SHORT DESCRIPTION
Koziakas or Kerketion Mountain, as it was known in the ancient times, is a mountain in the prefecture of Trikala, with 1901m altitude. It borders with the Mountain range of South Pindos to the west and the Thessalian plain to the east. From its slopes, Portaikos and Kefalopotamos rivers, are flowing down, ending in Pinios , the great river of theThessalian plain. Dense forests of firs, alpine meadows and beautiful peaks, form its relief. Due to its rich flora, it is believed that Asclepius was gathering herbs from its slopes. Its fauna is also important as it includes almost all the wild mammals of the Greek countryside, as well as many species of reptiles and birds.
This is the mountain that we wanted to climb, so we left our home town Thessaloniki, driving all the way to Pertouli, to admire the view of the high peaks of Pindos and the Thessalian plain. Our plan is to ascend to Koziakas refuge and stay there for the first night and climb to the summit and return the next day.
USEFUL INFORMATION
Distance from Thessaloniki: 254 km
European Emergency Number: 112
Fire Brigade Dept: 199
Medical Emergency: 166
Koziakas refuge: 6977662569 , 6976080613
Pertouli Forestry Dept: 2434 091207
Pili mountaineering and trekking club: 6977425719
Pertouliotika Libadia – Koziakas refuge (1750m)
Day 1
Route Information
Route Description: Trekking
Route Length: 5,3 km
Water in route: Yes (near the middle of the route , at Arvanites spring)
Duration: 2h 30min (with breaks)
The route took place at OCT 2019
Team members 7 adults
Arriving near the town of Trikala, we follow the signs for Elati and Pertouli villages, because the Pertouli Ski Resort located in the Pertouli meadows (Pertouliotika livadia in Greek) is the starting point of our route. We park at the ski parking lot, put our backpacks on and off we go. The weather was a bit rainy, but with tendency of getting better, as the weather application on our mobile phones informed us and it was fortunately verified later. The route we are going to take is the most classic one for climbing Koziakas Mountain and is marked with yellow squares that have a black triangle in the middle. From the center of the parking lot, we cross the meadow, heading for the mountain and the wooden bridge at the other end. We are crossing the bridge, and we continue by turning right on the forest road. After about 200 meters, we leave the road, following the signs, on the path to the left, inside the dense fir forest. After about 300 meters we meet the forest road again and we follow it to the left. We continue our hike smoothly for about 900 meters and after a while we arrive at an intersection with another forest road. There, at this point, in front of us, there is a relatively large opening between the fir trees, with a characteristic uphill. This is the start of the path to the refuge and in a few meters you will see the yellow and black signs on the trees.
The forest surrounds us as we ascend between firs and beeches. We are entering the path and we are hiking with moderate inclination, heading east, having the ski center behind us. In a while our direction is changing to southeast, having the ski center to our right hand. In general, the trail traverses smoothly the western side of the mountain, passing through a beautiful dense fir forest, which is managed by the Thessaloniki University School of Forestry. Small streams, hidden glades, wildflowers and spectacularly tall trees are making, an amazing and marvelous scenery, in front of us. The trail, well maintained and well marked, as it goes upwards, it reveals the spectacular view of the ski center and the Pertouli meadows. In about an hour, we are reaching a natural staircase. It is the first of the route and lies beneath the Arvanites plateau, at the bottom of a vertical cliff. The ascent becomes steeper as we climb the staircase and at its end we are making our first rest stop.
We continue our ascent, with the path turning east and leading us to the Arvanites plateau and the homonymous spring. The inclination has grown without bothering us, and we continue to hike, but our direction now is to the north. The forest starts to thin out and the mountain meadows are making their appearance. The path continues to move between bluffs of tall trees, climbing smooth rails, revealing more and more the beauty of nature. Autumn colors and wildflowers, as well as the spectacular view of the South Pindos peaks, are magnetizing our eyes and fill in our souls. In about an hour and a half and about a hundred meters in front of us, we come across a sheep shed. This is the point, where the forest road (the forest road at the beginning of the route) from the Pertouli meadows is ending. Now the path turns to the right and brings us to the second and final staircase of our hike. We begin the steep and fortunately small ascent and as we reach the top, Koziakas Refuge (1750m) and the Bakola Plateau emerge in front of us.
What a great scenery. The plateau is narrow, lying at the bottom of the summit and at its edge, a beautiful two-floor stone building with all the modern comforts and a spectacular view of Chatzipetros summit to the east and the mountains of South Pindos to the west. The entire place is clean and tidy and very very warm. Downstairs there is the dining room with the huge fireplace and the kitchen and upstairs, the bunk beds and the sleeping area. Pericles who manages the refuge and the stuff, are friendly and ready to provide all the information we need about the mountain.
We have already settled into our bunk beds, have eaten our delicious pasta for lunch and now we are drinking our coffee, enjoying the tranquility and admiring the colors of the sunset, behind Loupata, Marosa and Avgo (South Pindos summits). The sky had turned to a blue purple color when our two friends from Trikala, who had arranged our overnight stay at the refuge, appeared on the horizon. We were expecting them, since they have started their ascent later than us and so we became seven. Seven mountain climbers, seven companions, for tomorrow’s summit but also for tonight’s super night at the refuge.
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