This report is about the tour: Above Waterfalls
Review of a hike in the Carpathians in August 2008. Greetings to those who read this review :). I decided to write it as soon as I arrived, while the impressions of my experience were still fresh in my head. Well what can I say... everything was just super! I just went at a time when all the news was sounding the alarm that there were rains, landslides and similar garbage, in general, immediately after a disaster happened in Ivano-Frankivsk. My friend was still going to go with me, but after hearing everything that was broadcast on the news, he refused, and I thought: “Eh, that’s true,” and I went...
Our group.
In general, when I arrived in Frankovsk and saw that everything there was wet after the recent rain, I was upset (I thought that I would have to knead mud in the mountains). After hanging around a bit at the station, I met up with the rest of the hikers. We met. After talking with them a little, I realized that they are all great guys :). In general, communication went without any hitches and embarrassments, which happens on hikes, especially between strangers. After some time, Slava (our guide) came up. He divided the food between us and we headed out. Our group consisted of 8 people - 5 guys and 3 girls. Of course, as true gentlemen, we did not allow the ladies to carry more than ~10 kg per backpack and shoved the main weight between us, which was quite noticeable. Around the third day I got used to the heaviness, but at first it was quite hard.
Start of the hike.
My fears about bad weather and all kinds of mud mixing with bots dissipated as soon as we left Ivano-Frankivsk and went in the direction of some village (I forgot the name). This is where our journey begins...
On the first day we walked a little and swam in the river. Let me tell you, the water was just super!
Around 8 o'clock we stopped, set up camp, prepared food and lounged around the fire to talk. And there was a lot to talk about; each of our group turned out to be a very interesting person. And Slava didn’t let us get bored if the topics suddenly ran out. It is of course not surprising that a guide with his experience can start any company. In general, we were not bored throughout the entire trip. There was also a woman with us from New Zealand; she didn’t speak Russian, but our team consisted of people who understood English tolerably well, so she also took part in our conversations. Mostly, of course, Slava communicated with her, since he knew English better than anyone else.
This must be experienced.
The second and third days were mostly climbs, which were especially good for an unprepared person with a 20 kg load on his back. But we survived this too... But what a thrill you experience when, after a long climb, you take off your heavy backpack and plunge into the crystal clear and clean waters of a mountain river... It’s difficult to describe in words - you have to experience it!
And what kind of nature there is - just a fairy tale. I sometimes thought that I was dreaming everything - everything was so colorful. And the cleanest air and views from the tops of the mountains that we climbed were simply awesome!
The fourth and fifth days were mostly downhill. There was, of course, a difficult climb to Sivulya, but it was worth it... It offers such a view of everything around that it takes your breath away. And what a descent it is - along thin paths, when there is a cliff on the right, and an alpine pine on the left, which is ready to push you into this cliff, the adrenaline is produced with a bang.
Like a wild boar neighed.
There were a lot of funny things, for example, when at night (about 2-3 o’clock) someone started breaking into my tent and snoring (this was on the 4th day and we camped in a clearing near the town of Sivulya), I woke up and lay listening, trying not to breathe, next to me, also quietly, lay Katya (one could say that she was sleeping, but she was lying there and not breathing, apparently scared). I thought it was a wild boar. I think, well... I’ll lie quietly, maybe he won’t touch me, he’ll poke his nose into the tent and leave. I lie there and listen further. Then I heard someone neigh, and that’s when I relaxed... It turned out that the horses grazing nearby became interested in who had occupied their territory and they came to a showdown with my tent :)
On the sixth day there was already a freebie. Our backpacks became lighter, and after having a good breakfast and taking a bath in the local river, we set out for the Guty settlement. And from there to Ivano-Frankivsk by bus.
What amazed me.
The impressions after the hike were simply overwhelming; I was recharged with energy for at least a year. What struck me was the purity of the local nature, I thought that in Ukraine there were no longer places where you could drink water from rivers, but what is the value of water from a spring at an altitude of 1.4 km - mmm...
In general, you need to experience this yourself, and spare no time. Because only in such places do you understand what LIFE is and what is worth LIVING for, and not existing.
Good luck everyone! And we will see Slava again more than once in future campaigns.