Paying Tribute to the Mountain of the Gods

Mt. Olympus Greece 9,570ft.

I can now claim to have climbed to the highest point in Greece this past weekend to pay my respect to Zeus, Hera and the rest of the gang. Our team, on the other hand, consisted of 12 internationals all working in Kosovo from eight different countries with me being (comfortably) the only American. We were switching from French to English to Spanish so often I couldn't tell which was which. Very nice.

So the adventure began as soon as we could all bolt from our respective acronym employers including UN, EU, USAID, UNDP, and UNMIK for the five hour drive through three countries to arrive at our perfect seaside youth hostel where the boys and the girls all crammed into the bunk halls for a VERY short sleep. The drive was relatively uneventful except for observing the acres of burned forest everywhere due to the unusually hot summer we have had. Oh, and Michael's rock star performance of holding back his (car) sickness till we crossed the Greek border and he could deposit his lunch on EU soil. Poor guy but at least he had a packet of sanitary wipes to clean himself (VERY inside joke).

Our two other carloads had already arrived at the hostel and most the crew was swimming in the warm sea. But soon enough we were all re-united for a birthday toast at the outside lawn Tikee Bar followed by a very late family style Greek dinner, great conversation and an 'early' bedtime for some of us around 2am. Mind you the birthday boy and company were obligated to extend well into the evening but still obligated to wake up with the rest of us at 6am to begin the full day of hiking. Slowly we made our way to the mountain base where we loaded up for the first 2 hours ascent through the lower, shaded pine forest to arrive at our breakfast spot of Refuge A. So nice to be in the company of such a range of nice people, smelling the fresh air and exercising. Other than the fact that the pack put pressure on my shoulder (and I had just gotten another steroid shot for the pain) I was able to redirect my awareness to all the other aches that arose over the next 2 days of hiking up to almost 6,000 feet.

This reminded me of many of the well maintained hikes in any of the famous National Parks in the US where you have a very clear (and challenging) path, opportunity to stop at amazing vistas, pause for a nice tea and fruit breakfast, and just continue on and up at your own pace. The scenery was magnificent as we climbed higher and higher changing to a barren hostile looking collection of rock beds chaotically tossed into the air thousands of years ago as volcanoes pushed their way up throughout the region. Words can't describe the openness and power of the earth (and Zeus). Truly remarkable.

Three more hours into it we were treading on an 'ant trail' as it wound its way from mountain to mountain getting ever so closer to the top and Refuge B where we would have a celebration drink and hearty Greek lunch to celebrate our climb. Absolutely astounded by the size and the location of these 'huts' that were perched in the basin area of the main cliff faced summit the is apparently a very popular place for rock climbers.

Our original strategy was to have a nice long lunch, take a rest and then head up the 'all four' rock scramble without our packs to the top. But it was immediately evident with the lack of sleep and the full day's adventure already, the majority heading down the hill to Refuge C (10 minutes) to deposit our packs, claim our bunk beds for the nights rest and then head outside the hut to find a chair or empty mattress to crash (hard). In the sunshine it was very warm. In the shade, cold and windy. But dressed accordingly, both were just perfect.

As dusk started to approach and I had awaken from my nap, it was time to wander about down the open fields to the cliffs edge to marvel at the beauty and sit for a brilliantly peaceful meditation. As I parked myself right at the precipice of one of the lower peaks, all i could hear was the wind coming up from the valley bellow, the bells from the donkeys in the valley above...and someone scrambling over the rocks right below where I sat?? MUCH to my surprise this absolutely remote location I had selected had a trail coming up the rock face from the valley below. Before I know what was happening a very weathered Greek man appeared with pack, cigarette and an equal look of surprise as he had to step around me sitting in my lotus position.

Back at the base camp with most my colleagues awake, we broke out the games, books, conversation and 4 bottles of champagne to again celebrate the birthday. Nice little added bonus (especially for those who would not have to carry them down). We socialized into the night all sporting our lightweight cold weather fashion gear since the temperature continued to drop I believe into the single digits. Dinner was ordered inside as we all sat around on huge table and had dish after dish prepared high altitude style as we all prepared to bunker down for the night. which meant about 20 people sleeping in 2 massive bunk beds. Each person directly next to the other, just able to pick the top or bottom, except me. Somehow I go the only single bed at the side of the room for an uninterrupted sleep (ok, I had ear plugs and eye mask). And to no surprise with that many (smelly) bodies, the cold air from the outside had not affect. Except when I HAD to use the bathroom outside at 4am. Burrrrrrr.

Fortunately I wasn't nearly as sore the second day as I have been this entire week (a result of the 2500 meter descent in only several hours). After a very simple bread and jam breakfast 9 of us were ready to rock and roll up the final rock summit. Three of us headed off a bit earlier only to begin climbing a much harder and incorrect peak. Fortunately the rest were close behind us and we corrected our mistake to scramble up in teams of 3 to the very top. Challenging but doable. Packs left on the trail we emerged at the very top one by one to be greated by all other types of hikes, including several kids that were just looking at us at we pulled ourselves over the last boulder. Apparently there was a much easier way up to the top which most of the crew opted for as a return route. Pictures taken, memories made, a ritual to the Gods, 4 of us headed back down the same route while the rest took and more secure route. Which left us each doubling up backpacks for about a mile traverse in order to allow the rest to avoid backtracking.

Done! Now we just headed all the way down. Knees were killing and by the time I rolled into the base parking lot (packed with all the Sunday picnicers) my legs couldn't stop shaking and I knew that despite all my yoga or other activities, I was going to feel this adventure. Fortunately we all were in pretty much the same shape so we got in the cars and heading back to our hostel 15 minutes down the road for a celebration swim in the very warm yet refreshing ocean. And then the most perfect seafood dinner on the beach before piling into the cars for a 5 hour drive back to 'reality'. Yet again, another testimony making me wonder how I could ever return to 'normal' life back in DC...