2004-08-22 - Autumn
21 Aug, 04
N 62°38´36.3 E 151°03´50.9, 42 km;s advanced, 6°C in the morning, 15° now at 9;28 p.m., 4-6 m/s of NE, overcast to sunny
Even though the evening turned out sunny, wonderfully warm, the river calm with traces of fish, too many mosquitoes and flies, the truth is that the autumn has arrived fully these last two days. It isn´t just the leaves in the surrounding forest changing color, but the air has become more crudely cold and crisp. One is very exposed to the moods of the weather in this life.
But than again, that is part of the positive side with choosing this life. We can never hide away from the changes of weather or the moody sides of nature and that in itself is a true sense of freedom. The feeling of happiness one experiences, when one either realizes that the flooding finally has stopped or when feet frozen stiff after a long day in the canoe, gets warm near the fire or in the sleepingbags, that is worth living for! Kolyma is a eat place to experience this true happiness! Weatherconditions change extremely rapidly here, but we´ve adapted well and we read the weather ahead of the changes.
As you well notice, when seeing the distances we´ve done over the last two days, you realize the river have changed dramatically since the dam in Sinegorye. For the good, we think. The speed of the river is 3-5 km/hour and the rapids frequent, but negotiable and the waterlevel is low.
The odd thing of today. Suddenly, in the middle of what we thought was only wilderness, somebody took a photo of us! We saw the flash! It turns out a small area here is an eldorado for well to do flyfishing Muscovites. The road between Susuman and Magadan is not far away. We hear noisy motorboats frequently. Odd sensation, really. Plus the fact that everybody is warning us for the Bears roaming the area. Better put three cartridges in my rifle. |
