Staying Wild ep.1 A Stargazing Overlanding Experience! Exploring Southern Greece.
There are cool trips and there are great trips; but there are also these trips that you’re never going to forget! Driving to the top of mount Helmos, Kalavryta was one of those trips!
Everything started when we were organizing a trip for the release of Feldon Shelter’s brand-new Hawks Nest model, along with the amazing photographer/overlander Bartek Kolaczkowski and his also amazing adventurous partner, Monika Kozmin. The plan was to embark for this trip right after our Opening Party at Adventure’s Garage in late October, which is exactly how it happened. So, after having a great time at our campfire party in Marathon, where our store is located, we started driving South towards Kalavryta, a roughly 3-hours drive from our base.
The Crew (Photo by Bartek Kolaczkowski)
After exiting the motorway, the road was mostly uphill, paired with lots and lots of S turns; but by the time you start getting closer to Kalavryta village, everything starts paying off, as the views are simply; amazing.
Finally, after passing Kalavryta’s Ski Resort, we entered a couple-kilometer-long, uphill gravel road, which leads to the top of mount Helmos. This track lead us through epic views of mountain peaks, cliffs & wild goats and finally we found ourselves next to the National Observatory “Aristarchos”. There we managed to find the perfect spot, overlooking the mountain tops of Peloponnese and enjoying an amazing sunset, with the sun slowly setting down towards the Ionian Sea, turning the Skies and the Horizon red, purple and blue.
Dinner o'clock at 2340asl. (Photo by Bartek Kolaczkowski)
The altitude at this point is 2340m above sea level and the temperature was nothing like the warm Greek weather that everybody expected; to be more specific, the highest temperature was 15 degrees Celsius and the lowest, during night’s late hours, was 4.
Despite the colder weather, the views where out-of-this-world! We were standing at one of the mountain range’s highest points so we could see almost everything below us, from other mountain tops, forests, small villages in the distance and the sea at the same time; we were also lucky enough that there were zero clouds blocking this view.
As the sun was setting down, we had a quick meal, a mix of Greek salad (apparently one of Monika’s and Bartek’s favorites, despite the fact that we were the Greeks in this trip) and our camping classic, noodles.
After our “dinner” and a few beers, the sun had completely disappeared down to the horizon and we were finally able to do what we came for in the first place; stargazing. Helmos mountain peak is said to be, one of Balkan’s darkest points, so perfect for staring at the stars. The weather was also perfect, no wind, no clouds and no snow, (thankfully for us, as the road towards this spot is not accessible during wintertime).
A-million-stars experience (photo by Bartek Kolaczkowski)
The next day welcomed us with was a nice, typical October morning; a bit cold outside, us; waiting for the sun to come up, cold hands and noses and the smell of hot coffee. Waking up to such views is something else, it’s a small reminder of why you leave the comforts of your home and breaking your routine.
So, after having our hot coffee, it was time to head down to a lower altitude and explore a nearby lake. We decided to follow what seemed to be a half-an-hour dirt road, which turned out to be a 3-hours long off road track. During this drive we stopped again for another coffee break (yes, we love coffee) to an amazing spot overlooking Helmos highest peak.
We continued driving down towards the lake, we drove through some amazing landscapes, tall trees and small rivers; using 3 GPS devices to guide our way to our destination, as there was zero cellular signal along this route.
Spending time on different maps and devices, pinpointing your location, finding the best route to follow and “getting lost” are some of our favorite things to do during our overland adventures, as it helps you connect with your inner explorer.
After spending couple of hours on this dirt road, we finally made it to the small lake, having created some amazing memories and experiences. That’s exactly why we travel, instead of spending your time checking your Instagram feed, the news and your emails, you just sit down, stare at the mountain peaks and listen to absolutely nothing but the natural sounds around you. Reconnecting with Nature, exploring new places and “staying wild” is part of who we, humans are.