European mountains
Lefka Ori range, Crete, Greece
Páchnes (2453m),
May 11 2010
To the main Páchnes page (maps,
route descriptions, other trip reports, etc.)
The route - as seen in Google Earth
(Click for larger image)
No matter how many
hikes I do for the rest of my life, I will never forget the hike to Páchnes.
After having visited
Psiloritis (Crete's highest peak) as well
as 3 other 2000m peaks on our first day on Crete, we went to the Gramvousa
peninsula the next day. An unsuccessful scramble (we did not reach the top) up
Geroskinos, was followed by a flat tyre upon returning to the trailhead. To make
a long story short, we were in need of assistance, got the assistance and a new rental
car as well. The new car came with a warning that small rental cars were not meant to be
taken on 4WD dirt roads!
Páchnes
(Crete's second highest peak) was our target on our third day, and as a
significant part of the ascent involves a dirt road, Anne (Rudsengen) and me had a
decision to make. Anne's point was that we should drive as far it made sense and
then proceed on foot. This would also have been my view on the subject, had it
not been for the flat tyre the day before. With the toolset available in the car,
we would not be able to replace a flat tyre ourselves, and there was no way
I would call the rental company for the second day in a row! It would (for sure) not
be free service the second time around...
As none of us (at
this point) really knew exactly how long the hike would be, we agreed to ascend
the dirt road on foot. After a long drive from Platanias (on the northwest
side of Crete) to Chora Sfakion (on the southwest side) and then up to the small
village Anapoli, we drove 2,3km up to the point where the dirt road
began. The time was 10:18pm when we headed out, and it was a warm and
beautiful day. We had plenty of food and water and was ready for yet another
long day in the Crete mountains. And after a good while, some of the Lefka Ori
(white mountains) appeared in the distance.
Lefka Ori peaks. In the distance...
(Click for larger image)
Anne couldn't quite
shake off the fact that this was a perfectly good road to drive, but while I
couldn't disagree, the decision had been made, and we just had to stick to the
plan. My friend Petter hiked this mountain in 2006, and from
his report,
we knew that it would take us roughly 2 hours from the point where he parked his
rental car (approx. 1700m) and up to the summit. 2 hours isn't a very long hike, and "all we had
to do" was to follow a mountain road in order to get to his trailhead. This was
the optimistic view I tried argue, but at the same time, the
mountains didn't seem to get any closer...
There is only one
word that describes the mountain road - endless. We were both wearing
sneakers, which seemed like the best footwear for this kind of hike. We kept a
good pace up the road and stopped for food and water regularly. Through
monitoring our pace and hiking distance, we figured it would take us roughly 3
hours to reach Petter's trailhead at approx. 1700m. From that point - it would
be roughly 900 vertical meters up to the summit. A small sigh was in
order...
Pale peaks (as in white mountains) appear
(Click for larger image)
We
reached the point we figured Petter had parked at 1:40pm. We had now been walking
3h:20m, and new optimism was emerging. At best, the summit was only two hours
away! As we had been walking for quite a while, we reckoned it would take us a
little longer to reach the top.
We were now heading
into a big valley, and assumed that Páchnes was one of the peaks up on
our left-hand side. But it was difficult to say exactly which one. After a
little while, another valley appeared to our left, and the mountain road led us
into it. A beautiful cone-shaped peak appeared, and we were quite confident that
this was our target.
Thinking this was Páchnes, but it was not
(Click for larger image)
We
reached the end of the mountain road (approx. 2000m) 2:52pm - approx. 4,5
hours after heading out. According to Petter's report - the summit was now only
1 hour away, and it sure wasn't the cone-shaped peak. So where was it? Another
high peak (Ghavalá, as we learned later on) was just ahead of us, so now
we were quite confident that the summit was in view. A point of interest was a
small rental car that had made its way all the way up to 1900m. It should be
noted that the road from 1600m and upwards was considerably rougher than
the rest...
After a short rest,
we proceeded along the mountain path, which was a bit difficult to find at
first. A bit later on, we met a German couple (who had the rental
car), and we asked (optimistically) if the summit in front of us was Páchnes?
The answer was nein, and the word hinter was
mentioned. Double-sigh! So we don't even see the summit yet?
Páchnes? Nein, hinter!
(Click for larger image)
The German couple
explained that the rest of the route was well marked. We continued up to a col
(2100m), found a Páchnes signpost, turned left and after crossing a
couple of humps, Páchnes
appeared in front us. Glory, glory hallelujah! Anne immediately found new
strengths, and turned into a Duracell rabbit...
The final leg to Páchnes
(Click for larger image)
We
reached the top of Páchnes 4:10pm - 5h:50m after heading out.
It's amazing how doubts, negative thoughts, etc. can be replaced with pure joy
in the fraction of a second. It felt as if we had reached a major, major
mountain, yet knowing that this is a fairly mountain to reach - thanks to the
mountain road. On the other hand, I don't think I've ever done a longer walk in order to reach a summit. But once the thoughts were
sorted out, it was time to enjoy the views - and celebrate!
Anne on Páchnes summit
(Click for larger image)
Back
to reality, we had roughly 4 hours left of daylight, and it was time discuss our
descent route. Should we follow the mountain road or should we take the E4
trail back to the trailhead? The E4 trail would be a considerably shorter
route, but given our sore feet, we might be better off on the mountain road.
With some jogging pitches, we would surely be back before dark. We agreed to take
the mountain road. At least there would be no surprises along the way.
We left the summit 4:25pm and
followed our plan which involved occasional jogging. We had good control of
the time, but at approx. 1500m, the skin under my feet started to collapse.
First, the skin under my left heel cracked, and required immediate attention.
Man - the pain! Furthermore, I developed blisters under under my little toes
on both legs, and went from smooth jogging to serious limping. Only the nice
views and the strong will to reach the trailhead made this situation somewhat tolerable...
Running (limping) in agony
(Click for larger image)
Below
1500m, we were able to do a number of shortcuts, which did us mentally good! And we
were making better progress than the forecasted plan. The only thing to do was
to endure. Anne had either better footwear, or a higher tolerance for dirt roads and did just
fine. We
reached the trailhead 7:51pm - roughly 40 minutes before dark. We had covered
roughly 42km on foot, ascended 1800 vertical meters and had (more or less) hiked
fast for 9,5 hours. Being somewhat accustomed to outdoor activities, none of us
were really tired, but because of the blisters, I had serious trouble walking. We still had a
long drive back to Platanias, but I was just happy, happy and happy about not
having to walk anymore that day. And as mentioned in the introduction - this was
a hike I will never forget....
A Páchnes souvenir
(Click for larger image)
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