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Each of us has long dreamed of visiting the peaks and passes of the Barguzinsky ridge, and penetrating the mysterious wilds of Podlemorye. Finally we found ourselves in these wonderful places. I will not describe the entire route, I will dwell only on the most vivid impressions along the way. What do the hikers themselves say about this?

Here, for example, is the opinion of Muscovite Viktor Setukha: “The route is interesting for the variety of transitions, often quite difficult, for the presence of beautiful mountain passes and picturesque bays”… He is supported by Gennady Kozlovsky from the town of Krasnogorsk near Moscow: “The route was magnificent, action-packed and picturesque, the nature is wonderful… This is my second time on Baikal, but the impression, like the first time, is indelible.” The expedition members met the fourth day of the hike high in the mountains.

Difficult-to-pass areas of the dwarf cedar forest gave way to rocky placers, turning into the mountain tundra with its quiet streams, miniature swamps, and the kingdom of moss and lichens. We never ceased to admire the fact that the tundra at this time is especially elegant and attractive. After all, clouds were already hanging over the mountains, ready to fall with snow, but the tundra, as if challenging, continued to bloom. Large violets and bright glasses of hotchits turned blue.

Even the well-known deer lichen turns out to have a whole range of shades. The chaotic pile of stones along the way created an unearthly landscape. At this time, like the edge of a theater curtain, the canopy of fog turns away — and a fantastic picture is revealed to our eyes. In the north, the sharp peaks of the main Barguzin ridge rose up under the clouds, passing to the south into the Chivyrkuisky loaches, cut by deep river valleys; in the west — the vague contours of the Holy Nose Peninsula; in the east there is the wide Barguzin Valley and the Barguzin River, overflowing with the past rains.

Continuing to admire this multifaceted panorama, we slowly move towards the pass. With every step, the moment we dreamed of comes closer. From the pass you can see the sources of three rivers at once: Nesterikha, Malaya Cheremshana and Bolshoy Chivyrkui. Chains of emerald lakes sparkled at their sources.

Small groves of unpretentious larches and shrubs nestled nearby, and crimson autumn was raging everywhere. We observed the largest Lake Ladokha at the source of Malaya Cheremshana. Its length is more than one and a half kilometers, width — up to four hundred meters. Around the lake there are almost vertical rock walls of a majestic circus.

At the pass from the Nesterikha River to the valley of the Malaya Cheremshany River, a tour was laid out, the pass was called “Dream”. Why, someone might ask, a Dream? Probably because we were still down there, in the bustle of the city, and really wanted to come here. Meanwhile, the sun was inexorably sliding behind the mountains.

We go downstairs for the night. From here the path lay along the Malaya Cheremshany River to the shores of Lake Baikal. Frequent rains, no trails, dizzying detours of pressures, exhausting treks through the dwarf forest, numerous fords — all this had to be experienced in full. Two days later, the roar of the river on the rifts gradually began to subside, and the still unclear roar of the sea surf was already approaching.

A light breeze breathed amazing freshness into our hot faces, and the coastal pebbles rustled under our feet. We are on the shore of Lake Baikal. A red rocket soars into the evening sky — a fireworks in honor of our small victory. And ahead of us were still difficult kilometers of taiga, an exciting sea voyage among the picturesque islands and rocky bays of Chivyrkuisky Bay, and the uniquely wonderful mountain ensemble of the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula.

It was especially joyful that our dream came true.