Almost the whole truth about the hike on August 24, 2008.
Express "Moscow - Sevastopol", 7 o'clock in the morning. The hot Crimean air, filled with the smell of juniper and sun-scorched grass, reaches me through the open window. And outside the window there are long poplars, dear to the heart in the Crimean style! Hello, my beloved Crimea! The awareness of the upcoming journey gives you a pleasant excitement! I can’t say that I was going on a hike for new sensations. This is not my first time on a hike, and therefore everything in Crimea has become familiar to me!
So, on August 24 at 10.00 we gathered at the railway station in Simferopol. The group was great and very mobile! All young, cheerful people! And of course, a fun company like us must have an appropriate instructor. The instructor was Andrey. A very charming and open person who we all immediately liked! We set out on the route in two subgroups of 10-11 people.
On the first day, along the Red Trail, we climbed to the lower plateau of Mount Chatyr-Dag (translated from Turkic as tent mountain). One of my favorite mountains in Crimea. When looking at her, thoughts appear about something eternal... oriental... as if the years are turning back!
Here is also one of the most beautiful equipped karst caves - the Emine-Bair-Khosar cave. Previously, this was the bottom of the ancient ocean, and the water, like a sculptor, created fabulously beautiful stone halls! The cave is alive - stalactites and stalagmites grow drop by drop and turn into stalagnates. Here you can feel the full scale of temporary space. Having looked at Crimea from the other side and a little tired, we stopped in a grotto. Unnoticed, a great many stars and the Milky Way appeared above us! On the same day, a dating evening took place, after which the group became even friendlier. One less bag of oatmeal cookies! They go away especially quickly with smoky tea, those same bags of cookies.
On the morning of the second day, waking up from the purring of a cat that had come from nowhere, we began to get ready for breakfast. And the cat too. Unnoticed by everyone, she licked up the remaining powdered milk from Andrey's bowl, after which she was treated to porridge! All water reserves were used for cooking. Therefore, having replenished them from the Kur-Tair well, we went further through the yew gorge to Angar-Burun (the upper plateau of Mount Chatyr-Dag).
This part of the mountain amazes with its massiveness from a distance. Unfortunately, not a single camera will convey all the sensations of rising, when meter after meter an ever wider panorama opens up for you! I liked Hangar-Burun so much that I decided to leave a ribbon on its highest part - this is a tradition many tourists have. There was a break at the top. Having captured the views from Angar-Burun, we began to descend to the Angarsk Pass through the city of the sun and a beech meadow! We spent the night at the Angarsk Pass. There was plenty of water here, which brought us great joy.
On the third day we visited the mountains El-Kaya and Pahkal-Kaya, or Curly Marya and Bald Ivan! Indeed, Marya is all surrounded by greenery, but Ivan is all stone. On one of the steep parts of Pakhkal-Kai we decided to take a photo, but the wind was so strong that we had to hold hands, the bravest of us even depicted a swallow!
Further, having passed the Northern Demerdzhi traverse, we came to the Dzhurla parking lot, so named because of a small waterfall. Unfortunately, by the end of summer it was almost completely dry. But we were still able to wash ourselves in its baths. This stop gave us a pleasant surprise - near the fireplace Andrei found a bag of potatoes, onions, carrots and pasta, apparently left behind by other tourists, which made a delicious soup. As a result, after having dinner twice, we went to bed.
In the first half of the fourth day, the guys visited South Demerdzhi (translated from Tatar as mountain-smith) lightly. I stayed in the camp, since I had already been to Demerdzhi. One of the sides of the mountain, facing the sea, is lined with giant figures of stone people and animals - this is the famous Valley of Ghosts, about which there are many legends. In the conglomerate from which these figures are composed, I once managed to see small shells and their imprints. This means one thing - we are standing at the bottom of an ancient sea, which took part of the rock with it, leaving only the most durable parts of the mountain, which under the influence of precipitation and winds over many years turned into stone people and animals. Next, our route ran through Northern Demerdzhi, which surprised me with green lawns among kilometers of dried grass. And now we come to the Khapkhal gorge.
It's quite deep. And the descent into it was very steep, although along the “recommended path”. The most unpleasant thing for me when descending at speed is a certain inertia of the backpack, which, even after stopping, pushes you down, and when going around a tree, it skids to the side. But, despite all the difficulties, the descent into the gorge brought a lot of positive emotions. It is here that the Jur-Jur waterfall, which we were to see the next day, originates. The parking lot was very cozy, it was great to sleep with the sound of the water! 
We actually saw the Jur-Jur waterfall the next day, but due to the long morning preparations (it was especially difficult to get up) we arrived at it late. Many people, from whom we have become so unaccustomed, did not allow us to fully enjoy its beauty. Therefore, in order not to waste time, having a snack of Snickers bought at the nearest market, we moved on. The majority of the group decided to go not to the Karabi plateau, but under it to the lake. Hiking time was not enough for large Karabi with its many caves.
On the way to the parking lot on the lake near Mount Panagia, vineyards awaited us! The grapes turned out to be very tasty, and they came in different varieties. The craving for something tasty led us to a nightly foray for these dark purple bunches!
Waking up in the morning, we were in no hurry to get ready - after all, this was the last day of our mini-trip. After swimming in the lake, having breakfast, we went down to Rybachye. It's time to say goodbye. Browned by the Crimean sun, filled with emotions that will warm us in winter, tempered by the icy water of the Crimean streams, we parted. Well, that's all. A minibus to Simferopol and familiar peaks are left behind. In the end, I want to say a big thank you to Svetlana and Kirill Yasko, as well as our instructor Andrey Gipich for the excellent organization of the hike and the friendly atmosphere!
A hike through Crimea, rich in history, legends and landscapes in the company of kind, cheerful people, is a wonderful vacation!
Evgenia Sorokina, Moscow
