Mount Pelineo(Chios, Greece)

Enjoyed a wonderful vacation visiting my wife's family from her native island of Chios in Greece, and even squeezed in some hiking to boot.  Chios is the fifth largest island in Greece and is home to over 50,000 permanent residents.  That number increases significantly in the summer with the influx of tourists, but with Covid-19 still an issue, it wasn't nearly as packed this year.  

One of the main draws to the island are the numerous amazing beaches on the Aegean Sea.

The sunsets are truly magical...

...and the water is crystal clear!

What few outsiders realize, however, is that there are incredible mountains on the island.  

 My goal was to hike to the very top of the highest peak on the island, which is called Mount Pelineo.  This rugged mountain sits in the northern part of the island and rises to 4254 feet in elevation.  Hiking isn't really a "thing" in Chios, so it would be a rough, farm road for about 4 miles, followed by an even rougher, intermittent herd path through stone and loose rock for less than a mile up to the top.  We started the hike at about 7am at an elevation of 1400 feet, and while the views along the old road were very nice, the scramble up to the top was absolutely incredible.

The rugged, rocky summit fortress from the top of the old farm road.

Looking south over a smaller "bump", which has a small church atop it.  To the left is the long southern ridge of Pelineo.

This exposure on this hike was unlike anything I've ever hiked before.  There was literally no shade the entire day, with near hurricane force winds coming directly off the sea up high.  A careful eye can pick out the farm road way down low that we had used to access the peak.

This rugged terrain is suitable for mountain goats, which we actually found near the summit!

Once we clawed our ways up to the top, we were battered by even stronger winds and we had to really hold on tight.  The views from the top were indescribable!  360 degree views with the Aegean Sea visible to the east, west and north!!

Summit views towards Turkey in the east!

One of the most fascinating parts of the summit area, is a small church that is bolted and chained down along the spine of the ridge!!

Although the winds were unbelievable up high, nearly blowing us off the top, we still lingered at the summit for a while, soaking in the amazing beauty.  The descent was very steep but manageable. as we carefully took our time through the loose scree.  A long walk on the farm road brought us all the way to the car for a total of about 8.5 miles RT with over 2800 feet of ascent.

The nice part about an island vacation is the rest and relaxation post hike, with sea views to boot.