One of those things is this hike in the country of Georgia!
This is an eight day hike in the Svaneti region of the Caucasus Mountains on the border of Georgia and Russia.
Fortunately, we won't need to be carrying the big packs that the couple in the above photo are carrying. For this hike, we will stay in guesthouses along the way, and they even supply transportation for your bags. So you only need to carry what you will need during the hiking itself. And your lunch of course.
This is a difficult trek - each day, you will tackle trails of moderate or high difficulty. And since this tour is 8 days long, it is a real challenge even if you are used to hiking.
The tough part of this hike is the elevation gain. The first four days average about 17 kms (10.5 miles) per day, which in itself is no problem... but they also have about 1,200 meters (3,900') of daily elevation gain.
For perspective, when we did the Peaks of the Balkans hike, the toughest day was 16 km, and 1,215 m of elevation gain. This hike has four days in a row of that. We learned that day that the key is to leave early, and take frequent breaks while still allowing you enough time to get to the next guesthouse by late afternoon. And of course this time, we won't have to carry as much stuff so that will help a lot.
But, if you don't push yourself, you don't know what your limits are. We're pretty confident that we can do it, and if by chance it becomes too difficult, they do have car support where you can skip a day.
But with scenery like this, you really wouldn't want to skip a day!
We're planning for next June. Of course while we're in the area, we're hoping to visit both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Lots of new countries to add to our list over the next year!
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And in Canada...
Is this with a company? Interested. We hiked the Walker haute this year
ReplyDeleteYes, this is with a company, https://www.caucasus-trekking.com/hiking-tours/extended-svaneti-trekking-tour
DeleteThe Walker Haute trek sounds like a great hike as well.
That looks like quite the adventure!
ReplyDeleteToday we are passing just north of Ottawa and moving further east. I don't think we'll be able to connect this time but maybe on our trip back. Totally enjoying ourselves and the scenery!
Yes, it certainly does and it sure isn't going to be a walk in the park for us but the scenery looks amazing.
DeleteIt is a shame that we will miss each other. I don't know what your timeline is but we fly back to Mexico Oct. 5th so if you are back through this area before that it would be great to see you. You really can't do this trip without stopping in Ottawa to visit Canada's capital!
Time is not our friend if you plan on doing that trek do it soon.
ReplyDeleteBeen having trouble connecting to your site lately. Hoping to keep connecting.
Stay Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
Agreed,, especially with this hike because it is definitely going to be a stenuous one.
DeleteThis issue with bringing up the blog is very frustrating but Kevin has tried everything to try and fix it but with no success so we are just learning to live with it. It is very random because one minute it works and then next it doesn;t, you just need to keep trying when you can't get into it right away. Usually after a few continuous attempts it will finally open up.