Mount Olympus was one of the items on our ‘definitely to do’ list for Greece. The only problem is that there are a lot of different ways to hike it. We decided that we would drive up as far as we could and then try to make it to the base camp, about a 3 hour hike.
Mt. Olympus in Low Clouds
Drive with a View
Continuing the Drive Up . . .
. . . and Up . . .
. . . . and Up
The drive up was a lot further than we thought, and we were so grateful we had decided to drive up as far as we could rather than hike up. If we had hiked up, we would have never made it even that far!
Flags Marking our Starting Point
As if to confirm our thoughts, we saw a few hiking parties emerge from the trees at this point, take a rest, and head back. Surely they missed the most beautiful parts of the mountain!
Finding the Trailhead
The weather was perfect for a hike – a little bit brisk and cool. We were armed with water bottles and snacks so headed off.
Starting Off
Hiking Boys
About an hour into our hike, as the weather warmed up and the hiking got steeper, Caleb started to hit a wall. We kept encouraging him that it would be worth it; “look at the amazing views;” etc.
Caleb Thinking Twice About Our Hike
We came upon a resting point and Caleb was pretty sure he couldn’t go anymore. We tried to talk him into going a little bit further, but he was decided he was done. Chris and I wanted to keep going for the “perfect view” so tried to see if Caleb wanted to stay behind and wait for us to come back. That was a ‘no go.’
Hitting the Hiking Fatigue
When we gave Caleb a choice to go back or continue, he decided he could try to go a little further as he would feel badly later, if he didn’t.
Hitting the Trail Again
We stopped for a lot of breaks but Caleb kept going. He’d lag behind for a bit, and then muster enough energy to surge past us so he could sit and wait for us to catch up.
Taking the Lead
Lagging Behind
We made it to just below the base camp as we hit upon our ‘perfect view’.
On Mt. Olympus
Worth the Climb!
Final Bend of the Hike
We had found the perfect spot where we could view 3 different peaks; where the trail dissolved.
“Kings of the Rock”
Caleb’s main goal was to do a handstand to add to his ‘Handstands Around the World’ collection. So, we made sure to get that shot . . . and Caleb was pretty convinced the hike had been worth it. This will be a hard shot to top.
Handstand on Top of Mt. Olympus
The surrounding view was stunning . . . and a bit chilly.
Further up the Mountain
For taking so long to get up the mountain, it only took us less than 2 hours to get down.
Hiking Back Down
We were pretty amazed that during our whole hike, we had only run across one group that had gone all the way to where we hiked. After having hiked up the peak, I felt so badly for all those groups that had turned around and missed out on the best view of the hike. It would have been worth it! But, then I realized they had worked so hard to hike further than we had (distance wise), even if they didn’t get the ultimate view. After all it’s all about the journey, not the destination, right?
Back of the Hotel
Once back at the hotel, we felt we had earned some relaxation so we grabbed some recliners on the infinity pool and did just that.
Reclining in Style
After working so hard for Mt. Olympus, the rest of the trip would be just topping it all off.
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