#16 Dry river beds, slippery rocks, many switchbacks…. & stealth camping….just another day on the Lycian Way!

24th November - Belos ruins to Mavikent, 28.2km

???? Sunday, 24th November - Day 15 - Lycian Way, Turkey ????

* From: Belos Ruins to just outside Mavikent

* Weather: sunny ??

* Distance: 17.5 miles / 28 km

* Ascent / descent: 300ft / 3,200 ft

* Accom: wild camping - free ??

* Total cost: cafe break 62TRY (coffee, hot chocolate, pastries, tea), resupply 14TRY (bread, water, Pepsi & cheese)

?Final day on the mountains!

? I was so ready to leave the Pension we were staying at, there was no hot water, no soap in the bathroom and it just didn’t have the best vibe.

?? It was also hard to realise the progress we were making as we kept coming back to the same place every night. It was also really expensive (by Turkish standards)! I think we overpaid... which is another lesson learned.

?? We were driven back to where we started on day 1 of the mountain section, so we could connect the dots and make sure we’d done it all.

The first part was road based, which was quick and easy, we then took a right turn and headed off down into the mountains following the red and white markers, which to our surprise were actually pretty good in this section.

We walked through a dry river bed and continued the descent. The flat rocks were still wet from the night before and we had a few instances were are feet went beneath us. It really was a case of just taking it really slowly. The ground was loose soil and rocks and didn’t seem to be that stable. We lost the trail a few times but all in all not to bad.

We kept descending down into the town of Boldag and then continued down to Finike which was at sea level. We got to Finike by 11 am - so 3 hours of walking.

?? After a cheeky stop in a cafe for some refreshments we carried on. The next stretch was completely flat and along the beach and a main road. A lot of people skip this section and jump in a bus! We decided to walk it and it reminded me of coastal walking on the Camino Portugués. I plugged in a podcast and just got on with it.

?? We were so lucky with the weather, we could see the black clouds rolling in over the mountains behind us and yet we were still in the sun! I though that any moment the clouds would catch up with us!

?? We have managed to escape the rain for another day, but we know it’s coming!!!

Reaching the town of Mavikent- there were very limited accommodation choices and it seemed to be a bit of an accommodation black hole. In the end we decided to wild camp in the large woods between the beach and the road.

Plus this would also save us a bit of cash after all we had spend doing the mountain section.

?? We stopped off on the way at a Local market and bought the basics, bread, water and cheese.

?? My tent is lovely and snug and it’s amazing how it does feel like home. Once you get everything set out.

?? My legs are throbbing after today, it could be walking on the hard road surface for such a difference. But I can really feel it. My left knee is also starting to hurt slight more.

?? One of the problems of having such a tight deadline is not being able to take any proper rest days. We’ve now been going for over 2 weeks and it’s been very full on walking with heavy backpacks.

?? I think for me going forward I need to add more rest days in. I think at this point in time, it’s just too much for my left knee to take. I’m sure it will be fine over the coming days and I’ll make it to the end. But something for me to take away and to learn from.

Kat Blog Post - https://followingthearrows.com/2020/01/23/lycian-way-day-15-belos-ruins-to-mavikent-28-2km/ 

Komoot Route Information - Day 15 - https://www.komoot.com/tour/104328889 

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I used the 700ml Travel Filter Water Bottle for the Lycian Way Hike - I then switch out the filter for a normal straw and use the bottle in my everyday life. 

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Learn more about Kat Davis - Blogger, Adventurer & Guidebook Author!

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We used the Komoot App while hiking. 

We uploaded the GPX tracks to Komoot and used this to help with navigation. The Komoot app also tracks us, and provides a lot of information such as distance covered, elevation gain and loss, there is also voice directions which you can turn on. Mine was called Bob…. (don’t know why!)

*The Komoot App was gifted and we also received sponsorship for this hike. 

All of the tracks from the 23 day hike have been recorded on Komoot.

Follow me @ToughGirl and follow Kat @FollowTheArrows 

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