Great Baikal Trail, Russia

We had decided the night before that we should wake early to hit the trail, as we had 20km to cover before dark. Waking at 8, we discovered that it was still dark, and bitter cold. Not wanting to crawl out of our sleeping bags into the cold, we decided to sleep just 5 more minutes. Five minutes later, it was noon and we found ourselves scrambling to pack up and hit the trail. Despite the cold, we could tell the clouds would break soon, a perfect day to hike. The trail was quite amazing, a frost covered single track winding through the forest, dipping up and down along the shoreline.





The trail cut through many dense stands of birch and aspen, as well as many stands of pine. Most were of a variety similar to home, but there were also narrower, smaller pines with vivid yellow needles.





Along the way, we passed many amazing overlooks, some with crude benches set on the shoreline. It took all our willpower not to stop and admire each one for longer than a few minutes. Eventually, though, it was time to eat, so we stopped at one of the best overlooks and had a modest meal of bread, bananas, and salami.





As we got back onto the trail, the sun finally broke the clouds, and for the first time in Russia, it was quite warm. The trail continued along the shoreline, sometimes winding through cliffs, and other times meandered through open meadows.








After some time, the trail turned inland, following a narrow stream up a deep valley. It then began to switchback, steeply, up one hillside. A foot of snow on the trail added to the difficulty. When we reached the ridgeline, we were rather tired, having covered about 18km so far. Talk of food and drink quickened our pace, and we found ourselves coming into town. Right before town, we saw what very much resembled a wolf up in the woods, but we can't be sure as we only caught a fleeting glimpse.
We stepped back onto the shoreline right as the sun was setting, casting a bright orange glow on the water, a great end to the hike.


Deciding to add to the already amazing day, we dipped into a local restaurant, feasting as we hadn't in some time. Content with our full bellies and weary feet, we made the mile walk back to the hostel and enjoyed the sleep of the just, the just plain tired.


- living the dream!