Home » Russia » High volcanoes, and unknown bear paths - Kamtchatka, Russia

Report from a self-supported and self-organized trip to Kamchatka - a scenic wilderness of the Russian Far East. Lots of volcanos, bears, and mosquitos...

High volcanoes, and unknown bear paths - Kamtchatka, Russia

Waltraud
2004-03-05 18:25:32

Displayed times (last time: ) Rating 4/5

Rating: 4.00 out of 5.00. 1 members have rated this article

Exploring the wilderness of the Kamchatka Peninsula by mountain bike

Andy Heßberg & Waltraud Schulze; (2002)

Busy streets into wild nature

So, where shall we camp tonight? It seems a strange question in a region that offers spectacular and untouched nature with lots of wild camping opportunities, as soon as one leaves the major towns behind. Since we don’t want to pitch our blue tent directly next to the main asphalt road, we are now searching for a small side track. It is the evening of our second day on the Kamchatka Peninsula, and we are not able to ride another kilometer. The previous night was far too short, the breakfast in the Hotel “Edelsweiss” in Petropavlovsk was unsuitable for active cyclists, and we still have not fully adjusted to the eleven-hour time difference. We can still not quite believable, that only yesterday we had arrived at this far eastern end of the world. At the airport of Petropavlovsk we had put together our bikes and the new suspended trailer “IBEX” (luckily everything had arrived safely and in good condition!), then we had cycled 35 km into Petropavlovsk, the biggest town of Kamchatka. During the remaining day, we had completed our food we brought from Germany with things from the local market, and had registered our visas. After a night in dreadful hotel beds, we now enjoy the silence of nature and the comfort of our tent, which will be our home for the next six weeks. Even the sound of the mosquitoes is more enjoyable than the traffic noise of Petropavlovsk, which we have now escaped.

Do bears snore?

There is one disadvantage to our scenic fist camping spot in a blooming meadow: we have discovered fresh bear tracks nearby. As we have basically just arrived in Kamchatka, we are not yet sure how to deal with the situation. However, our concerns are weakened by our tiredness. During the next days we will learn to judge situations like this… Ursos ...