Stormy Pistajoki!
Our story about a journey along the turbulent Pistajoki river.
The description is very natural for your own and a little exaggerated for prying eyes!
For six months we have been gathering a team for such an unusual trip - rafting in Karelia along the Pista River (Pistajoki). For a long time and inexperienced, we bought equipment, backpacks, immense, according to our concepts. And finally, the day of departure came, or rather the night of July 12th. Our motley, but still, as it turned out, friendly company of 13 people gathered at the Leningradsky railway station. Many of the close people who were seeing us off looked at our enthusiastic faces in disbelief. But we were in anticipation, although many had no idea where we were going. On the train, time seemed to drag on for a very long time, although it was fun. On July 13 at 6:30 am at Loukhi station we were met by three young instructors, some of them were very drunk, many did not like this fact.
In the dirty, shabby building of the station, where clouds of mosquitoes were swirling, they had a roll call, it was drizzling on the street, there was not a soul on the streets of the village. It became creepy, now it seems to me that at that moment many of us regretted our desperate step. An hour later, three cars arrived: two gazelles and a GAZ 66. Parents were sent to more comfortable conditions, and we Natalya, Ira, Kostyushka, Oksana and I went in the back of the latter. The whole road was shaking terribly, but it was a lot of fun. The older half of our company climbed up to us at stops to refresh themselves with cognac and to amuse us.
Halfway through, our cheerful instructors moved in with us. The first impression, to be honest, left much to be desired, but as it turned out later, it was the beginning of a great friendship!
Our trip along the broken roads of Karelia lasted 8 hours, including stops at the commandant's office, the border post and the Karina store in the village of Piozero.
There was a purchase of a large amount of various alcohol, a warm part of the wardrobe and other things.
We arrived at the parking lot at 15.30 on the shore of Lake Kimyasjä rvi, everyone chose their places for tents for a long time, grabbed rugs, sleeping bags. The first gathering of our tent probably took at least 30 minutes, we ran around it like monkeys with goggles. But still managed, not without the help of more experienced tourists! There were obvious problems with cellular communication here, firstly, only Finnish terribly expensive communication was catching, and secondly, it had to be caught too. So we spent half an evening jumping on high stones. Then there was the first dinner by the fire, songs by the fire with a guitar under the radio “Galina”, as we called Aunt Galya. That night it was almost impossible to fall asleep out of habit, they tried from two in the morning, but since the sun did not set, the body also did not want to rest.
We settled down at about four in the morning after a bottle of red wine drunk by the three of me, Natalia and Irina.
On July 14, we got up late in the morning, gathered for a long time, loaded, packed everything in waterproof bags. We sailed about two, walked about 15 km, stopped at a very good parking lot, even, dry at the transition of the lake into the river. Arrived much faster than yesterday. We have the first colds. I had to organize a semblance of a field hospital. Oksana and Natalya cooked awesomely delicious pilaf on the fire. Arranged washing and laundry in the river. Half the night they played with words that had to be explained with gestures. On July 15 at 7.00, to the sounds of Oksana's alarm clock, Natalya and I rode in search of a connection, while everyone was sleeping, walked 5 km and, ....WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!! ! The family heard us! In fairness, it must be said that many considered us crazy. The border guards drove us back in an UAZ.
We were in a hurry, but everyone came asleep, Alexander Georgievich's snoring and the noise of the nearby river rapids break the forest silence.
We sailed again almost at lunchtime, today we covered no more than 7 km, the guys did not like the weather, and they were right, they just set up camp and it started to rain. But the rain is GORGEOUS!! ! But we found a connection here: and even three towers in the form of three huge stones - MTS, Megafon, Beeline. They got wet in the rain, but they prepared fish soup, which, according to Oksana, “sperm in men smells like fish. ” The rain was short, the sun came out along with the mood and connection of MTS (DNA). We examined the property, it turned out to be a small island, between two riverbeds, on the right there was a threshold along which we had to pass tomorrow. Some immediately began to refuse such extreme sports, decided to go around the coast, in the morning, however, they changed their minds. We watched the kayakers passing the threshold, there were shifters, an unpleasant sight, but the main thing is that everyone is alive!!!
And their impressions, probably ....
Then idleness began: they sipped boiling water, pepper, sang songs, slept, rejoiced at the connection. And they were waiting for the catch (our instructors Vova and Vanya went fishing), as a result, the pike was even enough to fry. They didn’t go to dinner with Natalya, they gave their stomachs a day off. Oksana, like our dad, sleeps all evening. Kostya rolls on a mattress, but, unfortunately, his mother fell ill.
Irusik got bored with us, she hangs out, Radio Galina is working hard. But stranger girls are still annoying, and apparently, simply by their presence. And now, when everyone is eating fried fish, we are writing this diary and heating the tent, smearing the mosquito-bitten places with effervescent gel and putting on woolen caps. This is how the third day of stay on the Pista River came to an end.
July 16 My glasses lost yesterday are found, it started to rain, the connection was lost. Kostya again floats on the mattress through the threshold.
In our girls' tent, a defile of underwear was arranged, chocolates and one dose of repellent were distributed to the guests. We thought that we would have to have sex at home (in the sense of with loved ones, of course), or we could collect clean things, charge the batteries with everything possible, dump the photo into the computer and go to the Tumcha River !! ! For the whole day I thought that I had lost Oksankin's phone, which I took as an alarm clock, and this is Soldatova, the youngest, silently returned it to her !!!
As always, about two o'clock in the afternoon we set off. In the middle of the way, we were caught by a terrible rain, I would even say a storm, the sky turned black, a heavy wind blew. At that moment we were crossing the immense Lake Pistarvi, against the wind there was a feeling that we were standing still, waves were rising around us, as in the open sea. There was about 20 km of open space ahead. We reached the village after almost 4 hours, everyone rushed to the store!
It seems to me that after that the semi-annual supplies of vodka ended there. However, apart from water, vodka, crackers and beer, nothing was on sale. There was also no connection. All three rafts were dragged by a motor boat to the parking place for another 20 km, songs were shouted at the top of their voices all the way, some characters washed down vodka with water from the lake, we arrived at one in the morning. Everything around is like a scenery for a fairy tale movie, landscapes are one more beautiful than the other. But the rain, for me personally, caused a panic for a short time, my things were wet up to my underwear, the airtight bag was torn, respectively, the backpack and the tent were also soaked, my butt was frozen !!! ! At midnight everyone dried by the fire, not without losses (she burned Natalya's jacket, it's a shame ... ) But without this extreme, the trip would have lost a lot, we all appreciated the simplest things: dry clothes, warmth and lack of rain !!!
Many did not go to bed, because there was a whole day ahead, they stayed here for the day.
On July 17, we wandered again for 3 hours in search of a connection, without result, I drooped a little, but on the other hand I saw with my own eyes the traces of a she-bear with cubs, captured in the photo, of course. And it turned out fitness in warm clothes and uphill! Upon returning to the camp, we went to a tourist bathhouse, and I can say that not a single bathhouse in the world can be compared with such a “karelka”, we swam after the bathhouse in the lake. We went into the bath for 12 people, inside they put a heater, which they watered. Outside there was a frame of oars and a tarpaulin. Everything ingenious is simple! The feeling of a new birth! Hooray!! ! We will sleep clean and odorless; and for the first time I wanted to sleep, for the first time !!!
The night after the bath passed quietly, apparently, everyone was still tired.
On July 18, after a morning rice porridge with raisins, we set off for dinner, an excellent segment of the path today - rapids, thresholds "rooster", "kurki", "mane", "seven-turn".
After the last one, the Finnish tourists were waiting for someone's help (they broke the raft), we gave them a rem. set, and also presented them with a Russian flag. Then we sailed two destroyed bridges from the time of the war and one "small" Vaikulevsky lake. We stopped at a nightmarish parking lot, we had to carry things up a steep mountain of 20 meters, and most importantly, clouds of mosquitoes, starving. I did not get out of the mosquito net, after an unsuccessful attempt to catch a connection with my dear, I climbed into the tent from terrible flying animals. Rubbed with Natalia ointment with red pepper, which I regretted half the night, trying to wash it off in the river. Ira left our cozy apartment-tent and went to Tsybulya. On July 19, to my joy, in the morning we quickly escaped from this mosquito paradise. There were few rapids today, but one of them was remembered for its beauty, complexity and unusual name “Furlyalai”! Personally, I had to work hard to keep up with its passage.
To our regret, by the end of the route, nature began to look more like the middle zone of Russia - tall grass, deciduous trees and dampness. At the last parking lot, one could clearly feel the spirit of glass civilization at the bottom of the lake, cars with fishermen, the noise of engines and wheels along the nearby road. As always, we wandered off to look for a connection, though it turned out to be a successful round trip, and back in an open Toyota body along with a bear bait at a speed of 100 km per hour along a terribly broken road (road thresholds).
In the evening there was a very emotional farewell dinner with songs, booze, games. Now, in contrast to the first day, everyone, without exception, was in love with our instructors Vova, Vanechka and Serezha, ready to sail with them even to the ends of the world.
We made plans for the next year, laughed and were sad that the trip ended so quickly, the homesickness was not so sharply felt, we began to yearn for the fabulous country of Karelia! Everyone fell in love with her, who was not, and who was convinced that there is no more beautiful place. Everything becomes magical here, the water is the softest, the air is the freshest, the food is the most delicious and everything around energizes and gives strength from plants to stones. It doesn't matter either your position in society or the amount of money you earn, everyone is equal here! Here you feel your importance and need, You are a part of one whole team and everyone will support you and will not leave you!! ! Here you forget about the city and problems, everything remains far away, you find complete unity with nature! I would not trade this trip for any of the best resorts in the world!
“Dolgl will dream of Karelia…”, we will live in anticipation and hope for new trips here! See you soon!
On July 20, the guys saw off to the train at the Kem station, the farewell was long, drunk, but already in September we are waiting in Moscow on the goose.
