22nd September 2015
Breakfast at the Hotel at Vradeto, then a long challenging hike through some genuinely wild and remote wilderness.
I started off with a bit of a faffy detour to find the overlook to the Vikos Gorge. It has to be said, the overlook was impressive, and vertigo-inducing even for someone who's not concerned by heights.
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| Vikos Gorge, early morning |
After the overlook, some bushwhacking was needed to regain a proper trail, which went over a small hill and then dropped back into a gorge. Most of the trail for the next few hours was pretty indistinct or non-existent, so it was more a question of following the pre-loaded track on my Garmin eTrex 20, and battering through the rocks and grass.
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| Lake District style summit, looking back to Vikos Gorge |
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| Dramatic jumbly landscape leading towards Tymfi |
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| Narrow contouring path |
There was a pretty impressive notch at Karteros Pass 2325m, at which point the landscape changed dramatically to steep boulder fields with cliffs towering above, on the northern side.
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| Karteros Pass from the south |
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| Looking down through Karteros Pass |
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| Looking back up to Karteros Pass from the north side |
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| Karteros mountain |
The going was pretty slow for a while, with a complex descent, until eventually the route joined a better trail contouring through the forest.
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| Herd of chamois |
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| Wild flower |
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| Down in the pine forest |
The weather did its usual pouring with rain in the middle of the afternoon thing. But the rain had more or less petered out when I reached the semi-deserted village of Vrysochori.
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| Approaching Vrysochori |
After a bit of hunting, I found the one and only guesthouse. The only other guests were an Israeli couple, and the guesthouse served no food.
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