1 DAY
During the trip from Murmansk to the village of Tumanniy, we made one stop at the toilet, the bus was half full, my backpack was on the adjacent seat. A man spoke to me in the bus, offered to go together, wanted to learn from my solo trekking experience)) Politely refused.
We arrived at 9:30 PM in Tumanniy, it was darker outside than I was used to and expected. Still, in early August and in the middle of the polar day, it feels noticeably different. From past treks between July 10 and August 10, it was significantly lighter and you could safely move around at night, but not this time. The weather was cloudy, the sky was overcast, making it difficult to move outside the road without a flashlight, you couldn't see the bogs and microrelief. Therefore, I move along the road as much as possible and turn into the tundra for ночлег. I put up the tent, see a hole in the tarp, and patch it. An unforeseen situation arose when I had to pick up the tent half an hour before leaving for the airport, I really don't like that.. It's ideal when everything is packed and waiting for its time a couple of weeks in advance.
2 DAY
The morning is just as cloudy. I see the road, about 5 cars passed in 3 hours, all of them are going to the hydroelectric power station. After the hydroelectric power station, there are significantly fewer cars to Dalnie Zelentsy.
At the turn, there is an observation deck and the tundra reveals its beauty. In the distance, military locators are visible. From this point, I felt that the trek had begun and there was all the diversity of nature ahead. From here, I move away from the road and begin to move along the Voronya River. There is still непривычно dense vegetation, I have to make my way through bushes, tall fern thickets, lots of cloudberries. I reach the planned ночлег point, the river stretches far ahead. From here, I ran to the stream to get water.
Sign up for one of the treks along the shore of the Arctic Ocean on the Kola Peninsula:
3 DAY
In the morning, I cross the Ilyinskaya River, here is the last time before the sea where dense vegetation is found, some areas are flooded. Then there is an ascent to the hills along the Voronya River. The first mountain is Zarechnaya. From here, a beautiful view of the river opens up and will accompany me all the way to the sea.
After Mount Morskaya, the descent begins, first to the stream, then steeply down along it to a boggy valley overgrown with dwarf trees. I was lucky with the sunny weather that day. In cloudless weather, it should be quite eerie)) The place is very interesting and beautiful.
At the mouth of the stream, there is a deep gorge, there are several houses, which seemed inhabited from afar, but I didn't approach, instead I crossed the narrow stream over the stones, got water, and went up to a beautiful стоянку near Lake Grigorieva.
4 DAY
It rained all night, I slept soundly, had breakfast without leaving the tent, and packed my backpack waiting for it to stop. I waited for about an hour and a half, reading. As soon as it started drumming softer on the tent, I took away the mat, packed the tent, and set off. Constant ascents and descents, zigzags in search of drier and more passable sections of the tundra. The first difficult section was the descent to a large lake. I stood on the cliff and looked through the monocular. The descent is steep, below, the entire lowland looks flooded and impassable, I checked the navigator. 10 minutes of reflection in the rain and decided to descend along the nearest 'gorge'. I got soaked through wandering through tall grass and pushing through bushes, but made it to the lake. I poured the water out of my boots and moved on.
From here, an incredible view opens up. An absolutely flat area among the hills, similar to Chukotka landscapes. The mountains in the distance are covered by a misty drizzle. I move incredibly easily, constantly stopping to take photos. A lot of mushrooms.
I approach the ford. I identified the widest and shallowest section of the river with a sandy bottom on the map. I changed into crocs and started the ford, the water is knee-deep in the deepest section, the width is about 10 meters. Coming out on the sandbar, I sank into the damp sand up to my knees. It took about 5 minutes to get out... Be careful, the sand is eroded in some places, they can be noticed by the darker sand. I caught my breath, warmed my feet, put on my tracks, and moved on.
I went inland to the sand dunes. There are a lot of berries and bear droppings here. I found a barely noticeable path, there are a lot of bear tracks on it, I move calling out more often than usual. Finally, I find a wonderful place that seemed unreal to me on satellite images. I come out on the sand and climb the hill to choose a place for ночлег. It's very beautiful here!
An unpleasant story happened here. For the last 30 minutes, I felt my lip going numb and biting it to restore sensitivity. Taking off my backpack and climbing the mountain to take photos, I looked at myself in the camera and discovered that my lip was swollen and my tongue was starting to lose sensitivity... The thought flashed through my mind that I was poisoned by a berry, my condition was getting worse and I hastily went down to my backpack. I set up the tent on autopilot, my consciousness was clouded. Having managed the task, I threw the things inside, inflated the mat, drank some water, and tried to clear my stomach. I reported my condition on the tracker, took charcoal and an antiallergen. It was necessary to monitor my condition for a couple of hours, to check if there was any deterioration. My body was screaming that it was dying.
After two hours, my condition remained the same, but it eased slightly. I went to sleep and slept until early morning. With a relatively fresh head, I decided to move towards civilization - Dalnie Zelentsy.
5 DAY
It's pouring rain all the way with gusts of wind, my Meindl Kansas are soaked through, I can't feel my fingers. After 5 hours of walking, I decide to set up the tent, I come across a rocky cliff, the perfect place, and in 15 minutes I'm enjoying myself in my sleeping bag and thinking that I urgently need to buy membrane pants and membrane socks
Quote. Upon returning, I talked to the guys, looked at several options. From all-leather boots with smooth skin Alpha, to neoprene socks, boots, membrane socks, and settled on the latter. Neoprene will rub off the membrane of the boots and the legs will swell from constant contact with water. Boots don't hold the ankle, which is critical for me in terms of safety and comfort of movement. Membrane socks turned out to be a cool option, I took them with merino wool to keep warm, because despite their thickness, they are cool. I chose membrane pants, 2.5 layers. They are affordable, lightweight, about 250 grams, and should withstand non-contact walks in the tundra. I've already tested them on winter treks.
After the rain, I went for a walk and immediately noticed movement 500 meters away. Misha was moving calmly along the sea and eating berries. I watched him for a long time, about an hour he covered a kilometer, constantly stopping and disappeared behind the rocks. I think he didn't notice me.
I'm resting, gaining strength. I fall asleep soundly to the rain.
6 DAY
I feel energetic, there's a confidence that I can move on. The sun shines periodically and offers beautiful views of Yarnyshnaya Bay. Military locators are visible on the other bank. The elevation changes are more frequent, the coast is rugged, a panoramic view of the line of lakes. I find a waterfall and a resting place for seagulls below, a lunch snack of Snickers and nuts. I drink filtered water. It starts to rain, the exit to the road is the least pleasant, in the lowlands there's tall grass, I got soaked to the waist, but made it to the dirt road. I put the trekking poles in my backpack and after a kilometer realized that it's noticeably harder to walk without them even on a flat, level road. I took them out and cheerfully walked on.
On the way, I met a couple of cars, they greeted me, treated me to caviar. Dalnie Zelentsy are visible on the horizon. Private houses and one three-story building. People in the yards are repairing ATVs, busy with their chores. I pass by a tourist base, it's quite nice there, I take clean water and go to my ночлег spot. There's an auto-camping by the road, there are about 8 cars camping there.
The place is open here, I set up the guy lines, climb into the tent, and contemplate.
7 DAY
Sunny in the morning. The sound of the sea magically influenced my dreams. The warmest day, around +15 and sunny, I undress to footblocks in the lowlands, but as I climb back up the hill, I put on my softshell, the wind is too cold. I collect water in streams, drink, eat cloudberries. I haven't gone very far, I find a beautiful location for the camp. I flew the drone.
8 DAY
I descend to the road. I pass the barracks in Yarnyshnaya Bay and meet a group of 10 tourists. We chatted. I learned that the guys came out 'my' route in the opposite direction and walked along the Olenka River. They say Chechens guard the river there and approach everyone they see.
I climb the hill, the places are very beautiful, large ships are going in the distance. I cross the Zarubikha River over the stones without getting my feet wet.
The next bay is Pustaya, it looks like Maldivian beaches or even better. Coming down closer, it turns out to be dirty around, it's clear that fishermen come here. I film birds against the background of Bolshoy Oleny Island. Happy, I cross the Sobachiy stream over the stones, 3 meters wide, located in a deep lowland and winding like a snake through the valley. I really liked the place. I understand that I won't go any further and stop at Cape Zapadny. From here, a gorgeous view opens up when the weather is good. A ship is visible on the shoal.
9 DAY
I'm moving back and after the Zarubikha River I go deeper into the mainland. The cloud cover is increasing, I wander between rocky hills and lakes, it's difficult to navigate, everything is monotonous. Gorgeous valleys open up, I follow an eagle that screams as if out of its mind. The nature is mysterious, visibility is sometimes 15-20 meters. I reach the southern lake Evtyukovskoye. It's incredibly beautiful, I'm looking for a place for a camp, stumble upon poachers' nets and decide to look for a quieter place. The next day I take a rest day.
DAY 10
The day promises to be sunny. Rest day, I walk around the hills lightly, looking into the distance, taking photos.
DAY 11
I'm lost in my thoughts and at some point I feel a gaze. I look around, see a fox 10 meters away. I stopped, we looked at each other for a long time, then we went forward at the same distance. I talk to her, offer to take a photo, she agrees, I take a photo. We walk for about 20 more minutes, after which the red one disappears behind the hill.
I go down to the road and walk in the hope of meeting a ride. One car passes by, they say they will go back soon. I walk for about 3 more hours, meet the same car, which takes me back.
We drive for a long time, the road is bad, but the driver is in a hurry, we drive for 4 hours.
Video lecture about the trek, from the Sport-Marathon travelers club.
