In 2015, my hiking story began with a trip to Crimea. As often happens with spontaneous events, I set off alone to Mount Demerdzhi without any planning. On the way, I got blisters from wearing city sneakers, got caught in a sudden cloud, and got lost at the top when it started to get dark.
In the cloudy fog, I noticed that as soon as I moved away from the city and people, the stream of thoughts subsided, problems suddenly became insignificant, and my senses sharpened. There was a concentration in the moment: the cry of a hawk diving into the valley, the rustle of small stones underfoot, light drizzle on the face, searching for a trail.
A special feeling of touching nature one on one.
I went down the slope in the dark, under flashes of lightning and heavy rain. Incredibly exhausted and soaked to the skin, I got home at night and fell onto the bed without strength.
In the morning, I realized that one day had given me more emotions, realizations, calmness, and depth than the entire motorcycle trip to Crimea and the experience of many previous trips to Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and other countries.
Wanting to touch that feeling again, the next summer I prepared and went on a trip. I walked hundreds of kilometers through the Caucasus from Russia and Georgia and hitchhiked through Turkey. New experiences with nature and two months of camping helped me get to know myself for real, and my life began to change.
I quit my job at the bank, where I worked in private banking, and later went to work at the Sport-Marafon travel store. I went to Nepal and then to the north, where I found the wildest, most pristine, and cleanest nature. The Arctic, which I fell in love with ten years ago, and with each passing year the call becomes stronger, and I spend more and more time exploring the harsh and beautiful world of the tundra on foot, on skis, and discovering this world for others.
Interview for the publishing house «Moya Planeta» by the link:
