Hiking in Georgia, hiking in Armenia - June, July 2023

In June we will have visitors from home! Our friend Julia will be traveling with us in Georgia for a week. In addition, she will help us exchange and replenish equipment. The bikes are packed and stored for now. The hiking shoes and backpacks are ready for new adventures.

The three of us are heading to the mountains around Mount Kazbeg after a short city tour. An adventurous ride with a nine-seater takes us about 150km northeast to the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, where the village of Stepantsminda (formerly known as Kazbegi until 2006) is located.

It feels good to see a familiar face after such a long time and to leave the city behind for a few days.

It only takes a few turns and the feeling of vastness and freedom is there - as soon as the mountains let us go higher and deeper into their valleys.

An old military road makes this possible. It connects Georgia with Russia. Accordingly, the traffic is challenging. We are relieved not to have to cycle through here.

The ride is almost death-defying, but we finally reach the village of Kazbegi (1700m above sea level) unharmed and excited, ready to get as close as possible to Mount Kazbeg (5,054m).

The weather has changed. Rain is forecast for the coming days, and the temperature drops to a refreshing level.

An afternoon hike takes us past the picturesque Gergeti Trinity Church to set up camp for the night a little higher up.

Despite the heavy rain clouds, the view is breathtaking. A flock of sheep circles the slopes around us. From here, there is nothing in sight that indicates civilization - meadows, rocks, forests, and the sky with its clouds frame us as tiny humans...

The next day, we continue to 3014 meters above sea level. There lies the Alti Hut. A brand new alpine hut, which was recently built with the help of people from Switzerland. It serves as a base camp for many to climb higher.

Unfortunately, the pricing is also according to Swiss standards. Somehow understandable, as everything is either transported up here by helicopter or multiple times a day by horse. We treat ourselves to a meal and coffee, warm up, and set up camp around the corner - that's free :)

Meanwhile, it has become terribly cold. Temperatures around 4 degrees test the equipment we might need for the next few weeks in the Armenian mountains.

In the morning, the sight of Mount Kazbeg surprises us. The sky has cleared up! Blue skies and sunshine surround the mountain landscape around us. Grateful and amazed, we take a short hike to the glacier and then slowly continue our way down. After another night at lower altitudes, we head back towards the capital. One more night later, we say goodbye again to our friend.

Thank you, Julia! For looking after us! For pushing us to our limits! For being interested in our way of life! For supporting us so much since the beginning of our journey!!!

After another week in Tbilisi, where there is still a lot to do and plan; where I (Sita) have a tooth pulled and spend a day with many dogs in a dog shelter (Tamaz Elizbarashvili dog shelter) <3; where we immerse ourselves deeply into the Irina Hostel universe again, we sit in the bus to Dilijan, a town in southern Armenia, with our (too) heavy backpacks.

From here, we want to hike for a few days before our friend Martin arrives at Yerevan Airport (the capital of Armenia) in early July, and we start the big hike on the Transcaucasian Trail (TCT) together.

Once again, we are filled with excitement. Excitement to walk this long-distance trail. Excitement to explore a new country on foot. Excitement to have visitors from home again. Excitement to find out how these heavy backpacks will feel during the next few weeks.

In the first few days in Armenia, we have encounters that bring us a lot of clarity. Clarity regarding the route in connection with the rather summery start date. Clarity regarding luggage (we manage to be 5 kg lighter), clarity regarding the condition of the trail and the possibilities for resupply.

Thank you, Sue! Thank you, Tom! Thank you, Ilka!

And suddenly our friend Martin is here! So, we can finally start! From Yerevan, we still have to take the bus to get to the south of the country. One day, two bus rides, a lot of waiting time, and some discussions later, we reach Kapan. Here we are now. In southeastern Armenia. A few kilometers from the Azerbaijani border and only 80 km from Iran.

The Transcaucasian Trail lies ahead of us. A long-distance trail that stretches for 850 km from the border town of Meghri in the south to Lake Arpi in the north of the country. In Georgia, it continues - the completion of a continuous trail is still in progress there.

Due to a lack of water supply and the difficulty of the trail during its initial sections, we skip the first kilometers and start here. In the village of Bekh, outside Kapan, the hike begins after a night at the family-run Hilltop Camping.

The landscape strongly reminds us of the familiar mountain landscape of the lower Alps around the Salzkammergut. Oh, how beautiful!

In the next two weeks, we follow the markings of the Legends Trail, which largely overlaps with the TCT, is more or less well signposted, and whose paths are described in detail in a small hiking booklet. The perfect start for our first long-distance hike.

Once again, we follow our motto: it can be difficult, challenging, and exciting, but we want to feel safe and gradually push our limits.

Today, on July 17th, one week of hiking is already behind us. Thanks to the markings and GPS, we have found our way to the abandoned village of Old Halidsor. We have walked through meadows and forests, on animal trails, paths, and unpaved roads. Up and down. We have danced, eaten, and celebrated life with families, and sometimes found a place to sleep at a small shop in remote villages. We have been accompanied and guarded by dogs. We have fought with thorny bushes, ticks, mosquitoes, and horseflies, often struggling - but rarely winning. We defy the hot sun and the rain. On our rest day in Tatev, we had the best breakfast of our lives. We enjoy our friendship as a group of three and come to the conclusion that we couldn't wish to be anywhere else!