Finally it was about to begin! Well, almost at least. Between us and the Altai mountains was still a 7-hour bus ride. At a roadhouse we got picked up by a bus that was already filled with people… when I entered the vehicle I noticed a young girl wearing a sweater with Putin’s face on it. Maybe I should start wearing a Merkel sweater. I might have more success with the girls then. So these were the faces with which we would spend the next two weeks. The condition of the roads became worse, the deeper we pushed into the back country. Sometimes the bus ride was more comparable to a ride on a wooden rollercoaster. Here and there cows and horses blocked the road. Flashbacks from Albania came over me. On the radio, finest Russian pop music was playing .
Toward midnight we finally reached our camp. First of all, Kris, Sascha and I, like everyone else, pitched up our tent on the wet grass and then gathered around the fire pit where we got some hot tea and snack. As the only one of my kind, I naturally aroused a certain amount of attention and again I had the honor to show off my miserable Russian. Our bus driver approached me when i was writing some stuff and I was so taken aback by his quick talk that my brain shut down. The only information I could filter out was the question of why I didn’t keep my diary in Russian … Fortunately, he didn’t realize that I was a capitalist spy who took notes for his government.
My first night in the tent was not very restful, too excited I’ve been in anticipation of our upcoming adventure. At breakfast, we all introduced us to each other and when it was time to say something about myself, I even managed it to press a few sentences out of my mouth. Man, that made me nervous.
Each of us had to carry a part of the tent plus about 5 kg of food around. All in all, our Backpacks weighted around 13 kg. Happy were those, whose provisions had already been utilized during the first few days. When we had packed everything, a monstrous military truck that was supposed to take us deep to the heart of the mountains appeared. This type of transporter has been designed by a woman at soviet times, by the way. The more you know. What a hell of a ride this was! Truly amazing what this machine was capable of. Not a single path has been too muddy or steep for it. We all got shaken up pretty well during the ride and the first 30 minutes were fun but when we finally reached our goal after two long hours, everyone was quite glad to have solid ground under their feet again. After a small lunch near a lake, we hiked to our night camp.
It was located in a valley between two lakes. There were also other hikers who had already pitched up their camp. Kris and I took a nice bath in the upper lake near the camp. The icy water was very invigorating after all the walking. But afterwards, I felt a little cold. Especially as the sun got covered by grey clouds. As I sat down at the large wooden table, Viktor, the oldest of the group, provided me with tea and sweets. That was exactly what my frozen body needed. Kris also found out that our neighbours were from Germany. GERMANY! I travelled deep into Siberia, just to find…Germans. They also had a huge husky, who was super-adorable.
A large, rocky stream connected the two lakes. While climbing over those huge boulders, we took many photos and some of us wet their feet when they lost their balance. As if it wasn’t tricky enough to just climp over the rocks, we would have to repeat the whole procedure tomorrow morning with full gear. It took us quite a long time, but in the end everyone managed it to cross the stream without falling into the water. On the other side then, we paused and ate some wild berries before we headed on.
While hiking along the lake, we discovered the traces of a bear in the mud. Unfortunately, not one of those animals was to be seen far and wide. To tame and ride a real russian bear would certainly have been a highlight… The march in the blazing sun was long and exhausting. The new camp was pitched near a stream in the midst of the forest. Above the treetops one could see the peaks of the mountains. The gentle sound of water was always to be heard in the background. A helicopter flew over our heads. If it was locking for Germans? I’ve heard that Putin has a summer residence here in the Altai Mountains and also happened to be taking his vacations there at the moment. Being a Russian President must be exhausting. As I wandered around the area, I found a pretty waterfall and Kris couldn’t resist the temptation to allow herself a refreshing shower in the wild foaming waters. I was content with dangling my legs in it, though. For the rest of the day I tried to avoid the sun; with my red-hot arms, I could now orient myself without a headlamp in the nightly darkness of the forest.
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