For the bear up the Yenisei

For the bear up the Yenisei.        There are many beautiful and interesting places in the southeastern part of Siberia. They are the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Khakassia and the Altai Mountains. But that time our way lay to Tuva. Two of my two clients from Germany were going to hunt for a spring bear. The route was not quite usual, we had not passed it yet until then.       After the hunters' meeting in Sheremetyevo-2, we moved to Domodedovo airport and flight to Abakan later. We spent a short night on the plane and didn't fall asleep, then we went immediately by car across Khakassia in the direction of the capital of Tuva – Kyzyl. I always try to get enough sleep while travelling such situations, because it took enough time to take a nap, have a snack and admire the beauty of the mountains that accompanied us all the way.     Upon arrival in Kyzyl and we completed several formalities for registration of documents for hunting, then loaded our belongings onto a small boat KS-100 and set sail from the shore. Everyone's mood was upbeat, as always at the beginning of the trip.  We hadn't tired of traveling yet, home and business problems were already behind us and it seemed that they wouldn't get us anymore in the next 10 days. It seemed that there was only the wind in the face, the freshness of the water, beautiful landscapes along the banks of the Yenisei and the expectation of a long-awaited shot at a worthy trophy. A bear is a coveted trophy for every hunter, especially for a Western one. Some people have not only never seen a bear in their entire life except for the zoo, and have not had tea by the campfire in nature either.       But, as they say, there would be a desire...! And our job is to give the hunter the opportunity to shoot a trophy animal, and to help him enjoy the beauty of our Siberia, which has not been rolled into asphalt yet like Europe.      Our boat was struggling to overcome the strong current of the stormy, spring waters of the Yenisei, which embodied the full power of the stormy spring waters of the Siberian rivers squeezed by the rocky shores of the Sayan ridges.     We walked quite briskly along a flatter section of the river, despite the strong counter current. But as soon as the riverbed began to narrow under the pressure of the mountains, we felt immediately that couldn't take that raging element with the bare hands The boat belonged to our friends who were born and raised on the river. They knew all her habits more than well. In addition, they took care of their equipment and prepared it very well for the trip to the upper reaches of the Little Yenisei. That played subsequently a decisive role in the success of our entire journey.      Sailing up the Yenisei River in a stormy flood can be equated, if not to a small feat, then to a heroic deed for sure. We had no idea how much we risk, and what the consequences of the slightest mistake may be. But soon we witnessed the confirmation of it with our own eyes and experienced it for ourselves. But I’d tell about it later.      We moved upstream, maneuvering between huge boulders that came across on the way, and trees washed out of the shoreline by the elements. Sometimes there were small groups of ibexes on the rocky shores. We even saw one bear. But we did not even stop and follow it because it was not big enough, only two or three years old. And it was still far enough to our destination. It got dark soon and we had to settle down for the night.       The cabin of the boat was equipped with four sleeping places. We had a gas stove and a small stationary wood-burning stove. We found a small cove where the boat was not tossed from side to side on the waves, and anchored. The guys cooked quickly a hot dinner.  We had a snack and celebrated the arrival with a couple of glasses of our traditional drink then we all fell asleep. No matter how sweet a dream was in the morning, but we needed to get up and move closer to bearish places. Both sunrise and sunset are very beautiful on the Yenisei. We were happy to "swim" not only in the waters of the Yenisei, but also in the first rays of the morning sun despite the morning coolness and light May frost. There was some special charm in a cup of hot tea, boiled wth local roots, which you drank together with an infusion of pure mountain air with a stupefying infusion of purple rose, which was everywhere there. The bagulnik, or scientifically the rhododendron of the Daurian, is a business card of those places. You can feel its aroma at the time, as soon as you have risen a little higher from Kyzyl. You live with its aroma all the journey and then remember your whole life.      So, we were on the way once again. The difference from the previous day was that it become more difficult for the boat to drag itself, us and our luggage to the intended destination. The current became more and more violent, the waves from the boulders on the rifts were getting higher. Sometimes those waves were higher than the boat itself. But our helmsman Volodya drove the car confidently through the bubbling breakers. The river is almost not navigable at that time. Suddenly we saw ahead on the course the boat that was the same as ours. It became clear that something was wrong there by its movement. The boat moved slowly and changed the course often.     We saw a not very pleasant sight when we caught up with it. There were no windshields on the boat, and the crew was in a very depressed state. It happened so, because the guys imagined themselves to be the best sailors on the whole Earth. They neglected many things and paid severely for wanting to talk to Grandfather Yenisei on "You". It happened when the crew team was drunk. They prepared poorly the engine and the turbine blades of the water cannon to rise through one very serious river rapid.  As a result, the engine didn't have enough power to pass through those rapids, the boat was hit by a strong wave that covered it completely. The wave broke the windshield, and the glass damaged seriously the hands of the helmsman and another person. So they had to go to Kyzyl urgently for medical help.      This sight of the bloody bandages made a very strong impression on my hunters and it cost me a lot of effort to calm them down. My main argument was the work of our team and the condition of the boat. As a result, they believed us, but they still could not imagine the danger of passing those rapids. Thanks to God! Otherwise, they would refuse to follow us to our bear corner!      So, there were those rapids!  We went ashore to lighten the boat and to protect people. The helmsman and the assistant remained on the boat only. The guys checked the turbine of the water cannon once again and cleaned it of the sticks that got there, which can be seen in abundance in spring waters. It was impossible to leave some debris in the turbine blades, because it would affect negatively the power of the turbine and the technical characteristics of the boat as a result, when passing the threshold. Probably, the negligence of the crew we met was the cause of the emergency condition of their boat and the physical damage to people.  The spectacle of crossing the most treacherous rapids from the outside was exciting. It seemed that the river did not want to let the creation of human hands into its innermost secret places. The boat searched for a long time for a breach in the defense of stormy waters. The water stream tried to turn the boat sideways several times, but the bow of the boat stubbornly cut the boiling waters thanks to the skill of an experienced helmsman. Finally, the boat hid behind one of the huge boulders, where the current was not so strong, the 170 hp engine gained maximum speed, and the boat came out of its hiding place and jumped to another level of the Yenisei waters. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.     The man that time turned out to be stronger. After passing the threshold, the boat landed on the shore. We checked the condition of the engine and turbine blades once again, boarded and went on. The hardest part of the way was over! The waters of the river became smooth and calmer. The mountain slopes overgrown with various types of vegetation opened up in front of us, on both sides. There was fresh grass visible in the sun, spring primroses were blooming. This type of hunting is called bear hunting "in the sun".      Then we became actively involved in the search for bears. Fortunately, that place seemed to have been created by nature for the "master of the taiga". There were bears, but not big enough. We needed a good adult specimen. Beautiful mountain slopes floated by, but the right bear never appeared in our field of vision.     Finally, we saw a good (according to Siberian parameters) bear through binoculars, it stood on one of the clearings in the mountain valley.  It walked calmly on the young green grass and dug in search of roots. We landed on the shore and began to prepare for the "ascent". This word was best suited to the process that we had to experience, and we had no idea about the complexity of it at that time. It was impossible to call it just a climb because the mountains were so steep in some places that we had to climb almost on all fours.      A few words must be said about the hunter. Wolfgang was of medium height, fair-haired with blue eyes and German by nationality. Wolfgang weighed more than 80 kilograms for sure, and possibly more. He had a solid physique, which worked against him in that case. In addition, he took with him a rather heavy 9.3 mm Steyr-Mannlicher carbine. Its weight was about 6-7 kg together with the sight. It was clear that it was not a very simple matter to carry such a heavy load in such difficult conditions.       The three of us moved out – the huntsman, the client and me. It turned out to be quite a difficult process to achieve the goal though it looked easy at the beginning. We began to climb, the guide was in front, the client and I a little behind. Nobody and nothing kept the bear in place. So, it was constantly moving in search of food. We needed to move as quickly as possible in order not to lose sight of it. It was easy to say – move faster. But not so easy to do. The weather was beautiful! There was clear sky, bright sun and comfortable temperature in the morning on the river. The sun began to seem like an enemy to us as soon as we began to move away from the river. The temperature was about +20 degrees when we were on the slope.      The hunter was exhausted after 20 minutes of such a climb because had o experience of moving in the mountains and physical fitness far from necessary for such hunts. As often happens in such cases, our guide went ahead at the sight of prey. So, I had to take on all the problems that arose with the client's movement once again. I added the client's carbine to my backpack with photo and video equipment. It was a decent addition to the kilograms already behind my back. But I hadn't choice because the client would not be able to move on. But that was also not enough for a long time. After another half hour of climbing, Wolfgang just stopped!       I looked at him. Everything was written in his eyes. And I saw it. I saw glassy eyes, and tears from exertion. He couldn't catch his breath. The situation was "on the verge"! I realized the seriousness of the situation for the hunting process and the state his health, and invited him to sit down and rest. I thought how to get him to the goal. I had to take into account the temperature (the hot dry grass on the slope made it even hotter), the condition of the hunter, and the movement of the bear, which wouldn't wait for us. What should I do? I signaled the guide to come down to us to make a decision while Wolfgang was trying to recover.      I took advantage of a short pause and began to shoot local beauties on video and film. The beauty around was indescribable! We were already about halfway up the hill. The peaks of the rocky Sayan Mountains became visible. The Yenisei below ceased to seem so formidable because we were already far enough away from it. There were a lot of the first spring flowers striking with their bright colors and delightful shapes in their beauty.      But our goal was higher. The guide came to us. I told him that we had problems with the hunter for the reason that he was very bad going uphill. On the other hand, the guide told me that the bear was moving to the side and we needed to get up and the faster the better. Or we'd have chance to lose it. One of the features of movement in the mountains is the deceptive proximity of objects. Sometimes it happens that you think that you see the top. You go up to it, and it turns out to an intermediate peak, and the ridge itself is even further away.  I knew about that effect, and tried to use it for my own purposes.      I sent a guide to track the bear and its movement, and I began to persuade Wolfgang by all means to move further up I offered him to walk only another 50 or 60 meters, or to some small peak. At the same time, I realized that he needed periodic rest.  We exchanged signals with the huntsman about the bear's movements along the way. Wolfgang tried to convince me several times that he was at the limit of his physical abilities. And I convinced him every time that there was still a little bit left before our goal. Thus, I still managed to bring our hunter to the ridge from which the bear was visible. Fortunately for us, the bear did not go far and was in no hurry to move forward. There were few nuts that year and the main diet of the bear that spring was the roots of plants in mountain clearings.      It was extremely necessary for Wolfgang to calm down completely in order to make a well-aimed shot from a distance of about 200 meters. It is better to wait a few more minutes than to spoil all the efforts made with one wrong shot. And finally - a backpack on the ground, a carbine on it, a fuse in the "fire" position and ... a long, slow pause. The hunter was well aware that he might not have another such opportunity, given his physical condition. Everything should be made for sure.      The bear was picking at the ground next to the acacia bushes. It was obvious that it was a large bear. It moved huge rocks with amazing ease, looking for something under them. At last, it turned sideways. A shot rang out. The bear disappeared behind the acacia bushes. Wolfgang reloaded the carbine immediately after the shot and complete silence reigned after the shot for a moment. We were waiting for some movement from the bear. Everything was quiet. So, a few minutes passed. Silence. There were two assumptions.  The first was that the bear passed away after a well–aimed hit on the spot. The second one was a miss and the bear disappeared from our kind. We waited for a few minutes, the three of us headed in the direction where the bear was. Wolfgang with a huntsman with a weapon at the ready went first, I followed with a video camera. We know perfectly well that even a mortally wounded bear can lie down, hide and attack the pursuer at the moment when the latter is absolutely not ready for it because is sure that the bear is dead. Fortunately, everything turned out in our favor. A heavy bullet hit the spine and "disabled" the bear right there on the spot. But we were able to verify it only from a distance of 20 meters. The tension from uncertainty was very high before that.      After making sure that the trophy was won, the three of us realized that we could finally relax. We sat down just to catch our breath. We realized that we had made a big mistake by not taking drinking water with us to the mountains. There was not a single source of water.  The dry land was wild – like in the desert. The temperature by that time was already about +30 degrees. The tongue stuck to the palate from lack of moisture for the last three hours. The climb took about two hours. The guide and I congratulated Wolfgang on the beautiful trophy he had got. The length of the skin from nose to tail was 2m40cm. We took some pictures and put him in the shade of the only tree on that top so that he could catch his breath and recover. After all, there was still a way back down! It would be a mistake to think that going down was not going up!      On the one hand, it was true, but when it was so hot on the slope and the dry grass on the slope slide under the feet then the descent after a difficult climb didn't seemed like a simple walk in those conditions. The steepness of the slope was such that we hardly found a place to remove the skin. We decided to send Wolfgang to the boat, where they were looking forward to hearing from us, and began to take off the skin. It should be described separately how it looked. But we did it.   Later we took a little rest after a work and began to descend. There was too much impressions from the descent. I forgot about an acacia, which growing on the slopes, and grabbed its branch with my hand. It was better not to do that! My whole arm was covered with thorns, but I resisted and did not roll down the ball. Our legs were buzzing with fatigue even with us (you can imagine how our client felt), everything was dry in his mouth, all my arms to the shoulders looked as if they were being beaten by cats from a large pack.  We were supported by the fact that the guide told me that as soon as Wolfgang reached the boat, someone would come out to us with water. People on the boat knew perfectly well how we could feel.       And so, it happened. The second guide flew up the mountain to us. I looked at him, and thought that he had the wings of an angel behind his back. I was closer to him and he asked, taking off his backpack from his back: “What do you want - beer or water?” I took the bottle of beer he had opened. And he "flew" further to his friend to "save" him as well. Even though we weren't in the desert at that moment, but that moisture was worth a lot to us. I don't know why, but it's beer that quenches my thirst the best in such situations. I drank the entire bottle in one gulp, without having time to feel its beautiful bitterness in my mouth.       After a little rest, I decided to look behind my back to see if my wings had grown. I felt well. Beer provides the necessary calories in such situations. We haven't eaten since the morning, and spent enough energy! I almost flew the remaining distance to the boat.  When I got to the river, I almost fell into its saving cool waters. After that I began to recover completely.     Later, when we had already washed, assumed a civilized appearance, and sat down for a festive dinner to celebrate the trophy, Wolfgang told us, looking into my eyes with a little reproach: "What I went through today, I went through for the first time in my life and I'm unlikely to be able to do this again!”  A slight smile flashed on his tired face, and a spark of joy flashed in his tired eyes for the path he had already traveled and the trophy he had won. It will always be pleasant for any man to remember that you were able to overcome what previously seemed simply impossible to you.       Our second German Johan was younger than Wolfgang, ten centimeters taller than him. He went with a friend more as an campaign than as a hunter. He had at least two opportunities to take good bears. But in the first case, he delayed the shot for a long time and the bear quietly and calmly left. In the second time, he pulled the trigger, but missed. It seemed to us that he fired more to scare off the bear than to get it. He simply refused the next attempts.      Anyway, our program was completed.  We had no choice but to enjoy the beauty of the Siberian land. In our free time, we fished grayling. The taimen could not be caught. We cooked delicious fish soup, made various delicacies from fish and enjoyed delicious tea in the evenings. We saw a lot of wild animals. But our main trophy was our impressions, which would always stay with us, no matter what. I saw Wolfgang's trophy later in Germany with a taxidermist.  The carpet from the hide turned out to be gorgeous. P.S. Later, Wolfgang went hunting with me again for a deer. And we often recalled the bear hunt, sitting in the Siberian taiga by the campfire over tea.