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Today we were busy marking the path, that is: painting blue and red line on the trees along the route. We divided into 3 groups to work at different sites. The mission was not too difficult, quite the contrary it was a pleasure to stroll once again along the path and enjoy the beautiful nature around. The group that stayed at the camp was to make info boards and signs.
August 5, 2003
Today is a day off. We have a "sea sail" on the agenda. We set sail onboard a small ship near Baikalsk-town. It's a bit chilly in this morning, drizzling. We enjoy the shore view. We sail along rocks and cliffs of various shapes and colors, watch a sea-gull colony settled on a large steep cliff. We are glad to see the sun, which managed to get through the clouds by the noon. Three hours later we make a short rest near a small village. Nearby there's an entrance of the largest tunnel of the Round-Baikal railroad. The tunnel is 800 meters long. We are to pass it on foot. The railroad has over 60 tunnels. Constructed in 1898 the road is still running. There are no lights inside the tunnel and we have to walk "by touch". We see a dim light somewhere ahead - the exit. Having crossed the tunnel we come up to a beach to wait for the ship. A siren indicates she is here. Again we sail across the quiet and smooth waters of the Baikal.
A slight "rocking and rolling" has worn out the "sailors" and many of them fell asleep right on the deck. Approaching Baikalsk-town we noticed the smoking chimneys of the pulp mill. The air is filled with an unpleasant smell. The mill looked absolutely alien against the majestic mountains and green forest of the shore. I closed my eyes and imagined the shore with no mill on it. I guess, everybody had the same feeling.
August 4, 2003
Today we continued the path development. We were to change the course of some springs, which crossed the path, develop rest sites and take out the garbage. The first group of four campers built up two small bridges across the springs, and developed a rest site: set up an awning, a fireplace and benches. The second group worked at the middle part of the route. It developed 3 rest sites, and worked on 2 springs. The third group collected several plastic bags of garbage and cleared up the most polluted lower part of the path. The last two days treated us with sunshine. The guys from the upper camp even managed to tan.
August 3, 2003
(By Lena Rybkina) The group which is to finish up the bridge across the Babkha consists of 6 campers - Oleg, Ilya, Florian, Lyuba, Alsu and me. First of all we have to finish up the work of the previous group - we set up handrails by felling down a dried tree. Then we reinforced the path with stones from a cold river. After that we developed the entrance area around the bridge. We managed to do that for 1.5 hour and decided to visit our friends of the upper camp. The road was winding and steep, we tired a bit. The upper camp welcomed us with glad smiles and hot tea. During the tea party we discussed the news and our achievements. After a short rest we head for the basis camp. I guess for that day I walked more kilometers than any other day before. I got a lot of impression both from the work and contacts. That was the longest working day - we left the camp at 9 a.m. and returned at 10 p.m.
August 2, 2003
Tired of rains we every morning watch the skies with some hope. This morning light clouds promised a nice sunny day. The campers grouped up into 2 brigades and moved up the path. My brigade consists of 5 campers - three from Russia, two from Holland. Our mission is to restore the path over the second "clamp". Clamp is a place where rocks hang over the water edge. The other brigade consisting of 6 campers is to build the bridge and clear up the path 12 km away from the camp. We left the camp at 10 a.m. equipped with the necessary outfit: a spade, two axes, a handsaw and a powered saw. At the clamp site the brigades parted. In springtime the water level near the clamp is very high – it's almost impossible to pass the path then. That's why we have to trail a path through the rock.
At the first 6-meter site Mathias cleared up the way of trees and roots, made footsteps and a handrail. Ilya, Katya and me were busy trailing a path through the rock. We had to fell down a silver fir thicket and make a cavity for the pathway. The spade kept stumbling on rocks, we had to break them off. One of the rocks was over 100 kg, we hardly managed to throw it down from the pathway. Sometimes we had to work on a cliff edge 10 meters high. Footsteps and handrails accomplished our mission. The total length of the pathway is 70 meters. The day was sunny and warm - we managed to do a lot. Having finished it up, we went to the bridge. The second brigade ran out of construction materials. They decided to finish the bridge tomorrow. We wished them luck and returned to the camp.
August 01, 2003
The rain never stopped. It kept drumming our tent. By the morning it lost its power. Right after the breakfast 8 campers took empty backpacks and headed for the upper camp to dismantle it. The rest campers were busy doing camp work. Hurrah! By the noon the rain retreated and we saw a blue sky and the sunshine. We hung out all the wet clothing and footwear. We are so glad the rain stooped - now we can make much more for the path.
July 31, 2003
It is pouring. Two members of the upper camp got back and told us about all the difficulties working in the rain.
July 30, 2003
It is raining all day long. Three campers went to the upper camp to carry some more outfit and food there. At 4 p.m. they were back and told us one brigade had already fixed a half of a 25-meter bridge across the Babkha. After the rains the water level raised about half a meter. Another group went up the Path clearing and developing it.
July 29, 2003
In the morning the camp looked like an anthill - we were preparing for setting up a new camp. Its basic goals are to repair and build up bridges, clear up and develop the path. The new camp is to be set up 10 km away from the base camp, up the river Babkha. Five campers carried the outfit to the new campsite. Having returned they said the way was difficult but they got to the site all right; 800 meters away from the camp they saw a bear track.
July 28, 2003
It is sunny today and our day-off. We are going to visit a Mineral Museum at Slyudyanka town. After an hour wasted in vain at the railroad station we got on bus and went to Slyudyanka. One more hour and we enter the Museum yard. The site is full of various rocks and stones of different shape and size. We enter the building and get dazzled by sparkling lights of the exhibit. The founder of the museum has guided us through the exhibition which comprises over several thousand minerals from all over the world. He has spent over 50 years collecting the exhibition.
Then we went to Pereval - an open-cast mine. Tatiana, the surveyor, guided us through the mine. The buzzing bus lifted us to 1,075m level. Trolleys of the cable way were conveying marble limestone. Our guide told us the way was 3 km long from the mining site to the factory. It was a shift time so we managed to see the huge machines and facilities. The site offered a splendid view on Lake Baikal, and the mountains.
July 27, 2003
After the breakfast we grouped up into 4 teams according to the schedule that we had agreed upon the day before. The first brigade was to look for a new route, which could be joined to the total list of tourist routes. The second team was to develop a rest site on the cleared up route. Another group was to make a "quality control" of the path and correct the possible flaws. The fourth team was responsible for the food provisions and camp making.
I was the head of the third group. We headed for the route 10 km away from the camp. It took us nearly three hours to reach the site. The path crossed thickets touching upon the water edge and climbing up the rocks. We were busy doing our routine: removed fallen trees, cut out passageways and reinforced them with stones, replaced the beams of a spring bridge with new ones, broadened the path. I was very excited watching and enjoying the beauty of the local nature. On the way up the river we were passing splendid and amazing landscapes. We saw a lot of plant species. Our guide Sergey kept showing us unique local species. This moment I completely realized the actual meaning and importance of our activity there. After the path is developed and provided with information boards the tourists will benefit from it both esthetically and educationally. I guess it will be of paramount significance for the younger generation - to directly learn about the wild life.
After the dinner there was a "grand opening" of the sauna. The foreign campers have been dreaming about it for long time. Chilly weather and humidity make all of us dream about it. Sergey Mikhaylov - the sauna designer and builder said. "What a pleasure to hammer in the last nail and take a sauna just an hour later."
July 26, 2003. Today the sky is covered with gray clouds; foggy. The camp has wash-stands but I made up my mind to wash at the Babkha river. The river starts at a glacier, that's why the water is ice-cold, but very refreshing - just what I needed early in the morning.
Alexander Tokmakov, the executive officer of the Baikal business-incubator and the head of the Baikal natural path projetc, and his guide Sergey visited our camp in the morning. They will show us the path which we are to develop.
On the way to the path, Alexander briefly told us about the project's history and disputes with the local administration, which interprets word "tourism" just as multi-star hotels, bars and casinos. The route we are to develop is called Babkhinsky, because it is located in the flood-lands of the Babkha river. The path goes up the stream of rocky Babkha (in the Buryat language that means "a she-bear", whereas Babkhan means "a he-bear"). It's a bit foggy over the river, drizzling.
So here we are, the path. Our guide Sergey binds up the first blue ribbon to a tree, that means the beginning of the route.
Sergey shows us pendent branches and fallen trunks to be removed. In the beginning the trunks are not too large, but as we move further the trees become larger and bigger. The largest "beam" was about 70-cm of diameter.
The guide binds up another ribbon and we enter a thicket of fern and thick horsetail.
One more ribbon and we squeeze our way through thick bushes. Right near the path there stand huge ancient poplars, over a meter in diameter.
Ilya Sharapov, our photographer, just sighed. "It's almost unbearable to leave such a beauty without a single shot."
Now we enter a wide part of the path. It turns out that before the revolution it was a road to a gold mine. For two hours we have covered 3.5 km. Now we enter a large clearing site to have some rest. The view is just amazing - a mountain ridge! The highest mountain we can see from here is about 2300 m. This is the Peak Porozhisty.
In the afternoon we worked on the path.
July 26, 2003 ("another vision")
It has been drizzling all the morning. Nevertheless we head for the path. My brigade consists of two Russian campers and 3 foreigners. Having passed 2-km route cleared up by another brigade the day before, we keep up the clearing routine. The rain is going to pour. Wet to the bones despite the raincoats we keep broadening the path, take out dangerous branches and fallen trees. For four hours we have covered 1.5 km and reached the familiar glade. A short rest at the glade and back to the camp. Today the camp holds a press conference on its official opening. The journalists of the 4 local mass media have visited us. After the dinner we gathered around the campfire to discuss the schedule for the next day. Florian from Germany has suggested that we openly express our thoughts about good and bad things in the camp. He has also suggested that every evening we prepare an agenda for the next day so that each camper could choose a job he can do most efficiently.
July 25, 2003
At 9 a.m. ten Russian campers headed for Irkutsk to picket the Administration building. Before the action I asked Lena Rybkina from St. Petersburg if she took part in Greenpeace actions and believed in efficacy of such campaigns. She said, "This is my third GP action. I am sure this picket is an efficient way to solve environmental problems. I am determined and ready to answer any question of the press folk". Ilya Sharapov has said it is his first GP action. He believes we can't be indifferent to the environmental issues; and this action is a good way to indicate our civic consciousness.
The picket took three hours. Besides the campers there were 8 more environmentalists from Irkutsk and nearby regions. I asked Yulia Zhilina from Irkutsk why she had come there. She said, "An optimistic voice of environmentalists can dispel the fog of pessimism. It inspires a hope for a better future."
