How is everything going?

Most of our clients have never been camping. It’s hard for them to imagine what it is - a hike, how everything will happen?

In this article I tried to describe the whole process, starting with correspondence and preparation for the hike and ending with a tearful farewell on the other side of the mountains. I hope this helps you better prepare for your upcoming trip.

Correspondence and tour booking. 

The website has a hiking schedule. Select the route and date you are interested in, and fill out the application form to participate in the hike. After this, I will confirm receipt of the application and send you a participant form. While you are filling out the form, you will probably have many questions regarding the trip, equipment and other important topics. I will, of course, answer your questions.

It is advisable that you buy tickets about a month before the trip and tell me the time of arrival and the train number. This will be a kind of confirmation of your participation in the hike (after all, we do not take advance payment).

A group will be formed from all those who sent applications for this hike. I will calculate how much and what products are needed for a given number of people, and will purchase food.

Group meeting. 

About a week before the trip, when the arrival time of all participants is known, I will set a meeting time and place. Usually meetings take place right at the station of Simferopol (for Crimean hikes) or Ivano-Frankivsk (for hikes in the Carpathians). I will also send you the phone number and photo of your guide (not all hikes are led by me personally - we have an excellent team of professional guides and instructors).

The group will meet at the appointed time. The guide will distribute to all trekking participants their share of food (approximately 3-4 kg each) and check the availability of equipment. All participants are invited to familiarize themselves with the rules of behavior during the hike and “sign” about this in the statement. After this, you will take a minibus, trolleybus or train (depending on the route) to the beginning of the route. Usually the journey takes about one and a half hours.

Upon arrival at the starting point, the guide will briefly repeat the instructions on rules of conduct on a hike, check the equipment again and help adjust the backpacks.

Start of the hike. 

Let me tell you right away that it will be difficult for you at first. Your backpack will suddenly seem very heavy, and the path will seem like an obstacle course. This is absolutely normal, because you need to get used to everything. The main thing is to endure the first day - then it will be much easier, tested.  And at the end of the hike, you will start running with a backpack, so it will not be easy for the instructor to keep up with you. But in order for this to become possible, in the first days you should go very slowly, giving the body time to adapt to new conditions.

 In the evening, having arrived at your overnight stay, you will begin to set up camp. The conductor will distribute responsibilities. Someone will go to collect brushwood, someone will go to the spring for water, someone will start making a fire. The rest will set up tents at this time. If you need help, the instructor is always nearby. He will collect the necessary products from the participants and organize the preparation of dinner.

When the food is ready, a general gathering is announced. Bon appetit!

In the evening, the group gets to know each other around the fire over a mug of tea. Everyone introduces themselves and tells a little about themselves, their interests and hobbies.

The instructor talks about plans for tomorrow and answers questions.

 The most important thing about a hike is the atmosphere in the group. Not only the overall impression of the trip, but also safety depends on this. Therefore, the task of each participant in the hike is to make every effort to bring people in the group closer together. Starting from the first day, you should try to be open and communicate freely. After all, we only have a week to get to know each other.

 Daily routine. 

The morning starts early, at about 7 o'clock. The fire is rekindled and breakfast is being prepared. Meanwhile, everyone is actively packing up the camp. Approximately 3 hours are allotted for preparation. That is, at 10, everyone should be ready to go.

The hike continues. The traffic schedule is as follows: we walk for 40 minutes, rest for 15 minutes. On the climbs there are breaks a little more often. At a rest stop, you must take off your backpack, stretch your shoulders, back and neck, and just shake yourself. In the middle of the day the instructor announces lunch. We don’t light a fire at lunch, we eat sandwiches and drink water. You stocked up on water this morning, right? Usually two liters per person is enough.

 During the day, the group usually walks from 10 to 15 kilometers. But these are “mountain” kilometers, they are not at all like ordinary, city ones. The average speed in the mountains is only 2 kilometers per hour.

Along the way, the group explores local attractions: caves, waterfalls, gorges and ancient ruins. The guide talks about the history of these places and just tourist stories.

In the evening, after a busy day of hiking, many of you will probably want to wash.

Changes in the route. 

I would like to especially note that the route plan indicated on the website is not some kind of indestructible constant. There may and will be deviations in the route from the stated plan. After all, mountains are not a museum, a walk through which can be planned once and for all.

Depending on weather conditions, the physical condition of the group, the wishes of the participants and other factors, the instructor may decide to change the route. And he will be absolutely right. His task is not just to mechanically follow the schedule, but to act flexibly in order to ensure maximum safety of the trip. At the same time, he will naturally try to show you as many beautiful places as possible.

Don't forget that a lot depends on you. How quickly you pack your backpack in the morning and how organized you are on the route directly affects how much you will see during your hike.

Parting. 

So day after day passes, filled with events and impressions, different from each other and even more so unlike ordinary city life.

And now the hike is coming to an end. This is a little sad, but the gentle sea splashes ahead and this slightly compensates for parting with the mountains.

On the last day of the hike, at breakfast everyone exchanges phone numbers and emails. After all, during the hike, the group turns from a handful of individual citizens into a cheerful, friendly company. Many people make new friends (and check up on old ones) in the mountains.

Hiking usually ends on the seashore, in one of the resort villages. If you wish, you can camp here right on the shore with a tent or rent accommodation. You can get to the station by minibus.

Write a review. 

When you return home, be sure to write about your adventures. Send your story to me and I will publish it on the site. The main thing is to do all this quickly, while the impressions are fresh, before the cycle of ordinary days carries you into the quiet swamp of everyday life.

Your essay will help future visitors to the site better imagine what a hike is and what to expect from it, just as this article of mine is intended to help you with this.