Across Georgia
It’s hard to believe it has already been a year, and our group is exploring the world again. Those of you who followed our journey last year know, that we crossed Iceland from north to south. Maybe they don’t know that we also crossed Corsica, from north to south. You could probably say that we simply enjoy long trips during which we cross a part of the world in the form of at least one country.
And where are we headed this year? To the Black Sea, at the border of South-East Europe and South-West Asia. To the Caucasus. Can you guess? Yes, we are going to Georgia.
Choosing our destination was not easy at all. We were tempted by Turkey, the Balkans, or even Morocco, but in the end we all felt that Georgia was calling at us the loudest.
Our crossing of the Caucasus from east to west will start in Omalo and will end roughly somewhere around Stepancminda. Well, probably.
Since two of us believe that our expedition through Georgia is not adventurous enough, they also decided to conquer one of the five thousanders of Kavzaks – the extinct volcano Kazbek. Well, probably.
To put everything into perspective, our expedition will probably be one big question mark until the last moment. It may happen that the guys won’t conquer Kazbek, but another five-thousander, if the weather doesn’t play in their favor. It may happen that we do not cross the Caucasus from east to west, but in the opposite direction. Anyway, where our route will lead is in the stars. In Georgia, we can only dream about the beautifully marked hiking trails and clear maps that we are used to in our mountains. Thanks to a few acquaintances and many hours spent on more than a few hiking blogs in a foreign language, we have a rough idea. But we can’t say anything for sure. Perhaps only the fact that there will be 4 of us. Also the fact that we will meet in the capital Tbilisi on Friday 23.6. and we will leave Georgia again on 7.7. What will happen in between is a mystery to us and to you, but it will certainly be worth following.
After crossing Iceland, we would like to believe we are ready for anything. We will carry the food for about the first week. Then we hope to resupply at the halfway point in a village called Juta. Lezec shop equipped us with the MSR reactor and meals from Summit to eat, but also with an MSR PocketRocket, which we plan to use for dishes that require a more complex preparation than just hot water. We will move at an altitude of around 2500 asl, with an occasional ascent up to 3700 asl. Whether we will encounter snow along the way and what the local rivers will look like is another big unknown. Finally, we would like to conquer Elbrus, the highest mountain in the Caucasus.It is difficult to say weather we will have enough strength and time though. We’ll light up the journey with Petzl headlamps, and I’ll carry my load in a Deuter Futura Air trek backpack. You can also look forward to a review of how the gear got by.
Don’t miss the adventure. Follow our instagram @talesofthetrails.off and enjoy the exciting journey with us.
FX, Karolína, Vivien a Alexis – Tales of the Trails