Preparing for the Transcaucasian Way

Hello everyone,

Bird dog here. Jetpack and I are immersed in the planning and preparation cycles of the Transcaucasian Trail (TCT). If you are not familiar with the trail, it is a 1,500 km trail that crosses Armenia and Georgia. Check it out at: https://transcaucasiantrail.org

It’s a region of the world that none of us have been to before and honestly, it’s a little scary to think about visiting. Well, the road is not scary, in fact, the road begins at the border between Iran and Armenia. And anywhere near Iran may not be the best place to visit right now. So we planned to get in and out of there as quickly as possible. So I’m separately nervous/excited to visit a place whose language or culture we don’t know. We are prepared so that very few people can speak English. Despite the language barrier, we heard that the region is known for its hospitality. We also assume that the food will be quite different from anything we have experienced before. It will be a great adventure!

After a great winter of ski touring, we’ve been running, hiking, and biking a lot over the past 4-6 weeks. We’ve also both been doing weighted uphill carries as a new thing. Yeah, it’s a little crazy, and about once a week we fill the backpacks with 5 gallons of water and carry them uphill 1000 feet, dump the water, then come back down, refill them, and repeat 2 or 3 times. At least, it’s quite effective at tiring out your legs! We both feel in great shape and are ready to hit the road.

Travel

We will fly from Geneva to Istanbul and Yerevan, Armenia. For the return, we will fly from Batumi or Tbilisi, Georgia (depending on the time period to explore after the trail). Upon arrival, we planned to spend 3-4 days in Yerevan and then take a marshrutka (daily minibus) for 8-9 hours to the southern terminal in Meghri.

Replenishment

We have decided not to send packages or pre-arrange food. Instead, we will rely on local markets and what we find along the way. This seems much simpler from a planning perspective. Fortunately, neither of us have any dietary restrictions and we are both pretty flexible. That means we’re likely to get some adventurous restocks at small convenience stores in Armenia and Georgia. There must be ramen everywhere, right…?

Gear:

I updated my LighterPack at the link below and here are some key decisions we made.

• Z-Packs Duplex (two-person trekking pole tent)
• Gossamer Gear Kumo Packs (or maybe the G4-20 if you need space)
• 30 degree duvet for me and 20 degree sleeping bag for Jetpack.
• alcohol stove
• Various dog deterrent devices (electronic, whistles and spray) because although I love dogs, I don’t want one to bite me!

It’s not 100% done at the time of this post, but it’s close: https://lighterpack.com/r/ju8ahg

Resources used for planning:

Now to finish packing our bags and get ready to travel in 2 weeks!

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