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Faaliyet:Horma Kanyonu geçişi
Horma kanyonu geçişi için tarih belirlendiğinde en önemli eksiğimiz su geçirmez çantalardı!! Kamplı kanyon faaliyetinin olmazsa olmazı su geçirmez çantalar, nam-ı diğer ‘’dry bag’’. Bahadır’ın yardımlarıyla faaliyetten on gün önce çantalarımızı temin ettik ve artık hazırdık. Hava durumu da Tuzla kanyonu faaliyeti için bize yaşattığı hüsranı, hayal kırıklığını tekrar yaşatmamış, belirlenen ilk tarihte Horma için yollara düşmüştük.
Küçükçekmece’de Yalçın ile buluştuktan sonra Bahçelievler’den Ömer ve Şenol’u aldık. En son Mecidiyeköy’de hoplaya zıplaya bizi bekleyen Jennifer’ı da aldıktan sonra ekibin Avrupa yakası kısmı tamamlanmış oldu. Artık arka koltukta Ömer, ben, Jennifer ve Jennifer’ın çantası şeklindeydikJ Bahadır’ın evine vardığımızda Nebahat ve leziz dolmaları bizi bekliyordu. Dolmaları mideye indirip, malzemeleri arabalara yerleştirdikten sonra nemli gözlerle Nebahat’ı arkamızda bırakıp, Füsun’u almak üzere tekrar yola düştük. Füsun annesi ile birlikte beklemekten sıkılmış bir halde evlerinin önündeki bankta hazır ve nazırdı. Ve ekip tamamdı. Bekle bizi Horma…..
Yolda verdiğimiz kısa molaların ardından Safranbolu’ya geldik. Burada hem dinlenmek hem de uyumak için daha uzun bir mola verdik. Sabah saatlerinde İlçe jandarma Komutanlığı’na, faaliyet sorumlusu arkadaşımız Şenol hem geldiğimizi haber verdi hem de kimlik bilgilerimizi tekrar elden kendilerine iletti. Pınarbaşı’nda çorbacıda çorbalar içildikten sonra Uğur’un eniştesi bizi araçlarla kanyon girişine kadar bırakmak ve araçları kanyon çıkışına park etmek üzere yanımıza geldi. Uğur’a ve eniştesine çok teşekkür ederiz.
Artık Küre dağları milli parkı Horma Kanyonu tabelasının önündeyiz ve tabiî ki hatıra fotoğrafı
. Önce tüm kamp malzemeleri ve teknik malzemeler su geçirmez çantalara yerleştirilip özenle kapatıldılar. Sonrasında neopren kıyafetlerimizi giyip diğer malzemeleri kuşandık. Üzerimizde neoprenler, sırtımızda su geçirmez çantalar, tepemizde güneş, ilk suya atım atacağımız kanyon girişine kadar olan kısa patikada hoş bir yürüyüş yaptık!Kanyon suları ile buluştuğumuz an bile tüm yol yorgunluğunu unutturmuştu. Artık kanyon içinde ilerliyorduk. Ben fotoğraf makinesi nerde, kimde diye söylenirken Bahadır’ın sol tarafta bir kovuğun içine yaslanıp geçenlerin fotoğrafını çektiğini gördüm. Böylece kanyona ilk giriş anları da ölümsüzleştirilmişti. Bir süre kanyonda, çoğunlukla yüzerek zaman zaman suya atlayarak ilerledik. Bir noktada taş devrinden kalmış görüntüsü ile bir odun parçası bizi karşıladı. Ancak Şenol ve Bahadır için daha çok eski bir dost ile karşılaşma anıydı sanırım?
Gülmekten yüz kaslarımızın ağrıdığı, neoprenlerin içine giren sudan dolayı vücudumuzu çekemediğimiz, ama yinede şelale sularının altında oturmayı bırakmadığımız, mutluluğu resmettiğimiz bir an yaşadıkJBenim için gerçekten yüzlerce muhteşem andan biriydi. İlk molamızı verip çantaları açtığımızda çantaların su aldığını fark ettik ancak sonrasında su şişelerinin o kadar hoplamaya zıplamaya dayanamayıp infilak ettiğini anladık. İlk ip inişinin olduğu noktaya gelmiştik. Bahadır iniş için gerekli istasyonu kurdu. İpe girmek için önce doğal bir köprüden, dizlerimizin üzerinde, emekleyerek karşıya geçtik. Şenol ilk inişi gerçekleştirdi ve daha sonra iniş yapan arkadaşların emniyetini aldı. İlk ip inişleri güvenli bir şekilde gerçekleştikten sonra kanyonu kanyon yapan yüksek duvarlı dar koridorlardan geçmeye başladık. Önümüzde doğaya saygı duymamızı tekrar tekrar hatırlatan muhteşem görsel bir şölen vardı. Bu görsel şölenden sonra benim hoşlanmadığım oldukça büyük ve koyu renkli bir yılan ile karşılaştık. Neyse ki kendisi suda değil, bir köşede kıvrılmış, kendi halinde keyifli bir şekilde güneşleniyordu. Kendisi ne kadar sevimsiz olsa da bizim onun mekanında olduğumuz ve rahatsız edenlerin bizler olduğu gerçeğini hatırlayıp oradan uzaklaştım. Kanyonda bir süre daha ilerledikten sonra diğer bir mola noktasına geldik. Burada aynı zamanda büyük bir gölet vardı ve eğlence başlamıştı. Yüksek duvardan Füsun, Yalçın ve Ömer atlamaya başlamıştı bile. Benim içim gitse de psikolojik olarak kendimi hazırlamam gerekiyordu ve ilk atlayış
sonra iki, üç….İkinci ip inişinin olduğu noktaya da gelmiştik. Aslında bu iniş birbiri ile bağlantılı iki inişi içeriyordu. Bahadır istasyonu kurduktan sonra Füsun ilk olarak birinci bağlantılı inişi gerçekleştirdi. Sonra sırasıyla Ömer, Yalçın, Jennifer, ben, Şenol ve Bahadır indi. Bağlantılı ikinci inişi ilk gerçekleştiren Şenol oldu ve sonrasında inen arkadaşların emniyetini aldı. ‘’Nerde bu ip inişleri’’ dediğimiz anlar geride kalmış, şelaleler ard arda karşımıza çıkmaya başlamıştı. İşte bir şelale daha… Hemen şelalenin yanından bir iniş daha gerçekleştiriyoruz. Bu noktadan sonra hafızam maalesef beni yarı yolda bırakıyorL hangisi kaçıncı iniş, hangisi suya, hangisi kayaya hatırlayamıyorum maalesef. Hafızamdan hiç çıkmayan ise; yüksek duvarların, dar koridorların, berrak sularla dolu göletlerin, rüzgâr ve suyun şekillendirdiği muazzam kayaların ve şelalelerin yarattığı huzur dolu bir manzara…
Yanılmıyorsam 19:00 sularında kamp alanına varmıştık. Bahadır ateş yakmak için odun toplamaya başlamıştı ancak çevrede çok fazla odun yoktu maalesef. Sonrasında Yalçın’ın çabaları sayesinde ateş için yeterli odun toplandı. Bahadır istasyonları kurduğu gibi yemeklerimizi de pişirdi. Kendisine ne kadar teşekkür etsek azdır. İtalyan usulü makarna ve iki çeşit çorba ana yemeğimizdi. Çantalar açıldığında gördük ki makûs talihi Şenol’un peşini bırakmamış, uyku tulumu ıslanmıştı. Bahadır kendi tulumunu Şenol ile paylaşmıştı. Ancak sabah öğrendik ki paylaşmamış kendi uyku tulumunu Şenol’a vermiş
benim ayakkabımın teki ıslak, teki kuruydu. Füsun hafif ıslak olan kıyafetlerini asarak kurutabilmişti.Sabah kahvaltımızı yaptıktan sonra malzemelerimizi toplayıp tekrar kanyonda ilerlemeye başladık. Kısa bir süre sonra büyük bir ağaç kütüğünün bulunduğu yerdeki şelaleye geldik. İpe girdikten sonra hafif sağa kayarak inişimizi gerçekleştirdik. Burada kaya yapısı inişin sonuna doğru negatif eğimliydi. Negatif eğimli inişte insanın hissettiği boşluk duygusunun tarifi imkansız
Bir sonraki inişe geldiğimizde bolt çakmamız gerekti. Bahadır bir boltun çakılması için gerekli sürenin sekiz dakika olduğunu belirtti ancak bizim kolektif olarak boltu çakmamız onsekiz dakikayı aştı sanırım Bahadır’a sabrı için tekrar teşekkürler. Herkes bu inişi de güvenli ve sorunsuz bir şekilde gerçekleştirdikten sonra son şelalemize geldik. Bu iniş yaklaşık 21 metrelik bir inişti ve 2-3 metreden sonra negatif eğim gösteriyordu.Sulu ve bir o kadar da eğlenceli bir inişti. Artık inişler tamamlanmış küçük kaydıraklardan kayarak kanyonun sonuna gelmiştik ki bütün kanyon boyunca gözümüz gibi baktığımız çantalardan en önemlisi olan ip çantasının olmadığını fark ettik. Yalçın hemen çantayı bulmak için geri döndü. Neyse ki kısa süre sonra ipin başka bir çantada olduğunu fark ettik. Kaybolan sadece çantaydı. Herkes rahatlamıştı. Yalçın yanımıza geri geldikten sonra, güzel bir patikadan ilerleyerek araçların park edildiği, bunglow evlerin olduğu küçük bir tesise geldik. Çantalarımızı hazırlayıp, yemeğimizi yedikten sonra dönüş yoluna geçtik. Gece 02:30 sularında İstanbul’a ulaştık.Faaliyet sorumluluğunu üstlenen Şenol’a, güvenli bir şekilde ulaşımımızı sağlayan Yalçın ve Bahadır’a, güler yüzleri, hoş sohbetleri, pozitif enerjileri, uyumları, samimiyetleri için tüm ekip arkadaşlarım: Yalçın, Şenol, Ömer, Jennifer, Bahadır ve Füsun’a, manevi desteğini hep hissettiğimiz Nebahat’e, faaliyetin tüm teknik sorumluluğunu üstlenen ve bu faaliyet içinde olmamı sağlayan Bahadır’a çok teşekkür ederim.
Valla’ da görüşmek dileğiyle….
Şerife Oğuz
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HORMA CANYON Report 29-31 July 2011
Participants: Bahadir Seyrekoglu, Senol Ablak, Fusun Sonmez, Omer Bulut, Yalcın Akbulut, Serife Oguz, Jennifer Gokmen
This is my first canyon report, so apologies for the overabundance of frivolous detail and perhaps the lack of relevant detail...
First, you have to consider my level of excitement to even be accepted to this trip so quickly after joining the group. I had done rapelling off buildings in high school JROTC (1989), a kind of pre-military training, but I had forgotten the thrill of it until I went canyoning in Nepal in spring 2011. After that trip, I decided I HAD to find a way to do canyoning in Turkey. Like someone possessed, I hunted for a canyoning group in Turkey. As soon as I found Istanbul Canyoning Club, I immediately began harassing the leaders and members to join. Poor Senol took pity on me—he had to, he was the only ICCer on Facebook and online, so I sent him a torrent of questions over the chat function.
JOINING ICC
From the very start Senol (my first contact), Bahadir, and the rest of the team were welcoming and patient with me. Since I had the heart for the sport and a modicum of experience, Bahadir invited me to a ropework session at Ballıkayalar National Park on 24 July. That was a long, extremely hot day of climbing and rappelling in 35 degree sunshine, but there was an inexhaustible grin on my face all day long.
There is nothing to compare to the feeling of stepping backward out into thin air. Leaning back over an expanse of nothingness, tempting gravity. Trusting that you will be secure. Then feeling the rope slightly stretch just as you lean your weight fully back and take your first step down... The thrill of a controlled fall. The defying of gravity. What a day! I passed the test and was offered a place on the Horma Canyon trip the next weekend!
GETTING PREPARED FOR HORMA
Camping, canoeing and outdoor life had been an integral part of my growing up, but something I hadn’t done much of since moving to Turkey in 1994. So when I knew I was going, I went a little crazy. I had to tell EVERYONE about my trip. I repeatedly reviewed all my medical kit supplies and reread wilderness first aid websites. I bought and packed way too many gadgets. After all my packing, I couldn’t even close my 60 liter drybag.
As it turned out, DRYBAG turned into a misnomer on our trip because EVERYONE’S drybag took on water, as you’ll soon see...
Waiting for Senol and Yalcin at the bus stop outside the old Tekel factory in Mecidiyekoy at 11pm-- an area of town that is pretty deserted at night-- the passersby looked at me like the anomaly that I was: nature sports are not common in Turkey, so they mistook me for a foreign backpacker who had wandered far away from the touristic historic district, yet they couldn’t understand why I was smiling. They were tired and straggling to the stop to wearily catch their bus home. Me? Sitting there brightly dressed, beamingly happy with a silly grin on my face, full drybag half as tall as me (which, at 1.80 is not little), my helmet strapped to the top of my bag making it look like I’m off to the wars...
Then context. A car pulls up, stops short in front of me, and all four people pile out of the car and rush to welcome me: Yalcin, Senol, Serife, and Omer. We are all excited and Yalcın and Senol waste no time in stuffing my overfull drybag into the already full trunk. I squeeze into the back with Omer and Serife and we peel off down the highway in Yalcin’s typical hotrod fashion.
On the way to the Asian side to collect the others, we talk about last week’s rappelling, we realize a dozen things we forgot to pack and are consoled by the fact that others have packed theirs. It is late and we should be tired, but we are excited and giddy.
We pull up to Bahadir’s place, where Ayhan, Fusun, Deniz and Nebahat are waiting. Bahadir’s neighbors looked on with amusement as we pack up our foodstuffs, scarf down Nebahat’s delicious stuffed grape leaves, and then say our goodbyes to those who won’t be joining us.
We head out onto the empty highway, the excitement of the excursion tempered by Bahadir’s music selection—Schindler’s List soundtrack. But then we liven up and start dancing to upbeat Georgian folk music! Speed demon Yalcin and his crew are far ahead of us but we meet up at rest stops along the way, including a late night stint in Safranbolu. Stopping at one rest area, Fusun and Serife decide the ride the seesaw while Bahadir swung back and forth on the springloaded chairs (see photo).
Four hours into the drive, when we had finally exhausted all topics of conversation, we realized that staying awake was not going to be easy for those of us who weren’t compelled to keep their eyes open (the drivers). As excited as we were, we all nodded off towards the morning hours, only to be awoken by the feel of the car turning off the highway and starting down country lanes. We stopped outside the Pinarbasi gendarme station to inform them that we had arrived. We had sent them photocopies of our ID cards and all our particulars the week earlier and they had been expecting us… although probably not at 6 in the morning!
ARRIVING TO PINARBASI
After scoring some piping hot simit (sesame-covered bread rings) and fresh bread for our food supplies, we stopped for breakfast at one of the few open places in town. Their main specialty was soup (an odd choice when it was already nearing 30 degrees ), so most of the group slurped down either lentil or yogurt and rice soup while one of our local contacts, Uğur’s relative, spoke with Bahadir about helping us move our cars from the put in at the start of the canyon to the riverside park where we would exit the following evening. He followed us down to the put in at the Küre Mountains National Park, where we scrupulously emptied all our bags and redistributed everything equally, Bahadir helping me cull some of the supplies I had brought. As my first overnight canyoning, I packed far more than what was needed.
We were discouraged at first to realize how overcast the sky was and we worried that it might rain, but as we finished packing up and putting our wetsuits on, the sun came out. We made a short review of CPR techniques, turniquet tying, and whistle blowing (how many blasts means what).
We hiked a short distance to the canyon entrance and then at around 8:00 we hopped in the river and started wading. If any of us had been tired by the all night drive, we certainly forgot it by that point! The laughing and fun began. Not long after that, our first descent wasn’t by rope, but by plunging over the edge of a small waterfall, which thankfully cooled us down. It was around 30 degrees that day and getting hotter. So, swimming and plunging off ledges into deep pools was a welcomed part of the first day.
Despite the lack of recent rains in the area, the water level was enough for us to wade and swim much of the river, floating our drybags forward and taking photos of our waterplay. Though most of our group had only recently met each other, we were instantly “old friends” with a comaraderie cemented by this joint adventure.
For most of our 7 descents that trip, Senol and Fusun went first. As the most experienced canyoner after Bahadir, Senol made sure of our safety from the bottom of the descent. Indomitable Fusun, who was chomping at the bit to learn and experience as much as possible, went after Senol as often as possible.
DESCENT 1
Bahadir established the station for our first descent. The angle of the rock required us to sidle on our knees a few meters to the right to get to the drop. The first descent of the day was exciting for all of us. I live for the feeling of butterflies in my stomach and the first step off the edge gives *just* that feeling. The balance between trust and risk...
From that point on, the scenery became much more dramatic. The height of the canyon walls increased and the expanse between the walls narrowed in parts to just a meter wide. We had to duck under overhangs that nearly touched the river and hurdle over boulders blocking the one meter wide passage.
We saw various wildlife there. What looked like storks or kingfishers flew overhead. We saw many small crabs in the water. We saw a chickensnake on the banks at one point.
DESCENT 2- SIDEWINDER
The canyon eventually opened again, with jade green water rushing between smooth, white canyon walls. I don’t know if it has been previously named, but the second descent I’ll call SIDEWINDER as we had to first descend down one rock, cross a crevasse to the adjacent station, use an ascender to climb to that station, then rapel down the other side of the crevasse. First Fusun the lionhearted shimmied down, hopped across to the other rock, scaled it and established the station and a guide rope. Then Ömer, Yalçın, myself, Serife, Şenol and Bahadır descended.
DESCENT 3- LITTLE B
Our next descent was next to a waterfall. I’ll call this one LITTLE B as it starts off rather vertical but then ends in a small hollow, allowing you a little free fall into negative space right before you land at the bottom.
Every so often we stopped in the sunshine for water, snacks, and cigarettes, which we realized were becoming increasingly waterlogged at each rest stop.
DESCENT 4- ALPINE SLIDE
The next descent again required us to side step on our knees to the section of rock we needed to rappel down. I’ll call this one the ALPINE SLIDE as the smoothness of the surrounding canyon makes it look like it should be slippery (although it wasn’t). Fusun started practicing descending with her drybag on this drop so that she could used to balancing the weight of it. At the end of the ALPINE SLIDE there is another negative space, so I took the chance to dangle a bit on the rope and take advantage of that feeling of freedom! Omer descended after me and did the same!
SETTING UP CAMP
By 18:00 we had reached a place that we felt was a good place to set up camp. Obviously others had, too, as evidenced by the full blue garbage bag they left behind. We had seen another similar blue garbage bag further upstream. It’s a pity some groups don’t recognize the importance of not leaving a trace.
We set about getting out of our wet gear and into dry clothes for the evening, only to discover that our drybags hadn’t just been taking on a bit of moisture at the top seam, they had in fact been taking on quite a bit of water. Senol’s sleeping bag was soaked. Serife had only one dry shoe. Half of my clothes were wet... In any case, we managed. We set up camp and laid out our waterlooged gear on rocks and bushes to dry while Yalcin the Scout untiringly hunted and brought back enough firewood for the campfire that night and the next morning.
While assessing the damage we realized we lost half of our bread rations, our sugar had turned to paste, and our bag of pasta had ruptured. But we managed. For dinner, Bahadir cooked us a fantastic pasta meal with tomato sauce and spices and two kinds of instant soup which warmed us up and put us in a relaxed mood to sit around the campfire for the rest of the evening while Fusun—with her conservatory-trained perfect-pitch voice—sang us a whole night’s reperetoire of Turkish folk songs.
Eventually, everyone turned in to bed one by one, with Fusun, me, Bahadir, and Senol as the last scragglers to bed. I was the last to bed by default because we were all sitting on top of my sleeping bag since I had chosen the premium spot near the fire which butted up against the natural recline of the rock face—a perfect, if bumpy, couch. But it was just past midnight when we all turned in.
We were all exhausted from the all night car ride and then the exertion of the canyon, so by all means we SHOULD have slept well...
Fusun set up her tent, but then changed her mind and decided to stick with her mat and sleeping bag, as did Serife and I. Omer and Yalcin decided on a tent, but later regretted the decision as the slippery fabric of the tent and the slight incline they pitched it on meant that they spent the night sliding to the bottom of the tent and scooching their way back up. Bahadir kindly shared his sleeping bag with Senol since his was wet—a decision he came to regret.
The night was warm and the stars were out. I slept like a baby and woke up at 6:30. It was the first decent sleep I’ve ever had while out camping, but I can’t say the same for the others. Bahadir and Senol had chosen a windy spot and their shared blanket wasn’t enough for either of them. Omer and Yalcin fought the incline of their tent. But when the sun came up and the morning fire was lit, everyone had forgotten the night’s discomfort. Fusun and I even set a “tablecloth” (my towel) on a flat rock in the middle of the river and had ourselves a proper little breakfast nook there.
I had woken everyone at 7:00 but we were not on our way until well after 9:00, after everyone had shaken off their sleepiness. The day was sunny and warm, so putting on our wet gear wasn’t too bad and jumping in the water again was soon a welcomed relief.
DESCENT 5- LION’S GATE
Most of the canyon had already been bolted, but we came to the next drop which had a newly set rope anchor but no secondary natural anchor or bolting. It required us to set a bolt, so Bahadir got out the equipment and we all took turns hammering the drill bit into rock. It was a long process, but instructional. I called this drop LION’S GATE because rising out of the water next to the waterfall is a rock feature that looks very much like a carved lion’s head.
After that drop we came across an area that looked like it would have made a better campsite for us, but we decided that we chose correctly because being able to descend LION’S GATE while fresh was much better. We might not have appreciated it as much as tired as we were the previous night.
DESCENT 6-MERCURY FALLING
I must have miscounted the drops as I thought we did 7. This was one of the most enjoyable descents for me. This one had a 5 meter negative space at the end, allowing for a “free fall” down to the water... which I’m starting to think is the best way to end a descent!
We lost 30 minutes searching for a drybag that contained the ropes which we thought had gone missing, but hadn’t—the bag was gone, but the ropes had already been transferred to another bag, so the search was in vain.
The law of inertia states that a body in motion tends to stay in motion and a body at rest tends to stay at rest. In the 30 minutes of rest we took while Yalcin went searching for the missing bag, we lost our momentum and realized exactly how tired we were. After MERCURY we decided to walk back out to the village. We were all quite tired by that point, beyond the point of what would be safe. So we opted not to do the last descent into the pool at the end of the canyon. We exited the canyon around 17:00.
We walked a very short, very dry, very hot way to the village, where we found our cars very thoughtfully parked for us by Uğur’s relative. We changed into dry clothes and hung our wet clothes on the line to dry. It was so hot that most of them dried before we set out for Istanbul. We sat and had a lovely meal, recounted our adventures, and played with the two dogs that belonged to the tesis.
We didn’t get back on the road to Istanbul until after 18:00 and we didn’t get back to Istanbul until 2:30 in the morning. Even so, it was a perfect outing. No injuries, an abundance of comaraderie, and an extremely fun canyon!
It was such a pleasure to be welcomed into this family so wholeheartedly and I thank Bahadir, Senol, Fusun, Serife, Omer, and Nebahat for making me feel like family. This was one of the best weekends of my life.
Jennifer Eaton Gokmen
