In the morning of May 28, we took another offroad vehicle to go up to the Multinsky Lakes. This time, it was not UAZ, but GAZ, namely GAZ 66 locally nicknamed Shishiga (don't ask me why and what it means). This was another 2-hour shaky experience, although much better than when we went to Akturu: we were thrown from side to side, but at least our internal organs stayed at their place.
Immediately after we arrived at the lakes, we had lunch and went up the mountain to see the lakes from above. From 1600 m we went up to 2300 m. The view was spectacular and well worth the effort: not only did we have to climb quite a steep slope (probably the steepest we could find...), we also had to cross the river in 4 places, two of which were rather precarious. Our host Alexey showed us how to cross them, but we had to make our way back just two of us. Thankfully, I have a very strong and reliable husband, so we made it back safely. I also found a roe deer antler, which I am planning to take with me to the UK (hello customs!).
May 29, we crossed the Multa river on a small rubber boat and went along the Lower and Middle Multinskye Lakes. The lakes are connected with the Multa River. I hoped to go further to Upper Multinskoye and Poperechnoye Lakes, but the track was very muddy (it was a good decision to buy wellington boots), dotted with boulders and tree trunks and we didn't have much energy/desire to walk much. So we cheated and asked the national park guards to take us to another shore by boat to avoid the muddy path and called it a day after about 15 km. On the way, we met a guy who just walks places and lives in a tent in his spare time. Both days the weather was wonderful and we enjoyed the views.
A couple of words about our housing. As you can imagine, the place is very remote and housing options are very limited. There are no toilets/showers/sinks in the houses and a traditional stove is used for heating. We heated the stove for the first night and could not sleep because the room became too hot, so we the second night we managed without heating.
The Shishiga
Anna crossing a river with the help of our host
View of the lower and upper Multisnky Lakes connected by the Multa river
We made it to the top of a nearby mountain to have a good view over the lakes
Crossing rivers on our way back
Getting our bungalow ready for the night
Walk around the Multinsky lakes
Anna by the Multa river, connecting the upper Multinsky lake to the lower
Footpath around the Multinsky lakes full of mud, roots, stones, rivers, etc
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