8. Lake Kurilskoye: getting there is not as easy as it sounded!

"Kamchatka Peninsula" by Bike and Kayak
Fri 24 Aug 2012 04:32
51:28.941N 157:02.283E

I had a very peaceful sleep on the gently rocking, fishing trawler, and was up and ready to go by 6h45. The boys, Vladim and Sergey, were also up, almost as excited, ready with coffee for me and cameras waiting for their parting shots!

I'd bought a bottle of good (well expensive!) vodka, and a long salami sausage, as a 'big ' thank you for them. Now knowing the 'Russian Tradition' of not accepting thank you gifts, I had to come up with an innovative handover strategy!

I lined them both up in front of me, my bag of goods at my feet. I raised both hands, and then brought them down straigh out in frront of me, down to my feet, while saying, pleadingly, "Pazalusta!" ...Meaning 'Please!' I did that slowly three times sort of emulating a sacred religious gesture. They were intrigued and stunned as to what this all meant, and then I handed them, first the vodka and then the sausage. A hint of protest appeared on both their faces, but my seriousness and genuine thankfulness had got through and they accepted! Hey, it worked! Well sort of....

A few minutes later Vladim arrives wit a pair of 'fancy' yellow tinted sunglasses which he gives me a return present to me, and then Sergey follows up with a brand new, boxed bicycle tube to give me! Isn't it amazing.... All good spirited stuff, and I responded as I thought most appropriate, given 'Russian Tradition' What lovely guys....

The cameras clicked, videos rolled, as I bade them farewell, and cycled away....

I'd been told I mustn't be late for the Kurilskoye Lake ranger meeting at 10am, as he had to rush back to meet an important helicopter arrival. I was told that he won't wait more than 10 minutes! I was told to meet him at the bridge the crosses the river and takes one across the official boundary into the park. Sergey and Vladim seemed to know it, gave me instructions that more or less lined with how it looked on my quite detailed map. It was supposed to be about 40km of good dirt road, with about three river bridges along the way and then just after the little village of Pfechetka. The ranger was to drive some 16 km down from Kurilskoye lake to meet me and then drive me and my bike back. No unguarded travel allowed in the park!

Well for the first third the road wasn't as good as described, but very scenic, in the Ozenaya River valley, lots of craggy volcanic peaks, and a few impressive waterfalls coming down from the mountains. The road twists and winds much more than the map showed, and after passing a few settlements, and 90 minutes cycling I still haven't hit the village, and have done at least four river crossings... There is only one road out of Ozevrzny, but it doesn't feel right continuing onto the village as the road is veering away from the landmark volcano that rises from the base of Kurilskoye lake.

I have seen one other road user, nor anybody around and with the time approaching 9h05, there is no scope for error or double tracking. To my amazing surprise just as I'm stopped thinking through my dilemma, a van appears coming in the opposite direction, probably from thee village I'm supposed to pass through. Two young women, who look quite flustered and in a hurry as I flag them down. Amazing again, they are German students doing project work out here, can speak perfect English and know the area well..! The seem to know exactly 'the bridge' I'm supposed to be... I've come too far, back about 1 kilometre and there they show me the most insignificant, unnamed road taking of right from the main road. They confidently tell me that 10 kilometres along that road I'll come to 'the bridge' across the Ozenaya River where the ranger will meet me! Was this my real luck or they didn't really know 'my bridge'? How come this route was so different to Vladim and Sergey's directions? No time to try both, they did seem pretty confident, so that's it all my eggs in their basket and I thank them hugely, and race off as they do to...

This almost foot path quality road, is surprisingly good for cycling and I make good progress, but can't quite focus on the great scenery, that will have to wait for my return trip. I can see the river valley ahead, and eventually come around a 90 degree bend and to my utter disappointment in front of me is the fast flowing Ozenaya River, no bridge, and the road continues on the other bank into the bushes. I was definitely told to meet at a bridge, and for me this ain't a bridge! I must bee at the wrong place, but now it's 09h45. Gee, after the struggles of the last 10 days, am I now going to miss out on the final 'jewel'?

I wonder if I'm supposed to cross this river myself and the bridge is further on? I strip down to see if I can just walk across alone, without the bike, but soon I'm above waist level, and this water is really icy. I may manage alone, but never with the bike, but as I get out again I realise the cold water would be very hard even on my own. I'd hardly spent 3-4 minutes in it, and my feet were totally numb, and I'd hardly covered 10% of the crossing. So that wasn't the solution.

I get out the satphone, phone Martha Madsen who co-ordinated the whole Kurilskoye Lake trip for me. It was the first time she had been involved in a ranger pick up like this, so it was new to all of us. (Virtually every Kurilskoye Lake visitor flies in and out by helicopter. I was the first ever cyclist!) I tell Martha where I am and that there is no bridge here, and she says: "No, that is the bridge". Well in my dictionary definition what lies in front of me ain't a bridge. She seems cool that I'm at the right place, and tells me to phone her at 11am if no ranger has arrived. Ok, sounds good, and I set up to enjoy my riverside waiting spot. A mother grizzly and her two cubs suddenly appear at the road on the other side bank, with the mother looking like she's planning to cross to my side! I shout, and as she sees me changes her mind and leads a fast gangly down the other bank, cubs just managing to keep up with her. I watch them as she stays focused on fishing, until the river bends a few hundred metres away and they go out of site. Hey a nice viewing with nobody stressed. There are lots of huge, fairly fresh bear foot prints around, and just for good measure I get out my sickle! It's now 10h05 and no ranger, but somehow after talking to Martha I feel I'm at the right spot. !

10h10 I hear an outboard engine sound, and then I can hear it's a motorboat coming down the river. Good I'll stop them and ask if this the right spot? Well as the boat comes into view it's 'my ranger'...I'm ecstatic, and I think he is as relieved as I am to see each other at this meeting point in the middle of 'nowhere'. The boat was a pleasant surprise, I'd been told a truck would pick me up, anyway I sense I've made it now, it's just up to Nicolas the ranger to get me and my bike safely up the 12 km of the river to the jewel of Kurilskoye Lake. Gee, if I could met up with those German women agaain, I'd give them and even bigger thank you, than I did at the time... I woonde what would have happened wwithout 'the fortune' of bumping into them, when I did! Fate hey!

Nicolas's English is non existent, but I get from him that he is 10 minutes late because he got stuck a few times on low river level, sand banks. I couldn't care about his lateness, but he seemed very serioous and commited to duty. The bike only just fits on the flat bottomed, square bowed boat, and I sense Nicolas is a bit edgy about his two new passengers and their impact on the trip back. I try and give him the 'matroos' story, but at this early stage of our relationship and his state of mind for the trip back, he decides to ignore that, and rather be safe and treat me as a dumb, foreign tourist. So instructions fly and I just decide to become the robotic, dumb tourist for this trip.

Well what a great boat rid up the river. Pristine valley, the river full of huge, bright, red bodied, and green headed, sockeye salmon, and we see two bears on the river bank I'm excited already, this is already what I'd imagined, and the formula I just love after my own tough adventure!

We manage to get up to the main salmon control bridge, and main bear viewing area without any hitches, and I think I got the secret award for the best river boat passenger.

As we beached and tied up the boat at my home base for the next four days, a glanced 50 metres to my right and two grizzly bears were flat out basking inn the sun...

A short walk to the electric fence encircled camp area, and I was presented with my first view of the impressive Dikiy Greben volcano, and the vast, prussian blue, Kurilskoye Lake....What a setting. I managed to get 'them' to agree to me setting up my tent away from the main accommodation and toilets area, in a 'private', grassy corner with fantastic views of the lake and volcano...

With my last tent peg going into the ground, and Lena one of the 'inspectors', handing me my helicopter-ed in resupply box, I could final say: "Mission Petropavlavsk Kamchatka - Kurilskoye Lake was now complete!

The next post covers my 4 days at the lake, living 'with' the bears and salmon!