Traversing Kaçkar day one

Last Sunday we arrived in Ayder, a small village at the base of the Kaçkar Mountains. The single street was filled with cars; a meadow in the center of town was teeming with people. Hemşin people from around the area had gathered to camp and to dance. Circles formed around men playing the tulum, a goatskin instrument resembling bagpipes, as people danced the horon. As one musician tired, another would pick up an instrument. Circles formed and reformed as dancers moved from one to another. As Ed and I watched, people started asking us to join. After watching for a few minutes, I linked hands with those around me and started to dance.

It took us a day to organize our trek. We planned to complete the Kaçkar traverse starting in the town of Yukari Kavron, up over the Çaymarkçur Pass to Olgunlar. From there, we planned to walk to Deniz Gölü, camping there one night before attempting to summit Kaçkar, then walking back to Olgunlar. The last day would turn out to be a gruelling four hour climb up the mountain, and then six more hours coming down from the mountain to town.

In Ayder, we relaxed. By Monday afternoon we had organized a mule to carry our packs and tents and sleeping bags. It took more planning than we had anticipated as the guidebook suggested that all-inclusive treks were easy to come by and cheap; they proved to be neither. In the end we rented our own mule and muler, and bought our own provisions. We ate a lot of bread.

The night before we left we soaked in the local hot springs. A tiled wash room opened up to a steaming pool. We soaked and then lay out on the marble edge. A boy attempted to swim, splashing all of those around him. I napped until an attendant called out to me. The baths were closing; it was time to go home.

We woke early on Tuesday to catch the dolmuş to Yukari Kavron. The bus climbed for 45 minutes. The village rested at the start of the path and we waited for a man to bring us our tent. We had arranged with two Isrealis to share a mule, but when the muler saw our bags, he agreed to take only three. One of the Isrealis offered to carry her own, and we set off up the path to Büyük Deniz Gölü, our fırst camp site.

The walk took about three hours. The day before it had rained, but the morning had dawned clear. We climbed up to a pass and then looked down upon a lake the color of jade surrounded by peaks. To one side a meadow stretched down to the plains. A family had hiked up from below to picnic and rest by the lake.

We made camp, chatting with the others who had camped there. Ed and I played Scrabble, he won. As the sun began to set, the family left to go home. The father shouted periodically back to us, his voice echoing off the mountains. The guides shouted back. A sea of clouds formed off the plains. It rose, threatening to envelop the mules grazing on the meadow, threatening to envelop our camp. We quickly put the fly over our tent as the clouds dissipated, staying just below. The peaks around us glowed red.

That night, an almost full moon rose over our camp. The clouds glistened silver in the light as the peaks glowed white. The lake reflected the mountains in the dark pool of water. I sat out in the cold, the water still, the clouds undulating. The moon cast my shadow onto the ground. I called to Ed and he poked his head out of the tent. We sat silent, the stars revolving above our heads. Posted by eku at September 6, 2004 2:59 PM