Kamchatka.

This land is not like the central European region. Edge of volcanoes and wild bears, sea lions, walruses, salmons, caviar and crabs, the wildlife - it is Kamchatka, the farthest end of the earth. Active volcanoes shake the earth, hot sulfurous steam fumaroles stings eyes, gurgling streams, geyser explodes on the lake, and you feel that under your feet - a living planet.

For years, I was going to travel to Kamchatka, and now I go! Kamchatka - it is very good, and not for once.
The route is: Petropavlovsk, the capital of Kamchatka - on a boat on Avacha Bay - moving towards Tolbachik volcanoes with an overnight stay in Kozyrevskaya - camp at the base of volcanologists near volcanoes Pointed and Flat Tolbachik - Radial hikes - moving to Esso and rafting and fishing - moving under Mutnovsky volcano - Climbing to the Mutnovsky and Gorely volcanoes - moving to a camp near Avachinsky volcano - the Valley of Geysers.
Almost 20 days in September.

It was quite warm, no mosquitoes, sunny.

There are 2 volcanoes visible from Avacha Bay - Viluchinsky and Avacha volcanoes.

The first day of the travel. We are moving towards volcanoes - first there was an asphalt road, then mound. We have a good, very good car. After Kozyrevsk the road is about this:


It is a good forest road. Mushrooms grow around the road - aspen, boletus, and any berries: cranberries, blueberries, shiksha, even red currant.


A base of volcanologists near Tolbachik volcanoes - log house with an appropriate label and LEDs around the helipad.

Abandoned moose antlers lie in front of the house, a little eaten by wild beasts. The Waterfall river flows close to the house.


Here it is, cowberry. It is early September - good time for travel to Kamchatka. The berries are ripe, the land around is bright - the moss is red and orange, various ripe berries are blue, red, and the grass is still green. Cedar branches lie on the ground - the bumps are edible too (pine nuts).

Our guides set up a camp: unload things from the car, put up a tent for dining room, foldable furniture, backpacks, food and beer. In the evening we are drinking excellent Kamchatka beer with great view to the volcan Tolbachik.

Our base camp near Pointed and Flat Tolbachik volcanoes

The next day of our travel. The first radial access - to "the stone fingers." I am not good enough walker, but climbed back and forth properly. Next day - according to plan - climbing to Flat Tolbachik, for the day. However, "tomorrow" - one of the rare days when the weather is not allowed to rise closer to the volcano - it is raining, fog, wind. We drank beer and walked around the neighborhood.

There are some interesting things near the camp:

Ex bear

Then we went to the young volcanic cones, the slag fields, in dead forest - it was strewn with slag and burned during the last eruption of Flat Tolbachik. Landscapes are "Martian".

That someone joked:

It is the slag field - the dead land.

Here it is - the dead forest. In conjunction with the sun and haze it looks mysterious. Crow's not croak, there are not of living beings except for tourists.

Here strewn wreckage of the helicopter MI-2, which once unsuccessfully has flied up or landed.


There was many volcanic cones around, and we climbed on a couple of them.
It smells of sulfur, the earth is warm, our feet sink into the slag to the ankle. It is comfortably to move out down with these cones - like skiing.

That's a view down from one of the cones - our car is so small at the bottom. And Sharp Tolbachik is in the background.

That's a view down from one of the cones.

Invisible haze in the air make the photos a little hazy.
Here are typical: the streams flowing from the volcano when snow is melting make such traces.

It's like the feet of dinosaurs.