Wellness of mind and body

Hiking during the May holidays is very popular and attractive for tourists, especially beginners. Because you can plan in advance, purchase tickets (which are very difficult to buy already on the eve of the holidays), work days are not lost, and also because these days off are for all your household, relatives, friends, etc. which, if you wish, you can agitate by inviting them on a hike with you. Although, when organizing a trip from OutdoorUkraine.com (project operator), you shouldn’t worry too much about it, because You can go on a hike, regardless of the circumstances that may arise for those who have expressed a desire to go on a hike.

As novice tourists, we naturally chose a 3-day hike, also taking into account the fact that the whole family is going on a hike.

Ai-Petri chose the hike not only for the reasons stated above, but also for the very detailed description of the hike on the website of the project operator. I also liked the sights, the landscapes that are expected to be seen and, of course, the tourist challenges that will arise during the hike. The unknown of the moment of meeting with the participants of the hiking group was also intriguing. All people unknown to you, but united by the desire to spend their holiday actively on a hike.

1 day:

The meeting took place entirely in accordance with the description of the “Meeting” section on the website, so there is no need to draw attention to this. Next, the group (10 people including instructor Sergei), in which there were 50/50 women and men, moved towards the minibus. The minibus was already waiting for the group and after a short loading of things, everyone was ready to leave. After departure, after 10 minutes of the trip, the instructor announced the cost of the train, from which everyone was in amazement, because no one expected such a price - 80 UAH per person, which, in everyone’s opinion, was double the cost of the trip. We calculated a maximum of 50 UAH/person. Everyone was naturally indignant, and the instructor contacted the administrator, but nothing could be changed along the way. The problem was resolved quite easily with the project administrator on the last day (see below). The road passed through picturesque places, which calmed the nerves a little due to the passions that flared up in connection with the above.

Unfortunately, the trip was overshadowed not only by its cost, but by what awaited us ahead. And ahead, about 70% of the way (the village of Sokolinoe, the journey was about 1.5 hours) there was a prohibitory sign that said that movement to the “Grand Canyon” was prohibited. The driver naturally wanted to drop us off immediately, but after negotiations and observing the transport, which ignored this prohibitory sign and continued driving, the driver finally agreed to move on. On the way, the reason for this prohibitory sign became clear - repair work was being carried out on the road, and therefore our movement had elements of slalom. The group never made it to the Grand Canyon. The road got even worse, and the driver refused to go further. Although I would like to note that the movement of vehicles continued in both directions further. After the group disembarked, payment for the trip was made.

At this point, the troubles with delivering the group to the start site were basically over. Then, under the supervision of the instructor (the instructor inspected the correctness of putting on the backpacks and, if necessary, made additional adjustments and gave practical and practical advice for the future in relation to the backpack), the group prepared to move.

From this point on, everything was already good and wonderful. The movement continued along the asphalt road through places with wonderful views and landscapes (about another 1.5 hours). Along the way, we were able to enjoy the view of the Eagle Flying rock.

After the specified time had passed, the group reached the beginning of the route, to the “Grand Canyon” - this was already around 13:00. After a short rest, and for some, a snack with what they had extra in addition to the ration during the hike (see recommendations on what you can take with you on the project website), the group moved to the beginning of the climb to the Silver waterfall.

At this stage, the instructor warned that the excursion to the waterfall is paid, the climb is not difficult, but lengthy, and therefore it is possible to leave your backpacks at the foot of the beginning of the excursion under the protection of a caretaker for 5 UAH/backpack. In principle, everyone did not mind paying an additional fee in order to enjoy walking lightly to the waterfall. But then the circumstances turned out so that one of the participants refused the excursion, and the group’s belongings were left under her inspection. The beginning of the excursion began with an ascent up the steps (according to the caretaker, tourists call them “90 steps of Shao-Lin”, which in principle corresponds in reality to their number), and then an ascent along a dirt road (0.5 hours) with picturesque landscapes (see photo).

The description of the waterfall itself is a separate story; I will only note that the name of the waterfall fully corresponds to its appearance. The streams of water that fall from the cliff of the waterfall in the rays of the sun are like streams of liquid silver, which is very impressive and captivating for a long time to observe, contemplate and enjoy.

We enjoyed this miracle of nature for an hour. The return down was easy and pleasant, on the wings of the euphoria of the impressions from the waterfall. Below we were waiting for the process of preparing for lunch on the bank of a stream that flowed over the same waterfall.

Lunch was prepared by the instructor without lighting a fire on a gas burner (since it is prohibited to burn fires in this place). Tea was prepared using water from the stream, which was used to wash down sandwiches made from bread, pate, sausage, sprats, as well as dessert - candied fruits and dates. The specified diet was quite enough to restore my strength and continue my journey without heaviness in my stomach.

And the path lay down into the canyon gorge. On the road, which had two paths, the instructor offered a choice: 1. along the upper left slope of the stream, which is gentle, less picturesque, but safe and; 2. along the bottom of the stream, which is more complex and rocky, but very picturesque and on which you can see the movement of the stream along all kinds of rapids (see photo).

The group, by unanimous consent, chose the 2nd option. No one regretted this, but moving over the stones was really not easy. On every boulder or stone, there was a danger of getting a sprained ankle or hitting your head on numerous trees that impeded movement, or something worse, which we won’t talk about. Moreover, the movement (for about an hour) along the stream was completely successful. Upon completion of the passage along the stream, another attraction of the canyon awaited us - the “Bath of Youth” - a wonderful gift from nature, which is not given to everyone to appreciate, but only to those who decided to go hiking along this route.

After resting for half an hour, it was already beginning to get dark, and it was necessary to move on, but time for moving along the route had already been lost and it was necessary to make a decision on further actions, where to set up camp. Naturally, this decision was made by our instructor Sergei, who, after reconnaissance searches, told us that there was a wonderful place to organize a camp, but we would have to work hard to get to it. Indeed, the climb of 200 meters was not easy, considering that the group forced the climb up the mountain head-on. This was the last test of the day of my physical and mental fitness capabilities. On the way up, somewhere in the middle of the climb, we met a group that was also preparing to set up camp. The group overcame this test with dignity. The efforts were well spent when we saw the site of our future camp. All the comforts of a tourist were at hand: brushwood was everywhere, the echo of a water source with a pleasant murmur could be heard 20 meters from the camp.

In general, all the fuss of setting up the camp brought nothing but pleasure to everyone. After the professional actions of the instructor, the place of our hearth was arranged and a string was stretched between the trees, on which two pots were suspended for preparing dinner of pasta with stew and tea with sweets. At dinner, everyone took turns introducing themselves and getting to know each other. After about two hours of communication, everyone went to bed. As the instructor noted: “there is nothing more pleasant for a tourist at the end of the day than to lie down, well-fed, and rest in a sleeping bag in a tent.” The dream was calm and peaceful.

Day 2

Getting up at 7:00 was friendly and fun. After assembling the camp and having breakfast with classic oatmeal, seasoned, if desired, with condensed milk with raisins and candied fruits, and then hot tea, by 9:00 the group was ready to move. But since the route was changed, for the reasons stated above, the group had to climb along the southern slope of the canyon, which had quite steep places to climb.

So I had to forget about the speed of movement, because... the climb was long, and in some places quite dangerous, so most of the group members had to resort to the help of improvised staffs, because... No one had stocked up on trekking poles. At stops, we could observe the instructor, who from time to time carried out orientation on the map and scouted out more convenient and picturesque places for the group to follow further.

By noon the slope was conquered by the group and we settled down to rest; by the way, the stopping place was called “Cow’s Saddle”. The instructor suggested organizing lunch, but everyone refused lunch, and this time was used to explore the beautiful panoramas from the platforms on the hills that were nearby (see photo), and to play a simple game “33” to warm up the brain by singing songs.

Further, the path followed a gentler slope, along which we reached the Ai-Petri trail and followed to “Bald Mountain”. From there it’s a stone’s throw to the snow-white space eggs of Mount Bedene-Kyr (this is a radar installation, not an observatory, as many people think). There we rested and followed further along the plateau to a water source (by this time everyone’s water supply was exhausted) and our second stop for the night. After about 2 hours of hiking along the plateau, taking in the wonderful views along the way, we came to the water and our overnight stop, as mentioned above.

The camp was set up within an hour, a fire was lit and everyone was already preparing to cook dinner, when suddenly the Ministry of Emergency Situations came to us to check the permits for the tourist group to follow the route. The instructor will talk to them. After the uninvited guests left, the instructor warned that rangers might come and pay 10 UAH per person for parking. Indeed, literally 10 minutes later, on a cross-country motorcycle (the Ministry of Emergency Situations told the rangers), two rangers arrived who stunned us with their statement that this zone had recently been closed for tourism and was a recreational one. Therefore, we should immediately put out the fire, pack up the camp and move to the forester’s house, about an hour’s walk from this place. Which is what the group did.

The group arrived at the new campsite at 19:00; it was already getting dark and everyone tried to quickly set up camp again. There were several other groups in the parking lot, one of which our instructor knew. This was followed by a reunion of the two groups for a friendly dinner, for which the participants from our group were delivered brushwood and water to the fire. The dinner took place in a very friendly company of like-minded people until late at night. In the process of communication, a beautiful panorama of Yalta at night opened up from the place where the camp was located.

Day 3

The morning began at 7:00 with very cheerful songs by one of the members of our group, who bothered both instructors with excessive fun and loudness. The group members tactfully did not make a remark, but the instructors tried to calm the overly active tourist with a remark. Somehow, the actions of the instructors were not perceived adequately by our friend and these actions moved into the category of conflict, which ended with this person independently leaving the group. The actions of this person were aggravated by the fact that his equipment, which was completely rented (backpack, tent, sleeping bag), was left in the camp and subsequently the instructor had to carry all his things, and ahead was the ascent through Taraktash and the descent along the path from Ai-Petri. I would also like to note that the described event did not darken the positive mood of the group.

But my family and I did not have to participate in the events described above, because... tired from climbing the southern slope of the canyon on the eve, which was not planned along the route, they received minor bruises that could have prevented a safe descent along the ladder from Ai-Petri. Therefore, a decision was made, agreed upon with the group and the instructor, that we would leave the hike at this stage. I also notified the project administrator about this decision, and also positively resolved the financial side of the issue with the cost of the minibus and the associated route changes.

After a heartfelt farewell to the group and the following farewell with the instructor loading us into a passing car (since the cable car, unfortunately, was not functioning on the pre-holiday day), the hike ended for us with a descent along the serpentine road to Yalta.

Since during the entire trip we were very lucky with the weather, in Yalta we even managed to swim in the sea on April 30, 2012.

In the evening, the 3 of us had an unexpected surprise in the form of a meeting at the railway station in Simferopol with four comrades from our group and subsequent travel on the same train and in the same carriage home.

To sum up this story about the hike, I will say that, in general, we really, really, really liked the hike and we plan to continue to cooperate with this operator - which we recommend to you! I wish you success, good luck on your hikes and return home with wonderful impressions and a healthier mind and body.