Kamchatka Journeys. Joyous adventures to protected places

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Gregory Sedov. Kamchatka Journeys. Joyous adventures to protected places

The foreword

Special thanks

Tolbachik

The hunt

The earthquake

Rafting

Bechevinka

Fishing in the North

Bannye

Milkovo

The Quad

The Valley of Geysers

Avacha

Malakhai Fur Cap

The “Hunter”

Vachkajets

Ust-Bolsheretsk

A Hot Air Balloon

Oktiabrsky

Snow

To fly to Kamchatka

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Kamchatka is an untraveled part of Russia. There are only a few books and travel guides dedicated to mysterious Kamchatka which can be found in Russian or a foreign language. The book KAMCHATKA JOURNEYS can be helpful both for tourists exploring the peninsula and for locals. It can be especially interesting for the people planning to visit this region. The style of this book is light, and there are plentiful jokes. KAMCHATKA JOURNEYS can be recommended to various ages due to its informal style and interesting plot. This travel guide will not leave even the most pretentious reader indifferent. KAMCHATKA JOURNEYS must be experienced by every person keen on reading and traveling. Enjoy the book!

Tolbachik is about 500 km from Petropavlovsk. We left on Friday evening and arrived on Saturday afternoon. After the arrival we camped, set up the tents, and made a campfire. Kamchatka weather hailed the travelers with rain, fog, and wind. However, it didn’t spoil our mood. The next morning, we reached Yuzhny Proryv or “Southern Break” – lava streams remaining from previous eruptions. The whole day we enjoyed the unique mosaic of plants, rocks, and lava caves. It looked like the moonscape had from a futurists’ paintings. The guide showed us the area where such space equipment like the moon and Mars rovers, and the Venus ATV, were tested. The day was full of positive emotions. Actually, everything was too good on that day…

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In the middle of the night a dreadful roar wakes me up. It sounds as if somebody is scratching the tent from outside. My imagination conjures a terrible scene. A bear? – I ask. The Norwegian, – answers the gamekeeper yawning. Everybody turns over onto another side and falls back asleep. Curious, I get dressed, take a torch, and go out. I see footprints deep in snow leading from the entrance to the side of the tent. “It must be a bear!” – I hesitate whether I should go farther. I still can hear the roar. I keep on going shining with the torch – blood on the prints. I have the creeps. I turn round the tent and see in the flash of the light the Norwegian standing on all four limbs having sunk deep in the snow. The ice crust, which formed on the snow surface at night, cut his legs. He’s groaning like a trapped animal, most probably, having no idea what to do next. I rescue him and help to get back to the tent.

In the morning, Petrovich, who looked as if he hatching a plot, signals me to come to him. First, we’ll work with the Germans. We’ll take you to the farthest station so the Swiss don’t feel jealous. You’ll be staying there for about two days. So, we’re delivered to the station – a slapdash shack. We are met by two local gamekeepers. They look like they’ve been here since World War II and don’t know yet that the war is over. A box with vodka is being unloaded from the helicopter.

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