Altai-2025: marching on together

Having arrived at the start-point of our hiking-rafting adventure it was time we got this show on the road path. The mission for the day: climb up to the ridge we’ll be hiking along the top of. The weather was perfect, which meant the views up top promised to be simply magical…

No need to hurry – the distance this day was pretty short, so we had a leisurely breakfast. Then we crossed the bridge over the Akkem and set off on the hiking part of our route.

The walk isn’t hard, though it is all uphill. But hiking through the forest is just wonderful ->

Walking along the forest’s edge isn’t bad either ->

And so, at an easy pace, stopping often to soak up the scenery, with long breaks plus a long lunch stop, we didn’t cover much distance: just 15km in around eight hours; but we climbed nearly 1200 meters, which I think is a pretty decent result for a bunch of desk jockeys!

The promised views? Duly delivered.

You can even see Belukha Mountain way off in the distance – and judging by the snowy “flag” on its peak, it’s super windy up there now…

Meanwhile, we make it above the tree line. Next up, montane grasslands and shrublands; specifically – Altai alpine meadow and tundra…

A little later – setting up camp, dinner, kicking back with bants and beers, then off to sleep.

Journal entry: “Hiking with a crate of beer? Our ‘Altai Guide’ travel agency’s answer: “The impossible is possible!”

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot: the first night’s camp by the Akkem River was at around a thousand meters above sea-level, while the second camp was at 2200 meters (i.e., – big jump). But the next day, the trail was nice and flat, seeing us up our altitude by only around 300 meters – which, sure, isn’t much, but we didn’t come here to chase altitude records; no need for that, we’re contemplative tourists. And there’s plenty to contemplate here (as long as the weather’s good). The scenery is just mesmerizing:

Distant mountains with snowy peaks and glaciers, waves of green ridges below them, and occasional buttes in the foreground:

Just beautiful! And that’s how it was for the whole 20km we covered that day. Yes – kinda far, but at least it’s mostly flat. It reminds me of Petrovich (though he wasn’t with us this time), who always says, “Petrovich was made for walking on flat horizontal surfaces” – which is exactly what we had today. And what views, in every direction! Absolutely the right route. As long as the weather holds. Like on this day:

Little clouds somewhere far off don’t really count:

Off in the distance you can spot the horses transporting our tents, sleeping bags… and crates of beer ->

Every element of nature here just sings with joy – at least, that’s how it seems to me! Here in the Altai mountains – in good weather – it’s just magical!

And I’m not the only one who completely agrees.

The Belukha glaciers (and nearby mountains) are getting closer and closer ->

Yes, that’s them. But – just to clarify – climbing them wasn’t on our itinerary!

A few more eye-candy shots:

The entrance to the Saylyugemsky National Park:

Onward!…

That’s it! Arrived at camp! ->

Journal extract: “New words: terracotta, downcast, depleted” – What’s that about? No idea… Looks like for some of our desk-dwelling crew, 20km in a day was pretty tough. But they managed it. Still, there were more 20km days to come, for sure! But the third day wasn’t one of them; it was pretty much a walk in the park – “Altai Park”!…

Upon waking, we recalled how we’d been told how this day would be easy, so we slept in and didn’t rush with getting ready and having breakfast. Eventually, off we popped…

First – the hardest stretch of the day: an initial 200 or 300-meter climb up to the ridge. Then we encountered some real cool natural objects called… buttes ->

Long story short: all these Altai mountains around us are sedimentary rocks, which hundreds of millions of years ago were the floor of ancient oceans. Then tectonics pushed those ocean floors up (while the peaks of hundred-million-year-old mountains sank under water), and glaciers, rain, and erosion worked on them (over millions of years). The process repeated – over and over. Glaciers, rain, erosion, pressure from below forcing things skyward. (Not an easy life for these mountain masses, poor things.:) Anyway, some rock layers turn out to be sturdier than others. Here, erosion carved out valleys faster in some spots (some 800–1000 meters down below) where streams and rivers run, while up top the toughest rocks remain having formed these wild rocky outcrops ->

And these stone remnants – buttes – sometimes take on totally fantastic shapes:

Still, we’re probably a long way from matching the Krasnoyarsk Pillars, let alone China’s various huge stone wonders, like this one:

Ok, so Altai’s stone structures aren’t as monumental, but they’re still elegant and colorful; they just pull you in: it’s a real treat to wander among them, check them out, take pics, or just stop and contemplate these natural creations ->

Onward!…

At this spot on the mountain pass you can catch a cell phone signal – the last one of the entire route. Beyond here – radio silence. Accordingly – everyone was making their last calls ->

For those already done with their calls – on to the next campsite…

A little later – we arrive. The hike was short and sweet – just as planned.

But then… bonus track! On the other side of the valley, a mommy bear and two cubs were taking a stroll:

You can’t see much from 1500 meters away. The best I could do zooming in is this:

So we sent over a drone for a closer look; here’s what we got:

Sorry about the quality – the drone was being controlled practically blind (we couldn’t see a thing on the screen)…

Good thing they were on the other side of the valley. That was the good news. The bad news: in the sky something decidedly pessimistic was being stirred up. Clouds like these are usually precursors to a nasty rainy weather front // Spoiler: everything was fine right up until our rafting down the Katun.

But that night it didn’t rain a drop. In the morning we headed out toward Akkem Lake – the final day of the horseback/hiking stretch…

Notes from the handwritten travel journal:

“Must read up about encephalitis-carrying ticks”. What’s that about? No idea…

Our last day on foot was also short – just 10km! But it wasn’t so simple: we had to cross a side-valley river, which meant dropping ~730 meters down, then climbing up the same vertical distance on the other side. Down here, then up over there ->

By midday we needed to end up over there:

These rocky outcrops, which looked tiny from a distance, turned out to be pretty massive up close:

Up and down 700 vertical meters. That’s just a hundred meters less then Burj Khalifa! But we did it – all of us; even the less-trained…

First, down we shlep…

In the past you had to wade across the river (a bit chilly on the feet, but bearable). Now – there’s a “bridge”:

Crossing said bridge: tricky! ->

But we all managed it!

We’d dropped down from up there; now – the climb back up…

Not the most fun thing ever, but plenty of time to clear your head of all sorts of thoughts (aka meditation!)…

Tired? Take a break!

We finally make it. Snack break!…

And the views – oh my gory! (Gory – “mountains” in Russian) ->

And the other way ->

But enough oh-my-goring. Time to move on; waaaay over there:

And the views just keep getting better and better:

Akkem Lake comes into view ->

Closer now:

The colored Yarlu mountains…

A closer look at Yarlu was for the following day:

Yes, the colors really are like this (no Photoshop) ->

But we’d done enough for today, time to pitch camp…

But before it’s time for bed…

…I reminded everyone that this place has some kind of special energy or unknown magnetism. Everything feels brighter, sharper here. Everything’s just a little different, more vivid. And lo and behold – that evening the whole group was bantering and cracking jokes and laughing their heads off: just enjoying the life, the moment. There really is something uniquely strange – and awesome – about this place (you really should try it yourselves, dear readers:)…

And we finished off the day with a toast: “To good weather! And long may it last!”