Autumn 2018

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It’s been a very busy start to the clearing season with volunteers from Majorca, Spain, Australia and Germany already come and gone and now from Ireland and Canada. A new piece of equipment has been purchased, a hedge trimmer and it’s proving very successful. So far, we’ve carried out maintenance at Kimissia, on the Panormos trail in the Potami area, cleared a thicket of brambles below Raches and are now widening the trail that leads from Diakopi up towards Pirgos (part of the Retsina Trail).

I was unable to get a hotel room at the beginning of the season and I can’t thank the Bonini/Kosma family enough for their generosity in allowing the volunteers to stay at their town house. It was a godsend and works very well as it’s located close to my house.

I’ve also had dialogue with the Forestry department and shown their agricultural policeman (agrofilikas) several problem areas to see if we can take some kind of official action.

 

The New 10b Hike

At last this route is open. It’s 9km and took us 3 hours to walk. It’s not in the Skopelos Trails book but can be downloaded via the Map App.

It’s taken over three months to complete and there is still a bit of work to do. Please note that just beyond the Prof. Ilias water tank there are some dogs, one of which is free. A bit of asphalt to walk once you get to the heliport area/Petraki cross roads but some lovely views over to Evia. It’s then down into the coolness of the forest and over our bridge. Going down Kimissia there’s an illegal fence across the trail but you can open it.

I’d like to thank all the volunteers who have worked on this route; David, Jenna, Nikos, Che, Hannah, Alexa, Dee, Jackie, Clive, Amy, Pamela and our chainsaw extraordinaire Manolis Palaiologos.

KIMISSIA – Walk 17

This trail runs between Pefkia and Kambos and was totally blocked. Hampered also by the fact that a neighbouring land owner has encroached onto the trail and taken half it but erecting a very stout fence. Crazy. Several years ago, he actually totally fenced off the trail head at the Pefkia end. We cut it and we will invite him to reposition or better still, remove his illegal fence before we do the same.

Current volunteers are Nicos from Canada, Hannah from Wales and Che from Scotland. They’re doing a great job in difficult conditions and full sun. I’m also so grateful to Paniotis P for his continual weekly help. I can hardly believe that after so many years I finally have the support, encouragement and understanding of a local.

Thanks also to Debbie and friends for supplying us with much needed, heavy duty gloves that withstand the dreaded Smilax. 

Good-bye Debbi and Jay – better late than never

Walk 8 section beyond section 37 Ag Marina

A tree had fallen down across the trail here so WA volunteer Annabelle, part-time resident Jane and regular tourist Flemming and I spent half a day clearing it away as well as tidying up this section and widening where possible.

We also took a look at the spring (pic.35) and the now stream bed of the Spring Route. During the floods, a massive amount of water came down the mountain and made its way through here, creating a deep ravine. The path has been totally destroyed although it’s still possible to walk along from Mili Hamlet to the spring (just about).

 

A Perfect Day

After a couple of gloomy, overcast, drizzly days, we were able to get out for Clare and Sylvan’s final working day. We chose The Retsina Trail which just needed a bit of a trim. The air was fresh and the views 3D. We’ve inspected nearly all of The Restina Trail and it looks in great shape with no blockages.

Thanks so much to Clare and Sylvan for all the hard work, company and good times. What more could one ask?

Giving a trim

PATH CLEARING spring 2014

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Path clearing has now ceased until September. A lot has been accomplished this Spring: Simisea, Ag Marina track towards Sotiros,  Tzukuka,  Moutero and a bit of a clip near Ag Ianni Skleri. There is a schedule listing all the paths and routes, condition and dates when last cleared. The town hall has a copy of this schedule but there are probably coffee stains on the reverse side of the pages. Sadly the charity funded strimmer is missing (to put it politely), which means paths will not be cleared of long grass in the future. I hope the person who borrowed it is proud of themselves.

the team

A very big THANK YOU to Helen, Pamela Batters and Georgia Thompson.

GLYSTERI TOWARDS TZUKALA June 2014

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Clearing of this route is now in progress. There are many thorns beside the stone track however and progress is slow. Once we get to the Tzukala spring, we aim to reopen a portion of calderimi that has been closed for at least 30 years. The portion then joins up to the calderimi that goes up the hill and emerges by the rubbish tip.

photo

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