A Walk in the Woods: or how all the Gore-Tex in the world couldn't keep me dry yesterday
Yesterday, Sunday, I went on my first Russian hike. Its a group of mostly Russians, some Brits and Americans. I wanted to go last week, but didn't and was really bummed, so when I woke up yesterday morning and heard the rain pounding the window, I said damn the weather, I'm going on a freakin' hike if it kills me.
Ha ha.
I considered myself to be well-prepared, fully outfitted. Wicking materials, good, water-proof boots, water-proof parka, gaiters. I had gaiters for pete's sake. I was golden.
Ha ha.
It was also about 38 degrees outside.
It rained and rained and rained, and the area south of Moscow, (about 50-60km south by train) was a veritable swamp. We get off the train and set off through a field at a good clip. Our leader was about 6 foot 5 inches and had a fast, long stride. We hit the woods and we were all soaked, already. Some people turned back. This Russian girl, Ira, lent me her over parka, which went over me and my pack, and helped considerably. But when you repeated step through mud and water that is over a half-foot deep, not amount of water-proof boots (unless they go up to your knees) and gaiters are going to keep one's feet dry.
The rain let up to a light mist later in the day, and to tell you the truth, it was fun. Hiking in Russia is a combination of walking through fields, along railway tracks and through villages in order to find the next (unmarked) trail through the woods. And despite the rain and dark, it was still beautiful. I'll post pictures eventually. And the people were great, and interesting, and thought that I spoke great Russian (so they can't be that bad!) In fact it was decided that I was spy, because only spies speak Russian that well. Had an interesting talk with a Russian ecologist about the state of his field in Russia today, and this Russian girl, Ira, was quite friendly and nice. And in the winter, a group of them are planning on cross-country skiing, while others will continue to hike. Whoo hoo!
The down side is, is that after 12-15 miles and another 1.5 hours in the train on the way back, I couldn't walk. Those of you who saw my hobbling this summer, well, its back, which came as a bit of a surprise, because my knees hadn't bothered me running this fall here, despite Moscow's uneven streets. So I limped home in considerable pain. Oh well.
More later. The internet is back, and yes, we were limited in our montly traffic, and we used it up, but I upgraded this month to unlimited traffic, so I shouldn't have any more interruptions.
Time for coffee.
Ciao!
