May has just begun, it’s boiling hot down on the beach, the sea surface is so even it reflects the lonely clouds flowing in the sunny sky, and as I stand on the pier, sipping a cup of coffee, watching seagulls circling around and people lazing on the sun, the least thing I can expect to happen is me sinking in the snow, getting through dense forest, drinking water from mountain waterfalls, scaring off the bears, that just woke up from winter sleep, and enjoying some very picturesque views of snowy mountains and sea bays, stretching from Russia to Turkey. Well, the next few hours of cycling will bring this all.
Narrow road is threading up the Korolistskali River valley, I just left the city area and already get those ‘‘wilderness’’ vibes, that are in the thin fresh air, in the sound of roaring river, in rocks and huge mossy stones along the river banks. One hour ride uphill and the asphalt road ends, no houses further, just an old dirt road threading into the forest. I’ve tried to check on Google Maps where it leads, but the satellite view was obstructed by dense forest canopy, so the road seemed to end up right by the last settled place-Bird watching point.
It’s so interesting to follow old forest roads, they can stretch endlessly into absolute mossy, dark, forgotten depths of the forest, on top of the hills, or may end up with dead end after a few minutes of walk, putting a giant dot on the entire adventure. Knowing this I decided not to expect much, even though my goal was the mountain’s top, about 1200 meters high. Silent surroundings, lovely views, pleasant air, nice weather, everything was just fine so far on this ride.
Soon the road became very steep, tiring, a big plus there was plenty of fresh water around in the creeks, it was hot and in addition to thin air thirst could be felt every five minutes. The landscape around was so unusual, the green pointy hills along the bay had something asian and exotic in their shapes, growing up right from the sea surface, high trees with fresh blossoming leaves and big milk-white waterfalls
were making interesting contrast to the views of the sea bay. As I rode higher the air got significantly colder, even when being on the sun, the shady spots were breathing with almost paranormal cold, the weakness became intense as well due to the altitude.
In a few turns uphill I stumble upon fresh snow, which made me happy as a lil kid and even play a few snowballs. As I made my way further, the snow got deeper and certainly became less fun, too hard to push the bike through, until it became completely impossible to ride further. Feet sunk in the snow, which was laying with a two meter thick layer all along the old road, which now looked like a white river. Very hard to walk, at some places I started to fall into snow pits, hollow spaces in the snow layer hidden under the surface, making the last miles very tiresome.
But every mountain has its peak, and soon this endless road brought me on a vast open space, I finally left my bike and started to look for the way to the highest point.
Each place has its atmosphere, vibes, that can be felt very evidently the moment you get in it, so were these mountains. There was something wild and raw in this place, it had the scent of danger, I knew anything can happen here very easily, and it won’t be a movie or survival tv show. After finding a way to the peak, I saw a fresh pair of bear footprints, one bigger, another one, by its side, smaller, obviously a mother bear a her cub, probably just waken up from their winter sleep, hungry and protective…
So I had two options, to turn back and start to descend, or follow their footprints that led exactly where I was going for the last few hours. Even though it was getting dark and most likely I’d be descending in complete darkness, I’ve decided not to waste much time, reach the top, make pics, descend. So I made as much noise as possible to scare off the bears, and got on the top, from where some amazing views opened. The sea, the snowy mountains lighted up by sunset, soaring eagles, vast mountain valleys laying in all directions, all this was certainly worth the efforts.
The descend was not easy either, stony, rocky downhill road, with slippery snow spots, required concentration to ride, but with every meter down the strengths were back and the undescribable feeling of euphoria and achievement reached every cell of the body. It was so good to be in warmth again, in safety, comfort, to be back home.
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