TCT: Putting the Caucasus on the Map of Mountain Sport Destinations

With the sun shining brightly, Jeremy and Karen Gaskill could not have picked a more beautiful day to open their home to people and host a ‘bagel brunch fundraiser.’

“We’re very happy to host for TCT; they’re a good group of people and we really believe in what they’re doing,” said Jeremy Gaskill.

TCT, or The Transcaucasian Trail NGO of Georgia, was established in 2017 to develop the Transcaucasian Trail in Georgia. The Transcaucasian Trail will eventually become a 3,000 km+ trail network connecting the Protected Areas of the Caucasus. The goal of this cross-border initiative is to improve access to the region’s diverse cultural and natural heritage and encourage its preservation, benefiting local communities and trail users through the development of sustainable tourism.

Jeremy and Karen came to Georgia with the Peace Corps 2004 – 2006, after which they left. However, they could not stay away and came back in 2014. They will be taking on the trail challenge this summer, for which they prepared themselves and their young daughters by taking a 22-kilometer hike in Borjomi.

“A lot of hiking in Georgia is more intense and not quite as safe as it could be, so part of the ultimate goal for the TCT is to get the trail to a standard where it’s a more feasible hiking trail for people with children or for people who do not have a huge amount of experience, but not all of it, so that there will still be a couple of challenging areas for more experienced hikers,” a TCT representative explained.

This trail will ultimately be used more by the Georgians themselves, be it to travel between villages, maintaining it or even working on it as guides for tourists.

“Right now, international tourism is a big focus for Georgia, due to the economic boost, however the goal is to build a network for Georgians to use in their travels,” the TCT representative said.

Some people seek out new experiences on a daily basis, be it an adrenaline-packed adventure one or a relaxing journey where a story can be told, and TCT is making the Caucusus available for such people. We can expect a great deal from TCT as well as future events in the autumn, with external funding coming from Austria as well.

“I get a fair amount of requests, doing different types of mountain sports, where people say they want to come to the Caucusus. Because when people look nowadays for travel, they look for an epic experience or something with a story, and so I think the TCT is literally placing the Caucusus on the map for these people,” one mountain climber told GEORGIA TODAY.

By Shawn Wayne