Canoe trip on a White sea
10 day sea canoing among islands between Poyakonda and Chupa railroad stations.
Approximate trail length: 117 km/73 miles.
Date: 04-13 August 2008
Our team (left to right):
- Cap, our admiral
- Galya, sailor-cook
- Ivan, ship boy :)
- oimgard , navigator.
Where
The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The White Sea lays on latitude of Great Bear Lake and northern-most turn of Yukon river, but climate is much milder with July temperature averages 16C/61F
Nature
After the end of the last ice age glacier retreated from the territories around White Sea about 8000-10000 years ago. All what left was barren rocks with thousands lakes of different sizes. White Sea was a huge pool of melt-water with huge pack of ice in the middle, the narrow straight which is now connects it with the Barents sea had an ice cork in it. Later this ice cork disappeared and salt water entered White Sea. But many rivers that flow into the sea and low depth of neck that connects it with Barents sea resulted in low salinity of White Sea (24-26‰). Rocks released from the glacier were populated by typical tundra flora first. After some soil was generated pine and firs, birches and alders came. Nowadays pines and reindeer moss are the most common plants on a sea shores. Tidal band covered with brown algae Fucus and starting from the several feet depth there are Laminaria (kelp) jungles. Rocks on a shore are sharp because of ice crashing them every winter. Rocks that facing winds from sea bare or covered with pines suppressed with weather, small and twisted.
Main route points
Marked in Google Earth manually
Lyrical part.
That summer I’ve been on this route once before. In June 2008 I returned from US and realized I want to see arctic white nights again, to paddle among island once again, to hear seagulls crying... I did not find any company but that was not a problem - I took portable canoe Taimen-2 (well, Wiki insists it is folding kayak... Who cares!) , got on long-distance train and 30 hours later I was there... With some effort I dragged 65 kg/140 lbs of my luggage from the train to old pier, assembled canoe and off I went... To make the trim of my vessel adequate I put big stone on the front seat (I myself sat in the stern). Well, it was not funny experience.
When one month later Cap - my best friend, colleague and tutor at once - suggested me go there once more with two other guys I did not doubt for a second. “Yes, sure”- answered I, we wrote product layout and bought railroad tickets. Cap lured with the tales about beautiful Northern nature woman from the neighboring lab to join us. She had never been in such outdoor trip before and had no experience with canoe. I found enthusiastic first year biology student Ivan with the same zero experience. I taught Ivan how to paddle on a Moscow river oxbow and we were ready.
Back then one railroad ticket on Moscow-Murmansk express had a cost of approximately 60 USD (3rd calss) and may be 200-300 USD we spend per person for food ratio for the whole trip. You have to spent 28 hours in the train while it slowly covers 1500km/900miles between Moscow and small Chupa station in the Nothern Karelia.
August 4th. We disembarked from the long-distance train in Chupa, our final point and took local train further North to Poyakonda station (which long-distance train passes without stop). Approximately 20 minutes toil with backpack and canoes - and we are on an old pier. It took maybe 3 to 4 hours to assemble canoes, load them and got ready for the start. Sunny weather and calm sea made our start easy. I and Ivan started first and then our flagship Taimen under the command of the admiral Cap and Galya as a front paddler followed.
We did not use GPS and rarely opened map because I’ve been in these places several times since first visit in 1994 and remembered most of the route very well.
On the middle of the long bay we were moving through wind roused and we have tired of going against the waves. Myself and Ivan are both big guys and our poor canoe plunged deep into a water, sometimes waves gushed through the deck. And deck of Taimen canoe made of a canvas and canvas leacks... Flagship with its miniature crew flew above the waves. We reached White sea Biological station of Moscow State University, passed it and made a camp at the first suitable cape. After the fire was made and tents were put up we went out for a walk. There is a net of recreational trails around the biological station.
We used one of them to visit The Bay of Biofilters. On return I made several photos during and after the sunset.
Before sun dived beyond The Great island:
And after:
5th of August. Calm weather with high clouds, ideal conditions for the sea passage. We went holding the line cape Kindo-cape Savvatiyevsky-cape Panfilov and from the latter we turned on a Kastyan island well-known for its beauty and many fine campsites. We lunched on Kastyan. There was several groups of tourists and locals searching for mushrooms and berries. We enjoyed photo session on an eastern shore and then moved further.
Kastyan island:
Sea came to a complete calm and we decided not to go directly to the portage path between Kozokotskaya and Krasnaya (Red) bays, but made a small detour to enjoy views of open sea. The sea surface was smooth as mirror and sky haze resulted in disappearance of clear boundary between water and what it reflects. Islands looked like they were hovering in endless space.
It was quite, seagulls were crying in a distance and we heard water drops from paddles. Amazingly beautiful, we felt in the heart kind of a lift, something warm and good. For these feelings I love White Sea, no other place touched my soul in such a way. I felt I wish to paddle towards horizon without stop and end... But sure we turned into a bay instead after we passed Kokoikha island and headed on portage path. There is a cabin near the portage path where some biologists live in summer. I guessed they should be nice and intelligent persons. I remembered how I met two women from there in 2002. They were not happy to see tourists, but nevertheless they were nice. Since that time some tourists accidentally burned down small bathhouse on a lake near the cabin. So I was not surprised when men loading motorboat near the cabin hold their not-so-friendly glances on us and one of them yelled up to the cabin: "Petrovich, the tourists again, bring a gun!"
I greeted them politely and informed them they failed to frighten us. The portage is a good trail through the forest less than half-mile long. There are several nice campsites on the opposite end. The best one hides across the bushes from main site. On this last we made our camp.
6-7th of August. Came out heading on Sidorov island. Passed Krasnaya bay, on a high water passed huge shoal between mainland and Kandalakshsky preserve on Kemludky island. For the lunch we landed on a small oblong island in the middle of Kiv bay across from Shavrukha rock. In 1995 I was on this island in unpleasant circumanstances - the weather rapidly worsened and waves kicked one balloon out under the frame of our catamaran. We turned against the waves and painfully slow approached this island. There we waited calm weather while repairing catamaran. I walked around the island and sow several seals on a stone beach on the eastern end. This time seals also were there. It is a pity we scared them approaching and did not take a single shot.
Forest on the island.
Then we proceeded to the Sidorov past Ileyki islands. The weather was calm again and it was a joy to move on still water in between islands.
Flagship crew are photographing seagull.
Sidorov island happened to be overpopulated and not just with tourists. When we got to long-awaited bay with a sand beach we’ve seen dark elves squad (wearing black), that was just setting in battle order to attack the camp inhabited by brightly dressed. This spectacle made a proper impression upon us and we moved further. All more or less nice camp sites have been inhabited, but we were damn lucky to find very nice place on a no-name round island near the south-east end of Sidirov. There we left for the day stay.
Our crew from left to right - navigator, Cap, cook, ship boy
View on open sea
6 inch pine
Windward side of island
Dusk
8th of August. We decided to go on cape Sharapov to the south-east behind the Pezhostrov island. The first part of our way we moved in calm weather but in the Glubokaya (deep) Salma strait wind suddenly aroused and we had to look for escape in a long and narrow Summer bay isolated from the sea with the island in the mouth. Nice place, looks like 1:32 fiord model. Letnyaya (Summer) river flows into the dead end of this bay, but we did not go so deep and stayed in the mouth of small spring. There we lunched and made a walk to the lake from which spring flows. Then we waited for the calm weather and about 6 pm we continued our journey. It was too far a way to the cape Sharapov (and most part of it in a open sea with no islands to hide behind from the weather) and we decided to stay on a small Sosnovets island, the last island in Glubokaya Salma strait.
We are on the way to Sosnovets
There we were caught up by a stormy weather and waited till it was over couple of days.
9th and 10th of August. We are waiting for a weather.
Cap in a camp
Drunkard-dog kennel near the fishermen cabin
Our bay with a camp
Stormy weather in Glubokaya Salma
This is not a big waves but still enough to keep Taimen at bay :) Real storms happen here every autumn with the waves up to 6 meters (20 feet) high.
Bad weather is over. Rainbow above the cape Sharapov.
Evening 10th of August we fled Sosnovets. Our novices got a phobia we would be locked forever on a damn island. We reached Luda Pesochnaya (sandy), small island between Big islands of Pezhostrov and Kishkin in Praymaya (straight) Salma strait.
11th of August. Short passage to the Sidorov island. Dark squad was sitting on a shore waiting for a ship and we made a camp in the very bay where battle was in a full swing so recently. Soon Dark departed.
Breakfast on Luda Pesochnaya.
View on a Medyanka island from the Luda Pesochnaya
From the same point. View on Kishkin island
Beach on Sidorov island, the place of recent battle :)
While Cap was guarding our camp, we ran around the island. The view on a sea and islands from the highest point of the island is so beautiful, breathtaking with no exaggeration. Wooden geodetic tower stayed here before. I climbed it in 1994 and in 2002 it was standing still. But it collapsed and now it is impossible to take panoramic shots without trees interfering.
View on islands
open sea
Eastern bay of the island facing open sea and there is best beach in the region. Kelp thrown ashore by the recent storm.
I took Galya and Ivam back to camp, pick up Cap and went on a second round with him. Sunset in a nothern bay
12th of August. Just 10 days for a whole trip… How little, how damn little time we had :( We are going into Chupa bay, heading on railroad station in the deep dead end of the bay. Islands and open sea left behind, we passed Keret island, Oleny (deer) island in the Chupa bay and camped on a spot where fishermen cabin marked on a map. It burned down long ago, now here is just campsite. Freshwater we took from a spring near the camp.
Galya found orange-cap boletus
Last evening under the sky.
13th of August. Last couple hours of paddling. We found the place cell phone works near the last camp and arranged that a car pick us up in Pulonga village so we do not need to travel all way to Chupa. On the way we were passing old ferry site where I lived for a month in 1994 during school field practice. I got out for couple of minutes to see the place.
We reached Pulonga. Despite the short distance we covered that day our novices were exhausted. Probably, weariness accumulated over the trip and hit them finally :)
Cap is packing his Taimen
Me and Cap reluctantly while Galya and Ivan with pleasure were returning to Moscow.
I returned there 2009 and 2010, but this is a separate story...
Approximate trail length: 117 km/73 miles.
Date: 04-13 August 2008
Our team (left to right):
- Cap, our admiral
- Galya, sailor-cook
- Ivan, ship boy :)
- oimgard , navigator.
Where
The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The White Sea lays on latitude of Great Bear Lake and northern-most turn of Yukon river, but climate is much milder with July temperature averages 16C/61F
Nature
After the end of the last ice age glacier retreated from the territories around White Sea about 8000-10000 years ago. All what left was barren rocks with thousands lakes of different sizes. White Sea was a huge pool of melt-water with huge pack of ice in the middle, the narrow straight which is now connects it with the Barents sea had an ice cork in it. Later this ice cork disappeared and salt water entered White Sea. But many rivers that flow into the sea and low depth of neck that connects it with Barents sea resulted in low salinity of White Sea (24-26‰). Rocks released from the glacier were populated by typical tundra flora first. After some soil was generated pine and firs, birches and alders came. Nowadays pines and reindeer moss are the most common plants on a sea shores. Tidal band covered with brown algae Fucus and starting from the several feet depth there are Laminaria (kelp) jungles. Rocks on a shore are sharp because of ice crashing them every winter. Rocks that facing winds from sea bare or covered with pines suppressed with weather, small and twisted.
Main route points
Marked in Google Earth manually
Lyrical part.
That summer I’ve been on this route once before. In June 2008 I returned from US and realized I want to see arctic white nights again, to paddle among island once again, to hear seagulls crying... I did not find any company but that was not a problem - I took portable canoe Taimen-2 (well, Wiki insists it is folding kayak... Who cares!) , got on long-distance train and 30 hours later I was there... With some effort I dragged 65 kg/140 lbs of my luggage from the train to old pier, assembled canoe and off I went... To make the trim of my vessel adequate I put big stone on the front seat (I myself sat in the stern). Well, it was not funny experience.
When one month later Cap - my best friend, colleague and tutor at once - suggested me go there once more with two other guys I did not doubt for a second. “Yes, sure”- answered I, we wrote product layout and bought railroad tickets. Cap lured with the tales about beautiful Northern nature woman from the neighboring lab to join us. She had never been in such outdoor trip before and had no experience with canoe. I found enthusiastic first year biology student Ivan with the same zero experience. I taught Ivan how to paddle on a Moscow river oxbow and we were ready.
Back then one railroad ticket on Moscow-Murmansk express had a cost of approximately 60 USD (3rd calss) and may be 200-300 USD we spend per person for food ratio for the whole trip. You have to spent 28 hours in the train while it slowly covers 1500km/900miles between Moscow and small Chupa station in the Nothern Karelia.
August 4th. We disembarked from the long-distance train in Chupa, our final point and took local train further North to Poyakonda station (which long-distance train passes without stop). Approximately 20 minutes toil with backpack and canoes - and we are on an old pier. It took maybe 3 to 4 hours to assemble canoes, load them and got ready for the start. Sunny weather and calm sea made our start easy. I and Ivan started first and then our flagship Taimen under the command of the admiral Cap and Galya as a front paddler followed.
We did not use GPS and rarely opened map because I’ve been in these places several times since first visit in 1994 and remembered most of the route very well.
On the middle of the long bay we were moving through wind roused and we have tired of going against the waves. Myself and Ivan are both big guys and our poor canoe plunged deep into a water, sometimes waves gushed through the deck. And deck of Taimen canoe made of a canvas and canvas leacks... Flagship with its miniature crew flew above the waves. We reached White sea Biological station of Moscow State University, passed it and made a camp at the first suitable cape. After the fire was made and tents were put up we went out for a walk. There is a net of recreational trails around the biological station.
We used one of them to visit The Bay of Biofilters. On return I made several photos during and after the sunset.
Before sun dived beyond The Great island:
And after:
5th of August. Calm weather with high clouds, ideal conditions for the sea passage. We went holding the line cape Kindo-cape Savvatiyevsky-cape Panfilov and from the latter we turned on a Kastyan island well-known for its beauty and many fine campsites. We lunched on Kastyan. There was several groups of tourists and locals searching for mushrooms and berries. We enjoyed photo session on an eastern shore and then moved further.
Kastyan island:
Sea came to a complete calm and we decided not to go directly to the portage path between Kozokotskaya and Krasnaya (Red) bays, but made a small detour to enjoy views of open sea. The sea surface was smooth as mirror and sky haze resulted in disappearance of clear boundary between water and what it reflects. Islands looked like they were hovering in endless space.
It was quite, seagulls were crying in a distance and we heard water drops from paddles. Amazingly beautiful, we felt in the heart kind of a lift, something warm and good. For these feelings I love White Sea, no other place touched my soul in such a way. I felt I wish to paddle towards horizon without stop and end... But sure we turned into a bay instead after we passed Kokoikha island and headed on portage path. There is a cabin near the portage path where some biologists live in summer. I guessed they should be nice and intelligent persons. I remembered how I met two women from there in 2002. They were not happy to see tourists, but nevertheless they were nice. Since that time some tourists accidentally burned down small bathhouse on a lake near the cabin. So I was not surprised when men loading motorboat near the cabin hold their not-so-friendly glances on us and one of them yelled up to the cabin: "Petrovich, the tourists again, bring a gun!"
I greeted them politely and informed them they failed to frighten us. The portage is a good trail through the forest less than half-mile long. There are several nice campsites on the opposite end. The best one hides across the bushes from main site. On this last we made our camp.
6-7th of August. Came out heading on Sidorov island. Passed Krasnaya bay, on a high water passed huge shoal between mainland and Kandalakshsky preserve on Kemludky island. For the lunch we landed on a small oblong island in the middle of Kiv bay across from Shavrukha rock. In 1995 I was on this island in unpleasant circumanstances - the weather rapidly worsened and waves kicked one balloon out under the frame of our catamaran. We turned against the waves and painfully slow approached this island. There we waited calm weather while repairing catamaran. I walked around the island and sow several seals on a stone beach on the eastern end. This time seals also were there. It is a pity we scared them approaching and did not take a single shot.
Forest on the island.
Then we proceeded to the Sidorov past Ileyki islands. The weather was calm again and it was a joy to move on still water in between islands.
Flagship crew are photographing seagull.
Sidorov island happened to be overpopulated and not just with tourists. When we got to long-awaited bay with a sand beach we’ve seen dark elves squad (wearing black), that was just setting in battle order to attack the camp inhabited by brightly dressed. This spectacle made a proper impression upon us and we moved further. All more or less nice camp sites have been inhabited, but we were damn lucky to find very nice place on a no-name round island near the south-east end of Sidirov. There we left for the day stay.
Our crew from left to right - navigator, Cap, cook, ship boy
View on open sea
6 inch pine
Windward side of island
Dusk
8th of August. We decided to go on cape Sharapov to the south-east behind the Pezhostrov island. The first part of our way we moved in calm weather but in the Glubokaya (deep) Salma strait wind suddenly aroused and we had to look for escape in a long and narrow Summer bay isolated from the sea with the island in the mouth. Nice place, looks like 1:32 fiord model. Letnyaya (Summer) river flows into the dead end of this bay, but we did not go so deep and stayed in the mouth of small spring. There we lunched and made a walk to the lake from which spring flows. Then we waited for the calm weather and about 6 pm we continued our journey. It was too far a way to the cape Sharapov (and most part of it in a open sea with no islands to hide behind from the weather) and we decided to stay on a small Sosnovets island, the last island in Glubokaya Salma strait.
We are on the way to Sosnovets
There we were caught up by a stormy weather and waited till it was over couple of days.
9th and 10th of August. We are waiting for a weather.
Cap in a camp
Drunkard-dog kennel near the fishermen cabin
Our bay with a camp
Stormy weather in Glubokaya Salma
This is not a big waves but still enough to keep Taimen at bay :) Real storms happen here every autumn with the waves up to 6 meters (20 feet) high.
Bad weather is over. Rainbow above the cape Sharapov.
Evening 10th of August we fled Sosnovets. Our novices got a phobia we would be locked forever on a damn island. We reached Luda Pesochnaya (sandy), small island between Big islands of Pezhostrov and Kishkin in Praymaya (straight) Salma strait.
11th of August. Short passage to the Sidorov island. Dark squad was sitting on a shore waiting for a ship and we made a camp in the very bay where battle was in a full swing so recently. Soon Dark departed.
Breakfast on Luda Pesochnaya.
View on a Medyanka island from the Luda Pesochnaya
From the same point. View on Kishkin island
Beach on Sidorov island, the place of recent battle :)
While Cap was guarding our camp, we ran around the island. The view on a sea and islands from the highest point of the island is so beautiful, breathtaking with no exaggeration. Wooden geodetic tower stayed here before. I climbed it in 1994 and in 2002 it was standing still. But it collapsed and now it is impossible to take panoramic shots without trees interfering.
View on islands
open sea
Eastern bay of the island facing open sea and there is best beach in the region. Kelp thrown ashore by the recent storm.
I took Galya and Ivam back to camp, pick up Cap and went on a second round with him. Sunset in a nothern bay
12th of August. Just 10 days for a whole trip… How little, how damn little time we had :( We are going into Chupa bay, heading on railroad station in the deep dead end of the bay. Islands and open sea left behind, we passed Keret island, Oleny (deer) island in the Chupa bay and camped on a spot where fishermen cabin marked on a map. It burned down long ago, now here is just campsite. Freshwater we took from a spring near the camp.
Galya found orange-cap boletus
Last evening under the sky.
13th of August. Last couple hours of paddling. We found the place cell phone works near the last camp and arranged that a car pick us up in Pulonga village so we do not need to travel all way to Chupa. On the way we were passing old ferry site where I lived for a month in 1994 during school field practice. I got out for couple of minutes to see the place.
We reached Pulonga. Despite the short distance we covered that day our novices were exhausted. Probably, weariness accumulated over the trip and hit them finally :)
Cap is packing his Taimen
Me and Cap reluctantly while Galya and Ivan with pleasure were returning to Moscow.
I returned there 2009 and 2010, but this is a separate story...