Water and Stones light

Well, I found, as they say, the time and place to describe my impressions of the next summer Crimean campaign. The title is due to the fact that “Water and Stones hard” took place the year before last, and this year - a lighter backpack, a shorter route, fewer climbs, with a few exceptions, a calmer pace.

Kirill is doing better and better - every year there are more people wanting to see Crimea “from the inside”, this year there are already twenty people in the group. Which, as they say, could not but have an impact. It’s probably not possible to write anything new about the route, with the exception, perhaps, of the descent into the Khapkhal Gorge - that’s where the impressions were... The slopes are crazy, trees fell across the path - in one place good people even sawed out a piece of log, there would be no way to climb over it, fallen leaves cover the path - it’s not clear where it comes from in the middle of summer. And since we descended into Khapkhal already in the afternoon and the sun hid behind the edge of the gorge very quickly, the contrast with the yayla was simply crazy: there the sun and nowhere to go, here there is shade and you won’t find the sun.

In general, when we got up for the night, not a bit tired from the fullness of the feelings (but by the next evening it came back to haunt us), we were simply bursting with positivity, I wanted to sing and laugh... For the first time I drank water straight from the river. Of course, we swam in Ulu-Uzen - “don’t try to repeat this at home,” or rather, be more careful. I was very stupid, first I did the laundry while standing in the water (and it’s good there if it’s thirteen degrees), and then after taking a bath, as a result, I had a rash on my lips and a squelching nose. In a word - a wonderful place, Khapkhal, and even wasp stings on both legs at once (that’s lucky, that’s lucky) did not spoil the impression.

There’s probably nothing more to add about the route - I’ve already written everything before. A few words about how it is advisable to prepare and behave.
First of all, you need to decide whether you really want to go on a hike. Because a hike, especially in the mountains, is very little like going on a picnic in the vicinity of your permanent habitat: and you have to walk, and not along a flat path, but constantly up and down, and it is not known which is more difficult; and carry not only your belongings (by the way! The recommendations to unload your backpack to the maximum and not take anything extra are not idle inventions), but also food and water - in some areas, four liters per brother.

And it will be hot - especially if the path goes along a ravine, sheltered from the wind, and the sun is burning right into the crown of your head. And there will be climbs that shake not so much your strength as your nerves - through the forest, when, raising your head, you can’t see the sky behind the trees. Decide for yourself whether you can do it. Because on the route, of course, no one will abandon anyone, and walking with pauses every three hundred to four hundred meters makes you much more tired.

Secondly, especially when the group is large, there may not be enough work for everyone at a rest stop. It’s better in the free time, especially in the morning, not to smoke on the mat, but to pack a tent and pack a backpack, so that getting ready doesn’t take three to three and a half hours and you don’t have to go out in the heat.
Well, in general - remember that your pleasure from the hike is, of course, important and great, but you are not alone on the route. And believe me, the comfort of each person in the group depends on you, too, and when everyone feels good, it will be much more pleasant for you too.