{"id":4800,"date":"2015-08-02T11:50:38","date_gmt":"2015-08-02T08:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ants-in-pants.com\/?p=4800"},"modified":"2018-01-02T21:57:01","modified_gmt":"2018-01-02T19:57:01","slug":"mutnovsky-volcano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ants-in-pants.com\/en\/blog\/mutnovsky-volcano\/","title":{"rendered":"Mutnovskiy volcano (Kamchatka)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The trip to Mutnovsky volcano became one of the most unforgettable Kamchatka memories for us. The volcano is still active, but mainly with its fumaroles thar emit steam and gases. The volcano\u2019s activity became useful for the geothermal power plant<\/a> built nearby.<\/p>\n

Even though Mutnovsky volcano is only 80 kilometers from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, it is not so easy to reach it. At first, we planned to get there on foot and by hitchhiking \u2013 this was rather na\u00efve during the anomalously cold summer of 2015. Pay your attention: the photos were made in July!
\n\"2DSC_3054\"<\/p>\n

At first, we have to reach the Termalny settlement by the asphalt road (you can do it by public bus) \u2013 then the gravel road starts, and then there is no road at all. You can of course walk (we got ready for that by having all the tracks on our GPS), but you must take into account your own experience, preparation, equipment, and major dangers: weather and bears. We saw how the wonderful weather changes into the thick fog in 30 seconds, and that is how the hikers mainly get lost. If there is no snow, there is a trail; in case of the snow, there is no any guiding line. Leaping ahead, when we went to Tolbachik volcano several days after, our guide who had been working in this natural park for 30 years, got lost in the fog.
\n\"DSC_3098\"<\/p>\n

One more danger is a bear: there are currently 20000 bears at Kamchatka per 300000 humans. Every local has a story about meeting a bear, sometimes more than one, so do not think that the bear has nothing to do on the volcano. At the time we were visiting Mutnovsky, all the drivers knew that there was living a young male and a mother bear with her kids. The latter could be one of the most dangerous encounters. The bears are cannibals, eating the small ones, that is why the mother is extremely cautious, destroying everybody who can damage her kids (the bears also have poor eyesight, and the mother bear will easily mix you up with a grown up bear). Similarly, encountering the bear on the river is no good: the bear, but not you, is an owner of the fish there. There is no reliable way to escape from the bear \u2013 even using the gun does not give any guarantees, since the wounded bear is more dangerous that the healthy one. You should make a lot of noise frightening the bear away, use the flares and sprays (available in Start shop in Petropavlovsk), climb the tree or just pretend you are dead. The internet has a lot of advice on the topic, and since we do not have our own experience of encountering the bear, it can be a better authority.
\nAfter considering all the dangers, we found two guides, Igor and Maxim, driving a group to the volcano. For only 5000 rubles (around 85 euros) we did not get frozen, lost, or killed by the bears; seeing the conditions the drivers had to drive at, you understand what you pay for. Also, we were considering hiring a 4WD for 3500 rubles a day and going on our own \u2013 this was a funny thought. Interestingly, the car hiring agency even tried to persuade us that we could reach Mutnovsky on our own.<\/p>\n