Author: Where it rains Source: 8264 Copyright belongs to the original author
There are always some remote places in this world that are exciting
There are always some remote places in this world that are exciting.
It is 9 time zones, more than 300 volcanoes, more than 16,500 brown bears from the capital Moscow, and the second largest city in the world with no road connection to the outside world.
This is Kamchatka, farther away than Siberia, and here is Kamchatka, the end of the world.
Teachers in Russia used to refer to the student sitting in the most remote corner of the classroom as "the classmate sitting in Kamchatka," meaning the most remote corner.
Indeed, today, when human beings have long been able to enter the heavens and the earth, whether it is the no-man's land on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau or the deep sea of the Galapagos, even the north and south poles and Mount Everest are about to be "bravely" entered into national parks by travelers from all over the world. In the face of man's never-ending desire to explore and conquer, we truly realize that the earth is round — there is no end, no difference, and no secret.
That's why Kamchatka is so special, the land between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Bering, desolate, remote, little known, but full of life. "Modern civilization" did not enter this mysterious land until more than 300 years ago, because of the unique natural environment and geographical location, human conquest of Kamchatka has been repeatedly frustrated, and today's Kamchatka Peninsula is not much different from 300 years ago, or even 3000 years ago. Sea lions, seals, whales, foxes, wolves, and sea eagles are the real inhabitants of this place, and the owners of this place are 16,500 bears.
bear
"Hurry, hurry, get out of here!"
After more than an hour of flight, the huge Mi-8 helicopter landed firmly on an empty meadow, the engine born for the Cold War gradually changed from a crazy roar to a low whining, and the grass where the helicopter was parked was blown by the propeller to make green ripples. At this time, my ears were still faintly sore because I had been wearing soundproof headphones for a long time, and I just wanted to take a photo with the helicopter, but I was urged to leave quickly by the gun guards. By Russian standards, our guard brother, though not low in height, was a little thinner, and he urged us to trot off the tarmac while vigilantly scanning the surrounding jungle. After running a short distance of about fifty meters, the guard brother took off the power grid with his hands and feet, opened a passage to the "safe area" for us, and after everyone entered the "safe area", he quickly reinstalled the power grid.
In less than a minute, it was a standard version of the Hollywood movie behind the airborne enemy. When the power grid was hung up and everyone was determined to have entered the "safe zone", the guard brother breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
I know bears are everywhere in Kamchatka, but is it necessary to be so nervous? I couldn't stop wondering, everything seemed to look more like a well-arranged show.
However, after only a few minutes, I understood why our guards were so nervous. After turning a corner, a dozen brown bears stood within our reach, and the nearest one was even less than two meters away. I could clearly hear the loud gasps it made, and the sound of salmon chewing, and I even began to think that if it suddenly wanted to change its taste and insist on breaking through the seemingly unreliable power grid, would I lie down and pretend to die or pull out my legs and run.
These cute, clumsy creatures from a distance are actually one of the smartest and strongest beasts on land. Adult brown bears can weigh an average of 500 kilograms, run at speeds of up to 60 km/h, and are also strong swimmers, divers and tree climbers. They have a very good memory and sense of direction, like to explore, and are very curious about new things. After nearly half a year of hibernation, they lose 200 kilograms, so they need to eat 200 kilograms of weight again in the short summer to cope with the next winter. If they can't stock up enough fat in the summer, they'll have to wake up early from hibernation the following spring, facing the snow-covered entire Kamchatka Peninsula, where most of them will die. Sometimes a small number of brown bears will enter the human community in the spring because of hunger, and even appear in the streets of Petropavlovsk, the capital of Kamchatka, to feed on the garbage discarded by humans, when the brown bears are extremely aggressive because of hunger, and there are several incidents of brown bears injuring people every year.
With a total of about 16,500 bears, Kamchatka is the most densely populated area of brown bears in the world, with 95% of the areas home to them. Between June and September each year, about 2 million salmon grow in the sea for 4 years, follow the river channel and the memories engraved in dna, return to the river channel where they were born, and complete the last and most important journey of spawning, mating and death in their lives.
Delicious and fat-rich salmon is the brown bears' favorite food this summer, in order to store enough fat, they need to eat at least 100 salmon a day, and The Kukhalin Lake, located 200 kilometers south of Petropavlovsk and the river channel connected to it, are the most concentrated spawning areas for salmon, which naturally becomes the last hunting ground and canteen for brown bears in the summer.
As a solitary animal, brown bears are usually accustomed to solitude, and the habitat of a brown bear will reach tens or even hundreds of square kilometers, and it is a luxury to see them in such a vast area. Kamchatka, however, is the only exception on the planet, and every summer, these usually solitary guys temporarily relent their grumpy tempers and gather at Sakhalin Lake for a feast of the grand cycle of nature. It's also one of the easiest opportunities on the planet to get up close and personal with these beasts. Michio Hoshino, a famous Japanese photographer known for photographing wildlife, was killed by a brown bear attack in 1996 while photographing brown bears on the shores of Sakhalin Lake, and his tombstone is now built where he set up his tent.
Huge Mi 8 helicopter
Bears at hand
Mother Bear and 2 Cubs
These are 2 underage bears (less than 3 years old) and the guide says their mom should be dead, and the two guys who patronize the fight may not have survived the winter
Bears eat leftover salmon
Bears can run from the woods to the tarmac at any time
There are only a few thin grids blocking humans and bears
The real "bear haunt, attention"
Dogs guarding the camp
Hey, this is the lens not the yogurt cap
After watching the bear, the helicopter took us to a wild hot spring, the same rough hot spring environment as the fighting nation, and the water temperature that is even rougher than the fighting nation, but it will be very cool, haha
salmon
Migratory salmon is not only a favorite of Kamchatka brown bears, but also a favorite of Kamchatka people. From the time the first salmon returns to Kamchatka every year, the Kamchatka table is filled with a variety of fish soups, salmon sashimi, caviar, and pickled fish. It is no exaggeration to say that it is these nutritious and delicious salmon that feed almost the entire Kamchatka Peninsula.
The way Kamchatkas catch salmon is also very interesting, in addition to the traditional fishing, Kamchatka people's favorite summer leisure is to make friends, take vodka, take kayaks, drift along the river to any river beach, and then support the stove by the river and wait for the salmon to be hooked. Unlike traditional fishing methods, Kamchatka fishing does not use bait at all – flying fishing. Fly fishing uses false flies as bait, using swinging techniques to throw the line and the fake fly out, and then slowly close the line, skilled anglers will let the fake fly move quickly against the surface of the water, so that the salmon will mistake the false fly for food and bite the hook, which is a bit of a willing person to be hooked. The niche of this sport is that fly fishing has very strict requirements for the natural environment, in addition to the need for a large number of fish resources, but also the need for the river to meet the conditions of rapidity, width and shallow water depth, which is indispensable.
To find a suitable place for fly fishing, we drove with our rafting guide to the Bestraya River, which is a more than 2-hour drive from Petropavlovsk. Bestraya means fast in Russian, and the literal translation of this river is "fast river", which is simply and directly evident in the Russians. On both sides of the river are lush jungles, and through the branches on the left bank, you can faintly see the red roofs of some houses, while the right bank is a volcano sitting in the clouds. The guide told us that the left bank of the river belonged to humans and the right bank belonged to bears, which reminded me of Varanahi in India, of the Ganges, of the left bank of the world, of the right bank of heaven. Unlike the ethereal world of the spiritual world, in Kamchatka, the way people and bears, people and nature get along is a real problem that must be faced every day.
After nearly an hour of rafting along the river, we chose a wide shoal to land. While the guide was busy setting up the stove, I couldn't wait to pick up the fishing rod and go find my own lunch. However, the seemingly simple action century is not simple, the force and angle of the throwing rod, the timing of the pine fishing line and the speed of the closing line all need to be accurately calculated and repeatedly practiced to accurately throw the bait near the salmon and successfully deceive them. Half an hour later, I found nothing but two sour arms. The guide looked helplessly at the empty fish bucket, took the fishing rod in my hand, and half an hour later, I was holding a bowl of delicious fish soup.
float
The work of chopping potatoes
Our guide
Another guide was helping us load the fishing rods
That guide uncle's rush to play
Delicious fish soup
Uncle Guide said inwardly: "Hey, this group of rubbing people, I want to be quiet... Don't ask me who JingJing is..."
Flying fishing girl (I won't tell you that it's actually a pose with a pole)
Place where the water flow is calm
Nice chalet at the end of the rafting
The volcano is clearly visible on the return journey
seafood
Kamchatka's closure is largely due to geopolitical reasons. Petropavlovsk, the capital of kamchatka, lies across Avacha Bay on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, which is navigable year-round due to the warm currents of the Sea of Japan and is a rare natural, unfrozen port in the North Pacific. From the former Soviet era to the present, it has been the most important Russian navy and air force in the Far East, and a large number of nuclear submarines have been deployed here, so that Kamchatka, which is "idle and free of advances", was a Far Eastern version of "Area 51" for a long time until the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Our ship had planned to depart from Avacha Bay early in the morning and sail to the Pacific Ocean, but due to bad weather conditions, we had to wait in port for the weather to improve.
More than 200 years ago, in 1741, Captain Vestas Bering, a Danish serving in the Russian Navy, set out from here in the second year of his founding of Petropavlovsk, and it was from here that he began his expedition to the Americas, and his final journey. His fleet was also plagued by bad weather shortly after setting sail, a storm separated the two ships under his command, and after a long and arduous sea voyage, Captain Bering discovered today's Alaska. Unfortunately, on the way back, he was so ill that he could no longer command his ship. Eventually he drifted to an uninhabited island less than 200 kilometers from Kamchatka and fell ill there. Today's Bering Strait is both named after him.
Before we could get out of the lament of history, the captain had already started the engine. The Vlyukchensky Volcano, which resembles the "Magic Capital" volcano in The Lord of the Rings, is completely covered by a thick sea fog, but this does not prevent us from going to sea. Avacha Bay is also a haven for many marine animals, and you can see a large number of sea lions, seals inhabiting here, and sometimes even some sea lions running to the docks of human fishing boats to sell cute "begging for food". If you're lucky, you'll also see swarms of dolphins and whales. But for foodies, we go to sea for only two purposes – king crab and sea urchin.
In addition to salmon, Kamchatka's main specialty is the king crab, which produces the best quality king crab in the world. After the boat sailed out of the bay into the Pacific Ocean, a scent of crab wafted from the cabin. King crab is simply cooked, fresh king crab can be caught and cooked in white water. The captain's wife carried a large plate full of crabs on the bow deck, and a few minutes ago I saw the guys dancing their teeth and claws, which were now obediently on the plate. While we were busy eating, our captain put on his diving equipment and prepared to go out to sea to catch sea urchins for us. Soon hundreds of fresh sea urchins of various sizes appeared on our deck like magic. Fresh sea urchins can be simply rinsed with seawater and opened with special tools to eat directly, unlike the treated sea urchins in Japanese food stores, fresh sea urchins have both the unique sweetness of sea urchins and the salty and umami flavor of seawater, so that the original plump taste of sea urchins is not too greasy. For veteran sea urchin lovers, such a wonderful experience is like falling into the paradise of sea urchins. As for the poor quality sea urchins, the "trench coolness" of throwing them back into the sea to feed the fish after tasting them is only available in Kamchatka.
Herds of seals
Puffins, which are good at fishing but not good at flying, are often robbed by seagulls on their way home to feed their babies
Fresh crab
The captain gave us sea urchins, I thought he would wear dry clothes and go into the water, thinking of going to the sea with him, it turned out that the fierce fighting people were also wearing wet clothes (2 layers) when the water temperature was only about 10 degrees, and gave up
Sea urchins are now caught
So fresh that it can no longer be fresh enough to sea urchins, eat directly
Open sea urchins
Russian submarines returning to port
The hostess was handling the fish we hoisted ourselves (flounder)
volcano
"It was less than 100 meters outside the camp, and I wanted it to be a little closer, so I turned on the music louder." Speaking was misha, the cook at our camp, who means "bear" in Russian. The tall and tall Misha did match his name, but during the day when we were hiking on the volcano, Misha, who was alone in the camp, encountered a real bear, and the only thing he could use to scare off the bear at that time was a Bluetooth speaker.
There are many legends circulating on the Internet about fighting peoples and bears fighting alone, and after listening to Misha's account, I began to believe that these folk legends may be true, at least not entirely empty.
Bears are everywhere in this wasteland, and they can smell hikers cooking from 40 kilometers away. But in the face of a room full of Russian guides and cooks, and vodka they were drinking, if the bear broke into our camp during the day, to be honest, I would really sweat for the unlucky bear.
Kamchatka has more than 300 volcanoes, 29 of which are active, so you can take skis up to an extinct volcano and let gravity and adrenaline take you down the mountain, or hike up the crater of an active volcano and walk through wonderland and purgatory. This opportunity to get up close and personal with volcanoes attracts hikers from all over the world, and Misha, their hiking guides and outdoor chefs spend most of the year in the wild with volcanoes, valleys and bears.
In Kamchatka, man is only a part of nature, and the Kamchatka people are deeply aware of this, and they have positioned themselves as one of the thousand creatures of Kamchatka, integrating, accepting, and obeying the land. In the face of the endlessness of nature, the Kamchatka people are more united and mutually helpful. Now this house is inhabited by hikers or guides who rescued our giant attenuators from the mud during the day.
For deeper access to the heart of this wilderness, a modified off-road vehicle or giant all-terrain vehicle is the only option. The Camaz all-terrain vehicle we rode was a solid land behemoth, with a weight of more than ten tons, giant tires that were one-man tall, a 6-wheel-drive off-road system, and a ground clearance of more than 1 meter that allowed him to cope with almost any harsh road conditions. In the former Soviet Union, such huge vehicles were used by the military to lay rockets or deliver supplies to the most remote and difficult areas.
However, even such a land beast was planted in the mud after the snow melted in Kamchatka. After the driver accidentally plunged half of the body into a mud pond more than a meter deep, and after several times slamming on the accelerator and unable to get the car out of the quagmire, the driver resolutely asked us to get out of the car, and then... Take a souvenir photo?!
Through the radio, ten minutes later, from the seemingly deserted wasteland in all directions, the same number of giant beasts came from all directions, but the drivers' first reaction to getting off the car was to take out their mobile phones without any accident... Maybe the scene of this giant monster trapping the car is indeed rare.
After three rounds of drinking, I really couldn't stand the repeated bombardment of the fighting nation vodka, and I planned to go outside to breathe. The moon hung high in the night sky, and the clear air quickly poured into the lungs, allowing the effect of alcohol to temporarily fade a little, and the distant volcano faintly faintly fainted a silver halo.
Further afield, the Mutnovsk volcano is still erupting steam under the Hao Moon, and this active volcano at an altitude of 2324 meters is where we climb during the day today. Not only in Kamchatka, but even in the whole world you will never find such an interesting and beautiful volcano again. However, the climbing road is not easy to walk, the rare sunny day brings the mud road after the snow melts, and the mud in some places is even knee-deep, and the original 4-hour journey took us more than 6 hours to complete, almost jumping all the way to the steam valley at the top of the mountain. Here you can see active volcanic vents, erupting steam, muddy craters, which is the literal meaning of its name "boiling". But at this time, all that echoed in my mind was the red snow slope under the setting sun and the song "Love of a Lifetime".
Perhaps there are few places in the world, as charming and disappointing as Kamchatka, who, like a very attractive and fickle woman, always hides her beauty behind a veil of gloom and gloom. Desolate and warm, cold and hot, quiet and thin, this is the most active volcanic belt on earth, the most unstable landform in Russia, it is ready to erupt with huge energy to destroy everything, it is ready to wield its axe to create everything, and its wisps of grass and trees are the real art treasures of the world.
An all-powerful off-road vehicle
One of the favorite photos of the trip
Stuck in the car, dig it up
Rescue our car and walk away on the rainbow
Target, volcano
Fly higher than the mountains
Our campsites and buggies
There was still thick snow in September
Finally, there is a section of road that requires a rope to pass
The hot steam near the crater, which is said to be as high as 800 degrees, is instantly cooked on the hand
Our awesome guides
Hikers at sunset
Volcanoes and camps under the stars (unfortunately the moon was too bright that night)
Standard type volcano
Uncle hiker
Strategy
How to get there:
Petropavlovsk, the capital of kamchatka, can only be reached by shipping or air. The average traveler can fly from Beijing via Vladivostok (Vladivostok) or Bakharovsk to Petropavlovsk.
At the same time, Petropavlovsk Airport opened flights to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and other places.
Kamchatka time is 4 hours ahead of Beijing time.
Russian Visa:
From August 1, 2017, Chinese citizens can apply for an e-visa to travel to the Russian Far East free of charge. The e-Visa process takes at least 4 working days, is valid for 30 days from the date of issue, and has a maximum stay of no more than 8 days.
Application Address: http://visaonline.kdmid.ru/
If you need to stay longer, you need to apply for a Russian visa from the Russian Embassy in Beijing. Since the Russian tourist visa requires an invitation letter from the Russian travel agency, individual travelers are advised to apply for it through a visa agent.
It should be noted that if you have traveled to Russia within 1 year, you need to provide the Entry and Exit Record page of the Chinese side and the Russian side that traveled to Russia within 1 year, if you cross the border through self-service customs clearance, you need to go to the local immigration department to print your personal entry and exit records and provide it with your passport.
Helicopter Rides:
Helicopter lines in Kamchatka are divided into the Southern Route , Lake Sakhalin — and the Northern Route — the Geyser Valley. The Northern Route (Geyser Valley) flies longer, longer distances, and more spectacular scenery, but during the bear watching season in July and August, a large number of brown bears gather at Sakhalin Lake, when most travelers choose to fly the Southern Route. The North-South Line flight includes one lunch.
The helicopter is a former Soviet Mi-8 helicopter that can carry 20 people. Since the helicopter is flying purely visually by the pilot, it is very affected by the weather, and if the weather is not good anywhere on the route, the flight plan will be postponed for one day or cancelled.
If you need to take a helicopter ride, it is recommended to reserve enough spare time.
Helicopter booking link: www.valleyofgeysers.com
Bear Infestation Note:
By and large, Kamchatka's brown bears are peace-loving animals, and for the most part they are not interested in humans, especially not in groups of humans. However, if you behave inappropriately after encountering a bear, it may also trigger a bear attack and tragedy will occur. So as not to "bear infestation attention" become "bear out, no attention!" "It is still very necessary to carefully read and keep in mind the following precautions.
1.
Once you arrive in the local area, it is recommended to continue to obtain as much information about the bear as possible through professional information channels to reduce the risk of encounters with bears and reduce possible conflicts.
2.
The safest way to travel in Kamchatka is to hire an experienced local guide or join a tour group to ensure that the places you pass through are clean and orderly.
3.
If there is news that there are bears near the residential area, be sure to avoid going to the wild as much as possible.
4.
Don't pile up food scraps and smelly items near your premises, which are likely to lure bears in. It is best to hang these things high on branches at least 4 meters above the ground and at least 2 meters from the trunk, or store them at least 100 meters away from the camp.
5.
Stay at least 100 meters away from the bear and cubs, and never feed the bears.
6.
Bears don't like to be disturbed suddenly, so if you travel alone (not recommended), be sure to show your presence often through noise (whistle blowing, using bear bells, etc.). If new bear footprints or feces are found, you can speak loudly, clap your hands, sing, or whistle.
7.
Seeing discarded fish in the wild, or something covered with soil to leave immediately, the bear is likely to be just around the corner.
8.
Do not use hygiene products with strong odors (such as wet wipes, body deodorants, shampoos, etc.) in the wild, and carry them with you in a sealed bag (if you cannot burn them). After incineration, it is important to confirm that there is no residue left.
9.
Cooking at the place of stay must follow the principle of how much you can eat and how much you can do, do not leave leftovers, and pour them into the stream if you have leftovers. When leaving, clean up the camp and burn or seal the garbage.
10.
In case of a bear, running away is useless, but instead stimulates the bear's instinctive reaction of chasing behind you. The right thing to do at this point is to try to stay calm, not to scream, to avoid looking at it and to slowly retreat.