I said goodbye to Dave in the morning; he flew home, and a few minutes later we met up with Rob, who had just arrived here after hiking on the island of Java. Dave and Rob nearly met, but they only missed each other by a few minutes. Next time. It was quite a late…
Tag: climb
Gunung Kerinci
We are staying at Kerinci View homestay. It’s a great name, and one can watch the smoke rising from the pillar of Kerinci crater from the balcony. It started to smoke actively the day before we arrived. Pani, the owner of the house and our guide for tomorrow, calls the park rangers and reassures us…
Gunung Slamet
We arrive early in the morning at the registration point at the end of the village. We check in, get on our motorbikes, and ride a couple of hundred vertical meters very quickly. Just before the end, we have to get off the bikes because they are apparently not designed for western weights. We climb…
Gunung Lawu
The mountain is very popular with locals. Many trails wind their way to the top; we chose the one that should be a bit freer. It is foggy all the way, so we can’t see much. Pretty quick, we reach the upper camp, where a lot of people are resting. We move on, the wind…
Bukit Bongo
Moto GP race track that leads to the well-hidden Tenggara beach. Sandy, wide, and empty, like many others. At the end of the beach, after crossing a small square, we find the trail to the Tanjung Bong peninsula. The hills and precipices, covered with low grass, are more reminiscent of England than of an island…
Gunung Rinjani
The man is like a doctor, fingering the pulse and declaring that our blood pressure is perfect. He prepares a certificate, signs, and stamps it. Great, we are ready to climb Mount Rinjan!i. I am surprised that the trail goes through open grassland instead of jungle, which was unexpected.. Within half an hour, we reach…
Gunung Agung
We get up at 1am, drive to the trailhead, where a local guide is waiting for us. The trail starts at a temple. We climb 330 steps. The local guide is praying and burning incense. After ten minutes, we pass the temple building on the left and start climbing an easy, well-maintained path. We pass…
Davraz Tepe
I guess this is my last ultra-peak of this trip in Turkey. I get up in the dark, before 6 am, three hours of driving, and approach the ski station. It is reached by a tarmac road of reasonably good quality. However, after passing a barrier, a gravel road catches my eye. I look at…
Dedegol Tepesi
I leave the hotel well before dawn. Surprisingly good roads, and I’m moving relatively fast. But still, it takes almost 3 hours to get to the trailhead. A short stop at the lake, nice views, and a calm morning.
Babadag
From the top of Uiluk Tepe, I descend at noon, leaving enough time for another peak today. I roll on small roads for almost three hours, although the straight line is only 35.5 kilometers.
Uyluk Tepe
I leave the hotel before dawn. It takes almost 4 hours to reach the trailhead. From Gömbe the road is unpaved. However, to my surprise I find brown signposts to points of interest. However, after a few kilometres, the arrows and my direction will stand out.
Kizlar Sivrisi
I get up with the sun, drive for a few hours. The last few kilometers are a good gravel road. I drive to the refuge, but I see that a road of similar quality goes further. I drive another kilometer or so and stop at a crossroads. I can see the path marked on the map and decide not to drive in the future on and start climbing.
Geyik Daglari
I drive on good roads and soon it’s starting to get light, great scenery all around. I arrive at a settlement which is quite empty in the early morning. I drive up a poor quality road, but the last few hundred metres are even more difficult. I can hear the stone scraping the bottom. uhh.The…
La Serrota
An unplanned bonus peak on this trip. I wanted to hike it a few years ago, but I was probably distracted by other peaks, and my gaze constantly kept returning to this red dot. This time I have the whole day, and I’m in no hurry. Slow breakfast in the hotel, then driving towards a…
Torrecerredo
This peak is included in Core Europe’s 50 Most Prominent Peaks list, the World Peaks with 300 km of Isolation list, the Spain Autonomous Community High Points list (two), and the Iberian Top 100 by Prominence list. It has so many reasons to be climbed, and the most important reason is its beautiful scenery. Torrecerredo…
Pico de Aneto
Top of the Pyrenees and Spain’s third-highest mountain, and also the birthplace of what were once the largest glaciers in the Pyrenees. Today, the glacier looked like a big patch of old snow in the summer. I was concerned about how we would avoid crevasses when we were planning the peak, but after watching a…
Pico Almanzor
After successfully climbing five ultrapeaks in Morocco, we arrive in Madrid, get in the car, and a couple of hours later, we stay in the village of Hoyos del Espino, which is reasonably close to the trail. Pico Almanzor is the first of three planned peaks in mainland Spain. Good, we have a plan; we…
Jebel Tidirhine
The last of five planned Moroccan ultrapeaks is located right next to the Mediterranean Sea. So it feels like a resort: warm, dry, with lots of pine and cedar trees. It is likely that this climate is also very suitable for hashish, with practically all the fields planted with lush vegetation. The fields are irrigated…
Adrar Bou Nasser
Three planned Moroccan ultrapeaks have been climbed, leaving two to go. So, we’re doing a big Northeasterly loop along the Atlas Mountains, and Adrar Bou Nasser is the most suitable mountain for the next climb. We get up early, drive to the trailhead, and leave the car at the end of the unpaved road. The…
Irhil M’Goun
We start in Said’s home valley, in the village of Arousse. Said, his brother, and a helper with two mules, John and myself, all walk up a rough road next to a river. The road is rising gradually and passing through a few farms. The valley turns into a canyon, and at some point we…