Hedgehog in the fog

Review of the hike Wild Gorgans June 26 – July 1, 2016

It was a wonderful trip, wonderful company, the best instructor I have ever walked with, and even three days of nasty weather could not leave a dark imprint on this week-long fairy tale.

It was a wonderful trip, wonderful company, the best instructor I have ever walked with, and even three days of nasty weather could not leave a dark imprint on this week-long fairy tale.

So, day one. For my small group of three people, the trip began with an arrival in the glorious city of Ivano-Frankivsk by train at six in the morning. The Gorganchat meeting was supposed to be at ten. We subtract, divide and get four hours of free time spent loitering and looking for a cafe open so early...

Alas, we didn’t find the vaunted “Urban 100,” but around the corner from the Town Hall we found a mile-long coffee shop open at 8 a.m., where we drank delicious tea and terribly bad cocoa and coffee.

Before the meeting, we ran into the already operating “Fed Spoon” at the station because there were wonderful reviews about it. And she justified herself. Tasty, very cheap, huge portions, pleasant dining. The best of all the station establishments that I have come across. I won’t describe our sightseeing in Frankovsk, it was not the first time I was there, let those who were there for the first time express their emotions on this topic. However, after a bit of wandering we stumbled upon a space pizzeria, had a good laugh, and it was worth taking a wrong turn for this.

Finally, all the crooked paths straightened out and at exactly ten we met our wonderful instructor Olezhka Boyko at the station. Accompanying the delight of the meeting with drool and joyful cries, I hang on his neck and we finally go to the already assembled group. The group turned out to be quite young, one and a half people were a little over forty, but so cheerful and active that there was no place for young people. And we got the right number, no more, no less, but 13 diggers. I will call myself the thirteenth little imp with a fluffy tail. I hope I don’t need to explain what cartoon it’s from. We all piled into the minibus (the fare to Staraya Huta is 85 UAH) and off we went. We, the gallery with the fan, had a good time, the rest were sincerely sorry... The unloading of the landing force was successful and the adventures began.

...The sky is overcast with gray clouds, my nerves are taut like a guitar string. The rain drums from morning until evening. The frozen sky seems like an eternity... These lines became the three-day anthem of our hike. However, immediately upon arriving at our destination, we still managed to enjoy the remnants of the sun and the dry earth, and get lost nearby on the Bystritsa river rapids in search of depth for swimming. Meet local beachgoers and their loving animals.

But all good things come to an end. He came and walked lightly. The backpacks are loaded with provisions, about three or four kilos per strap, and the caravan of dromedary camels sets off towards unknown and unconquered peaks. It must be said that most of the peaks remained unclimbed due to weather conditions. Most - or rather all, but more on that later. So ups, downs, ups, rain, drizzle, rain, stones, branches, fontanelle, a snack of chocolates and cookies, ups and we admire the Serednyaya meadow at a height of one and a half thousand, pitching tents.

The evening of the first day ended with borscht, which I must say was extremely tasty. Seasoned with choice obscenities in the direction of the midges, who were trying to get a snack from the cooks.

The rain stopped at the rest stop, even a couple of rays of the setting sun splashed orange undertones on our cozy shelter, and in an atmosphere of comfort and some humidity, we sat around the fire, sharing various horror stories. In the middle of the night, one comrade’s nerves could not stand it and the camp was first overwhelmed by a heartbreaking sleepy cry, and then by the same panic. Alas, this information was not obtained in person, because... I sleep soundly. In the evening we were offered the opportunity to run up Mount Serednyaya (1638 meters) in the morning for an hour's walk. However, in the morning...

Day two. Having unzipped the tent, it became clear that it was time to shout: “Hedgehog...” and wait for the answer “Bear cub...” Because since the neighboring tents are not visible in this fog, the likelihood that there will be a better view from the mountain is, to put it mildly, unlikely. And where to go to it, since there is no direction in sight. A little after breakfast, the fog cleared and although it was still impossible to see the beauty, it was at least possible to find out where to go. We moved to Mount Vysokaya and Igrovets.

It’s a muddy business to walk through the mountains, oh muddy and foggy. No, of course it’s also beautiful when you walk along the edge of the ocean of milk, turning on your imagination and completing the colorful landscapes, covered in a haze with which you peer carnivorously at each other. Alas, the camera refuses to adequately convey this beauty. And I can’t put into words how delicious ordinary cookies, condensed milk and marshmallows can be at 1750 meters, just use your imagination.

It’s fair to say once we still managed to catch a five-minute enlightenment and see a piece of the horizon in shreds of fog, but nature decided that the limit of kindness had been exhausted and then we jumped intensely in the rain, passing the peaks themselves.

Since there wasn’t much to see, we quickly ran to the camp site on the Borevka pass. It was a short hike with minimal elevation gain. About five hours. We set up tents in the rain and I must say, it couldn’t have come at a better time. If the instructor jumps forward like a mad saiga, then this is not easy. Immediately after us, three more groups came running, licking their lips deliciously at the same place, but we began, with our eyes bulging, shouting in hoarse voices: Busy and unobtrusively coughing to hint that they were birds.

During the day, in the rain, half hid in tents, and half optimistically held a perimeter defense around the fire with wet things. Have you ever tried drying things in the rain? We do. And surprisingly it works. In the evening we had incredibly delicious lentil porridge and again midnight gatherings around the fire with creepy, fortress stories and drying things in a circle. The night was quiet.

Day three. Sun, landscapes, dry grass - dreams! The reality was dull, wet, rainy, foggy again.

We weren't sure whether to go to the next parking lot. Muesli with condensed milk did not improve my mood, but it filled my body. By noon it had become drier and we ventured out. They promised us a fairly smooth road again for five hours. It could have been a very beautiful transition if it weren’t for the fog and rain again. A separate topic is the forests through which we walked.

These mossy green carpets take you to a fairy tale. I constantly want to look around in search of some fairy-tale creatures. It seems that a dryad appeared from behind that tree, but that whistle... I hope it’s the wind, and not a dashing elven arrow. Again, due to weather conditions, the wise instructor led us not along the ridge through Big and Small Sivulya, but along a lowland, where it was possible to at least a little hide from this omnipresent (I’m tempted to add the second “s”) moisture. So we got to the new camp - Polonina Bystra. We quickly cooked the pasta, tried to dry ourselves, not very successfully, and at eight o'clock in the evening we piled into the tents until the morning. The audiobook in the player turned out to be a miraculous sleeping pill. And there was evening and there was morning.

Day four. And here they are, the long-awaited glimpses of the blue sky, five-minute rays of sunshine that heroically dispersed the fog. It turned out that we were standing near the ruins of a tourist camp. No, really, it’s not me in the evening, it’s before us in the fourteenth century. Quote, in fact, the tourist camp was destroyed during wartime so that the partisans would not hang around there.

So, the morning turned out to be wonderful. Fish soup with triple additive, drying passports and tickets over the fire, collecting and leaving. In some places we had to climb to the top rather than sourly. But we did see the first beautiful landscapes from a height not covered by fog. We admired the local fauna; I have only seen cows of such a beautiful color in Transcarpathia. Once again we pass through forests with mossy trees. Picnic overlooking the lawn with horses. A small friendly photo shoot accompanied by the crunch of cookies, the pouring of condensed milk and the distribution of dried fruits.

And after the white stripe there should be a black one, and after the green lawn stripe there should be a hard brown one. A strong slope and liquid mud is a uninspiring picture and an even less enticing prospect. But who would ask us... And one more stop, which one would like to call “Three Horses”, although, if I’m not confusing anything, then it was the Pereniz camp, judging by the map, there was a source nearby from which we were advised not to get water because horses were grazing nearby and this very water was being actively modified. And yet, what cute foals we came across, petting, photographing, feeding! No, put aside the feeding, feed yourself and nowhere else. However, the horses decided to play customs with us and very actively tried to inspect individual backpacks, finding something edible there.

The climb to Tavpishirka turned out to be even more complicated than the previous one. Strong slope and rocks, rocks, rocks. And a few more stones, the reward for overcoming which were photographs against a beautiful background. I’ll also tell you a secret: it’s much more comfortable to take barriers with active music.

A couple of times Oleg (read Petya Pyatochkin) wanted to stop for lunch, but the naughty elephants kept running away and did not want to come together. As a result, lunch took place simply in the middle of the trail under the motto: All planes are submissive to food.

And yet we conquered the last kilometers and arrived almost to civilization. Beyond the Yavorchik valley we set up camp in the Vysokogorny Arboretum. Tables under a canopy, swings and even a fireplace with a canopy. Not even sporty. In the evening, while we were drying out together, several people managed to burn something. Personal losses were limited to a burnt fleece in the morning and burnt shoes in the evening. The war is not without losses. There, on the territory of the Arboretum, there was an observation deck from which wonderful panoramic photographs were taken.

And the sunset was very pleasing.

Day five. He who gets up early takes amazing pictures (c) the first rule of a landscape photographer. A cup of milk surrounded by green fir trees and a foreground of a flower meadow with a paddock. What could be more beautiful? A lot, but that was enough. A morning trip to a well for water and washing your hair in ice-cold water is a separate sensation that is poorly conveyed verbally.

On the road again. Forests, fields, rivers, parking. The last refuge in the Travel Island area. From there the guys got to civilization and shops, the girls got to do laundry in the river, and then everyone went to the Legion Pass without backpacks.

And in the evening we had a bathhouse and, as usual, the last night before the fourth was accompanied by adult games. No, not porn, intellectual. Alas, softened by the bathhouse and the long journey of consciousness, not everyone turned out to be suitable for such leisure, but the most persistent were more than rewarded with a charge of good mood.

Day six. The morning was long, getting ready was a little sad, like any ending to a fairy tale. We went to the village of Klyuchi (next to Bystritsa) and by three o’clock in the afternoon the minibus rushed us to Frankovsk. Oleg took us around the city, we sat in a wonderful place called “Ten”, then in the “Pototsky” bar and after drinking beer, kvass, eating to our fill and enjoying ice cream, we finally boarded the train in a friendly crowd, where we were talking until midnight.