Georgia has begun

Report on the hike in Svaneti August 1-14, 2015.

A few kilometers - and we are climbing over the stones on the glacier, under them there are many meters of ice, we can hear water flowing under the glacier, something rumbles. We are sitting on a narrow isthmus, with glacial lakes visible very close by. The icy edges of the rock-covered isthmus go steeply down. We are at the very bottom of the huge Shkhara glacier, surrounded by mountains - like tiny ants. The Inguri River begins from this glacier. To complete the impressions, just above the glacier, an avalanche came down from the slope before our eyes...

Background

Georgia has begun. It started on the Internet, where a long-standing desire to visit Svaneti, suitable dates, an interesting route and an experienced instructor came together. The application was sent and everything worked out.

Georgia is a border post in the rocky Upper Lars gorge. A source of cool narzan near a white-stone weeping slope. Serpentine roads next to the tunnels in case of snowy weather. An endless flock of sheep along the roadside. Cows are on all bridges and road narrowings. Rivers, streams, rivulets in picturesque valleys and gorges.

Old Tbilisi without parallels and perpendiculars, melting in the heat and stuffiness, with oases of fountains and fountains. A peaceful coexistence of ancient ruins, ultra-modern buildings, monumental traditional architecture and obvious dilapidation. The streets that come to life in the evening are illuminated, mysterious and alluring, living their own night life. Breakfast with delicious pancakes from the friendly hostess. A Turkish bus with an unusually soft ride, with a steward and tea-coffee-video.

Hot midday sun of Kutaisi. Houses hanging over Rioni, young musicians play in the market. Various varieties on the shelves, funny forged horseshoes of all styles and sizes with forged nails. Service and bell ringing in the centuries-old Bagrati Temple, stones of ancient walls around it. Streets that are different from each other. The devastation is more noticeable than in Tbilisi. Waiting for the group to arrive - evening conversations, all sorts of goodies and tasting drinks in the company of the hostel owners and their friends.

After midnight there are quick steps on the stairs. From under the hat: Olga? I am Kirill. People appear in the hall, backpacks, trunks - it dazzles your eyes, it seems that a dozen and a half people have arrived, no less.

Day 1

In the morning it became clear that there were ten of us: nine people and one test quadcopter.

To the beginning of the route we go upstream of the Enguri. After the Inguri hydroelectric power station, the reservoir 15 kilometers away pleases us with its colors, the serpentine road bends along the Enguri among the green mountains, here and there on the road there are stones that have fallen from the cliffs...

In the village of Iskari we said goodbye to the driver, who treated us to two bags of cucumbers obtained along the way. Having had a snack and stuffing the cucumbers into our backpacks, we moved up the village, it was hot, and for some reason it was hard to walk - were the cucumbers really to blame?

Kirill encourages: only 1 km left, 500m, 150m... We've arrived! The cows walking through the clearing looked at us sternly and reluctantly retreated. It turns out that we have already overcome 400 m of altitude today.

The altitude here is 1800 m. Ahead, beyond tomorrow's pass, the eye of Ushba peeks out from behind the clouds from time to time. Below, the slopes of hills and lands are green, Iskari houses are visible, behind them there are snowy mountains on half the horizon - the eyes are blissful.

Day 2

In the morning there are two hours of quiet climbing, and we admire the views from the Baki Pass.

Next is our path along the alpine towards Ushba. A riot of herbs and flowers, aromas of thyme, oregano, mint. It’s completely impossible to walk: blueberries next to the path are an insurmountable brake...

On the way down the steep rocky bed of a dry stream, my knees felt a little sad.

An open place was found for the camp on the slopes-meadows. It’s very hot, but there’s a tiny river nearby – it’s a joy to lean down to it, at least taking turns with different parts of your body! And relax...

Lesha's quadcopter flew, scaring away the cows walking near the tents - oh, how quickly they shy away from this buzzing flyer! The expanses around are vast, below you can see the road to the village of Mazeri, green slopes also rise behind it, and beyond are mountains. In the evening - the stars, there are more and more of them, the Milky Way in the whole sky, we breathe - we can’t get enough of this beauty.

Day 3

Today on the menu is a radial trip to the Ushba glacier. A path through a spruce forest with mossy windbreaks and tall old fir trees. Pecking strawberries along the trail, we quietly reached the base camp of the climbers. Further – it’s steeper, we climb along the path, there is loose powder under our feet, we don’t want to think that we’ll then descend right here.

It’s a hot day, you want to hide in the shade and not leave. I bathe my cap in every stream - wet it protects better from the heat. The most playful ones took a ride on the foam on the snow tongue, the rest enjoyed this spectacle. We crossed a muddy, bubbling river, falling steeply downwards - some forded, some jumped over rocks, thanks to the guys - they helped. Photo session of powerful waterfalls with water dust hanging above them. It would be great to get closer to them, but this is not our plan. The roar of the river flowing from the waterfalls drowns out all sounds, we explain ourselves with gestures.

The three of us reached the glacier itself, we stayed to rest and have lunch a little lower. But even here you can hear a hooting sound from the side of the glacier - stones are falling there.

While we were away, our camp was occupied by cows... With corresponding consequences...

Day 4

We go to the Guli pass. We passed the pearl of local architecture – the Grand Hotel Ushba. Here the local dog looked at us and, with an experienced eye, identified us as fellow travelers. And he came with us.

All the time up, the serpentine ascent is not steep, but there is so much of it... And the sun too. The thought is swirling in my head that warm clothes and protection from the rain are extra passengers on my shoulders. We rest in the shade, under the trees, longer than usual. At lunch, the dog delicately ate the oatmeal left over from breakfast straight from Yulia’s hands.

There are a lot of blueberries around, almost all the way to the pass, so it’s not possible to walk quickly.

Clouds appear, rumble from different directions, and wide whitish streaks of rain are visible in the distance. The climb is steeper, thunder and lightning are approaching. The first large drops of rain - and immediately a downpour. It's time for raincoats. Hail peas fell from above, the slope turned white before our eyes. I can’t believe that about twenty minutes ago the sun was shining with all its might.

We climbed the Guli Pass, height 2,950 m, and gained about one and a half km in the morning. Rain and hail gave us a short respite at the pass, but everything around us was still thundering and sparkling, we had to get down quickly. Only the dog ran to the post with the sign.

Look over the pass, and the combination of colors on the rain-washed bizarre relief took your breath away - luminous greens, yellows and terracottas. And a huge bright spot of sunlight on the emerald of the neighboring slope. As the rain intensified, the steep path going down instantly turned into a stream. As soon as I thought that the going was not slippery, I immediately tumbled down, shortening my path. Below, a chilled dog “helped” set up camp and immediately lay down to rest under the awning of one of the tents.

Instead of cold, wet clothes, I put on a warm, dry down jacket - it’s beautiful, you couldn’t imagine anything better. How cozy it is to sit under a large tent, with hot tea and chocolate, hiding from the drizzling rain. Especially when nearby there is a magical transformation of exclusive dried vegetable products and cucumbers (as Lesha christened dried chicken meat) into a delicious soup. At night, our dog escaped the rain under the same tent, guarding the camp.

Day 5

By morning the skies were quiet. Today we need to reach Mestia - the capital of Svaneti. For some reason, the first hundred or two meters are the most difficult. A traverse along flowering grassy slopes is like a health path.

Leaving our backpacks, we went to the radial trail to Lake Koruldi. Looking down from below, the walk seemed low and not far, but along the dirt road it turned out to be long and tedious. The lakes themselves are not impressive - puddles and puddles. But on the way to them and around the lakes there are such wonderful views... I want to literally absorb all this beauty. There is freedom for quadcopters to fly here.

The observation deck above Mestia is lively. People come, relax, take pictures, leave, different speech is heard, many foreigners. There are horses for horseback riding. Below, the white runway and the new airport immediately catches your eye. Small planes take off and land frequently.

The descent down is hot, long and tiring. Especially the final part - along the stone-paved streets of Mestia. The legs were leaving, they objected, but who would listen to them... In the center of Mestia, everywhere you look - tourists of all stripes, they couldn’t even get into the cafe they liked. Svaneti is a land not only of thousands of towers, but also of thousands of dogs. Especially in Mestia - they are everywhere, mostly large, and stay to the side. They don't bark.

Our tents are in the courtyard of a house near the center of the village - here it’s called camping. There is an opportunity to swim, do laundry, and recharge. We came across a free cafe, ordered Georgian khachapuri, khinkali, kubdari, we wanted to try everything, everything was delicious. I really liked the matsoni and kefir. We were pleasantly surprised by the lemonades in branded glass bottles, both in appearance and in content.

Day 6

Excellent morning coffee in a cafe on the square, on a table under glass among its multilingual counterparts, our Russian banknote remained alive - as a keepsake. And to return. We wandered through the streets of Mestia among the ancient Svan towers and climbed one of them. When asked about the tower, the woman who let us through energetically showed in her face: “There are women and children here, and the men are bang-bang!”

While we were walking, our traveling dog left with the tourists, whose tent stood next to ours. It's a pity, we're used to it. To avoid walking along the road along the cable car construction site, we climbed the mountains by minibus. On the way we refueled with Narzan from the spring.

A pleasant, walking trail traverses along grassy slopes. A herd of horses passed by, enlivening the landscape. On the descent, the view of the village of Adishi opened unexpectedly - stone ruins and towers mixed with stone houses. There are also guest houses there, we passed by one of them - a bright sign next to broken glass.

We set up camp not far from tomorrow's river crossing. The depth is approximately waist-deep, the water is icy, muddy, there are large stones. We decided that it would be better to cross with the help of horses. Long live the telephone, it helped Kirill resolve this issue without leaving the spot. Dinner was seasoned with rain, thunder and gorgeous lightning from different sides; the tent helped us out again. Vova and Lesha jumped out into the rain - setting up the shooting of a video that was supposed to include these lightning strikes in the history of our hike.

Day 7

Dzhigit Pata from Adishi appeared on horseback at exactly 8 o’clock in the morning. Horse lovers Alina and Yulia did not leave their side. Pata, with practiced movements, adjusted the backpack on the horse and helped the passenger sit in the saddle, then he himself incredibly deftly jumped up behind to steer the reins. Water rushing rapidly up the horse's belly. We quickly found ourselves on the other side, not forgetting to make our eyes square as we crossed.

Today we have one more pass on our program. Or two - as it turns out. At the halt we stocked up on narzan from the source. A beautiful climb with tall Ivan tea along the path and a picturesque river valley behind. From the pass there are stunning views of Mount Tetnuldi and the glacier. Our leaders, Lesha and Igor, walked along the crest of the pass closer to the snow-covered mountain range - there the beauty is even more beautiful, and the views are even more visible. Meanwhile, on the other side, the Spaniards climbed up the pass with a Georgian guide, who first of all pulled out a half-filled bottle of chacha from his backpack to treat us.

Having gone down to the seething river, we were glad that there was a bridge across it, although it was almost destroyed. Beyond the river - off-road, through rhododendrons, bushes, meadows to the snow tongues that were visible from the pass. Under the snow from the streams, real tunnels melted - regular in shape, as if man-made. It feels cold here, the whole earth is saturated with moisture and permeated with streams.

There are bright spots of juicy primroses around – yellow, lilac, white. For the camp we chose a drier and more level place on a hillock between two snowfields. We managed to set up our tents before the storm and dozed off to the sound of the rain. While dinner was being prepared, we arranged a photo session with a local inhabitant - a giant slug. He liked it - the slug stayed with us until breakfast.

Day 8

The overnight stay near the snowfields turned out to be cold, and the morning was chilly. This is where warm New Year's gloves come in handy. While we were having breakfast, my tent, wet outside, froze over - it froze without me, my little one.

With the first rays of the sun reaching us, we moved towards the pass. We have fun climbing up to our waists in rhododendrons without a path. The hill is treacherous - it always seems that the climb is about to end, but the finish line moves further with each step. The rhododendrons gradually become lower, sparser, replaced by grass - and we are at the pass at an altitude of 2,960 meters. The peaks in front of us are Ushba, Shkhara, and snow-white Elbrus is visible in the distance.

A funny group of spider-men crawled down a steep grassy slope from the pass - backwards forward, clinging to the grass with all their limbs. A dry stream bed, flowering thickets above your head, a snowfield - all the pleasures until you found yourself in the Enguri Valley. Finally, the trail - yay! Along the slope of the valley, looking at the river far below, we go to Shkhara. We quickly set up camp, and those who wanted to went for a walk to the glacier.

A few kilometers - and we are climbing over the stones on the glacier, under them there are many meters of ice, we can hear water flowing under the glacier, something rumbles. We are sitting on a narrow isthmus, with glacial lakes visible very close by. The icy edges of the rock-covered isthmus go steeply down. We are at the very bottom of the huge Shkhara glacier, surrounded by mountains - like tiny ants. The Inguri River begins from this glacier. To complete the impression, an avalanche came down from the slope just above the glacier before our eyes.

Day 9

Melting from the heat, we stomp along the dirt road to the village of Ushguli. At the ford we met a herd of cows, everything was according to the rules - movement in both directions, on the right.

In Ushguli, tourists can find not only antiquities, but also shops, cafes, and guest houses. We started with lemonades and got drunk in a cafe, hiding from the sun under an umbrella. The path goes among old towers and houses made of stone, with walls overgrown with grass and stone-like tiles on the roofs. In one of these houses there is a plastic window and a satellite dish - it looks very strange.

We have another pass ahead and a path along the Svan ridge. A scattering of flat stones glistens like mercury in the sun. Blueberries among flowers and herbs. Blue cloudless sky, green hills against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains. The views are a must-see; neither words nor photos can convey the feeling of spaciousness and limitlessness. In the lowland, unexpectedly, there are two small lakes. It's strange to see them on the ridge.

We spent the night near a larger lake, at an altitude of just under 3000 meters, with bear tracks on the shore. There was no running water here, we had to take it from the lake - we filtered it, disinfected it, and boiled it. There was something to do. And there was something to admire in the night sky - streaks of falling stars and stars, stars, stars...

Day 10

We woke up to the sun, basking in its rays like gophers. Another quadcopter training session ended with him swimming in the lake. We continue walking along the Svan ridge. There are many beautiful white pebbles on and near the trail. We come across rock crystals, we hide them in our pockets as souvenirs. We went down to the power line, from here you can go down the road along the line, or continue along the path. The mileage along the trail is almost twice as long, but we don’t need to rush, so let’s go along the trail. Pleasant at first, it turned out to be far from relaxing... Beautiful, but a little complicated. We dropped a net 2 km of altitude in a day, and the gross would be more if we add in all the local climbs along the way.

Having gone down to the village of Mami, we made money for a local shop that had just opened, buying up all the lemonade and ice cream. Kirill found a place for the last night in nature on a hillock among abandoned houses - like in a village, but apart. Near us are blackberries and already quite edible hazelnuts. The hike is over – it seems too fast, I don’t want to leave or return to normal life.

P.S. Kirill Yasko is an all-knowing, all-seeing and all-hearing instructor. All his promises and forecasts came true, except for one thing - the burning hogweed did not happen. The organization of the trip is surprisingly clear, thought out even in the smallest details, without any tediousness. Good selection of group equipment. The burner, boilers, and awning ensured independence from the vagaries of the weather and the availability of firewood, or rather, from the lack thereof. Although, to be honest, I wanted to sit by the fire... In some cases, walkie-talkies helped a lot. Summary: there is Kirill - no problem.