17/10/2019
Mountain Walking: Advice
Recently, I have heard that the Kalymnos Mountain Rescue Team were called out to a person who had become lost and in danger of being benighted on The Kalymnos Trail. Well done to the Rescue Team for responding to a call for help.
As a result of this, I feel I should remind everyone who is thinking about doing The Trail that many sections should only be attempted by very experienced mountain walkers who are experts at map-reading and route-finding, and have some experience in rock-scrambling or rock-climbing. I make this clear in The Kalymnos Trail guidebook and also suggest a ‘difficulty’ grade for each section. Routes that are long and graded Hard or Very Hard should be treated with great caution (eg Section 2: Pithari Sea Cliffs; Section 4: Telendos; Section 8 Goat Paths to Pezonda; Section 9: The Koukoula Circuit). As the route finding is often very slow, anyone who doesn’t make an early start must have suitable clothing and enough water to cope with a forced overnight bivouac.
If you find yourself in such a situation, you should therefore be ready to ‘stay put’ for the night and then find your way out in the morning. Unless you have a serious problem such as a broken ankle, you should not ring the Rescue Team. Instead, phone your friends and the hotel you are staying at to tell them that you are ‘sleeping out’ and not to worry. In other words, be self-reliant.
The Kalymnos Rescue Team does an excellent job but unnecessary calls may prevent them from attending to more serious incidents.
Enjoy the mountains of Kalymnos… but be prepared!
