The former Soviet Republic of Georgia is the type of place that is so mesmerizing and so enrapturing that it is actually difficult to communicate its true essence to those who have never been-especially to those who can't seem to get past the fact that there is actually a country named Georgia, not just a state.

A recent article in The Observer does a great job of capturing all that this country has to offer. Journalist Joanne O'Connor joined a nine-day guided tour through the wilds of Georgia that focused upon the great outdoors. Although I'm not a big fan of guided tours, I personally found travel through Georgia a little bit of a challenge when visiting last summer. A guided tour will help ease these challenges and, as was the case with O'Connor, get you to places that would be difficult to find on your own.

O'Connor did the obligatory stop in Tbilisi (where she discovered the joys of Georgian food) before heading out of town to hike the beautiful Caucasus. Her descriptions are evocative and inspiring. Even though I had done some of the same hikes, the others she mentions leave me with that painful sense of disappointment that hits when one leaves a wonderful place only to discover there was so much more it had to offer.

Filed under: Hiking, Georgia, Red Corner