Contents
This report is about the tour: Scarlet Sails
A memoir about a hike along the route Scarlet Sails, made on July 25-30, 2010.
When going on this route, I imagined the mountains of Cimmeria a little differently - quite flat and, thanks to this, easy to climb. However, the harsh reality shattered these ideas: the ascents turned out to be quite steep, and even the descents... Perhaps, three years ago, the impressions of the descent in Khaphaluzha were a little erased, but the descent from Sandyk-Kai to Krasnokamenka, then the descent from Echki-Dag to Urbash, and then from Ai-George to Kopselskaya Bay turned out to be very rich in impressions, emotions and events.
The instructor reserves the right to make changes to the route depending on the weather, the condition of the group and other factors.
Day one. Water all around
Feodosia, Mount Klementyev, Starfall of Memories
In fact - Grushevka, Maly Chokrak spring.
We started improvising from the very first day. The hike began not from Mount Klimentyev, also known as Uzun-Syrt, but from the village of Grushevka, which is a little further than Old Crimea, if you drive from Feodosia along the Simferopol road. While we were driving there, the sky began to gradually become overcast with clouds of a very impressive appearance, and about half an hour to an hour after entering the route, when we had already begun to climb one of the many Agarmyshes, we began to rinse very, very seriously.
Even when the trip was being planned, Kirill warned that the eastern part of Crimea was very fond of tropical downpours this July, and advised to be equipped with better means of protection from the rain. In general, the cover for the backpack included with the jacket, alas, was not enough - water flowed down the back, which made the backpack slightly wet. Therefore, a poncho that covers a backpack along with its wearer greatly benefits in terms of protection from the abyss of heaven. Three out of five people in the group decided to escape the rain under it - and were able to save their property much better.
Previously, I had encountered rain in the mountains, but for something like this... Two hours, sometimes more heavily, sometimes more quietly, through puddles and streams, and although the rain slightly cooled the July Crimean air, the jacket was thick, so water flowed outside - and sweat inside. In trickles. This is clearly felt... So the main impression from the climb up the limestone quarry and above it was the rain and everything connected with it: either a rustle, or a very noticeable patter of drops on the hood, a stream flowing through sandals (that's when I praised myself for neglecting sneakers!), the slurry of mud slurping under my feet... No one was keeping track of time, it felt like they were stomping in the rain for two hours, however, we didn’t feel tired - apparently we were still fresh, and the rain was additionally refreshing.
When we climbed above the quarry, “someone turned off the rain, and the sun came out.” Having thrown off our backpacks and wet clothes, we sat down to dry in the wind and sun - in which we achieved considerable success. After having a snack, we went further, to the parking lot.
We had to make our way to the spring through thickets of rather tall and dense nettles, choosing a parking spot, then work on the fire, since brushwood, dead wood and dead wood also got caught in the rain, and just before going to bed, dry the wet sleeping bags. Praise be to the inventors of synthetic fibers! If the sleeping bags were made of “hebe” and stuffed with cotton wool, we would have suffered with them... Well, I must say that this was the only rain during the entire trip.
Day two. I'll leave the world and go to monastir
Green's path, Old Crimea, Surb-Khach monastery
In fact: Agarmysh, Old Crimea, Surb Khach monastery, Surb Stepanos monastery, also known as the “Forest Wilderness” tourist site.
We woke up, had breakfast, got ready, made our way through the old thickets of nettles - fortunately, they were no longer able to rise after we trampled on them the day before - and began the ascent. Those who gave names to the local mountains, valleys, passes, streams, rivers, rocks, caves and other attractions either were not inventive, or did not particularly bother with this topic - that’s why in the vicinity of the Old Crimea there are several mountains called Agarmysh: Gray-haired, Bald and some others are present.
In general, we climbed out onto one of them, from which we had a view of Old Crimea, the immediate and distant surroundings. On the way, we passed a vertical cave called Sychev Well, the entrance to which was closed by a reinforced concrete grate, and on a tree nearby there was a message not to throw any rubbish into the cave. Nearby there was one of the filming sites of the “Ninth Company”, even the tower was still preserved, but we did not go in that direction, but went down to the city. We walked through the city, looked into a shop and bought some goodies, crossed a river with a not very euphonious name, and therefore not remembered, and went to the monastery.
It turned out to be a very interesting place. And the architecture is unique, and there is an abundance of sources, each of which, it seems, has its own sphere of responsibility - for health, for beauty, for the mind, etc. etc., in the refectory - a very interesting museum of the history of the monastery in particular and the Crimean Armenians in general, in the church... It was unusual to see Orthodox icons in the church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and one of the images... It’s scary to look at, and you can’t tear yourself away. According to its fulfillment, it is the Savior Not Made by Hands, but the Savior is already wearing a crown of thorns, with an ulcerated brow and crying from pain and grief.
After drinking coffee and drinking water from one of the sources with an unknown area of responsibility, we went to the parking lot. The “forest wilderness” turned out to be not a wilderness at all, but a fairly popular clearing for picnics among the local population, traces of which were present in the form of cans and drink bottles.
As a place to spend the night, it is perhaps the most convenient of the ones on the route: the beech forest is, accordingly, quite dry and there are no problems with firewood, the place is flat, habitable - logs are laid around the fireplaces, comfortable for sitting, nearby is a spring - for drinking and cooking - and a stream - for household purposes. If the signs of habitability were limited to the arrangement of fire pits, it would be absolutely wonderful. Dear Crimeans and guests of the peninsula! Clean up your trash,
Day three. We have such devices! But we won't tell you about them
Surb Stepanos, Forest Wilderness, Frank-Mezer
In fact: Forest wilderness, Tuar-Alan ridge, Sandyk-Kaya, Krasnokamenka, Shchebetovka
For some reason, the second night, despite the more convenient parking and less hassle the night before, was more difficult... But getting ready in the Wilderness of the Forest was a pleasure: the fire flared up almost instantly, we also got ready quickly, and moved on.
The details of the pass through Tuar Alan are almost not remembered - just another crossing through the forest. The main impressions of the day were the ascent to Sandyk-Kaya - and even more so the descent from it. When going on this route, I imagined the mountains of Cimmeria a little differently - quite flat and, thanks to this, easy to climb.
However, the harsh reality shattered these ideas: the ascents turned out to be quite steep, and even the descents... Perhaps, three years ago, the impressions of the descent to Khapkhal had already faded a little, but the descent from Sandyk-Kai to Krasnokamenka, then the descent from Echki-Dag to Urbash, and then from Ai-Georgiy to Kopselskaya Bay turned out to be very rich in impressions, emotions and events. The slopes in all three cases - I don’t know how many degrees there actually are, it seemed that it was at least sixty (I’ll be surprised if it turns out that it’s less than thirty, but a person reacts not to reality, but to his perception), scree underfoot...
When they had already slid down to the wire fence surrounding Krasnokamenka, he managed to crash and bend a stick. However, the losses were limited to that, and he straightened the stick later.
The first thing we encountered on the way to Krasnokamenka was another monastery - but this time of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the name of Seraphim of Sarov. While they were walking to him, wandering around the surrounding area and descending into the village, psalms were heard from the monastery through loudspeakers.
Krasnokamenka itself immediately showed its character - purely military. Not to lie, among everyone we met, four out of five were either wearing a uniform, or it was noticeable that they were wearing it, but now not on duty, or they had worn it once before. However, we should go back a little and say that our improvisations before the descent from Sandyk continued - instead of going west, to Mount Urbash, as the route envisaged, we decided to go from Krasnokamenka to Shchebetovka, and from there go to Echki-Dag and further to Sudak. Moreover, Kirill seduced the people by spending the night by the lake...
And so they did. The lake, upon closer examination, turned out to be a reservoir built for the purpose of irrigating vineyards. The source of drinking water turned out to be quite far from the chosen site, and it was better to drink the water from it boiled. There were also difficulties with firewood - since the forest around is represented by fairly young plantings, there was still not enough brushwood and dead wood in it, so we had to rustle around for dinner and breakfast. An indisputable advantage is the large selection of flat places for setting up tents - apparently, thanks to it, the surroundings of the reservoir are even more popular for picnics than the Forest Wilderness.
Day four. Some are attracted upward, others are pulled down...
Rock Sandyk-Kaya, secret Kizil-Tash, Mount Urbash
In fact: tourist camp "Echki-Dag", Echki-Dag ridge, Mount Urbash
According to the original plan of the hike, the campsite “Echki-Dag” was supposed to be the place for the last night - but we reached it at the beginning of the fourth day and went from there in the opposite direction. In fact, a spring located near the parking lot turned it into a permanent residence for part of the Fox Bay crowd, and the inhabitants of the bay who prefer to live closer to the sea go to the spring for water. Well, due to the high habitability of the parking lot, providing fuel becomes a significant problem, so for an overnight stay this would probably not be the best place.
That's why we climbed Echki-Dag. We actually climbed - if before we climbed mountains, that is, we calmly walked, but here we had to use our hands quite often. However, thanks to the proximity of the sea, a refreshing breeze blew almost the entire time climbing to the top, so the climb did not seem too difficult. In contrast to the descent - which, again, was followed by an ascent to the main peak of the ridge. We stopped there to have a snack - and again began to descend to cross the road and reach the parking lot under Mount Urbash.
Day five. To the sea!
Mount Rhinoceros, Echki-Dag ridge
In fact: Tokluk-Syrt ridge, Ai-Georgiy, Sudak.
We surveyed Rhinoceros Mountain the night before, on the morning of the fifth day we went to see Taraktash (now I know that there is at least more than one Taraktash in Crimea) and went to the Tokluk-Syrt ridge. We climbed onto it - as was most often the case, along a forest road, and went towards the sea, to the Ai-Georgiy spring. Of course, it also has a Mohammedan name, but the commemoration of St. Georgiy is somehow closer to me. We sat under the geodesic sign for a while and started - what do you think? Right! Descent!!!
Later, sitting on the seashore and chewing on our dry rations - we had dinner at lunch, and lunch, respectively, at dinner - we agreed that the final descent was the most difficult. The turn from the path towards the spring seemed especially interesting - we had to follow a barely noticeable path to go around gullies with slopes even steeper than the one we were walking along. It was unexpected to come across a reed taller than a man on the southern slope - but, looking at it, I realized that the water was already nearby. Having stocked up on water - and Kirill even filled a pot and carried it in his hand - they decided that it made sense to find a more level place, cook food and have a hot lunch, and have dinner on the shore with what was left. And so they did.
At that time there was no ban on visiting forests, but still, the hearth was equipped very seriously. Then they filled the fireplace, covered it with stones and went to the sea, which they had been observing since the middle of the day.
We spent the night on the shore, in the vicinity of a semi-wild campsite.
Day six
And we can say that there was no sixth day - except for the transition to Sudak around Alchak and the trip first to the bus station, and then to Feodosia.
In the end. 68 kilometers covered, total elevation gain - 3100 meters, total loss - a little more, since the start was located slightly higher than the finish. General impressions - Cimmeria presented a surprise. I thought that since the mountains were not high - we didn’t climb higher than seven hundred meters - then the route would be easy. However, the descents of Echki-Dag and Ai-Georgiy will probably be remembered for a long time. Walking in a large group is probably more fun, but in a small group it is more interesting.
Note: “morons” were the name given to the inhabitants and guests of Maximilian Voloshin’s house in Koktebel. The number of idiots included: A. Tolstoy, Veresaev, Mandelstam, M. Bulgakov and other representatives of the “Silver Age”. The choice of the name was inspired by B. Sh. Okudzhava’s “Journey of Amateurs.”
Mikhail Penkov, Moscow region.