. Zig-zagging up the barren landscape, we gain height quickly. Looking back, a few timid clouds fly over the village of Mikros Papigo which looks tiny from here.

Our first benchmarking will be the refuge on the top of the ridge. We should get there in about two hours.

The path is still fairly even. At times, it requires a bit of a climb but it is not too challenging.

From here we already spot the refuge, which is still an hour away.

We come across a crossroads. Off to the right, there is the path to the Astraka peak (2,432m). There is the summit, high above us. The route to it must go around the back. It looks like an interesting mountain with maybe some scrambling involved at the top. We could have chosen this one, but we went for Gamila, simply because it is higher.

We are getting closer to the refuge. I call Gary and ask him to watch out.

He has almost treaded on this poor toad. He could have mushed it.

We take it and put it on one side, away from the path. It is quite of a considerable size, almost as big as the palm of your hand.

After two hours we get to the refuge, which is closed. Originally, we planned to stay here for the night and do a longer trek the next day but they will be closed until the end of the month. It is still too early in the season.

After a long and fairly steep climb to refuge,

we have now a long and steep drop down to a lake before we climb up again. The path down looks quite severe. I would put my crampons on now but Gary suggests that we should wait until we get to the bottom of the lake, as it is safer. He is right, so I swallow my fears and starts to go down, negotiating the snow and the slope as best as I can, just with my boots.

It is always a compromise, if you wear crampons at every patch of snow, you spend a lot of time putting them on taking them off, it can get really time consuming. You can walk across small patches of rock in crampons, but it isn’t great. GDR

The slope becomes steeper and steeper. The way to deal with this is zig-zagging down and sticking the heel of our boots deep in the snow, with confidence, this makes a steep slope shallower.

It has only taken us half an hour to get to the bottom of the lake. We are now safe to put our crampons on. The landscapes undulates before we start the proper climb up towards Gamila.

It is 11.00 am. The sun is starting to heat up. The snow becomes more sluggish by the minute. Yes, we have crampons, but in melting snow, they are not much of a help. We sink at every step, sometimes up to our knees. Before we successfully get that leg out of the snow, we sink in with the other one.

The main path continues straight on to Tsepelovo, the village at the other side of the valley. Gamila is off to our left.

The peak is visible from here but there are not obvious path nor footprints, which suggests no one has climbed this peak for a while. We will have to make our own way up.

To avoid steep climbs on sluggish snow, we have decided to keep high and traverse along the hillside, rather than taking the direct route to the peak. This is proving to be a mistake and making life difficult for us. The hillside is south facing, and at this height, it gets the sun for most part of the day. The snow here is particularly soft. With no footprints to follow, the leader has to do the hard work to create a path, so Gary and I swap positions.

We finally reach a cluster of rocks. The summit is up around the ridge to the right. We estimate it is still an hour away. But we are so tired, we decide to leave our bags here and continue. We hope carrying less weight could make our lives easier.

It doesn’t. I now feel I am using my last bits of energy. The summit is just there, we can almost touch it, but the going is really slow, it seems we will never get there.

Every step I take, every move I make… It feels like I carry extra five kilos on each leg.

Plus we are walking close to the ridge. I am starting to feel vertigo.

I am pretty tired, I look down, it looks so intimidating.

I am having doubts. Do I want to continue? Does it matter if I don’t reach the summit? On the other hand, after coming all this way, there is no shame in stopping now?

Nevertheless, I feel weak, exposed, unsafe. The final sprint to the summit, involves more trekking on a steep slope of snow.

Gary, I don’t want to continue. I don’t have more energy left. You summit and I will wait for you here.

I thought Gary was going to encourage me, as we are so close to the top, but he doesn’t. He must have guessed how I feel.

He climbs up the last bit. I sit on a rock waiting for him, and being frustrating with myself. For the first time, I couldn’t be bothered to summit a mountain.

I really feel for Susana, as she has got this far and the summit is just another 50m higher, but it also shows a level of experience, not to push on even when you are close. To turn back can be the mature decision.

You just must never look back with regret!

The summit is a snow dome with a precipitous northern face, quite intimidating, especially as the seracs are beginning to melt, so you need to keep well clear of the edges.

No summit photo this time as Susana is a few metres below. GDR

Gary comes back quick.

How was it?

Ok, fifteen minutes up, nice views, took a few photos and came back down

We still have a good hour to get back to where we left the bags. It is 15.00 and I have been on just the breakfast coffee all day. I don’t feel hungry, though, just annoyed with myself. You shouldn’t GDR

We have a quick lunch, and head back down. The way down on snow with crampons should be much quicker.

I head off first, well ahead before Gary, I just wanna get off of this mountain.

And keep on dropping down quicker and quicker, sulkier and sulkier.

Until Gary almost losses me in the distance.

It is now 17.00. We have been walking for 9 hours, 6 going up and 3 coming down.

However, at the bottom, back by the lake we have the option to either head straight back to Dora or do a little detour and climb up to another small lake where a rare species of small dragon lives. Probably a newt! GDR Apparently, even at this time of the year, you can still see them lying on the rocks. The climb to this lake would only take one hour there and back, according to the tourist information guide.

As we are only going to be here once, we decide to go, despite the tiredness.

But we are walking quite slow. We get to a third of the way up, it has already taken us half an hour, this means it would take us three hours to get there and back, and then we have to get back to Dora, which will take another two hours. I think we will have to live without seeing these dragons. We turn back.

We walk back the same way we came this morning. Climb up to the refuge, and then all the way back down to Mikos Papigo.

The steep slope we went down this morning doesn’t feel that intimidating as we are going up.

We take it slowly, as we have a long way to return. Turning back from the dragons lake is a good decision. We will still get back to Dora in daylight.

At this time of the year, the mountains’ landscape is particularly beautiful with its brown and white patches caused by the melting of the snow.

I feel very fortunate. We love trekking, we love mountains and we have had so many occasions to enjoy both this year. I get rid of my silly, childish mood and I start talking again.

Gary is in front of me, I ask him to stop.

Gary, I just want to say, we have an amazing walk today; challenging but satisfying. And more importantly, we have enjoyed them together.

We pass the refuge and soon leave the snow behind us. I stop, take a deep breath, looking at everything around me: the shinning sunlight filtering through the clouds, the minty smell of the pine trees, the perfume of the flowers just been born… This is all so precious.

The balls of my feet are burning, I am getting cramps in my calves, but I keep walking down very happy.

We get back to Dora at 20.00. We love these times. When, incredibly exhausted after a long walk, we sit down, have a glass of wine with a really nice meal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SM