Hiking from Mestia to Ushguli

A big thanks goes out to my parents - thank you for giving me exactly this height - I fit into the marshrutkas of this world. It's tight, but it works.

The journey into the mountains of the Caucasus was exciting and winding and full of broken roads.

I was warmly welcomed at the guesthouse with homemade bread and homemade cheese.

The plan to hike from Mestia to Ushguli in 4 days was quickly made - the weather was supposed to be great.

So here we go - Friday afternoon - the first stage shouldn't take too long...

Day 1: Mestia to Zhabeshi 14km + x :-)

Let's go, first find the start.

Good thing there are such nice locals who drove me to the beginning:-)

Then there was getting lost in the forest waiting for me. I made my way through the densely overgrown Caucasian mountainside to Zhabeshi. I have to say, there have been better moments.

My insights from the first day:

Shortcuts don't always work.

Breaking the small trees downhill (I felt soooo sorry for the trees in that moment and hope they recover) is the most effective way to get out of the mess.

Maps.me is nice, but the paths marked there may not always match.

Bring enough water.

I can do anything.

Anger feels good.

Well, in the evening there was a big table full of food and I was so grateful for that.

In the mountains, everything runs on guesthouses - so you have direct family connections or get in touch with other travelers (by the way, many people in Georgia are in their thirties - that's quite pleasant).

But there is still the language barrier.

Many people speak Russian, but they are not very fond of the Russians either and you often find signs that the Russians are not welcome here.

Day 2: Zhabeshi to Adishi 19km

This meant going uphill right from the start after a rich breakfast offer that is typical in the guesthouses.

I'll blame it on the breakfast - but I didn't really get going fast. But I don't have to - I don't have anything else to do today besides arriving at the next guesthouse.

The views were great.

This was Adishi

Here again a huge meal and a travel buddy for the next kilometers.

Since it is rather cool in the mountains - about 5°C - I went under the blanket and only my face was sticking out.

Day 3: Adishi to Iprali or Khalde 24km

Started with a river crossing with full hiking boots. They are waterproof - in both directions :-)

Successful river crossing and the next surprise awaits.

Another hiker accidentally threw his shoes into the river when he wanted to throw them over in advance.

Fortunately, our small travel group was able to help out here - so it's always good to have a second pair of size 46 shoes with you.

Everyone with shoes has now climbed/walked up the mountain again and with a view of the glacier and a great but cool view at an altitude of 2300 m.

Next stop, past numerous beautiful views, was the guesthouse in Khalde.

There I met my travel buddy again, who crossed the river with a horse and arrived much earlier.

Surprisingly, no WLAN here either!

So what do you do on an evening without WLAN?

First - capture and sort thoughts - why does this suddenly make me so restless?

Then we actually came up with many things.

The guesthouse hostess cut my hair, the guesthouse host showed me some self-defense moves, we started playing dominoes with rules I didn't know yet.

Conclusion: You can do without WLAN :-)

It was still cool, the day was exhausting, so it was time to go to bed early.

Nice side effect of simple houses with a central kitchen, dining and sleeping area and a wood stove. The shoes dried overnight on the guesthouse stove - I really thought that drying them would keep me busy for the next 3 weeks.

Day 4: Khalde to Ushguli 14km

The breakfast (this time with rice and noodles) was again lavish (hardly a chance to lose a few grams while hiking) and so we set off on the final stage of the hike to the destination - Ushguli - a tourist magnet and for good reason.

When we arrived, pretty much all the hikers from the past few days gathered to celebrate, and then it was time to check in at the hostel and gather outside - the freshly delivered alcohol was shared and so it resulted in a little tipsiness at a higher level :-)