July in the Carpathians

Story about the hike “The Highest Peaks” Carpathians, July 2013.

I have long wanted to go hiking in the Carpathians. Not just some mountains, but specifically the Carpathians. No particular rational reason; I can’t even remember where this desire came from, but take it out and put the Carpathian ridge here for me. The desire gradually migrated from the category of “passive I want” to “active I want”; the date for the inevitable meeting was set for July. The idea was supported by Sasha, with whom we had already visited many places together; We chose a specific hike (with the beautiful and understandable name “Highest Peaks”, the organizers of Outdoor Ukraine) and planned the trip so as to catch a bunch of other interesting things along the way. But about this some other time, now I will talk about the final point on our route, about the actual hike along the Montenegrin ridge.

Friday morning, Ivano-Frankivsk train station. The most meaningless question that can be asked at this time to a person with a large backpack is “To the Carpathians?” Of course, where else! But only in different areas and with different instructors. We ended up with a squad of 10 people. Not too much and not too little, quite a comfortable number. For a hike rated “above average” in difficulty, there are too many children and poorly prepared people. But, I must admit, everyone eventually fell into the rhythm and the hike was completed without any deviations from the route.

The absence of deviations was facilitated by almost ideal weather - in six days we were caught in the rain only a couple of times, and only in parking lots. At the same time, although it was generally sunny, the clouds protected the direct rays and heat. But there is a minus to this - the amazing starry sky, which can only be seen in the mountains, appeared to us in all its glory only once. As luck would have it, it was the coldest night, so, alas, it didn’t work out to lie on the ground looking at the stars. Ten minutes of admiration, lifting your head, and into the tent, into a warm sleeping bag. Brrr...

Returning to the issue of difficulty - after the spring hike in the Caucasus, I felt quite comfortable walking here. Moreover, I took it upon myself to lead the way and, accordingly, was in no hurry at all.

He did break away a couple of times: during the furious descent from Petros together with Sasha, and on the last day, he allowed himself to warm up a couple of times (it was then that he dug out a player in his backpack, “to make the walk even more fun for him”). Except that on the third day the going was tense: there coincided some kind of incomprehensible redistribution of food, and the fact that we were carrying firewood with us for the next stop. But it was still not so difficult that we could only think about to rearrange the poles correctly and not lose your breath.

Descent from Petros, view from below.

By the way, there is an incomprehensible issue with firewood. That is, it is clear that when spending the night near a lake in a valley, where there are no trees at all, and the vegetation is only bushes and grass, there is really nothing to make a fire out of. Но когда меня потом спрашивают, отчего мы не могли воспользоваться горелкой, а несли дрова(пусть и действительно хорошие дрова, но несли-то на своей спине) – тут я тушуюсь и пытаюсь сменить тему. Because I don’t have a good explanation.

The views are wonderful. Moreover, both from the “six peaks” and during the transition between them. Expanses, mountain slopes stretching into the distance, slowly passing clouds... I walked straight and felt like a kind of under-Gandalf on a hike with the Fellowship of the Ring across Middle-earth. “Under” - because I’m more modest in height, and my hat has a narrower brim, and instead of a staff I have a trekking pole, I’m not all gray yet, and my beard is of a different model. But all the same, the emotional uplift when looking around directly demanded some noble goal. However, there was something to bring down such an infusion, so they managed without killed dragons and saved kingdoms.

Before the hike, I read that tourism in the Carpathians is not particularly popular and requires active development. I don’t know - I don’t know, except for the first day of the hike (when we actually didn’t go that far), we regularly met fellow tourists during the transitions. It’s especially interesting to see in the middle of the hike the familiar faces of the people we talked to at the station when we were looking for our group. It’s especially crowded on the peaks and in parking lots near mountain lakes. But this is more or less normal and does not cause irritation until we talk about Hoverla.

Goverla, from afar, is a very attractive mountain.

Because after this hike I still have a strong association: Goverla - beach. While you are rising, you don’t feel the catch. Well, a couple of people came down to meet me, well, someone was also crawling ahead, what’s wrong?..

Goverla is nearby, nothing suspicious.

But having overcome the last meters of the climb, with heavy breathing, you suddenly discover a crowd of people at the top: excursions, youth groups, single and not so lonely hikers, couples, families... Everyone is moving around, taking pictures against the backdrop of views and local memorials, having a snack and checking in. The feeling of victory, of achievement that you usually get after reaching the top, where are you? The only thing missing is a lift and trays with souvenirs and food - and there will be an analogue of the Crimean Ai-Petri.

A couple more words about people and negativity, I started this topic. Garbage, especially a lot of garbage in parking lots. Sometimes collected in a heap, sometimes scattered throughout the territory. A sad sight that I didn’t photograph, take my word for it.

On the peaks you can sometimes find creations of human hands. You saw Hoverla above, on Petros - a small wooden house with a curved crucifix.

On Pop Ivan there is an unfinished observatory. It looks like a castle, but only from afar. Up close there is an unremarkable abandoned place. But, yes, it brings some variety to the landscape.

What can I say about the organization? At the last moment the instructor was replaced - Andrey came with us instead of Oleg. Since I was not familiar with anyone before, it was therefore not important to me. A sore point with the transfer: the organization does not risk taking bus tickets in advance, so a standard situation arises: the next bus is in a few hours, it will be crowded and inconvenient, but there is an alternative: going by private bus, it is more expensive, but more comfortable and there is less waiting. And on the way back: they were going to unite with some other group and take a private car; but in the end something went wrong and combinations began. I understand everything, I would like these issues to be resolved in advance.

Andrey led well, cooked, made fires, pointed out herbs, got bread from somewhere, entertained with conversation. The only complaint is our different views on the proper political structure of the tour group. In the sense that I am used to and consider a more rigid command style with clear planning, scheduled provisions and distribution of responsibilities optimal. Andrei does not approve of this “pioneer camp”, he is more in favor of self-organization and “we are all adults here.”

It's time to end my general impressions here. I remember three moments from individual episodes:

At the second site, our camp was invaded by cows. At first, the tourists simply became interested in the cows passing by, made friends with the help of one or two cookies... and now we have five cows walking around the camp, who felt that they were welcome here, and another five are looking from afar to see if they should join their colleagues. In the end, we had to drive them away with sticks.

At the same second site, a sky lantern was launched in the evening. The lanterns traveled from St. Petersburg, lived in my backpack for more than ten days of vacation, experienced a lot, and saw a lot. Not surprisingly, when we removed them, we found small holes in the “lining” and the frame broken in two places. But is this really a problem for two engineers with adhesive tape! Everything was patched up, the frame was strengthened with a twig. We burned the first piece of fuel in vain until we were convinced that we couldn’t just pick up and run a flashlight at altitude and in the cold. As a result, they brought warm air from the fire into the “dome” and only then lit the fuel from the second flashlight. And it flew! Slowly, clumsily, but upward! Yoo-hoo!

And the story with the code word "Feng Shui". The fourth site, in the valley near the lake. We moved a little further from the lake, into the lowland. It was swampy there, but the wind did not blow like that and the place was picturesque, surrounded by wonderful streams. We set up tents, some closer to the fire pit, some further away. Our friend Pasha and his two sons chose the farthest place, but opposite a small charming waterfall. “That’s it, full feng shui,” said Pasha, took out some foam and, sitting in front of the waterfall and lighting a pipe, began to contemplate.

Time passed. Clouds rolled in and a light rain began. And, to make life more interesting, light hail. Everyone hid in tents and watched through the cracks as light hail turned into heavy hail. Hailstones 4-7 millimeters in diameter hammered the tents for a good three hours without stopping. Communication with other tents was lost, it was cramped and boring. We managed to sleep, wake up, and sleep again.

Time passed. Finally, the storm subsided. We leaned out of the tent just in time to hear the story of how the Feng Shui waterfall overflowed like a worldwide flood and first surrounded, and then almost carried Pasha’s tent with it into the valley. The guys who were inside for the time being did not feel the catch, but “time passed” and the water began to pour inside. It was impossible to ignore this state of affairs, so they had to hastily pull things out of the tent and carry it to a relatively dry hill nearby, and return things that are no longer dry at all. We listened to this story three times (the inhabitants of the tent approached one at a time), each time remembering the phrase about “Feng Shui.” I must say that Pasha and his sons met this situation with courage and humor. We spent the night in damp sleeping bags, but everyone remained alive and well.