The Pearl of Siberia: more from Lake Baikal

Today is my 3rd day on Olkhon Island. After the trip to the north on Monday, I didn't do much on Tuesday. I sorted photos, wrote in my diary, talked to Gerri, who has arrived safely in Canada and on the farm, watched the sunset, etc.

On Wednesday morning, Julia and I agreed to go hiking. Where to? No stress, let's see... It started with breakfast at 9:30 am and I was already hopelessly late...: After we fortified ourselves, we set off at around 11:15 am. The first goal is the viewpoint, 4.5 km away. Easy peasy! Once there, we spontaneously decide to continue hiking. It's only about 15 km to the other side of the island. Is it doable? Doable. 😂 At this point, we're not thinking about the 20 km return journey... Maybe that's a good thing...! 😉

We march on and encounter no one. We hike through almost surreal hilly landscapes, forests, meadows with delicate flowers, bare sandy sections, and after about another 12 km, we catch sight of the east coast for the first time. Done! It is one of the most beautiful views I have ever had!

It is chilly but we are still warm from the strenuous hike and we decide to do it! So we undress and quickly enter the 12-degree warm water before it gets too cold. After 4.5 hours of pure hiking time, it is a welcome cool down. The air temperature is about 18 degrees. It takes effort, because it is really freezing (!!!!!), and after about half a minute, I have to get out again because I can hardly feel my legs and arms. With a snack and absolute silence, except for the lapping of the water, we enjoy the view and the solitude at this beautiful place. We observe seals in the water and are delighted with this great moment! What an experience!

We start the return journey at 5 pm. Water bottles filled with Baikal water (yes, it is drinkable like that), strengthened and in good spirits, we believe we can cover 20 km in 3.5 hours. The way back is tough and long. The legs are heavy. Suddenly, I see a clump of fur and bones on the path, and we wonder what it could be. We hope it was a biiiiig hare. 😉 There are supposedly not many animals on Olkhon. 2 meters further, Julia spots a head. The head of a wolf... We panic a little and our imagination runs wild. I have pepper spray in my backpack and we try to reassure ourselves: Only 14 km left!!! I think we will hike the next 5 km faster than ever before 😄

It drags on. We hear cuckoos, woodpeckers, trees creaking... Only 10 km left. Our goal of having a beer at the pub at 8:30 pm is slowly but surely fading away... We experience the sunset on our last 2 km before we stumble exhausted into the pub at 9:10 pm. Beer, salad, pelmeni. We are happy, proud, and satisfied!

Did you know...:

Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater reservoir on Earth (20% of freshwater reserves) and it expands by about 2 cm every year. Scientists believe that a new ocean will emerge here. It is completely frozen from mid-November to early May and you can even drive to the mainland on the ice. It has a total length of 673 km and is more than 1600 m deep.