Listvianka slowly disappears in the background, as the bus shuttle races on the jumpy road. It will pass by Irkutsk and then make its way towards Olkhon Island, a 73 square kilometers island located a few hundred meters from the west shore of the Great Baikal Lake. The trip takes us around 8 hours in total. At first the roads are good, and we make a stop at a local cafeteria to enjoy some local delicacies. I get Pelminis, local dumplings served in a soup, which are very tasty and cheap.

Lukas and I are travelling together, and discussed quite a bit, but we are joined soon after by some other travelers. Jan, Ingeborg, Oleg and Thomas join our discussions. Soon we have to go down the bus and take the boat towards the island. The scenery is already majestic. I can’t wait to discover the rest of the island.

From there on, the road transforms into a bumpy earth track, with a width that varies a lot, sometimes leaving space for only one vehicle, sometimes widening to reach more than 12 meters. These roads are captivating, result of the driving habits of the locals, with no apparent order. The Russian cars have high heels, and overtake by us at high speed, while we scuttle along the road, trying not to break a wheel on the wavy track. These bus shuttles aren’t made for the local roads!

When we arrive in Khuzhir, the main and only “town” on Olkhon, we decide to all share some beers and a meal after the long journey. Follows a nice evening with new friends, and a well-deserved rest. I really enjoy the company, but as it hasn’t really stopped for two weeks, I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and some quiet times.

The hostel I stay in is kind enough to agree with me leaving some of my stuff there for the days to come. I want to hike and go to sleep outside, but my bag is quite heavy, and some equipment is just useless for hiking (like my 2 kg laptop+charger combo). Happy and light, Ingeborg Lukas and I venture towards the north. First we stop at the shaman rock, a famous local site, site of power of the island. In shamanism, this island is considered to be one of the five global poles of energy that exist on this planet. We take some picture, but most importantly, I leave some offerings here for all the loved ones I care for, and one to bless my trips to come. The landscape is wide open, grassy, sunny and majestic. In the distance, on the other side of the water, stony mountains silently watch over the region. 

We discuss about our travels, our destinations, our experiences, what we expect from all this, our lives, and that is the moment Ingeborg mentions Nepal. She wants to go there after China, and hike the Annapurna. “October and November are the best month to hike there. It’s high season” I can still hear her say. I see snow peaks, high mountain chains, incredible landscapes, colorful prayer flags. The Nepal seed is now planted in me. I feel it already, I won’t be able to get rid of the idea, it appeals to me way too much. Lukas and Ingeborg spot that instantly, and are more than happy to make fun of my enthusiasm for the rest of the road. They know I’ll be going there. No doubt.

We then walk two hours towards the north, following the coastline, to discover even more natural beauties. This island is a mix of various types of terrain that remind me of distant places: 

• Pine forest growing on the rear of sand beaches. Spain
• Grassy areas, extending to the horizon. Scotland
• Healthy and dense pine forest covering small mountains. Switzerland
• Dreamy beaches, where a cold breeze engulfs you, in a cold but paradisiac image. Sweden

Each hour you walk, you discover a new biome, a new landscape, and new colors. That is on the grassy plains that I split with Ingeborg and Lukas that will head back to Khuzir for the night. Alone, I venture forward for a bit, along the side of the island, and then turn right towards the inside of these lands. Into the wild. I feel a bit like Alexander Supertramp, so I pop my earplugs in and listen to some Eddie Vedder, keeping me company as I continue my progression towards the highest mountain in sight. After two hours, I realise it’s too far, so I aim for a smaller mountain on the side. After a total of 6h walk, I decide to put camp down in the middle of a pine forest, calm and magical.

The nature, the plants and the terrain are changing, evolving in colors, but there are signs of heavy fires everywhere. This forest had to endure hard times during the last year. Burnt pieces of wood scattered on the floor. Whole trees burnt on their feet, their black skeleton still standing. Yet, on top of these traces of destruction, life thrives, plants grow again, young green leaves spread happily. The circle of life. From life, to death, to life, and so on.

I plant my tent, secure a good 1.5 square meter of wet dirt to install my fire in the center, organise my backpack and start collecting wood. The night will be cold, so the reassuring warmth of a fire should be needed. After a good pile of dry wood is secure, I prepare some feather sticks to ease its launch, gather some pine bark, setup a little raft to protect the wood of the moisture in the floor, and after some minutes, a small and happy fire is burning in front of me. 

The meal is quite simple tonight. As I was not sure to have a fireplace, I packed some raw food that does not need processing. Some dark bread, some cedar nuts flavored hummus and dry sausage from my appetiser. The forest is so calm, it’s almost unbelievable. I can spot a fox, some white tundra rabbits, but nothing more. 

I let my fire die for now. I might have started it too soon. It’s not cold yet, and I don’t want to let it burn as I leave. Then, I take some time to appreciate the forest calm, and take a little walk for digestion, making sure not to lose my way back to camp. Also, I pack my food inside an odor-proof bag and a waterproof bag, to then lift it in a tree using some cord. With this, I’m sure not to attract any animal towards my camp, and avoid finding a fox ripping through my bags in the morning.

The rest of the evening, I’ll be sitting by the fire, watching over it, making sure it is not spreading, as the whole forest is very dry, covered with pine needles, and a single ember could start a devastating forest fire. Better safe than sorry. I eat some dried noodles to keep me warm, and enjoy a piece of chocolate as dessert, for the moral and good sugars. The book “L’usage du monde” by Nicolas Bouvier keeps me company, and inspires me with its vision of travel. Soon, I begin feeling cold, and decide to go to bed soon. But the fire is a danger I’m not willing to take lightly. So I stand there, eyes plunged in the ambers, in the dark, listening to silence and observing the red dots disappearing one by one, slowly leaving me in a very deep darkness.

I can only see shadows around, and at that moment I lift my eyes towards the sky. The spectacle is out of this world. I thought I knew what the milky way looked like, from my Swiss village, with low light pollution. I was SO wrong. I can see the shadows of the trees drawn in front of a deep-blue sky, covered by thousands of stars, of all sizes and intensity. They are scattered all over the sky, forming mystical shapes, promesses of far away dying worlds. I feel so small, insignificant, microscopic compared to the size of the cosmos. I feel alive.

The night following this evening by the fire will be way less fun than expected. Temperature dropped to -5 degrees Celsius, my water bottle froze in my tent, and my brand new sleeping bag wasn’t enough. That’s what you get when you prioritize weight. I’ve learned my lesson, and the most important piece of gear you can have while sleeping outside is your sleeping bag. I’ll have to change it. Nonetheless, with my long underwear and piling my jackets above me, I manage to sleep a decent 4 hours. Then I start another fire for my cold feet and hands, drink a cup of tea, break camp and leave towards the river I spotted on the map.

Arrived there, no water to be seen. The tree rivers I saw on the map are dry, and as I only have one liter of water on me, I walk through the forest towards Khuzhir. There’s an airport on the way, I should be able to get some water there. 6 hours later, I’m back to town. I get my stuff back, find a new hostel to stay in, move there and go out for a beer.

As my equipment seems to be too limited for this weather, I might go back to Irkutsk tomorrow with Lukas, and plan the rest of my trip from there. This evening , I meet up again with my Dutch friend Nicky, and a Swiss couple she met on the way: Sabine and Thomas. Some beers and a meal later, it’s time to go to sleep. It’s decided. tomorrow morning I head towards Irkutsk. 

I’m quite tired, not only from my two days of walking, which were quite soft, but from the rhythm I adopted since the beginning of my travels. I need to take a weekend off, to take care of me, and I need to go slower if I want to handle it long-term. It’s not a race. It’s not a week of holidays between months of work where I want to pack as much experiences as possible. It’s my travel. I’ll take that opportunity to inform myself on Nepal, and further inquiry if it is a possible destination or not.

#bucket-list

• First overnight trek of my travel
• Feel the energy of the great Baikal Lake