Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
southern-most extreme on the steppes. The primary tree varieties that constitute the
taiga are pine, spruce, birch and larch.
Our camping equipment included an axe, a couple of billies, and a Finnish-made
shelter called a
loue
. Chris also carried a tent. The
loue
is like a light-weight tarp
that when set up forms an open semi-circle. It requires the use of three poles - usu-
ally tree branches - and resembles half a tee-pee. The fabric inside of the
loue
is a
silver reflective material so that when a fire is lit on the open side, the heat radiates
with remarkable constancy. Contrary to its appearance, it is very warm.
'But what if it rains?' Chris asked, dubiously.
'Well, before we set it up you just have to check the direction of the wind,' I
replied.
'But what if the wind changes direction? I'm stuffed if I'm going to trust this
thing!' he said.
Biting my lip, I took the axe and made into the dense stand of pines and spruce.
In the still of dusk, I chopped at logs for firewood until my eyes lost focus out of
sheer hunger. Before returning to camp, I let my breath slow until I could just hear
the odd creak of a tree branch. 'Finally, finally I am here …'
After the meal, we retreated to write our diaries. Light danced on my diary pages
as I wrote. The embers eventually faded, glowing orange with every random breath
of wind. I lay on my back, peering past the silhouettes of pine and spruce fronds
to where stars glittered. Tucked into my warm sleeping bag, only my face felt the
crisp frost that was falling like a blanket.
———
Our route for the first few days followed the shore of Lake Onega, before turning
east. The road deteriorated into a muddy dirt track with fist-sized gravel stones and
ridges of bulldozed dirt. This was marked as 'covered' rather than 'sealed' on our
cheap Belarussian-made road atlas. For most of the time Chris rode far ahead of
me.
Meanwhile I struggled to stay upright, let alone cover distance. It would be two
weeks before my first crash-free day.
The weather greyed further and the daylight hours shortened. Even at noon the
forest cast a foreboding shadow across the road. The icy wind cleaned away the
last brittle leaves of autumn, leaving the stark skeletons of birch and aspen trees.
Days seemed to merge into each other as we passed through forest broken only by
villages.
