Fastpacking the Lycian Way: The Preparation

For the last six months, I have been asked by people: “What are you planning on doing for your honeymoon?”

After getting married in April, my wife (Bo) and I have been putting the ingredients together for a honeymoon that, really, “only you guys would consider as a honeymoon” as one friend commented.

Google the Mediterranean coast of Turkey (henceforth Türkiye) and it is infused with images of turquoise seas, white-sandy beaches and lush limestone hillsides. It’s a destination for many honeymooning couples, seeking paradise in its 25-degree waters and sipping champagne whilst soaking up the sun on the beach.

We will be doing largely the same thing – well, except the bits in-between.

Starting on 24 September, Bo and I will set off on a three-week-long adventure along the Lycian Way, a 450km trail tracing the (smaller) southern bump of the Turkish coast. Over the 14 days of running (plus several rest days – it is a honeymoon after all), we will delve into one of the world’s most ancient cultures, which became the heart of one of the most enduring empires in history – the Ottoman Empire.

Here, I wanted to set the scene a little ahead of our adventure, to give you an insight into the trail, our preparation, and provide the foundation for the inevitable follow-up to come.

What is the Lycian Way?

The Lycian Way is a relatively new long-distance trail in southern Türkiye, established in the late 90s by Briton Kate Clow. Her book is the main source of information on the trail, she having been the pioneer in linking together a string of goat and mule tracks to join the settlements of Fethiye and Antalya (both established tourist destinations today).

Stretching to close to 500km, the trail was intended to highlight the ancient culture of Lycia, which stretches back to the 14-15th century BC. Since then, it has changed hands between Hittites, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Byzantines and Ottomans. Scattered through the limestone hills are fragments of each of these cultures, whose essence still breathes through their architecture, tombs and temples. Yet, the Lycian culture lives on amongst it all, the steady hand stretching out through the millenia.

Why the Lycian Way?

Choosing a destination for your honeymoon is tricky enough, but throw in the concept of ‘running’ and you are presented with a whole new kettle of fish. Trails came and went from our list, which we analysed based on length, climate, tales of mosquitos, originality and cultural experience.

I have never been to Türkiye, and 500km seemed relatively achievable within three weeks (I know, a ridiculous thing to say). The tricky thing was our wedding was in April, seemingly the perfect time to go to southern Türkiye. Both of us agreed, however, planning a wedding was quite enough for us without throwing a long-distance trail into the mix.

As with anything, work commitments have also been a factor. Had they not been, we might have pushed the start date back a couple of weeks, as the temperate in mid-September is still in the 30s! Nevertheless, three weeks is enough time for the temperature to drop to reasonable levels (right!?).

On top of our list of prerequisites, it was important for us to agree on a few ground rules, principally: This isn’t a race; it is an experience. While running permits us to run with 20L rucksacks and sneak into our hotel before the mid-afternoon heat bowls us over, it is to be savoured. Besides, I doubt our bodies will be able to handle 14 days of constant running! For that reason, we have scheduled rest days every three to four days, giving us a chance to explore the villages and towns we’d otherwise be only passing through.

Planning

On the subject of scheduling and rest days, it is worth touching on our overall planning for the trip. It is not rocket science, and it is helped enormously by Kate Clow’s The Lycian Way guidebook, whose latest edition comes with it a real step-up in detail and user-friendliness. There’s even an app now!

Bo is the planner; I am the storyteller, which adds very little in the run-up to one of these trips. This means she has painstakingly analysed the GPX files we created back in February, cross-referenced against the book and general intel. My contribution was to give the second opinion on the re-plans and to look up nice accommodation along the way.

As it stands, we have 21 days, 18 of which for the route itself with a final few days in Antalya to put our feet up. On average, we will be covering 29km per day, with an ascent of 950m (writing that down did make my stomach turn).

Accommodation will be entirely Airbnbs and hotels. One of our requirements for the trip was that we wouldn’t need to carry camping kit, for the reasons that a) It’s our honeymoon and, let’s face it, we fancied a bit of luxury; and b) It turns running into a stilted power walk. We have booked a handful of places in advance, especially in areas with only one option available, but largely given ourselves the flexibility to change plans if we fancy. The likely scenario is we will rock up to our finishing town and try haggle a bed in a pension.

Thankfully, Kate’s book (and app) gives suggestions on the lesser-known accommodation gems in each town, in addition to water points and stores, which will absolutely come in handy. Sitting now watching the rain smear across the window and the mercury sink back into its winter hibernation, the idea of seeking out water points seems incomprehensible right now!

Training

After a solid four months of training earlier this year, running has been a bit inconsistent in the build-up to this adventure. Both of us are a little under cooked for a trip of this length. Over the last few weekends, we have managed to run with our loaded packs, do an overnight fastpacking trip in the Lake District, and done a few longer runs.

Still, it feels far from enough, but I remind myself that, on a trail of this length, it is really the aerobic base you have from years of running and walking that will pay dividends. I take for granted that I walk about 6km every day with the dog, plus any training on top of that. Plus, three weeks is plenty of time to build up fitness if we take each day slowly. By the end, who knows how fit we might feel?

In honesty, the main thing I am worried about is picking up things like Achilles issues and other forms of tendonitis. They can be fickle things, so managing our effort will be critical in reaching the end.

Packing and gear

Yes, the thing you have been waiting for. In almost everything Bo and I have done together, we have received incredulous looks from fellow bikepackers and hikers who ogle at our small packs.

I guess this time is unlikely to be any different. As I said, for the last few weekends we have been running with the packs we plan to take with us and testing out the shoes, socks, t-shirts and shorts we will be wearing on the trail.

One of the main hurdles we have had to overcome is selecting a suitable pack. On previous trips, such as the GTJ and the GR221 in Mallorca, we have ran with 12L packs which had enough stretch in them to allow that little bit extra to be stuffed in when needed. For this trip, we’d need a bit more space.

We hunted around for 15L rucksacks, but to no avail. In the 20L market, we kept bumping up against the same issues: Only one bottle pocket, too few pockets up front, non-durable materials, too heavy. For Bo, the biggest issue was fit. Running packs are usually unisex and come in S/M or M/L. Bo, who is a size 8/10, finds an S/M too big, and many women are the same: packs just don’t fit.

In the end, we gravitated to the Ultimate Direction Fastpack 20L, with both of us finding the men’s version having the right number of pockets and to be the right size. So, of course, we now look like that couple* on honeymoon with matching bags.

At present, the bags weight around 4kg. Here is a list of what I have packed:

• First Aid kit (e.g. blister plasters, kinesiology tape, mini Swiss Army knife, bite relief, medicines, etc.)
• Toiletries (razor, toothbrush, toothpaste, Body Glide, mini deodorant, mini tube of washing liquid)
• Sun cream, insect repellent
• Clothing: 2x shorts, 2x running t-shirts, 3x socks, 3x running pants, 1x long trousers, 1x cotton t-shirt, 2x buffs, 1x cap, 1x long-sleeve, 1x waterproof jacket (I suspect we will buy some second-hand items in Antalya at the end)
• Electronics: e-reader (bit of a luxury item), cables, mini power bank, headtorch
• Nutrition: Food for 1.5 days, 2x tubes of Zero salt tablets, 3x 500ml soft flasks (one being a filter)
• Guidebook
• Shoes: Inov-8 Trailfly G280

Shoes were the other thing I have mused over for the last few weeks. Originally I was going to wear the Inov-8 Trailfly G270 – the zero-drop version of the G280 which I have been wearing most frequently. After getting nervous about Achilles issues and the more minimal design of the G270, I swapped for the G280 (which I have also ran a lot in) and found them to be more than adequate for the terrain we will be on.

And that is it! In just a few more days. we will be bound for Türkiye. Despite having covered the Transcontinental Race again this year (a blog for the future), and visiting the Netherlands a couple times, this will be my first flight of the year. There’s a whole other conversation to have there, but we are looking at ways to sensibly ‘offset’ our journey when we get back.

Until now – adieu! See you in a few weeks!

* The Dutch (my wife being so) describe such people as ANWB stelletjes. If you aren’t Dutch, that probably doesn’t mean anything to you.