This report is about the tour: Above Waterfalls
Review of the tour “Above the Waterfalls” Carpathians, July 21-26, 2013.
A little about myself beloved. I am 48 years old, I went on a hike with my son Philip, a 19-year-old student. In my youth I went on hikes with my classmates as a “brake.” You know, there is such a girl who, with an unhappy look, trudges along at the end of the group, even without any belongings, arousing the pity of those around her.
This is me at 22 years old. A healthy view of myself then helped me take care of my physical fitness. For some time I practiced martial arts, and after the birth of my son I switched to “softer” practices.
Why did you choose this route? She probably wanted to test herself, but decided to start with a low difficulty route. I also like to visit beautiful, uncrowded places, I can’t stand the heat well, I haven’t been to the Carpathians before, I liked the reviews.
By the way, let's talk about reviews. I liked the review of a crazy 65-year-old tourist because of its practicality. However, I can argue about promoting products from your backpack first. Over the course of 6 days, the group becomes something like the crew of an orbital station - everything is in plain sight. Therefore, pushing each other with your elbows is more expensive for yourself. It's not worth it, by God. It is rather the task of the instructor to regulate the workload of the “crew” (essay on the topic “An ideal instructor - who is he?”).
I will say in favor of rental equipment. My son and I rented sleeping bags and were the only ones in the group who didn’t wake up from the cold at night. When you buy a sleeping bag for yourself, it is difficult to choose one for all occasions, especially if you go camping once a year. You won’t buy several pieces - for the Crimea, the Carpathians in the summer, the Carpathians in the winter. And before the hike, the instructor selects the optimal one for the situation.
After making the decision to go on a hike, I regularly looked at the I-F weather forecast for these days. Cold weather, 20 degrees during the day, 13-14 at night and rains. “Nature has no bad weather,” she told herself, but found it hard to believe. I looked at the forecast and really wanted some sun... The last time I looked was the day before the start of the hike. The forecast has improved somewhat, the night temperature has risen, and the amount of rain has decreased. During the hike the weather was sunny, clear, although cool - ideal for walking with a backpack. Only one morning there was fog, and not touching us, but only teasing us - here I am, very close, covering the neighboring hill, now I’ll get close to you. Excuse me, guys, some of you wanted to walk in the rain, be beaten by hail and blown away by the wind, but here I am with my peaceful desire... Well, I don’t like wet tents and fires that don’t light up!
So, a meeting in Ivano-Frankivsk. There are 10 people in the group: I’m the eldest, Philip the younger. The rest are 4 couples from Ukraine, Russia and Germany (formerly ours).
How does this magic happen when a group grows from completely different, strangers? These are all the mountains, their beauty and ancient magic.
It’s especially offensive when idiots attack this magic by cutting clearings in the mountains that are not marked on the maps. We walked along such a clearing for part of the second day. Of course, it’s a shame when, instead of a picturesque path, you see a sort of triumph of progress along which you can drive Land Rovers. Well, never mind, I hope the enthusiasts will re-plot the route.
The route description is on the website and in other reviews - I will not repeat it. It's better to see it once...
A little about unusual incidents.
In addition to the clearing of the second day, it is worth noting the breathtaking descent of the third. Again, the forest path became a steeply sloping clearing along which we had to descend. The descent took at least an hour, I had a backpack on my back, clods of earth were crawling under my feet, and there was nowhere to rest... The episode became the most vivid memory of the hike. Later, when their nerves and nerves stopped trembling, the guys proposed opening a fundamentally new route “through poacher’s clearings - past waterfalls” - for amateurs. I recommend it.
I’ll also tell you about a day in the Rushchina meadow. A very beautiful place and the coldest and windiest point of the hike. And horses also live there... They live there throughout the warm season, and local residents take them to work as needed. Beautiful, smart animals. Since tourists pass through Rushchina all the time, the horses are already accustomed to us, they let us take pictures and stroke themselves “on the nose.” However, horses' field of vision is different from ours, so when you pet a horse where he can't see, he gets nervous. The instructor warned against feeding horses - if you feed the horse once, it will not leave you at night, it will poke into the tent and call. This prospect was not encouraging.
After breakfast we went to wash the pots. There are 4 horses standing at the source and nodding their heads to us. We also nodded to them and filled the pot with water with the remains of the sweet porridge. The largest horse comes up to me, puts its head in the pot and begins to drink water and porridge, licking its sides. The others also circle around, lick the bowl, chew the spoons... That means they love sweets. I stand there, “keep a smile,” I say kind words - the animal is healthy, but a blow from the hind leg, they say, is fatal. In general, we got out somehow, politeness saved us. And at night, thank God, they didn’t come - that night there were several groups standing on Rushchina - they probably got lost...
Water is really everywhere during the hike. Some people regularly climbed into the river or under a waterfall - but you had to be a walrus - the water was icy.
Regarding hygiene on a hike, I can share my “recipe”. I have a crêpe de chine mitten made; similar ones are sold from natural materials. You rub yourself with it, first with soap, and then a couple of times - without soap. Skin pores need to be cleansed of sweat, and it's not just about aesthetics. A dirty person's thermoregulation worsens and he freezes more in the cold.
About the instructor. In our group he called himself Oleg. Oleg is very well versed in all kinds of tourist equipment, one might say he is passionate about it. But, unfortunately, he doesn’t know any root herbs. I had to rely on my limited knowledge. Among those known to me along the route, oregano (motherwort), St. John's wort, clover grow in abundance; near the water - mint, lemon balm, and in some places - chamomile. But I caught a thyme once at the beginning of the hike - on the descent to the first waterfalls. Oleg is also a pronounced night owl, so we left and arrived late. However, since I was the only early bird in the group, it bothered the others less.
I don’t know if my review convinced anyone to take the route, but personally my son and I were very pleased. A charge of vigor and positivity for the whole year. In the end, I can add that practicing wushu or similar helps a lot: diaphragmatic breathing (“belly”) helps you go uphill, “figure eights” strengthen your legs. It’s good when a hike doesn’t turn into a “survival school”, when you don’t see anything around except stones under your feet, but have the opportunity to admire the beautiful views, delicious spring water and mountain air.
Good luck everyone!