What follows, is a entertaining account of a hiking trip undertaken to break through the drudgery of midlife. For friends of the outdoors unfamiliar with the Turkish Alpine Environment it might provide some inspiration to put on the hiking boots and explore a lesser know group of mountains called the ‘Aladglar Range’. But first let me introduce you to Radical Creativity Coach’s first guest author, Yusuf Sayman.
During a recent visit to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden I asked Yusuf if he would like to contribute some writing to this blog. We had not seen each other in a few years. He was in New York on a sort of Honeymoon with his newly wed better half Meric and we chatted about possibly doing a few days of hiking on the Appalachian trail this summer. Yusuf gladly agreed to share some writing here and with a handshake, he became the first guest author on this blog. Yay! Milestone. I also hope you enjoy his photography of the rugged terrain that provides the backdrop to this story.
Yusuf lives in Istanbul. He is a war photographer and has spent time in all of the hotspots in the Middle East in the last decades. When he lived in NYC, he sometimes booked my band at a club he was managing down the street. Here is his story of a recent hiking trip in Turkey. Enjoy!
ADVENTURES FOR A HEALTHY MIDLIFE CRISIS
(Story and photography by Yusuf Sayman)
Aladaglar, Southern Turkey, June 2024
In the middle of the nearly 1500 meter gravel descent from Mt Eznevit, rising 3530 meters high, Meric cried “I can’t believe we ended up here, following random strangers! It’s like jumping out of a window because your friends did so. But we met the friends only two days ago!”
She was feeling nauseous and had a terrible headache from the heights. Her knees were in pain and her leg muscles barely worked after the 6 hour hike up and down steep slopes. The sun and the heat did not help. She had not eaten much due to the nausea and felt even more tired because of the nausea pills.
A new obsession
About a year ago, we joined a mountaineering club. Myself and my partner Meric. We were looking for a hiking group and someone recommended the club. We registered on their website. Put down our names on the first hiking trip but we ended up too drunk the night before. A few weeks later we enrolled in their Summer Mountaineering class, and a new obsession was born.
Meric wanted to go hiking and maybe see some mountains.
We learned about the Aladaglar range during the class. It had some easily reachable peaks that looked amazing in photographs. We were told it was one of the best places for beginners and didn’t require much equipment. We decided to go, sooner rather than later.
After a few unfruitful plans with the club, we finally decided to go romantic, just the two of us. The plan was five days of rock climbing in the canyons at the mountain base, followed by a camping day on the plateau up on the mountain. We knew it would take us a full day hiking up to the lakes at 3000 meters from the base at 1500 meters. Return would be quicker since its the same way but descending.
A legendary campsite near the local rock climbing routes
The drive from Istanbul was 15 hours instead of the regular 7 due to the national holiday. We spent the first 5 days in the valley below the mountain. We already knew about a semi-famous camping spot, frequented by climbers and free skiers from all over. The place is a big garden and a few bungalows with views of Mt Demirkazik.
Founders Zeynep and Recep Ince are both professional climbers who have been living here for over 20 years. They bolted most of the sport climbing routes in the local crags and wrote a guide book. Recep is a gold mine for information on the area and on rock climbing in general. And on mountain climbing. And on how to deal with the Turkish
countryside folk. And he will be happy to share his ideas on how to avoid “adultery tourism” but keep the hippy rock climber type coming.
The Local mountaineering community doesn’t seem to have much love for Recep – when his name is mentioned, sentences including strong labels such as “antisocial” and “rude” follow quickly – but the veterans can’t help express their respect to his climbing abilities and his contributions to the area. Recep and his wife did establish sport climbing in Aladaglar, thereby creating business opportunities for the locals and
those who followed them. While it is probably true that Recep is picky on who to be nice to, he did create a tight community around his camping spot.
Five days of rock climbing in the two canyons was amazing. We stayed on the easier routes, mostly set by Recep. The older ones feel harder than their grades as the bolts start at over 5 meters. Climbers use bolts to secure the rope and first bolt bring high means climbing that high without any safety.
Later Recep explained people from a mountaineering club in Ankara used
to steal the bolts in the early 2000s, thus the high starts. They were against sport climbing, finding it not pure.
Securing adequate transport
While planning our trip up the mountain, Recep advised, or rather urged us to have mules to carry our backpacks with camping equipment and food for 3 days. He did say, “you might be feeling strong but It is a very hard hike even for a 20 year old with a heavy backpack” Let alone for someone who partied through the 2000s.
I called Ahmet, head of a family run mule service, among other things. He said he was busy, but gave me the contact for his cousin Bilal. We agreed on the price, and the cousin told us to leave our packs under the dark colored felt tent in the Karayalak camp at 5AM. Karayalak camp is sort of a base camp for the mountain range – getting there takes a 30 min drive on a dirt road after the last village.
3000 meters and a mule
To reach the plateau at 3000 meters from Karayalak via Mt Emler (3723 m) before 5PM -when the weather might break at 3000 meters- best is to start walking by sunrise.
He told us the porter with mules would pick our bags from the tent and leave them at a abandoned stone hut on the campsite at the top. On our way down, we should leave the bags where we found them and the porter would take them back. The mules traveled almost two times faster than us, so we could possibly run into them on the way.
We were supposed to leave our food and camping equipment in a tent in the middle of
nowhere at 5AM to find them by an abandoned hut on top of a mountain, as directed by a man on the phone – who we never met. Recep said this is how it worked and told us not to worry. Not finding our tent and food by the abandoned hut after a full day of hiking was not a possibility.
The way up was uneventful for the first 5-6 hours. It was steep, but not too tiring. All the while, the route goes through a beautiful pass between hundreds of meters of high rock walls blocking out the sun.
There was a group of five walking about half an hour behind us; and we passed by a couple of men in their 60s walking in the opposite direction. When we stopped for breakfast the group of five passed by us.
We exchanged nods and the customary “kolay gelsin”.
The following hour we spent hiking the last few hundred meters before the mountain pass at 3400 meters. You walked on barely noticeable pathways, zig zagging on the gravel.
Right before the water source marked on the map, the porter and the mules carrying our bags passed by us. We exchanged greetings with the porter and the experience restored our trust in strangers. Soon after that, the group of five caught up with us again and all of us rested by the water source and filled our Nalgene bottles.
Meric wondered if we should filter the water but I insisted the spring was melting snow thus no filtration was needed. We were planning to take a left turn for Mt Emler after the mountain pass but the leader of the other group said there was a short cut saving a few hundred meters. We walked with them until the shortcut and ran into a mountain guide we had met before. The guide told us not to take the short cut, he said it was sketchy and it was harder to walk up that way.
When we did reach the short cut it did look too steep to walk. The other group continued to the left, taking the short cut, we stopped to reconsider. The leader of five saw us and waved at us to follow them. We did the sensible thing and followed the complete stranger instead of the seasoned mountain guide that we knew.
The short cut was easy for a couple of hundred meters but soon became too steep to walk. The leader of five told us and three people from his group to wait and started climbing the rocks on the right side of the slope. Soon after he said the rocks weren’t safe and told us to keep walking on the gravel. It was impossible to do so and we ended up going for the rocks. In the end, it was an easy climb except the rocks were loose and they’d come out while pulling them or stepping on them.
It was a fun climb for me but I could see and hear Meric hating every bit of it. She did
have a point – as usual- as it wasn’t the safest situation and I did have a point – as usual- as one should stay at home for safety.
Mount Emler
It took us two more hours to reach Mt Emler at 3723 meters. Two hours of amazing views and a hardish walk with a few five minute breaks. You could see all the peaks of the range, the plateaus with lakes and all the snow still up there in June.
A few other hikers passed by.
On Mt Emler, we had a chance to bond further with our new friends. They were from a different mountaineering club. The leader, Engin, a nice guy, the pied piper type, was the club president. Bora, a short but well-built guy dressed in all black and a
fisherman’s hat was usually preoccupied but friendly with us. He was behind the group all through the way and ended up companying us more than his group. The other three, two girls in their 20s and a hulk-like character were not so friendly at the beginning. You could see they were slightly pissed at Engin for adding people to his flock.
We spend half an hour there, mostly gossiping about the Istanbul mountaineering
scene. Engin warned us about a guide we really liked and we decided to switch to their
club as ours isn’t that active and there is a high school vibe – you need to be popular in their coffee meets to get into most climbing trips.
We didn’t take his words about the guide serious, as by that time it was clear to us that the mountaineering community enjoyed discrediting each other.
It took us two and a half hours to walk down to the plateau at 3000 meters. We were greeted by the majestic rock overlooking the camping grounds. Then the remains of the abandoned stone hut – and our bags. Then the small lake surrounded by grass, and the small spring of melting snow. A magical place. There was around 10 other tents. it started raining as we pitched ours.
We ate dinner inside the tent as it rained. It was only 6pm when Meric went to bed. She was suffering from terrible headaches and nausea from the height and the nausea medication was sedating. I left the tent to take some photos.
While lingering by the camping grounds I ran into another guide I know, Murat. He and his friends were eating and singing in a circle after a climb up onto the most notorious peak of the area, Mt Demirkazik.
I asked him if the water from the spring was drinkable, he said,” Sure, e always
drink it unfiltered, there are small worms but don’t worry, they are natural”.
Meric woke up and joined us. Murat advised us to hike up Mt MTA the next day. We’d have to leave by 7am to reach the peak by 2 pm and could take a dip in one of the alpine lakes on our way back. It sounded like a great idea to me but Meric wasn’t happy about the 7am part – she still needed a long sleep.
Easy Peak-see
Engin, the guide, waved us over to his tent with the air of the leader that he is. He invited us to join them the next day – they were planning to hike to Mt. MTA or Mt. Yumrutepe, a much closer peak. They also wanted to swim in the alpine
lake, but were planning to leave at 11 am. So the decision was made.
We were sleeping by 8 pm to wake up at 10 am.
The next day was easy. We left the camp by noon and decided to do the easier peak. On
Mt. Yumrutepe we met two lawyers from Adana while enjoying the view. Adana is
famous for its extremely hot summers and it’s angry residents, who are known for shooting at the sun and eating grilled meat for breakfast. The lawyers said they
work as court appointed meditators and business was great during the summer.
Adanians fight when its hot, not using fire arms on better days.
We were sweating when we reached the lake. The girls took Instagram photos on the
beach, while me and Meric switched to swimming apparel. The lake was freezing cold, but provided one of the most enjoyable swims we have had in our life. The other two guys took a dip in the opposite corner for an instagram video and Engin, the leader, dipped his feet in.
Small worms, neutralized with Raki
Later in the evening, we started getting bothered by the worms in our water – Meric
wasn’t satisfied with them being natural. There were 3 doctors drinking Raki outside the tent next to us and I asked them if they filtered. The younger one said he filtered.
While the others made fun of him. Another said the alcohol in the Raki killed the worms and the oldest one said he takes anti- parasite medication every 6 moths.
He advised us to do the same.
This fun and easy day was followed by the hardest day of all, our return. It was supposed to be easy, just the same way we came but skipping Mt. Emler. Our newly adopted group wanted to do two more peaks, up the rock walls surrounding our way up. We’d take the same trail to the spot where we turned left for Emler but take the trail in the opposite direction. Reach Mt. Karasay after an easy climb and hike the ridge to Mt. Eznevit.
Then we’d walk down the gravel on the other side of the mountain. That was supposed to be much easier than the original trail. You take another trail going around the mountain and end in the same spot where we started. When I checked on the map the trail around the mountain seemed impossibly steep, but Engin was our adopted
leader and there was no reason we should not trust a leader we met just two days ago with our lives.
It was a rather sunny morning. Meric was on anti nausea pills which we later learned caused serious drowsiness. Even without the pills, it was a difficult hike for her, just reaching to where the trails split. By half way she was in agony and we decided to split from the group and skip the extra peaks. We were already behind them. It was tense between us. I felt guilty for insisting on this part of the trip, and the guilt turned to anger as her agony did the same. We had a heated dialogue, to put it nicely, on the merits of spending money on therapy instead of new hiking boots. My argument that a pair of good quality boots costs the same as two therapy sessions did not help. It never does. I was raised by therapists.
By the time we reached our adopted group our argument was over and we were back in love. We met them close to where the trails split, on a flat area. Meric could not help herself to lay on the rock surface with her arms open like a starfish. We told the others we’d not hike to the peaks with them. The two girls were rather quick to say their goodbyes, seeming happy to keep their group in the original size.
But after spending a 15 minute break with them, and Engin, the leader asking if we are sure, we decided to continue to the peaks. The two girls and Bora weren’t in much better shape than us, and this was a trip to practice good decision making skills.
We took the trail to our left, reached the water source from two days ago and continued hiking up to the ridge, on gravel, for an hour. Or more.
The ridge line involved some low level rock climbing, without safety gear. Not too dangerous as it was hard to fall and an unlikely fall would
end on soft gravel. No death treats by the mountain, just likely injuries.
We took another break on the top. I had extra food and water to share. Good planning wins hearts, and the girls decided to accept us after snacking on the dried fruits and nuts.
The If-You-Fall-You-Die-Club
Reaching the first peak, Mt. Karasay, wasn’t that hard but things changed after. We continued walking on the ridge line while the trail started to involve more and more climbing parts. The climbs were never hard, but sometimes they were on tops of deep cliffs, reminding what Tunc Findik (a famed Turkish mountaineer) said about a route in the nearby Mt Demirkazik:
“Not a hard climb but its the if-you-fall-you-die club.”
Also it didn’t help that some rocks came loose as we climbed.
Meric didn’t talk much but I was laughing and taking photos – my usual reaction
to adrenaline. For me these parts were what I was in for, for Meric they were exactly what she wanted to avoid. It did make me feel better to know we weren’t here because I wanted so, or me manipulating the situation, but it was our less -than
-perfect-decision-making. Also, while looking dangerous, these trails were still considered hiking trails, not technical routes, thus not dangerous.
Except for the if-you-fall-you-die club.
Mt. Karasay and Mt. Eznevit, both little over 3500 meters high, are the highest points of two ridges, top of the rock faces on our right when we were walking up two days ago. The two ridges are connected by a pass. If a rock formation with tiny spots to step on deserves that name.
When we reached the pass Engin told us to wait and went ahead to see if other was passable. We waited while stepping on small steps on top of a cliff and hanging on to some wobbly rock. He came back saying it was too dangerous to continue, I replied “Where we are now is not dangerous?”
Meric gave me the “cut it with your jokes and take this serious” look.
We started going back the way we came, found a trail on the gravel right before Mt Karasay, walked down for an hour and walked up another hour to reach Mt Eznevit. This was a relatively safer, but much longer route. When we were at the top, Meric laid down again. It was too much for her. Too much adrenaline, too much sun, too much walking, too much knee pain, too much nausea and we still had too far to go and no chance of giving up.
The feeling of “no chance to give up now” always gives me a weird calmness. I have felt it in much more dangerous situations. You can’t go back. There is nothing to do but go on 100% survival mode.
One of the few ways my brain can concentrate on a single thing.
Fear makes me smarter. In the sense that, you know you are very smart, but
you are unemployed; and have no money and no clue on how to fix your situation.
While resting on the peak, we met a couple of university students. We realized they were the couple camping by the small lake little outside of the camping area in the plateau. I told them it was the most romantic place for pitching a tent and she blushed.
They were planning to turn around and go back the same way they had come. Engin told them our plan was much better and quicker. Acting like a true pied
piper, he invited them to join us. They agreed.
Engin has the aura of a very trustable person, plus he wears these old school glacier
glasses, the same kind famous mountaineers wear in old photos. If those glasses were good enough for the first ascent of Everest, what could possibly go wrong here?
After Eznevit all that was left was walking down the “Eznevit gravel”, a steep descent of about 1500 meters. We’d walk down half way then take another part going around the mountain to end up where we started.
Walking down gravel is more tiring than it looks. The ground is soft but steep. Given you have proper boots – with stiff soles – you have step on your heels and slide a little on each step.
When you do it properly your toes almost never touch the ground. A process hard on the legs, but even more destructive on the knees.
Meric had bad knees already so she had to rest often. Bora was preoccupied with filming. I stopped a lot to take photos but I was also quite tired and Meric’s breaks were lifesavers. The new couple seemed to have a lot more energy and they almost ran down the slope. Rest of the group followed and 3 of us was left behind. They gave a long break for us to catch them, we walked faster. By the time we reached them they wanted to continue, but Meric’s knees were done. She was not happy, was not going to continue and was not okey with the group leaving us behind again – just because two 20 year olds we met two hours before wanted to go fast.
Meric had a point and people can feel it when she has a point. They waited for us get our energy levels back up.
Engin decided it would be too much to turn around the mountain, apparently we’d have 4-5 hours more to walk and might not make it before dark. Also apparently that router involved some climbing and we all agreed to was a terrible idea to climb while we could hardly walk.
We’d continue walking down the trail we were on and end up on the other side of the
mountain. Engin called a truck to pick us up on the base and take us to where we started. The last few meters of the gravel trail were the last steps we could possibly take. My knees were locked, my legs declined to move. A forest starts where the gravel ends, we rested under the pine trees for some time. Then we hiked in the forest, on flat ground for about 20 minutes.
During the drive on the back of the pick up truck, Meric said this was it. There would be no way she would do this ever again. She was an executive in a multinational corporation, not a mountain shepherd. Meric was a good student and a responsible adult, not an adventure seeker.
She had a point.
About a moth after our return, we were siting by the Mediterranean sea in a small stone house. There was a heat wave but the breeze from the sea helped. There is no fiber optic connection, as the house is remote. But we have internet access through the cell phone network.
We were watching videos of people climbing Mera Peak in the Himalayas. Its over 6000 meters above sea level but considered to be a hiking peak, not technical. You just walk up in knee deep snow for two days, after a 15 day hike to the mountain base.
We just decided it makes sense for us to go for it next year.
So there you have it. I don’t think it’s radical or revolutionary to elaborate on this kind of thing in the way that I do. I’m just trying to figure out a way to allow my human creativity to flow in a way that communicates the promise, that I have not turned into a machine yet. And I’m not planning to.
- My New Podcast ChaiTea2TaiChi is now streaming on all the major platforms and at Chaitea2taichi.com
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