2019-12-15 Day 422 Sun

Sitting doing computer work when Sam went ding! I glanced at the screen and said I think that says something about family trust??

John said what time is meeting I looked in my diary 9pm just 15 mins!

I started a quick sweep of the “decks” as john walked up the hill to find internet. He came back saying we just have to drive back up the track a bit.

With everything stowed in the sink we drove up. I texted Cynthia to say we’d be 5 mins late….

Found a good spot with internet and John called in. John and Chris were also on so nice to see them.

By now it was 11:30 so we decided to move on, just a 70 odd km to a dam for a camp.

Looking across at the road we came down yesterday.

Up into the snow again topping out at 1930m altitude.

Down to the dam  on river Bakusan Deresi, but no camp so onwards.

Ermenek was a largish town with you guessed it big mosques.

We turned off here onto yellow. Lots of work being done on the main road. Straightening out corners huge retaining walls. Just amazing the work they need to do to stabilize the roads here.

a The road took us down to Ermenek Reservoir but although we tried one spot not very inviting with low water levels. So again on wards and upwards.

 Great views back down on the reservoir but nowhere to get off the small road to camp. All the flat areas are farmed… so we continued. Over the crest and down the other side.

We traversed along the edge of a steep gully. Here there were caves with blue plastic at their entrance. Not sure whether houses for people or animals.

The drive has been quite spectacular back into rocky steep terrain. The road is sealed but often just wide enough for one.

Our drive has continued well past our 70km to camp and still we cannot find a flat spot….

The yellow was about to flatten into a wide valley so I chose to cross over to another more interesting yellow.

It was marked as white and had been sealed, the worst kind actually. Large pot holes in old seal…. Only 20km but was slow going...meanwhile the sun is a lot lower in the sky being only 1 hour before sun set.

John has driven the whole day as I have not been feeling very well, I have had a blur in front of my eyes maybe a migraine of some sort. I we figured best not to drive…

Back onto yellow then a turn onto white in 9kms. After a village and a turn off onto white there was our camp. Perched on a track to the aerial and fantastic views.

147km Camp site  1598m alt

2019-12-14 Day 421 Sat

Thoughts of going for a walk were dampened when the cloud did not raise. There would be no view. 
 

Returning to the valley floor we continued on the track hoping to pop out at the end of the valley.

It was not to be.

A new gas line had been installed beside the road and the road was just a mass of mud. We gently tried one slope and half way up the wheels just started spinning. Yes we could get up but what about the next 20km. It was only a track marked on the map.

Earlier we had seen a tourist sign and map with this nice walk on it. Along the road beside the rail track so maybe it is only a walking trail….

Back out to the town of Pozanti. We stopped on the highway at the little shops hoping to buy fruit. 

We got to taste a drink sold in 2 litter containers whose taste included vinegar and chilli. Not alcoholic or course but, something to keep the truckies awake….

These shops sold a mish mash of stuff. These drinks , fruit, phones , pre-loved tie down straps, Turkish delight etc etc.

A load of wheel barrows

Fake grass on the steps of this merc.

We headed N then SW on an orange road road used by a lot of trucks. Onto a red and SW to Karaman quiet a big town.

We saw these little cages for a calf to be housed in. A bit like a dog kennel.

Bypassing as much of Karaman as possible we headed in a more southerly direction on yellow, nice to get away from the traffic again.

A neat windy road down to a small dam on the river Gokcay The water was a brilliant aqua, a bit like the Baker river in Argentina but much smaller.

A lovely old bridge replaced but still looking fantastic. Maybe lower in the water when the damn is full.

We found a camp on the road to the damn wall. Secluded with a little internet.

247km Camp site  436m alt.

2019-12-13 Day 420 Fri

We went for a walk into the canyon. Muff called and we had a chat while we climbed up the boulders. A fantastic place very narrow and great climbing. Lots of bolted routes.

 

 

The clouds parted for a while and we got to see some of the mountains. Not very tall only up to 4000m but they look like mountains.

 

Another pop up village.

It is quite amazing how many new roads and new villages there are here in Turkey.

 

 

 

A guy that follows John on Instagram suggested a couple of places to visit. They were close by so we headed into the small valley. John already had a marker on a hill in the vicinity.

In Pozanti we stopped to do a vege shop and to get our paperwork printed (finally)

 

We had trouble finding the road we wanted as it is now a one way road. We pulled over to consult the map further. A car behind went to drive up the one way road thought better of it and pulled up along side us. I climbed out with the map in hand and noticed they were in cop uniforms. When I showed them where we were going they said to follow them. They took us to the right turn off.

 

The gorge was wonderful with high peaks and a train line that went through tunnels.

We turned across as the railway line and up a good gravel track just before Belemelik.

Both our map and google had the road incorrect. We wound up the road in the mist and drizzle knowing that either side of the road the ground was very soft.

Found a little spot to stop and walked out to the point to look at the view. Some neat trees shaped by the relentless winds and weather.

We walked down a track to the power poles hoping for a camp with a view. But it was only so-so. It was very late in the day so John hurried back to get EC. I was not far behind and by the time he had arrived he changed his mind to just stay there the night. We leveled her, and camp was struck.

85km Camp site 1245m alt.

2019-12-12 Day 419 Thu

Rained gently all night. I did the washing while John got some emails written. We just hung it in the shower to drip during the day.

John drove out a different way….

Down the road which was wet but not too slippery. This road started off in the right direction but kept climbing and climbing. However we trusted to our luck and the contours on the map. The road had been recently widened and was a bit slippery in places.

We finally got back to the yellow and came to a barrier across the other side of the road. On passing it and looking back there was a big no entry sign on the blockage. Back door again??

We had been planning to go on a loop white road but were concerned as it was over 1700m and on the North (cold) side. 
 

Stopped for some lunch and John had to entertain a goat herder and then his friend. We were invited to chai but refused.

We were up in the high 1500m altitude and there was snow about.

A different sort of pine here quite dusty looking trunks.

 

When we crossed to northern side there was more. Not looking good but it could be sealed and have been cleared, Was not to be we came to the turnoff and it was covered in snow with just 2 wheel tracks showing the muck underneath. No not today. That road has another 200m altitude on the North (cold) side of the hill.

 The carpet of pine needles was a lovely color while wet.

 Finally got through the village and we were poised at the top of a very slippery corner with the inside of the corner was piled with barn muck. Yes were very nearly in the sh*t before going to far. 

 

Across the bridge and up. The road had been newly widened and graded so was nice and slippery, Oh and did I mention the drop off. John did very well and held both the car and me on track. Just at the last section the camber was outwards and we came quite close to a metal power pole (editors clarification: 1m to spare).

 

 John did manage to get us to the top, we had considered turning back but I don’t think we we would have made it up past the pile of sh*t, without the aid of winch.

Now perched on another ridge and wondering which way to go. This skinny white had been dressed and widened. Should we go down it or up. The decision was upwards and hopefully outwards. 
 

An interesting 8km. Very slippery but a well formed road with proper camber so we would most likely end in the drain. John did a wonderful job and so did EC. Many of the corners were taken sideways as the rear wheels slipped down the slope.

We finally popped out on another white this time sealed. What a relief, we could easily have been up to our eyeballs winching out….

Around the top of the mountain range to find a camp near a climbing wall Just on the edge of Aladaglar National Park.


170km Camp site  1728m alt.