We are reaching out to you because one of our trip applicants listed you as a reference. We appreciate and thank you in advance for providing a hiking and group travel reference. Your reference will be kept confidential just for the leaders. No one is perfect and we like to support all hikers as much as we can. Please fill out the form below, or should you prefer to email or talk live, feel free to contact me at:



L. Jeanne Blauner, jablauner@comcast.net, 978-202-5606

I am a volunteer hiking leader for the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) Adventure Travel. I am leading a group of 10 - 12 people (including me) plus one English speaking guide on an unforgettable journey through ancient Greece.  After a day in Athens with its well-known sights such as the Acropolis, we will travel to the Parnassus mountains to visit Delphi, famous for its Oracle. From here we cross to the Peloponnese, where we will explore Olympia, home of the original Olympic games, martial Sparta, and the ruins of Mycenae, the city which gave its name to the powerful bronze age civilization. We will balance visits to archeological sites with great hikes in a land of exquisite natural beauty:  high snowcapped peaks, meadows of mountain wild flowers, citrus groves, and rocky shores. (Trip Prospectus at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wnO3Y36IfR6DT8PivSGYQxegzxm4RnoK/view?usp=sharing)

Our ideal participant has a keen interest in cultural and archaeological explorations. This trip is rated a difficulty of 5: Vigorous hiking, suitable for those with recent similar experience with the ability to hike back-to-back days for multiday trips. Expect to be active up to 5 – 6 hours per day, with brief breaks. On an average sightseeing/transfer day we will walk for 2 - 4 hours and cover up to 5 miles. On the hiking days we will cover up to 10 miles with a gain and loss of up to ~2,800’.  

Participants may find themselves in closer quarters or be less comfortable than at home and are expected to help others on the trip and contribute to their having a great time. Participants should have a good attitude, friendly and cooperative manner, and interest in getting to know fellow group members and leaders. We spend every night in hotels, two persons/room.  Hotels provide twin-bedded (i.e. two separate mattresses) rooms. In Greece twin beds are sometimes immediately side-by-side in a single bed-frame, while in the US twin beds are in separate bed-frames and are separated by a few inches.