After three years of schooling he helped his family with work and hunting. The family Kakkalos owned a hut called Paliokalyva (Greek Παλαιοκάλυβα, old hut) on the east side of Mount Olympus. They worked as lumberjacks and transported the wood to the water-driven sawmills in Prionia. As a child, Kakkalos became acquainted with the mountains and hunted up to the summit region the Balkan chamois.