Hiking Mount Olympus

Today we had the wonderful opportunity to hike Mt. Olympus! At its highest peak the elevation is 2,917m (as told by one of our tour guides). Everyone except Tim and Yianni hiked down. Yianni drove us up halfway, said goodbye, and we were on our own. We split off into groups (by pace) and set off. The fastest group made it down in 3 hours (Renee, Aubrey, & Annica), and bringing up the rear were Ben, Cameron, Genetta, Ryan, and Briana(me) in 5 hours.

We had some incredible views and some rough terrain. Here are some of the girls drinking from the river flowing down. In some parts while hiking I felt like I was back in Oregon the surroundings were so similar.

First we passed a monastery, and there was some construction going on there. About 20min in we came along a "Holy Cave" where hermit monks choose to live the monastic life.

As you can see, we had some very steep areas to navigate through. All the gravel was particularly difficult, making it easy to lose your footing. Some of us have some knee issues but we were able to get through mostly unscathed.

There were quite a few little bridges like this one. I think many of us were surprised at how up and down the trail was. My group was tired of the ups; you'd round a corner and looming above we're rocks you had to walk up and up, and then down and down. Genetta and I were laughing at the ridiculousness of some of the paths.

It was all worth it. The views were incredible when you weren't watching your feet. Many groups went on little detours to climb taller boulders or go into small caves (you can see Cameron in the center of this one).

I had a great time even though I was exhausted. We complained some (or a lot in my case) and laughed, and enjoyed God's beautiful Creation. It gives me a little perspective on how Paul traveled through Greece all on foot. Tim has told us, when mentioning Paul and his views on marriage, that we should imagine trying to bring your family with you on these cross-country journeys. I really applaud Paul for his perseverance; I was maxed out after 5 hours.

This experience is something that I'm glad I had and was able to share it with such an amazing group of people.

Your Sister in Christ, Briana Orlob