This weekend, I climbed Mt. Olympus!!!! Mt. Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece. I climbed all the way to Skolios, which is 2904 meters high [9,525 ft.]! INSANE!!! 
We left Anatolia around 11:00 on Saturday and arrived at Prionina [the start of the hike] around 1:30. It took the group I was with to climb to the refuge two hours and a half, which is great timing! From Prionina to the refuge is 2060m. The refuge is basically just a building where everyone eats together in two different rooms with fireplaces and long tables with benches. It was a neat experience with all the hikers together, even people that weren't in our group. The room where we slept were a bunch of bunk beds all pushed together! So it was nice and cozy! haha No heat... and it was really, really cold!
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| Ana & I with the sunrise behind us, ready to climb to the top!! |
The next day, we were woken up at 6:30 A.M., ate breakfast which consisted of three pieces of bread that you could put jam, cheese, brie, butter, or honey on. They are really into their bread here! We started our trek to the top around 7:30. It took the group I was in about an hour to hike up to the top.
Actually, it wasn't really hiking, it was more like rock climbing. I will tell you that this was the most terrifying/exhilarating experience I have ever encountered. We were out in the open, walking on loose rocks with nothing to hold on to walking up the side of a mountain.
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| This is what climbing this mountain looked like.... |
There were times I wanted to cry and just had to keep thinking one foot in front of the other. But when you do finally reach the top, it's such an accomplishment!! I'm so proud of myself, and you truly feel that once you climb Mt. Olympus, you can do anything! I have never been that physically and mentally pushed in my entire life! I definitely have the soreness to vouch for it! haha
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| We made it to the top!!!! |
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| At the top.. couldn't even see down, too foggy! [which made it even more scary!] |
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| It was so foggy, you couldn't see the person in front of you. |
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| A Map of the climb |
Did you see Zeus? You probably should have brought him a bottle of wine or something for ensuring your survival!
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of you!