Waiting for a miracle...

Route “Orient Express” Crimea, June 5-10, 2011

For those who are hesitant to go hiking, don’t hesitate – go!
And it doesn’t matter how old you are - 20 or 60. You will have fun in any case. A huge number of new sensations, overcome obstacles and a constant feeling of happiness. Or it may happen that a hike will raise your life to a new level, help in solving some long-standing problems...
And the composition of the group is not important. At the end of the trip you will definitely become one family.

Start

The idea of ​​going on a hike arose completely unexpectedly. While walking the dog in the evening, my husband and I started talking about how to spend our vacation, which was planned in a week. There were no plans. I didn’t want to lie on the beach; going on an expensive trip was expensive. The thought flashed: maybe some kind of training on the shore... After 15 minutes I was already looking for something unusual for us. And after another 15 minutes the decision was made - to go hiking! An application for outdoorukraine, a week of training (which was very difficult, no one canceled the work...), and on Saturday morning, tired but full of hope, we set off for Crimea...

Hike

There are seven of us, with our guide, Anton. The names of four begin with “A”, here is the team: ASATAVA – Anton-Sofya-Artem-Tatyana-Arman-Vladimir-Andrey. Forward!

The first day started prosaically: we get to know each other a little, we ride a trolleybus, we go... Well, the backpack pulls on our shoulders a little... But for now we are mattress pads. We don't understand this yet, but we will soon... Here is the Red Cave. Interesting. So far everything is like an excursion...

And here comes the rise of “Alcoholic.” This was our baptism of fire. Thanks to Kirill for building the route this way. It's like a boiling point. All strength is given. There is no turning back. That's it, we are no longer mattress pads, but tourists. It's just us and the mountains.

We are walking slowly out of habit. We arrive at the parking lot just before sunset. Tired. But the smell of buckwheat and stew brings everyone together, the food restores strength.

Day two. It's even harder to walk than yesterday. The backpack puts a terrible strain on the shoulders...

***Be very careful when choosing a backpack. And if you doubt the quality, it’s better to rent from Kirill, it will save you 30 percent of your energy...

But beauty gradually drives away thoughts of aching shoulders. And when they saw the champignons, they started to collect them all over the yayla. In the evening, at the weather station, we happily chewed pasta with mushrooms and stewed meat. We sprinkled them with dried herbs taken from home, and Sonya gave us a clove of garlic... A fairy tale...

Day three. Anton said that it was the most difficult - we walked 17 kilometers. It seemed to me much easier than the previous one. Maybe I got used to it, or maybe the impressions received that day gave me strength. It was very cool to see Solnechnogorskoe from the cliff... And the parking lot was like in a fairy tale: a clearing, a river, a forest, a spring, green mountains, the first ticks...

***It turns out that ticks are not such a scary thing, especially since every second person is a specialist in pulling out...

All. The hardest part is over. There will be no more such big transitions. But beauty still awaits us...

The fourth day was really easy and pleasant. The parking lot is in a clearing with human-sized grass. And the radial hike through the canyon is just great. You can run, jump, even crawl. The main thing is how light it is!

On the fifth day we went to the sea. We managed to buy new potatoes and Ukrainian lard in a neighboring village... We ate our fill and played mafia until midnight...

The last day is beautiful: Blue, Blue bays, the gates of Paradise... But everything is tinged with sadness - after a couple of hours we leave. And, most likely, forever...

Our journey is now complete. A week later I am writing these lines, the sadness has gone, and I am very happy that such an adventure happened in my life...

The most vivid impressions

Early morning on the Korabi plateau. It's still very early. Everyone is asleep. The sun had just woken up. To the left of our parking lot are two depressions. In one the grass is dark green, in the other it is silver. Of course, I go straight in to see what’s the matter. It turns out that in the first depression there is dew, and in the second there is frost. The surprise is breathtaking. I walk along the silver grass to the crevice. So it is, this is the beginning of some kind of cave. It's getting creepy. I’m alone, the camp is not visible, I’m returning carefully, something is moving in the grass... no, it’s better to quickly go up. And how cool it is to just sit on a stone and watch how the Crimean edelweiss begins to open, how the bees begin to buzz around it... The anthill lives... It’s still so early - it’s not seven, but life is already in full swing around it. So our camp is waking up... It's time to return from the fairy tale to the people...

That same day, by lunchtime, we approached the southern edge of the Karabi plateau... and saw the sea... For some reason, no one expected this. Everyone was breathtaking. I wanted to watch endlessly, to absorb this beauty. And 3 falcons were circling over the abyss. It seemed that we could do this too, we just had to take a step... Thanks to Anton, he brought us back to earth - it’s time to move on...

The first swim in the sea... It so happened that we arrived at the place of the fifth overnight stay in two trips, and while Anton and Sonya went to meet the others, I was left with my things. No one. Just me, the sea, the sun and the mountains... Sea, hello! How I miss you! It’s a pity that the swimsuit is in another backpack... Is it really possible that I can only wet my feet before the others arrive... The decision arose unexpectedly... Swimming in a shirt and pants may not be aesthetically pleasing, but it’s what my soul has been asking for! Everything fell into place: the sea connected with the mountains, and it was as if I was a part of this world...

What became clear during the hike (or advice from an “experienced” person, i.e. me)

· To make it easier to climb a high mountain, you should not look up, estimating how much is left. If it’s far from the end, then you lose your strength from fear, and if it’s close, you relax ahead of time. When lifting heavily, it is better to look at the feet of the person in front of you. Then it's easy.

· If you are walking uphill with a heavy backpack, it is better to remove the load from your chest as much as possible, even onto your shoulders. The main thing here is not to lose your breath.

· What turned out to be handy from the backpack load (from what I doubted: whether to take or not to take): warm clothes for sleeping (sweater, warm tights and socks), and - an extra packet of condensed milk - it turned out to be very handy: on the fourth day we ate it with pleasure.

· What turned out to be unnecessary: ​​4 packs of wet wipes. You shouldn't carry this on yourself. At the stops, hygiene is ensured, and on the way, the rule applies: everything on the hike is sterile

Words of gratitude

It may seem funny or inappropriate, but I really want to write this...

Thank you!!!

• Kirill! For the very idea of ​​organizing such hikes! For the perfect selection of employees, for such a great guide - Anton!
• Anton! Yes, Anton, you are not only amazingly easy to communicate with, not only tactful and patient, not only a knowledgeable guide, not only a teacher and “dad,” but also simply good and real!
• Sofia! For the fact that you were our energizer, always ahead, never letting you relax for a minute...
• Artem! For very interesting and instructive stories in the evenings around the fire, for your mystery...
• Arman! For proving that a Muscovite is not necessarily a snob. For your serious approach to life!
• Andrey! For the fact that you proved that even in crazy cities there are people with the strongest nervous systems... And also for the fact that you are the best presenter of “Mafia”!
• to my Vovka! For being there... For quietly transferring the load from my backpack to yours in the morning... For not allowing me to climb too dangerous rocks!
• MOUNTAINS! For allowing us to breathe in the clear air and giving us a piece of happiness...
• TO THE SUN! For making us laugh, and sometimes feeling sorry for us and hiding behind the clouds...
• WEATHER! For pampering us, not frying us, not freezing us, but blowing us with a warm breeze...
• THE SEA! For the strength that you gave us, for your beauty...

After the hike

Of course, being in Crimea in the summer and not feeling the sea would be illogical for me. And then a problem arose... How I don’t want to see the bustle of people after the mountains, air, nature... Yes, then, in a week - this will be the norm, but immediately after the mountains - it’s almost unbearable...

We are looking for where to stay... Gurzuf... no. Alupka... yes, it’s beautiful, but not that... And then we turned towards Laspi (thanks to Anton for the advice!) Batiliman base. Finally found! Yes, silence, mountains, detached houses, cleanliness and... the sea. Azure, blue, light blue, green. It was different. And let the temperature be only 9 degrees. It's even interesting. Another adventure...

PS Will there be a continuation, will there be another adventure like this? Actually, Anton said that another very interesting route is “Water and Stones”... and also “The Lost World”... and also “Cave Cities”... and also...