The Odzhuk Ring - Short story

People usually go on mountain hikes in groups - it's more fun and safer that way. However, there are exceptions to this "usually," and there is such a thing as solo hikes. Sometimes a person finds themselves alone in the mountains out of necessity, but that's different. I'm talking about when someone chooses to hike alone. The specific reasons why people choose to hike alone are always different, and this phenomenon applies to all types of mountain hikes. There are even mountaineers who climb peaks alone, the so-called solo ascents. This phenomenon is not new, it's just not very common. In the Soviet past, such individualism was not encouraged at all, so in the West, this phenomenon is more developed.

Little Boats - Short story

In my childhood, I lived near a big park. It was the main park of the city, traditionally named after the leader of the world proletariat. The park was truly big, but in my early childhood, it seemed simply enormous, like a whole world full of amusements, wonders, and interesting places.

Once, I don't remember exactly for what occasion, my cousin and I were given small plastic boats, one yellow and one blue. In the evening, after discussing it, we decided that early in the morning we would go to the park to set our boats sailing, to "launch boats," as they say. The park had many small ponds, perfectly suitable for our idea.

Just Annoying - Short story

“And what does that mean?” he asked, busy making coffee and not turning around.
“Just what it sounds like, and then I’m leaving with my friends,” she said, holding a cigarette in one hand and arranging slices of cheese and sausage on bread with the other.
“You’re leaving... with your friends?” he asked, frowning, putting two cups of coffee on the table, black for himself and with cream for her.

The Cave of the Mountain Spirit - Short Story

After hiking four kilometers up the gorge, along the river, I arrived at a wide hollow nestled between the mountains. Just above this hollow, three other small mountain rivers merged together. For some unknown reason, this hollow was called the "Meadow of Power." It had an oval shape, with the confluence of the rivers at the northern end of the oval. The southern edge of the meadow was surrounded by an archway of trees. Along the western edge of the meadow flowed a river. From the east, a massive mountain slope with White Bar Peak surged towards the meadow, with boulders and debris. Although I didn't know what made this meadow so powerful, all the accompanying attributes were present, such as towers made of stones and ribbons tied to the trees. The trees here were also peculiar, most of them had twisted trunks growing in various directions. However, I presume this is simply the result of constant avalanches and rockfalls.

Hiking the Odzhuk circuit, across the Kichkine and Childukhtaroun passes, Varzob, mountains of Tajikistan

I completed a solo trek along the Odzhuk loop. The route, as the name suggests, passes through the Odzhuk gorge in Varzob, Tajikistan. To complete this route, one must hike through the entire Odzhuk gorge up to the Kichkine pass, then traverse the plateau to the Childukhtarun pass and descend back into Odzhuk. Ideally, this route can be completed in two days with one overnight stay, but since I was alone and taking my time, climbing and taking photos wherever I could, my trek took three days and two nights.

Desperation - Short story

The chilly night of late autumn. The wind coldly rustles the fallen leaves. The full moon stares at the frozen ground with a lifeless gaze, creaking the well chain. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a prolonged, melancholy howl.
"No wolves yet?" - Mikhalych, lost in thought, was startled by his wife's remark.
"Just like last time, remember? The wolves howled the same way when you drowned Marta's puppies," his wife grumbled.

Hiking from Begar Gorge to Odjuk along the ridge between Takob and Odjuk, Varzob, mountains of Tajikistan

Spontaneous hike, when it was offered to me, I didn't really know where we would end up or how we would get there. Despite the uncertainty, the hike turned out to be very successful. There were a lot of impressions, first of all, intriguing old mine tunnels at the beginning of the hike. Secondly, it was very interesting to walk along the watershed ridge, looking down at the gorges that I had already walked through many times at the bottom.

The hike to the mine in the Beggar gorge, Varzob, mountains of Tajikistan

We decided to hike from the Beggar gorge to the Ojuk gorge and wander around the ridge separating them. During this hike, we stumbled upon abandoned mines in the Beggar gorge. These abandoned mines, where fluorite used to be extracted, seemed interesting to me, so I decided to dedicate a separate photo review to them. I have already come across old mines in the Varzob gorge. Just this year, I did a photo review of such a hike, which can be viewed here if anyone is interested.".

Hike in the Arg gorge, near Lake Iskanderkul, Fann Mountains, Tajikistan

In the Fan Mountains of Tajikistan, near Iskanderkul Lake, there is a river called Arg, which gives its name to the gorge. The Arg River is a tributary of the Sarytag River and one of the rivers that feeds Iskanderkul Lake. We were interested specifically in the Arg River, which is sometimes spelled ArX on maps, but I am more accustomed to ArG. We drove from the "Iskanderkul" tourist base to a fork in the road and continued on foot. From the beginning of the gorge, where the Arg River flows into the Sarytag, it was about four kilometers to the area we were interested in.