| Actual Image
Going Hunting in Russian Taiga (6)
JVS
![Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 19 W: 34 N: 77]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/s-s-g.gif) (432) | For other certain purpose I have found this photo in my old traveler's albums. I even cannot find a negative, so I have to scan poor-quality print (10x15cm). Several weeks later I recall this picture and decided to present it on TE by adding the story where and how this image was taken.
It was in 1996. I have graduated from university and started to work for telephone company. This was my first earned vocation. Eventually, I have money to plan trip myself. Living in Latvia without mountains, I wished to go to mountains, not to climb - to hike. I have relatives in Nizhnij Tagil, Ural (middle part of Russia, near southern part of Ural Mountains). They sometimes organize hiking and boating trips in Ural and I decided to join one of such trip.
So I have spent several days went by train through Moscow to Nizhnij Tagil. When I have arrived, I got know that hiking trip, which I planed to join, has been cancelled. Fortunately, I receive offer from friend of my relatives to join him for hunting. My guide was 17-years old guy Konstantin (a-ka Kostya). He had several hunter’s huts in surroundings of Nizhnij Tagil (as I saw later, one certain, where we slept, was rusty metal box erected 3 meters above ground) and went hunting almost every week. Kostya drove a bike “IZh” (“ИЖ”, Russian analogue of legendary Czech bike JAVA), therefore we were only two who participate in this hunting trip.
Day and night previous to our departure was heavy raining, but just before sunrise a rain stopped, and we have started our trip in dry clothes. Kostya put his rucksack (backpack) with foodstuffs and double-barreled gun on the tank of bike in front of him (seen on image), and I take my place behind him. My rucksack with our both dry clothes and sleeping equipment I put to my back and leaned against brake signal. We were going to drove about 70 km along military firing ground and than deepened into taiga. First 5 km we used asphalt, than for 15 km it changes to road-metal (small irregular stones), but rest 55 km was classical off-road (see picture in workshop). Kostya performed masterly bike-driving skills finding path among this mess of soil, stones, puddles and fallen trees. According to ties prints I saw that this road is used (rather spoiled) by military and industrial trucks. I was surprised when Kostya explained that this is the single road that connects one small town with “civilization” and when it is possible (!) there is bus connection and local people uses private cars (even not 4x4). I tried to hold fast as I could and it paid off, when at average speed (40-45 km/h) we “dived” into THIS puddle. From side it did not differed among other, which were 20-30cm deep and which we have crossed without any problems. We also did not expect problems there, but …bang, #$%!!! Fortunately, Kostya hold the bike and I hold at Kostya. The engine stopped, but we still were in vertical position. I carefully got out from bike behind Kostya (even kept my feet dry, I still surprised how did I manage it :0) to make this shot.
Honestly, it was my only haul (take) from this hunting, also because I haven’t a gun, I had a camera :)
P.S. BTW, we have got the bike out from water and continued the trip to destination and after several day returned back. So, in extreme conditions this hardware showed that it is really reliable. |
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