OUR EXCELLENT ADVENTURES IN 

KAMCHATKA

THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST

13-27 AUGUST, 2018

(click the thumbnails for a larger image)

Our excellent adventures in  WHERE??

The Kamchatka peninsula is located on the eastern edge of Siberia and on the coast between Japan and Alaska.  The eastern edge is on the Pacific Ocean while the west borders the  Sea of Okhotsk.  The peninsula is  roughly 800 miles long and 150 miles across with about 314,000 population most of whom live in the capital city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (PKC).

Why would we want to go to Kamchatka in the first place? I was inspired to visit this place by George Kennan's (1845-1924) wonderful travelogue "Tent Life is Siberia" first published in 1870. Much to my surprise he described the area as one of outstanding beauty with endless forests, snow capped mountains, volcanoes, lakes and rivers. In my ignorance I had assumed the peninsula was a desolate, rocky, coastal place and that my two previous Siberian adventures ( the TransSiberian Rail and the Altai Mountains) would be my only travels in Siberia. Instead, Kamchatka sounded like a real winner for those of us who enjoy outdoor activities with some adventure included.  

Finally, the really good news is there are non-stop flights from Anchorage, Alaska to/from PKC during the summer months. Yakutia Airlines provides the services with one day per week (Mondays) flights and a company based in USA, Air  Russia, handles the bookings.

Soon we had seven of us from the San Diego area signed up for the trip and we selected an Australian travel company, 56th Parallel, to handle our visit.  We signed on for their "Kamchatka's Critters and Craters" 15 day excursion. Now we were ready to go!

13 and 14 AUGUST, 2018 MONDAY/TUESDAY

Our flight to PKC departed Anchorage at about 8am. We had all spent several nights in Anchorage having just visited some of the Alaska sights before the flight. We were ready for our next adventure .  A quick  look at the passengers told us that most of our fellow travelers were outdoors folks with lots of fishermen, hunters, photographers and a few sightseers all bound for the wilds of Kamchatka.

Slightly under 4 hours later we arrived in PKC under cloudy skies and a brief peek at the green and flat surrounding country side. Despite dealing with about 1000 fishing poles, guns and camping gear we completed the passport and customs inspections within 1 hour and were greeted by our guide and pal for the next two weeks, Tanya.  We then found out that 56th Parallel had arranged for another local company, The Lost Worlds, to handle our tour for the next two weeks.

Tanya, who lives in the city of Nizhny Novgorod of European Russia, is a good English speaker and translator and now had the job of entertaining our American group until the real tour began on Wednesday. We were waiting for the other 9 people who make up the full tour group. 

It was time to adjust our clocks and calendars to local time as it was now Tuesday 14 August about 4 hours earlier that Alaska time and one day ahead due to having crossed the International Date Line.

After getting squared away in the Hotel Petropavlovsk it was time to go shopping.  We all had to buy wading boots and had a great time finding the correct sizes.  They costs about 1100 rubles or around $17USD at an exchange rate of $1=65rubles.

Next we visited a Russian Orthodox church, Church of the Sacred Trinity, although dense fog prevented taking good photos from the outside. There was an interesting collection of relics from various saints and I think they were supposed to be tiny pieces of bones, hair or something.  Several of us  discussed the issue of worshipers crossing themselves with two or three fingers. My observations of the icons suggested the two finger version is the preferred method.

Finally, we finished off the long day with dinner at the San Martin restaurant near the hotel.

15 AUGUST, 2018 WEDNESDAY

We enjoyed our first breakfast at the hotel's buffet which included egg soufflé, cereals. rice pudding, toast, salmon, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, coffee or tea. I think every meal we had on our trip included tomatoes and cucumbers.

At Tanya's suggestion we were soon off for a visit to the Volcano Museum.  She had arranged for a bus (1500 rubles total), an English speaking docent at the museum (1700 rubles total) and entry fee of 800 rubles each. Our docent, Anna, was well informed and gave us a good introduction to the geology of the  peninsula with its many volcanoes. She talked about the convergence of tectonic plates, the geo-chemistry of  volcanoes, the wide variety of volcanic "rocks" in the area. Some of the pumice rocks are very light and will float in water. We saw a world map with pins indicating the locations from which visitors had come to the museum. Very few were from the USA.

In the afternoon we were off for our next activity, a boat tour of Avacha Bay. We were not too impressed with  the appearance of the boat yard area and number of rusting boat relics laying around. Regardless, we soon were off in rainy and foggy weather on the good ship, Kathleen, with English speaking guide Reno. Reno and the captain warned us that the seas could be a bit rough when we departed the bay and entered the open ocean. Of course, we bravely said to "bring it on" and we were off. We made a stop for photos of the Three Brothers rocks (protecting the harbor from tsunamis and various evil spirits) and then into the ocean for a look at Starichkov Island and about a zillion birds. The visibility was very limited due to weather and the boat was taking rather large swells on the beam and we all strongly encouraged the captain to return to the dock promptly. Despite the boat's rolling only one of us decided to empty his stomach contents over the side. No doubt the fish were saying "oh no, why are they feeding us beets and cabbage again!) Anyway, we returned to the dock and Reno served up a fish stew. A few of our luckier group got fish heads and/or tails in their stew. Following the  meal our bus driver, Sasha, was mercifully ready to take us back to the hotel.

 We returned to the hotel at 7pm and had introductions to the other 9 members of our tour group who had just arrived.   We now had a full tour group of 16 including the 7 of us from USA and others from Switzerland, Australia, and UK. This was the beginning of a lovely friendship as we adventured together for the next two weeks.

The local director of The Lost Worlds presented an overview , translated by Tanya, of what  to expect during our tour. I thought it interesting that the director asked us if anyone had a drone and, if so, do not bring it along! I guess drones scare the bears?  Also, there was a question about the name Kamchatka.  I think no one really knows but a good theory is that some of the Genghis Khan warriors came east to the peninsula and the riding crops they used were called "kamchats".

16 AUGUST, 2018 THURSDAY

OK. So now the real fun begins! By 8:30am we were ready to leave the hotel for a helicopter trip to Kuril Lake.  The weather was actually clearing and we had a chance for some photos of the Avachi (I think) volcano visible from our hotel.  Soon we learned the number one lesson about helicopter travel here: one always waits for a call from the pilots to let us know if or when they are actually able to fly. The  flying is by visual flight rules and pilots must have good visibility; i.e. able to stay under the cloud ceiling.

By 10am we were waiting at the helicopter terminal and at 10:30 we had boarded and were lifting off! The photos show how passengers sit with backs against the fuselage with luggage and stuff piled in the middle of the cabin. Wow, this was cool and very noisy. These MI 8 Russian helos are know as reliable workhorses dating from Soviet times.

At 11am we landed at the Khodutski hot springs for a short dip  in the hot water and to offer our bodies to mosquitoes for their dining pleasure.  I had earlier asked Tanya if the hot spring dips were clothing optional; ie skinny dipping? It took a long time for her to understand the question but finally her embarrassed answer was NO.  I do not know for sure, just saying, that she was thinking "if this tour job requires my looking at a bunch of naked old men then I quit"!

After about one hour of bathing and dressing we were on our way to the next stop to view the breathtaking Ksudach caldera and huge crater lakes.  The helicopter made a precarious landing (I thought) at the lip of the caldera and we had about 40 minutes to walk around and take photos. At last, the helo dropped us off  at the  lodge, picked up the people who were departing and was off again.

Now we were ready to get settled in the lodge for a two nights stay.  The lodge can accommodate 16 people with two upstairs bedrooms with 8 bunk beds in each.  There are two indoor toilets, two outdoor  toilets and one shower. Electricity and hot water are available between 7-11pm.  The canteen is on the first floor and there is a nice viewing deck on both levels.

At 4pm it was time for our introduction to the main tourist attractions at Kuril Lake-the brown bears. Our lodge is surrounded by an electric fence which presumably keeps the bears away and we were strongly advised not to venture outside alone! We were then introduced to our very macho, armed ranger guides Constantine and Lana.  They were, indeed, very attentive in protecting us when we walked outside the fence and there were no significant incidents with our group. We learned the protocols: Constantine is in the lead with women going single file behind him then the men and finally Lana. We were off to the Hakytsyn River inlet to the lake which is a favorite fishing spot for the bears and viewing spot for tourists. This is one of many inlets to the lake and some of the sockeye salmon swim upriver for spawning. We learned that about 70% of the salmon actually spawn in the lake.  The bears are patient fishermen as they wait for salmon heading up the river but they rarely seem to  catch one. As we watched from our viewing platform another group sat on their  lawn chairs right in the middle of the fishing spot. I think they were mostly photographers.

On our return to the lodge  we stopped by a memorial to  a Japanese photographer who was killed by a bear in 1996.  I think  this was before the electric fences and the gentleman made the mistake of  sleeping outside the lodge in his tent. 

17 AUGUST, 2018 FRIDAY

Today's first event was a boat trip across the lake to a ranger station and camping area at the Ozernaya River outlet from the lake.  This river goes to the Sea of Okhotsk and is the only route for  salmon  to travel from  ocean to the lake. On our  boat ride to the camp we observed some swimming bears and several mother bears with their twin cubs walking along the beach.

There is a fish counting weir across the river and fortunately for us no one was counting fish so we could walk out the "bridge" and observe the action.  The  fish were not happy to  have their route to the lake blocked but the bears were delighted to have easy access for fish catching.  I had thought the bears caught the fish in their mouths but I could see they actually caught them in their paws.

After the boats brought us back to the lodge we did another walk to the bear viewing platform and then at 2:30pm we were off for a short hike with our new wading boots. We walked to the "tundra" and spent some time in the meadows for relaxation and photos.  Naturally, we stopped by the viewing tower again on the way back and  talked to some students and advisors from  Moscow University who are recording bear behavior observations for their theses. Of particular interests to them are the effects of tourism on the bears behaviors.

18 AUGUST, 2018 SATURDAY

The big event for today was our long hike with our new wading boots.  Trouble is the weather turned really foul overnight with wind, rain and the lake has white caps and waves slapping the shore. Never mind; at 10am we were ready for the hike and off we went in single file per instructions. After 2 hours of walking under wet conditions we reached our destination which was at the base of pumice cliffs and besides the river (Hakytsyn,maybe?). We had a picnic lunch under less than ideal conditions and then headed back to the lodge arriving at 3pm. We did spot a Stellar's Sea Eagle (world's largest eagle) and I observed that the pumice rocks were, indeed, floating around in the lake.

19 AUGUST, 2018 SUNDAY

This was the day for our  departure from Kuril Lake back to PKC.  The weather was still bad and we worried that helo may not be able to come. Meanwhile, we had adequate time to speculate on what-ifs and to watch a video called Russia's Wild Sea, to take more photos of the lodge and discuss important stuff such as the relationships among brown, grizzly and Kodiak bears. They are sub-species of the same critters.

Wow! At 1pm the helo arrived despite the low  ceiling.  The trick was to fly from the Sea of  Okhotsk and up along the outlet river Ozernaya to the lake.  We returned via the same route stopping for fuel at the sea  coast  village  of Ozernovskiy and then north along the  coast and finally crossing the peninsula to  reach PKC and back to our hotel.

20 AUGUST, 2018 MONDAY

Today's plan was another helo trip to the Valley of Geysers, one of Kamchatka's most popular spots. At 10:30am we were back to the now familiar heliport (Vityaz Aero) and waiting and waiting and waiting for word to board the choppers. Unfortunately, at 12:30pm we got word that all flights for the day are cancelled so we were soon back to the hotel.  (Good news is we will get our money back for this optional tour). We finished the day with a good dinner at the nearby Pastrami restaurant.

21 AUGUST, 2018 TUESDAY

It was now  time to start the next phase of our adventure and we actually had some blue skies and sun! At 9am we had boarded our 6 wheel drive trucks and were headed north for the land of volcanoes and reindeer. We were introduced to Vitaly, our senior guide from now on, and Igor our faithful and able truck driver. (In the photo below Igor is on the left and Oleg on the right). We  picked up Oleg  later and he was a valuable assistant for all of us.

Vitaly briefed  us (with Tanya's translation into English) on local history, geology and stuff. At 1045 we stopped at a "truck stop" for toilet (20 rubles) and yummy pies. Meanwhile, back on the road the passengers could not see out the front of the truck but only the side windows.  Hence, we could not see where we were going, only where we were.  And where we were was in the middle of a forest of mostly birch and larch trees which seemed to  extend forever with very little evidence of human activity (except for the highway). This forest is part of the "taiga" or "boreal forests" which encircle the northern hemisphere  at  these latitudes. North of the  taiga lays the treeless tundra and its underlying permafrost.  The  road is paved part of the way  but mostly hard unpaved dirt.

At 2:30pm and about 307 kilometers from PKC we stopped at the village of Milkovo (pop 8000) for lunch and petrol.  Some young boys found us very interesting so I took a photo. They knew some English words.

 At 6:20pm we stopped for photos of the Kamchatka River which flows north up the central valley and after about 700 km enters the Pacific (Bering Sea) at a place called Ust Kamchatsk.  Speaking of the central valley: there are east and western mountain ranges along the valley.  The western mountains are older and less volcanically active than are the eastern ranges.  The vast valley between is mostly flat and very green and largely undisturbed by human activities.

At 7pm we arrived at our days destination, the village of Kozyrevsk, and moved into our cute little "cabin tents" for the night.  There was a banya (sauna) which many of us enjoyed and lots of vegetable gardens to admire.

22 AUGUST, 2018 WEDNESDAY

After breakfast we were ready for an 8:15 departure from Kozyrevsk which is a settlement of around 1000 people who have been hosting tourists for maybe the past 5 years. Very soon the luxury of a good dirt road was over and we off into the mountains and some rough driving!  We stopped for a "comfort" break in the middle of a dry river bed (to avoid mosquitoes) and another such stop at noon in the forest. We collected a few blue berries among the larch trees and mosquitoes.

Suddenly the truck departed the forest and it seemed we had landed on another planet! Now there was nothing but black volcanic ash, cinder cones and little vegetation for miles around. We had entered the region of the Klychevskoy Nature Park with its 13 active and extinct volcanoes and countless cinder cones. By 1pm we had reached our base camp, completed lunch at 2pm and were soon busy adjusting to our tents, sleeping bags and ground pads.

At 3pm we were off for our first excursion to observe a lava flow  from a recent eruption (2012) when a fissure opened up on a  slope of the Tolbachik Volcano (still invisible to us due to clouds).  However, at the beginning of our drive we made a quick stop for photos of an extinct volcano, Bolshaya Udina, which had suddenly become visible during a cloud break.  (By now we had learned that one must take photos immediately when the weather clears because the clearing will not last long.)

We were  soon off on our hike along the edge of the lava flow with stops to look at the entrance to lava tubes and then for a stop at a spot that was very warm and even a bit too hot for our boots.  Vitaly said that in 2014 he could fry meat on these rocks but they are slowly cooling off and no more cooking here now. The eruption was preceded by earthquakes on 27 Nov, 2012 and then the two weeks eruption started from a 5 km long fissure on 29 November.

We concluded our eventful day with happy hour, dinner, plans for tomorrow and a movie of the eruptions.

23 AUGUST, 2018 THURSDAY

Some of us experienced a poor night's sleep in the tents with hard ground and cloudy, cold weather.  Regardless, by 9:10am we were delighted with our first views of the volcano Tolbachik to the north of our camp. At 10:25 we were ready to climb two cinder cones which were created in a 1975 eruption. Vitaly told us that during Soviet times the science of volcanology was well supported by the government and Russia was proud to be the home of some world class experts. Indeed, these experts had predicted the eruption and actually came to this spot and waited to see what happened.  They were not disappointed. The eruptions started from ground level and after one month of activity the two cones and lava flows (issuing from cone #2) produced the 300 meter high cones.

We all ascended the 300 meters up to the crater's lip of cone #1 (the cones do have actual Russian names). We could still feel the heat of the rocks at the lip and were told that at the bottom of the crater the temps are around 400 deg F! Do not go there!!  Most of our group then ascended cone #2 for a look at colored rocks showing various  chemical elements. Also, even after 43 years the rocks up there were still hot enough to ignite a match thrown on the ground! Some of us exercised senior citizen rights and did not  ascend the #2 cone but headed back to the truck and then at 2:15pm we all had an outdoor lunch prepared by our faithful cook and companion, Sasha.

After lunch we were off to the "petrified" or actually "dead" forest where the trees were killed by acidic soil resulting from another eruption. The tail section of a helicopter that was destroyed by eruption was displayed as a monument. I think the helo could not fly away due to ashes and hot gases and both the helo and scientific research station were destroyed.  I think this was part of  the 1975 eruptions?  We then explored some lava tubes and returned to base camp for dinner and to watch another movie (in the truck) with video of the eruptions.

24 AUGUST, 2018 FRIDAY

On this day we descended back down to the forests and the valley as we headed for the town of Esso and a nice hotel and hot shower in our near future. At 9:35 we stopped for the views down into the valley which was blanketed in a cloud layer and then for a comfort break at the boundary between forests and volcanic ash.  Again we stopped at the dry river  bed for an outdoor lunch under blue skies and warm sun! It is amazing how our spirits lifted with the clear weather!

 Finally, at 4pm we arrived at the nice Hotel Paramushir (?) in Esso. This hotel has an abundance of hot water and  warm swimming pool thanks to the geo-thermal waters available for free.

At 7pm we were off to the community center for  a show of the traditional dances of the indigenous Even, Itelman and Koriak people. The dances and costumes were wonderful and we learned that this dance company has performed all over the world!

25 AUGUST, 2018 SATURDAY

On this day we began our final phase of our adventures by flying off to stay near a traditional reindeer herder's  camp. We did not have much time to become familiar with Esso but it seems a lovely Russian community that is popular with tourists and with retired folks who are attracted to the beauty and relatively mild climate due to geo thermal warm waters.

At 10:44 our helo from Esso airport had delivered us west of Esso to a delightful mountain meadow with lush green grasses, flowers and views of the surrounding mountains on this rare clear  and warm day! All of us were in great spirits as we sat around and admired the hard work of our Russian guides as they set up our sleeping tents, canteen tent, cooking and toilet tents (with a hole dug in the ground).  A lot of effort for our (supposedly) one night among the reindeer.

Speaking of reindeer. Where the heck are they?  Upon our arrival we had seen the herders (Evens?) arriving via horse back and then assembling a yurt.  Finally, at 5:45pm we saw the herd coming towards their new  pasture which was on a  meadow near our camp. Suddenly there was a swarm of mostly dark bodies and a forest of antlers as the herd was driven by men on foot with help from their dogs. Soon they were rounded up into a packed group  and Vitaly demonstrated how the animals on the outside of the bunch will all walk in a circle around the herd and in a clockwise direction. On the other hand, the Koriaks train their herds to walk counter clockwise. Go figure!

In the  evening we all managed to squeeze into the yurt for a visit with the herdsmen. This  was mostly a question and answer event with Tanya translating from Russian. How many reindeer in this herd: about 1600. What do you do  with them: about 500 per year are slaughtered for meat, antlers and hides. Where are the women and children: they live in Esso and no longer stay with herders in the mountains. Can you still speak the Even language: not much. Do you like your work: of  course. How far did you travel today with the herd: about 35 kilometers in 7 hours (really?).  How long in this camp: about 4 to  5 weeks. 

Finally, we suspected the nomads grew tired of our questions and they stirred the fire to smoke us out of the yurt. It worked! We all crawled out gasping for air and with burning, teary eyes. That evening after dinner we sang around a campfire despite the chill and light rain.

26 AUGUST, 2018 SUNDAY

This was a special day to depart the reindeer camp and return to  Esso.  The schedule was of particular concern to us Americans since our flight from PKC back to Alaska was scheduled for Monday with a 9:30pm  departure. Needless, it was very depressing to look outside our tents in the morning to see the whole area completely fogged in with little visibility and light rains! Now we could only wait to see if the weather would improve enough  for  the helo to reach us.  Vitaly was in touch with civilization via a satellite phone while the rest of us waited around. At 5:25pm we were striking the camp since we  were informed the  helo was on its way! At 6:45 we were told the helo  could not make it and by 8pm the camp was reassembled and we were doomed for another tent night in the wet and  chilly envronment. A number of us had, by this time, contracted bad coughs, fevers and not feeling great.

27 AUGUST, 2018 MONDAY

Yikes! This was the day for our departure from PKC to Anchorage.  The weather had improved in the morning but still looking very questionable for helo flights. Our  spirits were gloomy and there was endless "what if" speculation.  If we miss  the flight will we stay in PKC and take a  chance next week for the LAST flight of  the year back to Anchorage?  Will we manage to book a new flight home via Tokyo or Seoul? The gloom was compounded by Sasha's announcement that there was only food for one or two more meals. Oh well, we won't starve  with 1600 reindeer nearby.

At about 10am the camp was again taken down and were told that  a helo might be on the way. Now there were lots of prayers and good wishes for the pilots since none of us, including our Russian guides, wanted to spend a third night with the herders.  (They weren't all that friendly anyway). 

Suddenly, at 11am we spotted our beloved helo coming up the valley and well under the cloud ceiling!!! Such joy, smiles, hugging and high fives I have never before seen! Immediately, Vitaly and his crew were prone on top of our gear to keep them from being blown  away by helo downwash. Incredibly, within about 30 minutes our team had loaded the chopper and at 12:30 we were back on the ground at Esso.

OK, so now we were back to Esso with a 7 to 8 hour drive back to the airport at PKC for our 9:30pm departure.  Not to worry.  The tour company was looking out for us and they had a special van waiting for the Americans and after a brief stop at the hotel to pick up some luggage and stuff we were off.

Sadly, due to all  the confusion we did not have a proper time to say goodbye to our new friends and adventure companions.  So, if  any of our Swiss, UK or  Australia friends manage to read this far in this epistle I will say on behalf of the Americans:  farewell, best wishes and we will never forget you and the experiences we all shared!

Well, we did make it to the airport with time to spare despite several comfort stops and to change a tire along the way! Again we had to deal with all the other fishermen, hunters, etc going through security but we were  all in our seats and the Yakutia flight actually  departed on time.  It was still Monday August 27 and we were all back to home sweet home.  This excellent adventure  was over!  

THE END