(photo by Johanna Robinson)

A couple of weekends ago we rented Suzuki Jimnys (one of the best miniature 4x4s you can find) to explore the island properly. Since most of us don’t get the chance of leaving the office during working hours, such day trips provide some much needed relaxation. For those of us that have been to pretty much everywhere within walking distance of the base however, the cars provide a very welcome extension in range of operations. And if you’re willing to get up before sunrise it means you have pretty much half a day head start before everyone else gets out of bed (on a weekend that is) so you can spend the whole morning on your own.

On one such Saturday I managed to convince Johanna to get up early as well. Coming home from a wedding party a few weeks earlier I noticed how the morning sun lit up the Loupastra-Schiza ridge in most glorious light so that’s where we were going. It’s nearby so you don’t have to get up ridiculously early (time is relative of course) and I was hoping of getting some nice photos but, as is always the case, reality wanted nothing to do with my imagination. So rather than chasing images I couldn’t get I went chasing what I could. I got some acceptable photos of this and that but my mind quickly switched into climbing mode while we were walking down from Loupastra and towards Schiza.

You can take the easy way up (from that approach), of course, but I noticed a particular set of rocks leading up to the top on the right. It was a gentle morning introduction to climbing on Schiza.

(click to open larger)

From the top I took some photos of Chalares river below and came up with a perfect framing of a photo.

(photo by Johanna Robinson)

It just needed someone to stand on a particular rock… there were no goats around on that side (how odd?!) so I asked Johanna to come up to the spot I was standing on and started a descent (see yellow line on photo above). My plan was to come up from underneath since that looked like the best approach to where I needed to go. As I was scrambling down it gradually became obvious it probably wasn’t. It was definitely possible, but not without proper climbing equipment.
So I turned around and started making my way back towards the other peak.

The beginning was very easy with some loose rocks that were sliding down occasionally but as it turned towards vertical the rock became much more pleasant to hold on to. I turned into a chimney so rather than looking for footholds I could just use friction (so easy on this granite).

But even so there were plenty of nice grips and cracks all over the place so I was never fumbling around too long.

Somewhere midway I noticed an easy escape to my right that led me almost to the spot I envisioned earlier. I didn’t want to spend more time going down again (by this time Johanna must have been pretty bored waiting for me) so I turned around, got back into my couloir and continued up all the way to the top.

(photo by Johanna Robinson)

All in all, I’d give this route an overall climbing grade of III or IV, apart from putting up with the sun shining directly at you, there’s nothing seriously demanding that would absolutely require the use ropes and other safety equipment. You just better not have vertigo.

There is, of course, a lot more you can do around here, as far as rock climbing is concerned, but use of ropes and other stuff quickly becomes a real necessity. One such area worthy of exploration is the canyon leading from Dipotama to Raksounia waterfall.

Raksounia waterfall, photo copyright: Archipelagos/Jernej Burkeljca

The trail that takes you to the waterfall is easy enough (if a bit steep at times) but the sides of the canyon closer to the stream itself (especially the northern/right side one) are very inviting. Don’t forget about safety though. The rock is very loose and often falls apart when weight is applied… judging from the short bit I climbed before abandoning the idea for the day.

edit (Jan. 27h 2009)
Additional info for visitors from rockclimbing.com forums…. Climbing in Ikaria is possible only if you bring all the gear necessary for trad climbing on limestone and/or granite. There are no bolted sport routes anywhere on the island. Leave a comment should you wish to hear more suggestions on suitable areas and potential problems. BTW I’ve discussed climbing in Ikaria some more in another post.

Mention Greek islands and most people would probably think of beaches full of German and British tourists, the idea of which will either entice or repulse them. As is usually the case with generalizations, they are usually at least partially right (having been on only three of the islands I can hardly call myself an expert though).

But mention, say… Kalymnos to a group of rock climbers and you’re likely to find that they’ve either been there or desperately want to go there. Not for the beaches you see, but for the beautiful climbing routes. There are numerous websites devoted to the cause and, not having been there myself, I can only daydream and watch videos or photos.

But all that daydreaming is a big injustice to neighboring islands, like Samos or Ikaria… see, when you decide to visit the cave of Pythagoras on Samos, you will inevitably ask yourself how the old fart manage to run up and down every day (I presume there were no white painted stairs back then since he was apparently in hiding) and you will curse the road builders for not having built it higher up towards the entrance.

However, if there’s any rock climbing blood running through your veins you just might get a bit excited at the look of the wall above the cave, especially once you spot the signs for climbing routes. Not having the necessary gear, or a climbing partner, I only imagined myself going up. And I imagined that Pythagoras chose this specific cave precisely because it was a perfect base from which to climb every day.

There are no recognized rock climbing routes on Ikaria (to my knowledge at least) but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it anyway. Bouldering fans can enjoy no end of problems and there’s enough cliffs over the water to satisfy deep water soloists among you. Traditional rock climbing is quite possible as well and having had a look at several walls all over the island I’m becoming seriously restless.

At least I got a quick fix traversing the ridge extending a short way behind Koskina castle this Sunday. I had the sunrise all to myself…

more photos of the weekend rental car road trip around Ikaria in the gallery …as usual.

Here’s one from Saturdays sunrise over Lagada valley

a disclaimer straight off the bat… this is by no means a comprehensive guide to hiking trails on the island. Merely an introduction if I may be so bold to call it that. For some really great info you could do a lot worse than check out:

lone scout goat

“the guide”

Ikaria has a surprisingly straightforward and well-marked network of hiking trails. Which is quite remarkable on an island that isn’t really known for its commitment to develop tourist infrastructure and the locals (apart from shepherds and goats) aren’t into hiking all that much.
The island itself is indeed perfect for days of hiking pleasure with lots of vegetation, deep river valleys with plenty of hidden, refreshingly cold (and clean) water pools, relatively level top plateaus and a ridge line that climbs up to about 900-1000m above sea level and nice beaches to end the walks.
Trails can be found throughout the island however you’ll find them to be most extensive around the Rahes area.

Round of Rahes

It is my understanding that most (if not all) of the trail marks, maps and descriptions are a labour of love by one man in particular (don’t kill me if I’m wrong though). I haven’t had the chance to meet him just yet but the French team (doing a research on goat overgrazing) found him most enjoyable to talk to.
The Round of Rahes, as it is known, is an interconnected network of trails that can keep you occupied for as little as 30min or several days. Once you find one of the trail marks you can simply follow them from one to the next and see where that takes you. Or you can obtain a trail map (illustrated, not to scale) that has excellent descriptions on the back and actually plan where you’re going.
The trail map and marks are more than enough to navigate on trails however you might also get yourself a copy of the 1:50.000 map of the island. Topographic and road maps of the island are exceptionally, hopelessly useless when it comes to actually finding your way on the roads and trails since hardly any of them are mentioned (and I’ve looked at nearly every map available) but they do give you a better sense of scale, distance and shape of the landscape than the illustrated map alone.
Why most of the back roads (and even some asphalt surfaced roads) are not present on the topo and road maps is somewhat of a mystery but as far as I can tell, a lot of the roads on the island were built illegally and thus officially don’t exist. It does make it a bit of a navigation issue when you find yourself walking (or driving) on a perfectly decent road but (since you’re new on the island) have no idea where you’re supposed to be on the map (and take a wrong turn or two). That’s why it is best to keep your eye on the trail marks, read the trail descriptions and compare features across several maps.
Some might actually be surprised to find different names for the same feature but just accept this as a fact of life on Ikaria… to be fair, some of the problems also come from the fact that the Greek alphabet and pronunciation doesn’t always translate well into Latin alphabet.

trail marks

Trail marks come in a variety of styles that will be instantly familiar to most people used to walking around in the Alps. Most common form is the red dot on rocks or trees. Also popular are arrows and signposts, sometimes they may feature names and distances (in hours), sometimes just a red footprint and the direction. On the top plateaus with scarce vegetation and many, many rocks these things become less obvious and less visible (how do you see a small red dot on a rock within thousands of rocks and no clear or many goat paths to confuse you?) Since without vegetation you can see over long distances it won’t be the red dots you’ll see first but small stone piles. You might wonder how, among all the rocks, it is possible to see a stack of stones that look like all the rest but they are so clearly man-made that they usually stand out and it is not difficult to follow them.

rock cairn

Sometimes these piles fall apart due to environmental or other reasons (I try my best to rebuild them whenever possible) but it is still a relatively obvious mark.

lost on an island

In case you do get lost (and you most likely will at some point since goats make lots of trails that look exactly like the one you’re supposed to be on) just make your way back to the last red dot and take a look around you. More often than not you’ll find the next one within sight (just not where you though it should be). Sometimes you might have to walk around a bit to see one but inevitably it is somewhere in the vicinity.

to end the hike

lower Vathes reservoir

My first choice will always be a dip in the water, whether sea or a river, but you just might stumble upon a nice cafeneio, taverna or even a panagiri (sp?) during the summer. Cafeneios here are certainly a destination on their own, how could they not be when some haven’t changed the tiniest bit since early 20th century (you could easily claim the same about the clientèle, I think some men have actually grown into to their chairs).

new photos in the gallery