Foto Report from the Nalychevo trek

Day 1: Pinachevo - Semenovskij (20km)

Horse tail and fern.

The first 20 km are already a challenging test of our rain gear: About one hour after we started, it begins to rain and will not stop until we reach Camp Semjonovskij.

Epilobium and birch forest.

Rain drops on Lonicera.

Rain drops on Thalictrum.

Rain drops on a lilly leaf.

Day 2: Semjenovskij - Nalychevo (25km)

The day starts out with nice weather. However, as we reach the pass Pinachevskij (1160 m), we again are welcomed by rain clouds on the other side. Until we covered the remaining 15 km to Camp Nalychevo, everything is wet again.

View back from Pinachevskij pass.

Epilobium angustifolum.

High perennial vegetation .

Birch forest.

Day 3: Resting day in Nalychevo

We attempt to dry all our stuff while rain still is pouring...

After two days of hiking in the rain, everything is wet...

Boots are dried near the fire...
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Tasty mushrooms from the birch forest.

Day 4: Nalychevo - mineral spring Agskie - Nalychevo (25 km)

Water of the mineral spring is rich in iron.

View from the forest to a bog landscape.

Small river near the spring.
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Another cold spring.
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Lush green high perennials .

The hike to mineral spring Agskie is a rewarding day trip. The path leads through birch forest and extended meadows of high perennials. Altitude difference of about 700 meters has to be covered.
A small hut has been built over the Agskie srping, and the spring water can be accessed through a trap door in the hut floor.

A kind of Lilly.

Blue Lobelia.

Another Epilobium.

Day 5: Nalychevo - mineral springs Krajevedtscheskie - Nalychevo (16 km) and Nalychevo hot spring (2 km)

Krajevedtscheskie

The hike to the mineral springs Krajevedtscheskie leads through stone birch forest. Some of the trees grow in odd figures which were induced by injury by loads of snow in winter when the trees were young.

Twinbirch.

Tree trunk with a bow.

A kneed birch tree.

Panorama view over the red soil around the mineral springs.

Warm mineral spring and fallen birch trees.

Bark of birch trees in the mud.
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Cold mineral spring.
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Nalychevo hot spring

The hole is 200m deep.
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Mineral deposits at the edge.
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Colorful minerals and a piece of birch bark.

Artemisia grows from a burnt tree trunk.

The most impressive hot spring near Nalychevo Camp. It is a 200 m deep hole filled with 71°C hot water. Minerals precipitate as colorful layers at the cooler edges.

Field of thermal springs at Nalychevo.

Day 6: Climb of Mountain Gauss (1227m)

Rainclouds and rain in the distance.

A day of unsettled weather. Sunny moments with great views change with rain events. Overall it gives the landscape some mystic atmosphere.
The path up the mountain is really hard to find, basically it leads steeply up in direct line. The last bit is over a rock field (which is very slippery in rain).

View of the diverse patchy nature of Kamchatka landscapes. Light green: tall perennials, dark green: Elder bush thickets; inbetweeen: stone birch forest. Alpine meadows follow in higher elevations, and gray parts are bare rock.