When I say that I spent the weekend in Borjomi, what comes to mind?
Correct.
Some people might also be able to add on:
Yes, indeed! In fact, it's Georgia's number 1 export at the moment. But, that's not was brought myself and another TLG volunteer (Mike) out here for the weekend. The big draw for us were the mountains. The Lesser Caucasus range to be more specific.
Here's the view from another TLG volunteer's house:
Next to this picturesque town is Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park. It is a massive park that takes up about 8% of Georgia's total territory. The Lonely Planet guide fills you in on which of the 9 trails make for good day/multi day treks. They also nonchalantly inform readers that this park is home to 90 brown bears. (Say that again?!)
Let's take a moment to learn about the Eurasian brown bear:
"It has a powerful bone structure, large paws, equipped with big claws, which can grow up to 10 cm in length. The weight varies depending on habitat and time of the year. A full grown male weighs on average 265–355 kg (583–780 lb). The largest Eurasian brown bear recorded was 481 kg (1,058 lb) and was nearly 2.5 m (8.2 ft) long. Females typically range between 150–250 kg (330–550 lb)."
So, basically, this an animal neither Mike nor myself wanted to happen across. However, with 5.3 thousand square kilometers, there should be plenty of room for everyone, right?
(Side note: There are also wolves, lynx, and something called a chamois (we hoped it was vegetarian) wandering around the park.)
The plan was to hike 15 km (about 10 miles) up trail #1 to the shelter of Lomis Mta (Mt. Lomis), spend the night, then hike down trail #6 (another 15km/10 miles).
The hike up was mostly in the trees until we reached the ridge line. Once the trees thinned out, the views were spectacular. Here are a few shots:
The shelter really was bare bones, but at least we had four walls, a roof, a door that closed, and a fresh water spring .5 km away.
The temperature dipped down to 43.5 degrees F/6 degrees C. Here's the evidence:
Sleep came in small spurts, due to shivering, animal noises, and body parts falling asleep from the hard wood bunk beds. The most exciting part of the night went like this:
Needless to say, a good night's sleep escaped me. The next day started at daybreak, with the sun streaming in through the window onto our tired faces. We had breakfast in sleeping bags, and got ready for the hike down.
It took another 15km to get down to the main road. We were going to go down trail #6, but after missing the turn off and finding ourselves on a vehicle track, we decided that this was for the best and continued on down.
It was a fantastic weekend. One that I'll not soon forget.
It also has me researching what would the best plan of attack be for finding oneself face to face with a bear. Just in case. You never know out here.
Nakhvamdis!
Katy x
Links:
Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borjomi-Kharagauli_National_Park
"Well, I know it has to do with Georgia, since that's where Katy is now."
Correct.
Some people might also be able to add on:
"Isn't that the town famous for its mineral water?"
Yes, indeed! In fact, it's Georgia's number 1 export at the moment. But, that's not was brought myself and another TLG volunteer (Mike) out here for the weekend. The big draw for us were the mountains. The Lesser Caucasus range to be more specific.
Here's the view from another TLG volunteer's house:
Next to this picturesque town is Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park. It is a massive park that takes up about 8% of Georgia's total territory. The Lonely Planet guide fills you in on which of the 9 trails make for good day/multi day treks. They also nonchalantly inform readers that this park is home to 90 brown bears. (Say that again?!)
Let's take a moment to learn about the Eurasian brown bear:
"It has a powerful bone structure, large paws, equipped with big claws, which can grow up to 10 cm in length. The weight varies depending on habitat and time of the year. A full grown male weighs on average 265–355 kg (583–780 lb). The largest Eurasian brown bear recorded was 481 kg (1,058 lb) and was nearly 2.5 m (8.2 ft) long. Females typically range between 150–250 kg (330–550 lb)."
So, basically, this an animal neither Mike nor myself wanted to happen across. However, with 5.3 thousand square kilometers, there should be plenty of room for everyone, right?
(Side note: There are also wolves, lynx, and something called a chamois (we hoped it was vegetarian) wandering around the park.)
The plan was to hike 15 km (about 10 miles) up trail #1 to the shelter of Lomis Mta (Mt. Lomis), spend the night, then hike down trail #6 (another 15km/10 miles).
The hike up was mostly in the trees until we reached the ridge line. Once the trees thinned out, the views were spectacular. Here are a few shots:
The shelter really was bare bones, but at least we had four walls, a roof, a door that closed, and a fresh water spring .5 km away.
The temperature dipped down to 43.5 degrees F/6 degrees C. Here's the evidence:
Sleep came in small spurts, due to shivering, animal noises, and body parts falling asleep from the hard wood bunk beds. The most exciting part of the night went like this:
*laying awake listening to small animals scurry around outside*
rrrrrrr! Rrrrrrr!
"Mike, wake up. I heard a bear"
"Huh, what? Oh, uh huh."
"No seriously."
"Yup."
-20 minutes later-
RRRRrrr! RRrrrrrrR!
"Mike, did you hear it this time?"
"O, yeah."
"It's closer."
"Well, as long as it doesn't lean against the door, we should be fine."
O_o
Needless to say, a good night's sleep escaped me. The next day started at daybreak, with the sun streaming in through the window onto our tired faces. We had breakfast in sleeping bags, and got ready for the hike down.
It took another 15km to get down to the main road. We were going to go down trail #6, but after missing the turn off and finding ourselves on a vehicle track, we decided that this was for the best and continued on down.
It was a fantastic weekend. One that I'll not soon forget.
It also has me researching what would the best plan of attack be for finding oneself face to face with a bear. Just in case. You never know out here.
Nakhvamdis!
Katy x
Links:
Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borjomi-Kharagauli_National_Park
Phew... No bear sighting mentioned.
ReplyDeleteIs that chamois as in the shirt or the absorbent material with which one dries a car?