Mother Nature threatened rain early in the day, but it never materialized. And the 7-day forecast suggests sunshine and perfect hiking temperatures for the next week. Hooray!
Day 13 on the Lycian Trail was epic, in every sense of the word.
Plotted as 24KM long in the guidebook, we chose to do the first stretch (6.5KM along an asphalt road) by car. The car ride was the scariest part of the day!
We also decided to send our heavy backpacks by car, rather than lug 25kg of gear along the way. Oktay carried a day pack with our food, water, foul weather gear, and first aid kit.
The modifications meant that we would need to walk just over 17KM, a challenge we felt comfortable attempting. During the day, we climbed up 542 meters, and we climbed down 776 meters. And we did it all (including breaks) in just over 9-1/2 hours. This was our longest hike through hilly forests to date, and earned us over 33,500 steps on the pedometer!
As always, today's scenery was spectacular! The trail passed through the ruins of an ancient city called Phellos. We saw several interesting tombs but didn't take time to leisurely explore the site as we have in the past. (We were a bit pressed for time and really needed to get down from the mountain before sunset.)
Tonight, we are staying at a lovely boutique hotel in Çukurbağ, and head to Kaş tomorrow.
