Hurray for the Caucasus! #5/13

10 September

Only five miles and 9,000 feet up from town and I find myself blown away by these mountains. This is what made me want to come to Georgia.

I left at 7am for a hike and started climbing immediately. Up, up, and up without another person in sight. A third of the way up I passed a steel cross that you can look up and see from town. I watched the fog climb it's way up the sides of the valley and crossed my fingers that it would clear as I got farther up the trail.

At Koruldi lakes the fog was still thick so I lay down and fell fast asleep for an hour. When I woke up, the fog had cleared enough to see town way down below.

I ended up talking with a man from France at the top where we both decided that it was cold enough to head back town. He works in the health department specifically with blood transfusions and organ transplants. I asked him every question about blood I could think of and learned a ton. By the time we had moved on to vaccinations, antibiotics, and the potential of a massive flu pandemic, we were already back to town. Eager for a shower and a meal we wished each other happy travels and I headed to my tent.