We studied the route. We prepared our helmets. We were pumped for a weekend full of adventure at Mt Giona’s Karagiannis trail. But the weather had other plans in store, plus it’s not a very smart idea to depend on slippery wet rock. In such cases, the milder climate of the Peloponnese is always welcoming. Our fellowship headed to a familiar mountain, Helmos, but with a twist to make it fun.
The plan was for a quick weekend trip to hike across Mt Helmos from the Kalavrita Ski Resort to the village of Planitero. In order to protect ourselves from the fierce wind, we set up camp for the night under the trees in the meadows below the ski resort. To make the crossing possible, we had to leave one of our cars at the other side, at Planitero. On the way back to the camp, we ordered takeaway souvlaki from Kalavrita, as all proper campers do. Our fuel for the cold of the night was tsipouro from Domnista village. Although my memories from a few years ago are hazy, I still remember how tasty the local tsipouro from Tzoumakas was, a well-deserved alternative. The night sky at Helmos is one of the best in the Balkans, dare to look up.
On the next morning, we had a slow start. No one felt like waking up. The weather outside the tent was misty, windy and cold. Still, we gradually started hiking parallel to the out-of-season ski resort. To escape the razor-sharp winds, we were moving just below the ridge, which meant a lot of broken stones instead of a proper path. There were times when I could only see in a range of about 5 meters due to the thick mist. But alas, soon we reached the rocky peak of Neraidorachi.
From there we followed a dirt road for a while, as we headed to Psili Korfi, the tallest peak of this mountain. We didn’t realise it, but the powerful telescope Aristarchos was hovering just above us. Ah, the mists again, we never saw it, but we should have questioned the reason why a dirt road existed in the first place in what we assumed was an empty area behind the ski resort. Nevertheless, after jumping to the other side of Neraidorachi, the side that looks towards the rest of the Peloponnese, it’s like entering a new climate zone. The mists gave way to a bright sun and a sea of fluffy, friendly clouds just above the lower peaks. Instead of following the path, we moved in a direct line across the valley to the peak, occasionally scratching our legs in the thistles. The peak is very accessible via the proper path, but it remains rocky. This gave us the option to play a game of scrambling to the top, for a change.
At the top, we ate our friend’s homemade pie while trying to distinguish as many peaks as possible. The highlight was the peak of Taygetus, which was clearly visible from that vantage point. Psili Korfi may have a boring name (means ‘High Peak’), though its scenery is nothing but boring. Now, one could have made a loop and returned back to the ski resort, but we came down from the peak and turned left towards Planitero.
For the first part, it seemed like we were following a straightforward path. There was even one signpost indicating that only 7km separated us from the village. Soon, the path started closing in with trees and shrubs, and we could navigate by following the GPS signal. Especially at one point, where we had to cross to the other side of a gorge, that GPS trail was a lifesaver. There was absolutely no way we would have found the crossing point otherwise (which indeed proved to be the old unmaintained trail). Our new game was to try to find any resemblance of red trail markings on our way down. We could count them on one hand. That’s why when we saw a bright new reflective trail marker in the middle of nowhere, we rejoiced.
We made a quick detour to the lovely Kalogeros peak, which offers a clear view of the Planitero and Elatofyto villages. Again, the gradual increase in the number of trail markers led us to assume the trail was being maintained, but the broken rocks and slippery dirt continued. Eventually, we were greeted by shepherd dogs and realised that the end of our route was near. At the village, we had a quick chat with the grandmas, changed clothes and squeezed ourselves into one car to go back to our camping base. Now, instead of takeaway, we went straight to the restaurant we had visited the previous day for a proper sit-down dining experience.
You can follow our route on AllTrails (Helmos -> Psili Korfi -> Planitero), but proceed with caution due to the lack of trail maintenance.
