It won't be boring

Review of the hike in the Carpathians "Svidovets and Gorgany" July 19-24, 2009
Summer. It's time for vacation. And so I also decided to rest. But I’m the kind of person who loves active recreation, so I had to look on the Internet for something to do. The choice fell on a hiking trip to the Carpathians. Why exactly there and now? Firstly, I have never been to my native Carpathians in the summer, secondly, in the summer it is neither cold nor particularly hot, thirdly, it is a healthy and active holiday, and fourthly, and this is the most important thing, as Kirill said: “Bad people don’t go hiking.”

Having decided on the date and tour, I began collecting equipment. After reading several reviews and articles on this vacation, I realized that this moment needs to be taken as seriously as possible. Knowing first-hand the variability of weather in the mountains, I checked everything several times and calculated all the possible options for Carpathian “surprises” that just came to my mind. Having packed everything in a backpack, I only didn’t have a tent (or space in a tent), but the organizers of the trip helped me in this matter, for which I especially thank them.

Day 1. Meeting and first overnight stay.

Everyone met, as agreed, at the station. Taking one look at my group and the guide, I immediately realized that it wouldn’t be boring. Everyone is young, energetic, with a sparkle in their eyes - I love those. Quickly stuffing food into our backpacks, we headed to the bus and drove out to our starting point. We arrived and, putting on our backpacks, immediately rushed up, thinking of slipping through unnoticed. It didn't work out. I caught up and charged each of them ten for a passage through the territory of the reserve (I’m talking about an ecologist, a forester, or whatever they call him). We chose a place, parked, and everyone started setting up tents. But since I didn’t have a tent, me and another guy went to get water for dinner. They arrived and I found out that I would be spending the night in a tent with two pretty girls. For this, many thanks to the guide Slava - he was friendly :-))) We prepared dinner, got acquainted and went to bed. Tomorrow will be a difficult day, and it was drizzling a little.

Day 2. First peak.

Having completed our morning exercise, we began to climb our first peak. We had a lot of strength and even more desire, so we walked quickly and beautifully. But the climb was long and near the very top thoughts began to creep treacherously into my head - maybe I had made a mistake with my rest. This all immediately disappeared when I reached my goal. Here it is – Mount Bliznitsa, 1880 m. The first peak and the first victory. How beautiful it is there. The endless green-blue sea that opened before our eyes was simply mesmerizing. The whole view calmed the soul, instilled joy and energy, freedom and peace were felt with all my being. At such moments, it seems that you are a free bird. After enjoying the views and the wind, we began to descend down to the parking lot. We chose a quiet and cozy place near the river. The first joint preparation of dinner and the first long gatherings around the fire took place.

Day 3. Mountains and lakes.

Let's go up. There is a tablecloth made of juniper around it. We met a real shepherd with a flock. It’s good that there is almost no sun, otherwise it would have been even harder. We climbed the ridge, surrounded only by clouds and wind, so strong that there was a crazy howl in our ears. After resting and taking photos, we move on. On both sides of the ridge, simply breathtaking pictures of the Carpathians open up. The eyes enjoy what they see. We rise higher and take a break for a daytime snack. Ukrainian lard with garlic (yum-yum) and bread - everyone ate it with pleasure))) And below you can see a mountain lake. The sky began to be covered with clouds, so we decided not to risk it and go down to the parking lot. We set up our tents, and immediately a nasty drizzling rain began. We fled immediately after dinner; at night the weather worsened.

Day 4. Bratkovskaya.

Still, one of us was lucky; the morning was sunny. Having done our morning exercises (or is it yoga?) and packed our things, we went to conquer the next peak. With every hundred meters passed, the nature changes: first the forest, then the bushes (pants and a jacket are very useful here, otherwise your arms and legs can be scratched until they bleed) and at the very top there is thick grass. The goal has been achieved, Mount Bratkovskaya and all 1788 meters are underfoot. At the very top we almost didn’t talk, we looked into the distance and each thought about his own. There was no strength to take my eyes off that beauty. I wanted to remember the surrounding view as best as possible so that I could remember it again and again in the future. Then we walked along the ridge along the old Polish-Czechoslovak border. We went down a little lower and spent the night in the forest. That day everyone was quite tired, the trek lasted about 7 hours. There was almost no talking that evening; everyone was enjoying the warm fire.

Day 5. Blueberries.

In the morning we decided to eat blueberries to our heart's content. Having passed through the forest, we came out into a sunny meadow with blueberries. They took off their backpacks and sat down to eat it. Everyone's tongues instantly turned purple, like those of a chow-chow :-))) Having refreshed themselves with berries, they stomped upward again. Our path passed along the concrete pillars of the same old border. On the way we met another group (or rather, part of it) from Moscow, and it was decided to share our lard and garlic lunch with them. We were thanked by them for this noble gesture in the evening - they treated us to real sheep cheese (brynza). After resting, we didn’t go up to Legion Pass; we went down to look for a place for our last evening together. We found a wonderful clearing near the water. We took a “bath” in a mountain stream and somehow washed our clothes and equipment, we began to enjoy the warm evening near the fire. We had dinner and Muscovites came to visit us with a guitar. The gatherings dragged on until the morning. ))

Day 6. Alas, everything has its end

Oh, how I didn’t want to say goodbye... The realization that I had lost something close and dear only came on the train. I was again convinced that the most important advantage of the hike is the people. This is the sincerity and sincerity that arises between the participants during their time together and overcoming difficulties. I would like only one thing - to thank the guys and girls for a good vacation. I hope this was not our last trip together...

P.S. Special “Thank you” to our guide Slava. It was VERY interesting and VERY fun to be with him.

Igor Gritsyuk, Kyiv 2009