In search of bright water. Northern Urals from the latitudinal section of the Shugor River to the upper reaches of the Pechora Fish and fishing

The Shchuger River is one of the most interesting and popular tourist rivers in the Subpolar Urals. With its geographical location, the beauty of the surrounding mountains, its mountainous character, it attracts tourists from various cities and regions of our country, the number of which is increasing every year.

Shchuger- the largest right tributary of the Pechora. It originates from the Saran-Iz ridge with the highest peak Pele Nier (1075 m). Here, on the northeastern slope of the mountain range from an altitude of 720 m above sea level, Shchuger begins his more than three hundred kilometers (304 km) journey to the confluence with Pechora.

There are several exits to the upper reaches of the mountain Shchuger. Rafting can be started from the road bridge (Coordinates: 63°19"41"N 59°7"26"E) on the Pripolyarny highway.

Pon-Yu- the left tributary of the Shchuger - has a length of 31 km. This is a fast, shallow river, the lower course of which for 8 km can be used to transport cargo by kayak.

The Shchuger River at the confluence of the Pon-Yu has a width of up to 20 m with an average depth of 0.5-0.6 m. From here you can start kayaking, and at higher water levels - on a raft or boat.

Pon-Yu River - Moroi River (57 km).
Slow small riffles follow one after another. The river flow speed does not exceed 1 m/sec. The river bed is replete with islands, the river is split into numerous channels, often very small. In low water, even in kayaks, it is difficult to pass some of the riffles of the upper reaches of the Shchugor. At the 12th km of the route, the river bed crosses an easily passable threshold formed by a group of stones.

20 km from Pon-Yu after the large island the river makes a large bend, after which there is again a simple rapid. At the left turn of the river, the channel narrows, the fast current hits the coastal rock and, reflected from it, rolls over the stone slab in a seething stream. A slab blocks the channel across almost the entire width of the river, leaving only a narrow passage on the left bank. At high water levels, the slab is hidden under water, and passing the rapids on a kayak and raft is not difficult.

To the right and left along the river there are two lines of mountains, covered with forest below, and gray rocky ridges at the top. Rough, sharply defined peaks rise above the river valley Telpossky ridge: Khora-Iz (1326 m), Khalmer-Sala (1274 m), the highest peak of this part of the Urals is clearly visible - Telpos-Iz (1617 m).

On the slopes of the mountain ranges surrounding the river valley there are numerous patches of snow-white patches of snowfields and small glaciers. Small but stormy rivers originate from them, filling Shchugor with clean mountain water.

At the 35th km of the road, a stormy stream flows into Shchuger on the left, originating from a large tarn lake at the southeastern foot of Mount Hora-Iz. You can use it to make an interesting climb to this little-explored peak of the Urals.

The river flows north, making countless turns, every now and then changing depth and width (from 20 to 70 m).
Closer to the mouth of the Halmerya (63.806021, 59.409877) and Moroi rivers, flowing from the Telpos ridge, the river flow becomes more even, there are fewer stones in the riverbed. At the bends of the river, a majestic panorama of Telpos-Iz opens up, dominating all the nearby peaks. In quiet sections of the river, the peak is reflected in the water, leaving an unforgettable impression.

Soon Shchuger receives the Moroi River (63.827149, 59.408271). Not far from the mouth of the river you can find a good place for camp. From here you can make a radial exit to the Telpos ridge, examine the Govorukhin glacier, and climb Telpos-Iz.

Moroi River - Great Rapids (11 km).
6 km from the mouth of the river. The Moroi stream flows into the right, from which it is no more than 2 km to the Big Rapids. The mountains approaching the river squeeze Shchuger, cluttering it with fragments of rocks and boulders. The river is crossed by an old moraine ridge, which forms a threshold (63.920657, 59.473203).
The entire rapid can be divided into three stages of 800 m each. Between the steps there are calm sections of the river. The possibility of passing the rapids by kayak and raft largely depends on the water level in the river. In low water, the rafts will have to be abandoned and rebuilt below the threshold, and the kayaks will have to be carried along the shore.

In medium and deep water, the rapids come to life, clearly defined drains appear along which kayaks and rafts can be guided. But in order to successfully pass the rapids, it is necessary to do preliminary reconnaissance, outline the path of the vessel, and remember the characteristic landmarks. The most difficult is the second stage of the rapid, at the exit from which the river bed is blocked by a rocky ridge, forming a steep drainage, more than 1 m high.

Big rapids - the mouth of the Telpos River (58 km).
Beyond the threshold, the river bed expands to 100-150 m and becomes shallow again. 15 km below the Big Rapid, the Volokovka River (64.024648, 59.487044) flows into Shchugor, along the valley of which at the end of the 19th century passed the Sibiryakovsky Tract (64.026269, 59.440512) - the road from Pechora to the Ob, laid by the industrialist Sibiryakov for the export of Siberian grain.

2 km from Volokovka on the right bank of the Shchuger there is a closed hydrometeorological station Verkhniy Shchugor and a helipad (64.031014, 59.457960). The station is not visible from the river.

The shallow water stretches all the way to the confluence of the Torgovaya River (Hatemalya - 64.057192, 59.414616) 7 km from the weather station. In the area where the Torgovaya confluences, the Shchugor changes its direction to the west and enters a narrow valley between the Telpossky ridge and the Research Ridge, forming a series of fast rapids and simple rifts. Then the river makes several sharp turns and receives on the left numerous small rivers flowing from the northern and western slopes of Telpos Isa. Along one of the streams (Durnoy-Iol), flowing in a deep gorge, there is the most convenient route to Telpos-Iz (15 km).

Telpos-Iz translated into Russian means “Nest of the Winds”. The mountain fully lives up to its name. In the Telpos Isa area, winds constantly blow, and the peak is often covered with a cap of clouds. This significantly complicates the ascent to the summit, and if the group does not have experience of hiking in difficult meteorological conditions, it cannot be recommended to climb Telpos-Iz.
Below the mouth of the Durnoy-Iol stream, rapids follow one after another. The most difficult of them, the so-called “Bad Threshold,” is located at a mountain of 1052 m, located in alignment with the Telpos-Iz peak. Along the banks of the river there are increasingly high coastal cliffs. At the 58th km from the Big Rapids, Shchugor receives a large tributary - the Telpos River (63.964736, 58.8846111).

Telpos River - Upper Gate of Shchuger (75 km).
The width of the Shchuger below the mouth of the Telpos River reaches 100 m. The river makes a sharp bend and rushes to the north. The banks of the Shchuger are high, sometimes sheer, with limestone cliffs that drop steeply to the water. At the confluence of the river on the left. Sed-Yu (64.008269, 58.638523) Shchuger is included in the Parm region. After 7 km, on the left bank of the river you can see the remains of the settlement of Gerd-Yu (64°4"18"N 58°38"23"E). Opposite rises the picturesque rock Gerd-Yu. Rafts usually travel from the former weather station to the remains of the village of Gerd-Yu in two days.

At the 42nd km, Shchugor takes the river on the right. Maly Patok (64.163821, 58.550042). At the mouth of the tributary there is a hunting hut (64.166292, 58.561800), where you can stay overnight. Below the mouth of Maly Patok, Shchugor becomes even more water-rich. From here begins one of the most beautiful sections of the Shchugor River. Almost along its entire length the river has a mountainous character. Rocky rifts and simple rifts alternate with reaches, along the banks of which high cliffs often rise.
At the 30th km of the route, you come across the Shirokoye Reach, below which there is a strong riffle-rift called the Narrow Zev. The length of the roll is 2 km. The roll splits

to Upper, Middle and Lower. The most stormy - Middle roll - at the Shelyasor rock.
At the 33rd km of the route from Maly Patok, the riverbed of the Shchuger narrows, forming the Upper Gate. They are cliffs rising vertically on both banks of the river, along which the Shchuger calmly flows. Above the Upper Gate on the right, the Veldor-Kyrta-Iol stream flows into Shchugor (Veldor-Kyrtael -64.166292, 58.561800). There is a picturesque waterfall 200 m up the stream. At the mouth of the stream is a convenient place for camp.

The upper gate is the village of Ust-Shchugor (76 km).
Below the Upper Gate, Shchuger makes a large bend and rushes to the west. 2 km below the gate in the river bed there is a Krivoy roll, which is a steep drop-off with a complex fairway between two islands. Below the Crooked Roll, the Krasny Creek flows in on the right, after which you encounter the simple Parapon Roll. The left bank of the river is dominated by the beautiful Parapon-Kyrta rock. The next rift is called the Zyryan rift and it is located in front of the Middle Gate of Shchuger - the most picturesque on the river.

From the Middle Gate it remains 9 km to a large tributary - the Bolshoi Patok River (64.340784, 58.199518). At the mouth of Bolshoy Patok there is an island that needs to be bypassed along the left channel. The width of the rivers reaches 180-200 m.

The taiga often retreats from the banks, giving way to flooded meadows; 4 km below the mouth of Bolshoi Patok, on the left bank you can see a fishermen’s base. At the 24th km from Bolshoy Patok, the river bed branches into two channels, forming an island (64.204320, 58.046398). Passage is possible along the right channel.

At the exit from it, there used to be the first settlement of the route - the Michabichevnik parking lot (64.194550, 58.033040). Several families of hereditary fishermen and hunters lived in the village.

At the exit from the bend there are the last - Lower - gates (5 km). If you have time, tourists can take an excursion to the Lower Gate area and explore the seven caves.


Below the last gate, the Shchuger flows in low banks. There are many shallows in the wide river bed (300 m), and there are large and small islands. The water in the river is clean and transparent. There are many ducks on the river, and game and animals in the riverine forests.

The final destination of the water trip is the village Ust-Shchuger(64.194550, 58.033040) is located on the left bank near Pechora, 2 km below the mouth of the river. Shchuger.

There are currently no settlements on the river. There are tourist sites equipped by the staff of the Yugyd Va National Park, and ecotourism is developing.

Material used: Golovko V.K., Okoneshnikov V.A. Along the rivers of the Urals. Sverdlovsk, Middle Ural book publishing house, 1973.

Shchugor is a protected river, one of the rivers of the national park in the Komi Republic “Yugyd Va”.

Shchugor originates from springs in the very heart of the Northern Urals, flows briskly between the ridges along the valley to the north, and then goes west, along the Pechora lowland and flows into the Pechora River .
Shchugor flows its entire route through the territory of the Yugyd Va National Park.

The river originates in one of the most remote places, in the region of the “pole of relative inaccessibility” of the Northern Urals. The source is located at an altitude of more than 750 meters above sea level, between the peaks of the Molydiz, Akvalsupnel and Paryaur mountains.

For the first 100 km, Shchugor flows almost strictly north, along a valley bounded by the meridional ridges Yany-Yankech, Khosaner and Summakhner from the east, and the Tuytymner, Telpossky and Uuty ridges from the west. In the area of ​​Mount Telposis, Shchugor follows the conventional border between the Northern and Subpolar Urals. Here it turns west and crosses the western ridges of the Ural Mountains, breaking through between Telposis and the southern slopes of the Research Ridge. Further, the Shchugor crosses the Parma region and flows into the Pechora near the village of Ust-Shchugor.
Shchugor is distinguished by its exceptional purity and transparency of water. The river is shallow along almost its entire length, abounds in rifts, and there are rapids. There are several interesting geological monuments on Shchugor: Ovin-stone, Upper, Middle and Lower Gates.
At the end of the 19th century, the Sibiryakovsky tract (Shchugorsky portage) ran along Shchugor - the road from Pechora to the Ob, laid by the industrialist Sibiryakov for the export of Siberian grain.
There are currently no settlements on the river. There are tourist sites equipped by the staff of the Yugyd Va National Park, and ecotourism is developing.
The main tributaries are the following rivers: Hatemalya (Torgovaya), Telpos, Maly and Bolshoi Patok.

Shchugor River

Geographical position of the Shchugor River
Shchugor (Shchugyr) - mountain river in the Komi Republic, right tributary of the Pechora River. It originates on the western slope of the Northern Urals (from the slope of Mount Molydyz).1
The length of the river is 300 km, the basin area is 9660 km². Sources on the western slope of the Northern Urals. The river is fed by rain and snow. Average water flow is 252 m³/sec. Freeze-up from late October to early June.
Shchugor is a spawning ground for salmon.
Shchugor is a protected river, one of the rivers of the national park in the Komi Republic “Yugyd Va”. The transparency of the water in the Shchugor River reaches significant values; the bottom is visible at a depth of 8 meters.
Shchugor arises from springs in the very heart of the Northern Urals, flows briskly between the ridges along the valley to the north, and then goes west, along the Pripechora lowland and flows into Pechora.

Brief navigation of the Shchugor River (rapids, rifts)

Ponyu - Moroi (57 km). The Shchugor at the confluence of the Ponyu has a width of up to 20 m with an average depth of 0.5-0.6 m, and a speed of 1 m/s. Small riffles, islands in the riverbed. The river is divided into channels, often very small. At 12 km there is an easily passable rapid formed by a group of stones.
20 km from Ponyu, after a large island, the river makes a bend, after which there is again an easy rapid. At the left turn of the river, the channel narrows, the fast current hits the coastal rock and, reflected from it, rolls over the stone slab. The slab almost blocks the channel, leaving only a narrow passage on the left bank.
A good parking lot 25 km from Ponyu on the dry right bank below the mouth of the left tributary of the Shchugor. At 35 km of the way, a large stream flows in on the left, originating from a large tarn lake at the southeastern foot of Hora-Iz. You can use it to climb to this peak (12 km).
Closer to the mouth of the Halmerya and Moroi rivers, the flow becomes smoother and there are fewer stones in the riverbed. Having passed the mouth of the river. Halmerya, flowing from a picturesque lake in the Telpos ridge, through the 2 km mouth of the Moroi, below which there is a large island (750 m in length). Opposite the island, on the left elevated bank, near a large spruce tree with the bark removed from the bottom of the trunk, there is a place for camp. From here you can make a radial trip to the Telpos ridge, the Yuzhny glacier at the source of the Moroi, the Govorukhin glacier - the source of Telpos-yu, and try to climb Telpos-Iz.
There is no point in going through the Moroi Valley - the river makes a loop to the north, and the banks are swampy. From the camp straight to the west (azimuth 270 degrees). The first 8-10 km of the path is difficult - a swampy valley and windfall taiga. At the upper border of the forest, turn north-west, exit after 3 km to the Moroi coast. Walk up the river 6 km to the lake into which the tongue of the Yuzhny glacier rests. 1 km north of the glacier there is the second peak of the ridge (1475 m), which is easy to climb by going around the kar and the glacier in it from the west (2 km). The climb to Telpos from here is difficult. You will have to go down 1 km from a steep slope to the north to the vorga at the pass, passing east of the Govorukhin glacier. Walk 2 km along the ridge to the east and, rounding the spur of the ridge from the east, begin climbing along the crest of the ridge to the top (6 km). The entire route with the ascent to Telpos-iz is 5-6 km round trip.

Ural, map of the Shchugor River

R. Moroi - Great Rapids (11 km). 6 km from the mouth of the river. The Moroi stream flows into the right, from which it is no more than 2 km to the B. Threshold. The river is crossed by an old moraine ridge, which forms a threshold. The riverbed is littered with boulders for 3 km, over which foaming water rapidly rolls. The entire rapid can be divided into 3 stages of 800 m each. There are areas of calm water between the steps. The most difficult stage is the 2nd stage of the rapid, at the exit from which the river bed is blocked by a rocky ridge, forming a steep drop-off more than 1 m high.
Big Threshold - r. Telpos (58 km). Beyond the threshold the width of the channel is 100-150 m and again shallow. The river flows 15 km below B. Porog. Volokovka. 2 km below it on the right bank is the Verkhniy Shchugor hydroelectric station (250 m from the water, on a hill). From GMS to the river. Shallow water stretches for 7 km. Torgovaya flows into three branches on the right. There are a lot of grayling in a deep hole opposite the mouth. The Shchugor changes direction to the west and flows this way almost to the confluence of the Sedyu. Shchugor from the north goes around Mount Shakhtarova, located east of the Telpos-iz massif. The river still has a fast current and rapids, but they do not prevent the descent. Quite often there are low islands, so you need to watch the flow so as not to fall into a dry channel.
Shchugor enters a narrow valley between the Telposizkiy ridge and the Research Ridge, forming a series of fast rapids and simple rifts. Then it makes several sharp turns and takes in numerous small rivers on the left. Along one of the streams (Durnoy-Yol), flowing in a deep gorge, there is the most convenient route to Telpos-iz (12-15 km). This area is characterized by continuous winds and clouds. Even on the clearest days, a cap of clouds hangs over the peak, and there are cold winds near the mountains. The slopes are covered with lichen and look like stepped screes that slide down at the slightest touch. It often rains, after which the lichen becomes slippery and the climb seems endless. The top of Telpos-iz is separated from the south by deep troughs with steep slopes, in places covered with screes. The slopes of the upper part of Telpos-iz are formed by three karas. In one there is a glacier, and in the other there is an oblong lake. The steep cliffs above the lake rise up to 500 m. The water is very clean, turquoise in color. Its depth is up to 50 m. The Northern Kar has the most regular shape. At its base there is a lake and then a flat plateau strewn with large boulders. At a considerable distance from the Kara, the plateau ends with a steep slope with screes, giving rise to the valleys of two small tributaries of the Shugor. One of them (the valley of the Durnoy-Yol stream) cut deeply into glacial deposits.
At the mouth of the river Glubnik Shchugor splits into branches, forming numerous low islands. The glubnik flows into the right channel, and usually passes along the left. That's why he always goes unnoticed. 12 km below Glubnik is the mouth of the river. Telpos.

Shchugor river, rafting on the Komi rivers

Below the mouth of Durny-Yol, the rifts follow one after another. The rapids here are characterized by a frantic current, and some threaten with large boulders sticking out of the water. The most difficult one is the “Bad Threshold” - at a mountain of 1052 m, located in alignment with the Telpos-iz peak. Below the mouth of Durny-Yol, after a large bend to the north, Shchugor again rushes to the west. At 58 km from B. Porog it receives the river. Telpos. To the left of the mouth, on a low pebble bank, there is a good place for a camp - there is almost always a breeze (from midges), and to the left of the mouth there is a hole, above which grayling can be caught well near the rift.
Telpos - Upper Gate (75 km). Near the mouth of the river. Telpos (flows from the left) Shchugor calms down somewhat. The first high cliffs appear. 20 km below Telpos, Shchugor receives the Sedya River on the left and enters the Parma region. After 7 km, on the left bank there are the remains of the Gerd-Yu settlement, opposite the picturesque Gerd-Yu rock. The width of the river here is 100 m. At 42 km from Telpos, a large tributary, Maly Patok, flows into the right, just before the mouth there is a significant rapid, and beyond the threshold there is a hole where there is a lot of grayling.
In the area of ​​Parma (110 km) Shchugor has the character of a mountain river. Deep long stretches alternate with rifts and rapids. At 30 km of the way there is a Wide reach, below which there is a strong roll - the narrow ridge. Its length is 2 km. It is divided into Upper, Middle and Lower. The most stormy is the Medium one near the Shelyasor rock.
At 33-35 km from M. Patok, the Shchugor channel narrows, forming the Upper Gate. Before the gate we sail past the right rocky shore. These rocks were cut through by the deep stream Vel-dor-kyrtayol, which flows into Shchugor. Having caught up with him, you can hear the sound of falling water. The stream is very beautiful; it flows through a deep gorge overgrown with forest. Having climbed 200 m up the stream, we saw a powerful, beautiful waterfall (15 m). Opposite the mouth of the stream on the left bank is a good place for camp. There is good fishing here and 4 caves on the right bank. One of the cave grottoes is located 25 m above Shchugor below the mouth of the stream. Its height is 3.5 m, width up to 5 m. Below the stream, the river valley narrows, forming the Upper Gate.
Upper Gate - Ust-Shchugor (76 km). 2 km below the gate is the Krivoy Roll - a steep drop with a complex fairway between two islands. Below the Crooked Creek is the Krasny Stream. Zyryan - a roll in front of the Middle Gate (the most spectacular). From the Upper Gate to the Middle Gate is 9 km. In the rocks of the Middle Gate the largest cave is Sher-kyrta. Its length is 100 m, the height of one of the grottoes is 6 m. The Gate rocks rise to 100 m. Upon exiting the Gate, the left bank goes far away, but the right one rises and exposes Permian thin-layered sandstones and shales.
9 km below the Gate, Shchugor receives B. Patok, in front of which there is a violent, unsafe rapid with high standing shafts. At the mouth of B. Patoka there is an island that is bypassed along the left channel. The width of the river here is 180-200 m. Below B. Molasses there are many small places. After 2.5-3 hours, the channel branches into 2 channels, forming an island. It’s better to go on the right, it’s deeper, at the end of it on the high right bank (24 km below the mouth of B. Patoka) is the village of Michabechevnik. From it to Ust-Shchugor 32 km. There are still dangerous rapids and very picturesque Lower Gates ahead. There are many fossil shells and 7 caves in their layers. The width of the channel here is up to 300 m, there are many shallows. Several islands appear, but they also disappear. The valley becomes wide, and after a few hours the current carries it to Pechora. On the left bank of the Pechora, 2 km below the mouth of the Shchugor, is the village of Ust-Shchugor.

Shchugor River
Water register data, Shchugor River

According to the state water register of Russia, it belongs to the Dvina-Pechora basin district, the water management section of the river is Pechora from the water-measuring station near the village of Sherdino to the confluence of the Usa River, the river sub-basin of the river is the basins of the tributaries of the Pechora to the confluence of the Usa. The river basin is Pechora.
According to the geoinformation system for water management zoning of the territory of the Russian Federation, prepared by the Federal Agency for Water Resources:
The code of the water body in the state water register is 03050100212103000062064
Code for hydrological knowledge (HI) - 103006206
Pool code - 03.05.01.002
Volume number according to GI - 03
Issue according to GI - 0

Tributaries (km from mouth)
10 km: Medvezhya River (lv)
10 km: river Ustye-Temyol (lv)
15 km: river Ezovy-Yol (lv)
16 km: Tokarjol River (pr)
22 km: Kyrtayol River (pr)
32 km: watercourse of a channel without a name (pr)
34 km: Katya-Yol River (lv)
35 km: Malaya Katya-Yol River (lv)
53 km: Big Patok River (Ijid Potok) (pr)
61 km: Sher-Kyrtayol river (pr)
72 km: river Veldor-Kyrtayol (pr)
103 km: river without name (lv)
106 km: Maly Patok (Maly Potok) river (pr)
110 km: river without name (pr)
118 km: Gerdyu River (lv)
127 km: Sed-Yu River (lv)
147 km: Telpos river (lv)
158 km: river without name (pr)
159 km: Glubnik river (pr)
172 km: river without name (pr)
172 km: Nyart-Syuyu river (lv)
183 km: Hatemalya River (Torgovaya) (pr)
192 km: Volokovka River (Volokovaya, Naksorne-Volokhovka) (pr)
217 km: Moroya River (lv)
220 km: Khalmerya River (lv)
256 km: river without name (lv)
260 km: river without name (lv)
272 km: Pelenkurya river (pr)
275 km: Ponya River (lv).

Rocks Upper Gate of the Shchugor River

In the Vuktyl region, a canyon-shaped section of the river valley is subject to protection. Shchugor, which is a comprehensive GPP of federal significance. The rocky sides of the canyon are composed of coal deposits. The upper part of the section is represented by massive reef limestones of the Gzhel stage with a rich assemblage of fossil brachiopods. At the left bank outcrop, a contact between Carboniferous limestones and Permian terrigenous deposits can be traced.
In the right bank part of the canyon there are interesting weathering forms: pillars, cones, caves, niches, bas-reliefs. Here the Vodopadny stream flows into the river, which owes its name to a picturesque waterfall more than 15 m high, one of the largest in the Northern Urals. The GPP contains features of stratigraphic, paleontological and geomorphological types.

Hiking to the Shchugor River (Veslo.ru)

Shchugor is a mattress river, with the exception of a rather fun three-kilometer rapid in the upper reaches. It originates from springs in the very heart of the Northern Urals, vigorously flows between the ridges along the valley to the north, and then goes west, along the Pripechora lowland and flows into Pechora. The total fall of the river is more than 330 meters, and the length of the route from the gas pipeline to the mouth is about 320 kilometers.
The Shchugor flows through the territory of “Yugyd Va”, which in the Komi language means “light water”. In my opinion, it is Shchugor that personifies the park - I have never seen cleaner and more transparent water throughout the entire rafting trip. Even just for this reason, you can make such a long journey!... You can drink water from the boat at any time, dilute your tea; Beautiful graylings are visible swimming under the boat, the colored pebbles on the bottom are visible to the smallest detail, and on a sunny day the bottom of the holes is visible at a depth of up to eight meters! The children were almost constantly in the water, despite its coolness. After the hike, I didn’t have a single crack on my fingers, as usually happened after Karelia... To be honest, I expected the water to be much colder, and I told everyone to take swamp boots, but the river is fine in neoprene slippers and even in ordinary sneakers, and fishing is no problem You can fish from the shore and from a boat.
Along the entire length of the river, hundreds of small streams and springs, pristine, clean and cold, flow into it. The river bottom is always pebbles of different sizes.

Shchugor's character is swift, but not dangerous - small riffles, rapids and rifts are interspersed with sluggish deep spills or standing holes near the rocks. However, even in such low water, which we traditionally found ourselves in (40 cm less than usual), in the middle reaches of the river it was possible to travel up to 40 kilometers (in some places the river runs at a speed of ~4 km/h), and the thirty-meter water was walked without any strain at all. True, in the lower reaches we seriously struggled in the wind, and in the upper reaches we had to struggle for a couple of days, dragging boats through shallow rifts, which greatly reduced the speed of movement (~15 km per day). But stringing there is not particularly strenuous: there are no rubble on Shchugor, the river meanders from pebble to pebble, and small places can be found by wading. The river is constantly split into islands, forcing you to read the water and choose the right channel at the level of intuition. The lowering of the forest edge does not always indicate a good stream, and a wide and seemingly deep branch can be 10 cm deep.

Due to the drought, the tributaries turned into modest streams, littered with stones, and vividly reminded me of the sadly heroic campaign along Lakhna. The Leningraders who were slipping with us were hit hard - they intended to ride up Torgovaya, drag their feet and go down Maly Patok to Shchugor. As a result, the guys carried the kat on their hands almost the entire way, walking without days or normal rest. We met them already at the anti-stapel, emaciated and silent; and only alcohol seems to have poured life into them... J

Banks of the Shchugor River

The forest is gloomy, dense, full of dead wood and not intended for walking - real thickets of animals. So there is no problem of dead wood for the fire. There are practically no cheerful clearings, fields and meadows - their mission is carried out by stone pebbles and screes overgrown with grass.
There are also almost no parking lots on Shchugor, in their depraved Karelian understanding. Personally, this only made me happy. Thank God, this river has not yet been trampled and polluted. After the slipway, during our two weeks on the water we did not meet a single tourist.
You can swim 20, 30 kilometers - and the shores will be inhospitable everywhere - either pebbles, or rocks, or hummocky clearings with impassable trees and grass up to your neck. Crooked birches and sick brownish fir trees, overgrown with beards, are interspersed here and there with bright young fir or cedar. There are no pine trees, they appear only on Pechora, where the sand begins.
In principle, you can go to the extreme anywhere, the banks are not swampy - which is what we did in a couple of cases. We got up on the islands a couple of times (marked). I recommend standing on the windward side so that the wind disperses the eaters. But most of the sites indicated on the electronic map are still suitable for the group’s habitat, although they had to be looked for. Officially, only a couple of parking lots are marked with the park - one of them is opposite the rocks of the Upper Gate, and there are also good places in the “alien parking lot” and “parking lot No. 6”; the latter is visible from the water only thanks to a column made of stones. The weather station no longer exists as such, but the landmark remains: on the high right bank among the trees, a small gray house and a sign without an inscription are not immediately visible. There are three dirty mattresses in the house, so it’s better to spend the night on the shore; which is what we did.

Unfortunately, there were no mushrooms in Komi due to a month-long lack of rain, but blueberries could be found on almost all the rocks covered with moss. The lingonberries were just beginning to bloom, and the cloudberries were sitting in the lowlands, but were not in great demand, because the alcohol on them was of little taste.
It should be noted that the weather was very kind to us this time - in fact, we returned from the resort, and even with live water!

fishing on the Shchugor river, grayling

Checkpoints and rangers, opera and poachers...

At the checkpoint in the lower reaches of Shchugor (marked on the palm map), we had great pleasure talking with state inspector Nikolai Mikhailovich, who has been working in the park almost since the day of its foundation and told us a lot of interesting things about the life of the region. From him we learned that such heat and such early midges are generally difficult to remember. Therefore, the water is half a meter lower, and there are no gifts...
…The checkpoint is a kind of cordon for the raiders from Pechora, but tourists here are treated humanely. Don’t grab too much, don’t make a mess, put out the fires - and you will be welcome. Since there were no parking places, we were offered to stop for the night. Part of the group settled in a hut with a stove, and lovers of fresh air set up tents in the yard.
We talked about poaching and fishing. All huntsmen know very well that Turier catches grayling with a spinning rod; Well, he’ll catch a bucket, salt it and fry it, not a big loss. Other animals in the park are scary, about which below...

Operatives subordinate to Komirybvod quietly sneak up on guests on a fantastic pepelats - a hovercraft. Their faces are incorruptible, their gaze is stern... 8) The air cushion allows you to quickly walk along the river and overcome the rifts upstream. The opera catches poachers and gloomily looks into the boats of tourists. But tourists don’t catch salmon, there’s nowhere to put it, there’s a lot of stuff. We can buy salmon every day at a nearby supermarket. Poachers remain...
However, the trouble is that the pepelats cannot climb over the Great Threshold. And poachers mostly operate up to the threshold. True, salmon does not seem to reach there, but grayling and lake salmon (peled, brown trout) are probably transported by truck. They don’t catch them with a spinning rod, do they?... Besides, they shoot, apparently, from animals.
It is no secret that the route for servicing the gas pipeline is the only way to get “wheels into the water” to Shchugor; on the other hand, it certainly caused damage to the park and opened the door to numerous two-legged “predators.”
...From the gas pipeline and almost 30 kilometers down, the poachers’ Urals go straight along the river. Many times we walked along densely packed ruts, running from pebble to pebble, and where there are no ruts, the Ural scratches straight along the riverbed for hundreds of meters. On the rifts, the bottom, raised by wheels, blocks the channel with ridges, interfering with the migration of fry. The Pharisee Bridge over Shchugor, built by gas workers, is just an excuse for the park management. As an illustration, a green Ural was shamelessly following us, which had parked “for the night” on the island directly opposite, about 25 km from the bridge. Maybe they were waiting for a “messenger” from the tributary. Perhaps it was the park rangers themselves who were making a fool of themselves, but we did not swim up to the night guests.
...To be honest, after learning about the water level, I tried to ventilate in Vuktyl, whether it was possible to drop downstream in the “Ural” along the river bank. I was given an “ecological punishment”, with which I sadly agreed. Now we know that cars run calmly along the riverbed. But now I saw Shchugor too. And I personally don’t like such a barbaric method of getting onto a clean river; I’d rather slog through the wire a little, especially since the upper reaches are very beautiful, and it’s worth a walk there. Today, if I were offered to travel a couple of tens of kilometers by car, I would categorically refuse.

...The cruise boat taking us back to Vuktyl stopped opposite Andronovo, a few kilometers below Ust-Shchugor (marked by the point “poachers”) - a couple of men came out of the forest and loaded a bunch of heavy, tightly tied craft bags on board. There were probably acorns there :)

Big rapids, Shchugor river

The rapid starts from the Sumyakh-nyer ridge and flows north in three steps for about 3 km. Each supen is interspersed with some calm. I don’t know how we would have walked the threshold if it hadn’t rained for a day and a half before, adding about twenty centimeters to us... I must say that the threshold pleasantly pleased with the extreme - the first stage was rated as category 2, the second - “three rubles”, the third about 2, 5. By and large, it all came down to skillful maneuvering in a good current between hefty stones, with shafts, drains and even barrels. Our smart but inexperienced kayaker plunged twice, without a life preserver or helmet, but in waders, which made me think about accidents that give rise to tragedies, and that dummies still need to take life-saving equipment on the threshold... All other vessels went well. There is excellent fishing on the threshold, especially in front of it and after the second stage.

For a catamaran, the streams between the rocks are too narrow, and it seems to me that a catamaran has nothing to do on this river at all.

We passed the threshold in two hours, of which an hour was fishing while waiting for the slowest crew. In some reports, “the threshold was passed in 3 days” - well, this is the lot of the elite.

Telpos-Iz peak, view of Shchugor, Northern Urals

The ascent to Telpos-Iz deserves special mention. This is the highest mountain in the Northern Urals, 1617 meters above sea level. Of course, you won’t get altitude sickness there, but even such mountains once again proved to us that they must be treated with respect.
…The group ascended from “parking lot No. 6” (from the north), making a loop from left to right. Both peaks have been climbed. Of the eight people, only three reached the very top: Irina Koloskova, Masha Solovyova and our Ilyukha Postoev.

An excellent digital photo selection was made, fortunately the weather was clear - a huge rarity for Telpos-Isa.
Overestimation of strength and incorrect planning of time for ascent and descent clearly showed that those born to swim will rarely become a climber...)) I ran downstairs in frustration with a walkie-talkie until midnight, every hour contacting Ilyukha, who cheerfully reported that there were fewer and fewer “negros” and less, and then he completely fell out of radio communication range...
Part of the group that left at 10 am returned only at three am, completely exhausted. As a result of the ... licious attitude to the mountain winds of the Northern Urals, one of the group members, after climbing the plateau (not even reaching the top), became seriously ill, lay in a fever for two days, and for another two days he was dragged in a supine position on a rope in my “corpse wagon” "(So affectionately dubbed "Scout-36"). True, it later turned out that there was no hospital in Ust-Shchugor, but, fortunately, the man recovered himself, although he fell into the blues and asked to go to civilization.
Loss of strength and hypothermia could easily provoke pneumonia - one of my friends had already died this way, albeit at a higher altitude... We started fussing, and then it turned out that no one from the group had taken antibiotics! Old wolves are already accustomed to the fact that on mattress trips there are only diarrhea and cuts; such a habit could easily turn into a drama for a beginner, given that for three hundred kilometers there are no settlements or roads in that area.

…Telpos - It is as majestic as possible for the Urals, which is crumbling before our eyes, and the views from it are magnificent. Bare slopes overgrown with harsh lichen, rockfalls, glaciers, blue lake water, clear streams, masses of berries on the approaches, wind and primeval desolation... When planning your descent along Shchugor, be sure to set aside time for the ascent - you won’t regret it.
By the way, there is no need to take water up the mountain - there is plenty of it there. Better dress warmly...

mountain lake on top of Telpos

Rocks and caves

The middle course of the Shchugor is replete with beautiful rocks, covered with harsh spruce trees, clinging to the stones with their roots - either in the form of cliffs or long stone walls. The loose rock is interspersed with hard rocks, on which it is quite possible to organize rock-climbing competitions. The Upper, Middle and Lower Gates, framing the river on both banks, are magnificent. There are usually holes near the rocks where you can catch ide or perch.
The main caves are located on the Middle Gate. We foolishly climbed into a shallow (~ 30 m) grotto on the very first rocks of the Middle Gate, but it’s better to do real cave exploration lower down. In addition, we still didn’t understand where the 100-meter cave was... Apparently, on the right bank, where there are numerous “holes”. It would be nice if someone took a jar of acetone with them and erased the plebeian paintings of the “guests” on the rocks. Unfortunately, we were running out of time and, according to schedule, we didn’t even have time to glance out of the corner of our eyes into the dark, inviting openings in the Middle Gate...
At the Verkhniye Vorota, where we had an excellent day in the blueberry field, on the right bank the rock is cut through by a damp gorge of an unnamed stream. Along the right bank there is a narrow path that leads to a beautiful waterfall flowing straight from a hole in the rock.
In high water, a grayling comes into the stream to freshen up, and an ide sits in a hole near a rock...

Fish and fishing on the Shchugor River

Fishing on Shchugor is grayling. To catch pike, perch, peled, you need to go to the inland lakes along the banks of the tributaries - Torgovaya, both Patoks. There is ide in some holes. Salmon does not bite in the summer - it does not eat anything at all, rising from the Barents Sea along the Pechora and Shchugor. Usually the salmon reaches the rapids and spawns there. In September, having laid eggs, the salmon protects them, attacking everything that swims by and kills. At this time, you can catch it with a spoon, but, firstly, fishing for it is prohibited, and secondly, in September it is already frosty.
A herd of salmon is usually accompanied by a cloud of noisy seagulls. Seagulls, it seems, have generally taken root on Shchugor: we saw them in the very upper reaches, they sit on spruce trees like owls - a unique sight... It remains a mystery how they cling to branches with webbed feet.

The grayling in Shchugor is large and fighting. We caught carcasses ranging from 400 grams to one and a half kilograms. They didn't take small ones. Grayling bites almost everywhere, best of all - near the rapids, on a spoon, and on a fly. Fishing is sporty and exciting. Even children caught it!
The frantic fishing quickly got to me personally, and soon it turned out, as in the well-known joke: “they pour it, let it go...” In the lower reaches, I didn’t take out the spinning rod at all - it’s a pity, especially since I started to come across only females with caviar.
We fried fish, salted them, and made barbecue. There is no grayling fish soup unless you add ide or perch to the pot...
For those who are passionate, but busy and live all year waiting for the only fishing trip, spinning on Shchugor is simply a joy to the soul!
There is no point in harvesting grayling - after a couple of days, maggots are steadily appearing in the canal. So you should catch it only when needed, and after several days of gorging, this need quickly subsides. Know in moderation in everything!

Fishing is officially prohibited in the park, but everyone knows that everyone is caught. Fishing is almost the main thing people go to a non-category river for. It would probably be necessary to somehow license fishing for at least grayling for park visitors, so as not to hide their fishing rods in fear when pepelats appear.
As for guns, it’s better to forget about them right away.

Komi Republic, Pechora and Shchugor rivers

Animals and "eaters"

...The animals, having survived the raid of the gadflies, hid in impenetrable thickets. Around Shchugor live a large number of mammals, including predators, but they stay away from people, in this sense the river is safe. We saw a moose with a calf, a reindeer, a huge hare, a chipmunk, frogs, a lot of large longhorned beetles, wasps, bees, and night hawk moth caterpillars. There are butterflies, which is not strange at all - there are a lot of flowers around!
We also saw a small mouse-like rodent with a long tail and an elongated snout, which was taken for a muskrat, brought to me and ran around on my clothes for a long time, after which it found nothing better than to bury itself in the hair... I have to disappoint the public - this is not our totem animal, but shrew or water shrew. Rather, it is the latter - the cutter swims well, does not disdain fry, and, apparently, we found it in the stomach of a large grayling, capturing the carcass in the photo. There is also a possibility of shrews being washed out of burrows made close to water. A sharp rise in the river level during heavy rain in the upper reaches takes shrews by surprise - I observed a dead animal floating in the riffle with its paws upward. That's why the local graylings are so hefty - they feed on mice J

Among the birds, seagulls visually dominate, from top to bottom, there are falcons and many hen harriers, looking out for living creatures scurrying in the grass-covered stones. We didn’t see any snakes, we didn’t see any ticks either - it wasn’t the right latitude...
The mosquito, Turya's old friend, was very modest on the river, but the midge became active ahead of time. In the upper reaches there was almost no clouds, but in the lower reaches, when there was no wind, whole clouds swarmed. In one place we stood on the leeward side of the island and paid for our laziness: I have never seen so many midges anywhere else! Just look at the ten-second video where I film my legs...

This amount of midges is explained by the catastrophic heat this year, which is unusual for the Urals. You can only fight small crap with a mosquito net or Gardex-Extreme spray in red cans. Nothing else worked.
To repel midges, a folk method was used - vanillin diluted in water. The coolest thing is that it works! Vanillin does not irritate the skin on the face, but, unfortunately, its smell quickly disappears. In general, Gardex is still more reliable.

But the midge turned out to be nothing compared to what would have awaited us if we had arrived a week earlier!
It turns out that a gadfly was rampant on Shchugor for a month, and even in Vuktyl it devoured people. The driver of the Volga showed me a trunk full of corpses of gadflies - there was no time to clean it. The Ural gadfly is as healthy as an elk; Unlike other eaters, he rips out a piece of skin when he bites, intending to lay eggs there. Throughout July, maddened animals jumped out of the forest and rushed into Shchugor, trying to escape from hordes of skin eaters. The deer sank into the water right up to their antlers! In this area, it has been thirty years since they remember such heat and rampant gadflies - so we were lucky: the creatures left literally three days before our arrival.
As for the midge, I personally reacted to it without hysteria, considering the creature a common attribute of northern adventures. The midge keeps the routes untrodden and the rivers clean, the grayling feeds on the midge - the joy of the fisherman's soul - may he live, the dirty little beast!…

“Guzzlers” and scientific discovery

I made an interesting discovery: the midge on Shchugor does not land on green!
I placed different herms next to each other: light green, blue, gray - the midge stuck to everything except the light green one. It’s the same with clothes: white, gray, black, blue, red, yellow are favorite colors. But the eaters frankly did not sit on a green sweatshirt or a swamp T-shirt! Moreover, the point is not in the structure of the fabric, as some have suggested. For example, a sweatshirt has a very attractive, “warm” and clingy structure, and a cotton T-shirt too. However, even on myself I observed this amazing fact: having stuck around my black pants in an impenetrable layer, the midge did not sit on the upper part of the body. If some individuals landed by mistake, they immediately flew off.
The conclusions are obvious...
Perhaps the midge considers green to be a vegetable color and therefore not attractive. But what about, for example, a blue windbreaker or a bright yellow carrington? There is no trace of such animals in the local forests, and she clearly really likes this palette. Mysteries of nature...

mouth of the Shchugor River (Pechora River)

Stones on the Shchugor River

Shchugor is a paradise for those who like to dig deeper into stones. The luxurious pebbles, in fact, do not end until Pechora itself. True, carnelians and chalcedony, as on Yarenga, were not found there, nor were gold or malachite, but a magnificent crystal of smoky crystal was found. You come across “eggs”—crystal or quartz crystals rolled to a quartz-like haze. Of several cracked eggs, one revealed frank crystal. In two and a half kilos of stones brought home, I found syenite (a relative of granite, but without quartz), olivines and serpentines (coils) of olivine origin, wax patterned jasper (a gift from Romka! J), green jaspers, conglomerates with wax jasper, sample with crystals of uvarovite (a green variety of garnet). The rest of the beauties defied classification, but does that make them any less valuable?...
The banks are full of quartzites, and in the upper reaches there are also calcites; alas, one very beautiful sag fell off the boat and was lost...
And we still came across a vein of gold at the top, in a huge boulder lying right in the middle of the riverbed, but there was no time for it - we were dragging, you know, boats...

Sun, wind and boats...

No matter how hot it is, you definitely need to take a warm hat and a good windbreaker with a polar jacket when going to Shchugor. And sun cream. In one sunny day, the Urals can burn the skin much worse than in the South. My arms were burned to the elbows, and my hands became like rubber gloves filled with water from severe swelling. Instead of cream, you can wear a long-sleeved T-shirt and cloth gloves.
The wind in the Shchugor valley always blows in your face, no matter where you turn. On the one hand, this is good - it blows away the bloodsuckers, on the other hand, sometimes it completely prevents you from moving forward.
Inflatable boats are especially affected. The “single-engine” “Scout” sometimes did not move forward at all in strong winds, and in floods closer to the mouth, where the river becomes wide, it did not even move on a rope. “Taimen” with two oarsmen could not budge me at all for several minutes! “Pikes” had to stand firm, but “Taimen” and KB were doing quite well.

I'll tell you more about my boat. To be fair, I would like to point out that the Scout is just the thing on the road. Thanks to its zero draft, it can handle small riffles perfectly and loves rifts and rapids. In the threshold, I actually had great fun, falling into the barrels, sometimes sideways, sometimes backwards - it’s almost impossible to turn the “Scout” over. During the entire campaign, it never deflated, nothing came off, and not a single piece of dirt was left on the bottom, although it dragged for kilometers over the rocks. The quality of Raftmaster is excellent, to say the least. In addition, all my clothes fit into it, surprisingly - “Scout” is an expedition solo, with low weight and normal handling.
I sat almost level with the sides and rowed along them with my usual oar (227 cm). My rowing style has hardly changed compared to Desna. The inflatable bottom turned out to be very comfortable for the legs and the boat itself, which thanks to it “licks” obstacles. But the “bones” of the apron were not particularly successful - they constantly fell out of pockets, got twisted - the design was not well thought out. In addition, it is better to shorten the front apron - otherwise it will be difficult to get in and out often.
“Scout-36” is basically impossible to “break” at the threshold and is very difficult to pitch.
...But the clothes created a solid hump, which only added to the sailiness of the boat, whose round bows were strongly raised. Lake routes and windy spills are death for the “single-engine” Scout. Raking with all my strength against the storm gusts at the mouth, I more than once regretted that I sold the Desna...
...Apparently, inflated clothes are not for women on tap. J I'll have to buy myself a Marinka, no less...

I will not undertake to assert, as was said in one report, that “Pikes” are an ideal rafting vehicle for Shchugor. If in the upper reaches they “made” heavy frames on small riffles and rifts, then in the lower reaches they were hopelessly behind and rested their horns in an unequal struggle with the wind... The best boat, in my opinion, turned out to be the design bureau “Kolibri” - loaded under “solo”, it got off with a shallow draft, and excellent driving characteristics would allow her to always go ahead.

Transfer and release to the Shchugor River

To avoid any hassles and unnecessary expectations, it is better to order the delivery in advance. A group of more than 8 people may have problems - we had to order a whole bus stop to Vuktyl, which cost almost twice as much.
You should arrive in Ukhta (trains from Yaroslavka to Sosnogorsk, Vorkuta or Labytnangi) no later than 21.00 - otherwise the car will not make it to the ferry, and you will have to wait for several hours on the banks of Pechora. It takes about 4-5 hours by car to get to Vuktyl. The road is first asphalt, then concrete, then compacted primer, cruising speed is 80 km/h. There are continuous escheated swamps around, Vuktyl itself also actually stands on swamps. And under the swamps there is gas, gas... Not far from the city, the “eternal flame” is constantly burning, burning millions of cubic meters of gas in vain...

You will have to spend the night in Vuktyl, and in the morning register at the park administration and go to the river. By the way, in the same house there is a grocery store where you can buy almost all the necessary food. The Urals do not belong to the park, and the management is forced to look for cars outside, from gas companies. There are “loaves”, they are cheaper. True, the “loaf” with the parallel group broke down before reaching the pass, and we had to take six people with cargo on board.

The car travels along the gas pipeline for about 7 hours. Only along this road can you get to Shchugor. The road, oddly enough, is completely sane. The views from the first pass are very beautiful, you can stop for a snack and take pictures. The main pass is inhospitable - the car crawls heavily, the road is conditional. For those who have not seen the mountains, the pass over the Tonder ridge will seem like a revelation. The Urals really seem gray from the lichens that cover the fragments of stones on the crumbling peaks...
Two days before our arrival, gas workers prohibited travel along the gas pipeline due to another accident. Thank God, the park management accommodated us for the night in their rooms and resolved this issue.
At the final point there is no particular place to put up a slipway, but a small group can still put up tents near the shore and spend the night. We packed the boats in the evening, so the next day turned out to be fully operational. The coordinates of the slipway are: N63 18 32.6 E59 11 20.0, approximately 5 km below mark 389 on the map.

In order to order both cars, you can contact the National Park Directorate no later than 10 days before departure.
Phones: 8-821-46-24-763 Fomicheva Tatyana Savvateevna (park director),
8-821-46-22-639 Valentina Umrilova (assistant director).
Address: Vuktyl, Komsomolskaya, 5.
You can also communicate by mail: [email protected]
All questions can be resolved in writing, including sending a list of the group with passport details and route, in order to spend less time on registration. Without a ticket, the group may have problems at the checkpoint and with the opera houses.
Just in case, Komi rescue service: 8-821-46-912-63

...The ejection should be mentioned separately. For those who do not have problems with funds, you can pre-order through the directorate a boat from Vuktyl to the mouth of Shchugor through the national park, and at the same time a car. But since you will have to pay for both runs, the boat will cost a hefty sum. Therefore, it is better to plan your exit to Pechora so that you leave by Tuesday or Thursday, when a regular boat leaves from Ust-Shchugor to Vuktyl (schedule - 13.30, but sometimes it is late). The boat takes about 4 hours to reach the pier. To make things really better, you can order a car directly from Ust-Shchugor to the pier to Ukhta or Sosnogorsk. There is no post office or hospital in the village, but there are several huts from which you can call, having agreed with the owners. We called from the saleswoman’s house (I should immediately note that the store in the village does not work, everything is brought only to order and you shouldn’t count on food and drink there, unless someone sells natural products - there are cows, vegetable gardens.) We were forced to spend the night on the banks of the Pechora before the village itself, on the grassy bank, relying only on their products.
The locals behave quietly, only the sorcerers beg for alcohol, and the day before our arrival, icons were removed from one house...
Taxi control room telephone number in Vuktyl (from Ust-Shchugor): 9-2-10-44
With some minor hiccups, the cargo "Gazelle" was delivered to the pier and for 3,000 rubles and 4 hours brought us to Sosnogorsk, where we immediately bought tickets for the Labytnangi-Moscow train (leaves at half past two in the morning, arrives in Moscow at 5 in the morning).
You can also drive up to the Vuktyla bus station from the pier and go to Sosnogorsk by regular bus. - if you fit in;) There is a stall on the pier selling beer and chips, and it’s quite far from the city.
There is also nothing to eat in the Sosnogorsk station night store, so tighten your belts until the first grannies with pies and potatoes at the stops.

The described method of ejection is the only real one today.
Dreams of leaving on a barge to the glorious city of Pechora did not come true. The barges barely move and no longer take anyone on board - we spent almost the whole day idling on the shore, shouting to passing boats.
Forget also about the possibility of leaving by boat or car from Ust-Voi or Berezovka. All roads are winter roads, and boat launches in the Pechora region were completely canceled this year due to catastrophically low water.
In addition, shoveling several tens of kilometers along Pechora turned out to be an unpleasant task: the separated part of the group rowed in the wind for three days, got caught in a storm with a meter-long wave, there was nowhere to stand on the banks - either waist-deep grass, or taiga - thick dead wood or swamp...
The water in the river is disgusting, smells rotten, and the stones along the bank are covered with an oil film.
The Pechora fairway has not been cleaned there for a long time - there are no funds, and accordingly, navigation is getting worse and worse every year. Only chance helped them: the marking boat took pity on the small children and took them to Byzovaya, from where they took a regular bus to the city of Pechora (20 km) and left on the same Labytnangovsky train. As a result, Roma, Masha and Mikhail arrived in Moscow 3 days later than us.

Shchugor is an excellent non-extreme river with unprecedented purity of water, absence of population and ticks, excellent fishing, wonderful views, wild banks, decent flow, rocky cliffs; sailing along it, you feel true relaxation and complete detachment from civilization. Unlike the closed channels of Karelia and lowland rivers, the eye simply rested on the distant hills, sometimes pink from the sunset, sometimes gloomy from the clouds...
The colored patterns of licked stones and rock slabs with quartz veins running under the bottom constantly reminded you that you were in the arms of ancient mountains... And everything else became unimportant and far away.
I went on a hike completely sick, like a broken trough, but rowing therapy and cool living water worked a miracle - now Shchugor will be firmly associated with the sanatorium.

The first acquaintance with the Urals left the most pleasant impressions, despite the lack of mushrooms this year and the somewhat long route. But it is impossible to shorten it, unfortunately or fortunately. Therefore, Shchugor cannot fit into two weeks; for normal rest he needs 20 days. The entire route (with a couple of days) is covered in 13-14 days, drop-off and drop-off - 5-6 days. The minimum known travel time without days at high water is 8 days. But this is more self-torture than relaxation.
The wind in your face and the midges that appeared in the lower reaches are perhaps the only troubles of the route. I already wrote about how to deal with midges, but the wind seemed to stress only me out of the whole group...ZhugorR (6).jpg

This route will allow you to get acquainted with the wonderful natural sites located on the border of the Northern and Subpolar Urals - the Shchugor River and the highest peak of the Northern Urals - Mount Telpos-Iz (1619 m). Tourists will raft on inflatable boats along the Shchugor River from the upper reaches to the mouth, examining the beautiful coastal cliffs, and will also climb the city of Telpos-Iz.

Type of tourism: hiking, rafting.

Band size: from 2 people.

Duration: 14 days/13 nights.

Tour cost: 25,000 rubles per person.

Children's age: from the age of 14.

Route thread: Vuktyl city - route of the Punga-Vuktyl-Ukhta gas pipeline - upper reaches of the river. Shchugor - rafting along the Shchugor River to the Durnoy-El stream - climbing Mount Telpos-Iz (1619 m) - rafting along the Shchugor River to the village. Ust-Shchugor.

Photos*. Wind Nest Mountain.

*Belkov V.V., Revda.

Tour program.

Day p/p	Section of the route. Events	Way to travel	Distance
1 day.	From the village Vuktyl we go onto the highway along the Punga-Vuktyl-Ukhta gas pipeline, then we move along the highway east to the bridge over the Shchugor river. Assembling ships, preparing for rafting. Overnight.	Automobile	120 km
Day 2.	Breakfast. We are finishing assembling the vessels and preparing for rafting along the river. Shchugor. We walk 12 km to the mouth of the Ponya River and have lunch. After 3 km the mouth of the Pelenkurya river, 5 km below Pelenkurya we stop for the night. Recreation, fishing.	Catamaran	20 km
Day 3.	Breakfast. We raft 12 km to the mouth of the left tributary. Let's have lunch. After lunch we walk along the river for another 13 km. Overnight, rest, fishing.	Catamaran	25 km
Day 4	Breakfast. We walk along the river for 12-13 km. Along the banks there is a forest - larch, birch, willow, cedar, spruce. Lots of dead wood. The peaks of Telpos-Iz stick out invincibly above the clouds, and to the left of it, in the massif of Mount Chora-Iz, there is a magnificent huge steep-walled circus of regular round shape. We get up for lunch. After it we go to the mouth of the Moroi River. Overnight, rest, fishing.	Catamaran	25 km
Day 5	Breakfast. We raft 9 km from the mouth of the river. Moroi before the start of the Great Rapids. Dinner. We pass the mouth of the Volokovka River and the mouth of the Torgovaya River. Dinner, overnight.	Catamaran	34 km
Day 6	Breakfast, preparation for rafting. Let's start. At the mouth of the river Nyartsyu-Yu we have lunch, and after another 10 km we stop for the night on the left bank of Shchugor, at the mouth of the Durnoy-El stream. Overnight, preparation for the ascent to Telpos-Iz - the mountain of the nest of winds, the highest peak of the Northern Urals.	Catamaran	21 km
Day 7	The beginning of a two-day radial trek - ascent to Telpos-Iz. Breakfast. We begin our ascent from the mouth of the Durnoy-El stream along its valley to Lake Telpos. We will spend the night in a convenient place near the lake, walk around the surroundings of the lake, admire the mountain scenery, take photographs, and collect mushrooms and berries, if available.	On foot	7 km
Day 8	Breakfast. Leaving the tents and bivouac equipment at the lake, we move along the northeastern shore of Lake Telpos for another kilometer. From here there is a steep climb east-northeast to the ridge and then along a rocky ridge southwest to the summit. Vertex! Telpos-Isa offers a majestic view: in the north and north-west, in a bluish haze, the mountains Neroika (1646 m), Saber (1425 m) and many others rise. If weather conditions are favorable, we organize a snack with tea from thermoses at the summit. Descent - along the ascent route to the parking lot at the mouth of the Durnoy-Yel stream. Celebratory banquet on the occasion of a successful ascent to one of the most significant and inaccessible peaks of the Urals.	On foot	17 km
Day 9	Breakfast. We continue rafting along Shchugor. Let's go to the river. Telpos, at the mouth of which we have lunch. At the 20th kilometer below the mouth of Telpos, Shchugor receives the Sedya River on the left. We spend the night at the mouth of the Sedyu.	Catamaran	35 km
Day 10	After breakfast we continue rafting along Shchugor through the Parma region. At the 21st kilometer from the mouth of the Sedyu we pass the large right tributary of Maly Patok. Having descended 10 km below the mouth of M. Patok, we spend the night.	Catamaran	31 km
Day 11	Breakfast. We continue rafting along Shchugor. Lunch after 12 km. Having walked 24 km in a day, we reach the Veldor-Kyrta-Yol stream. After it, the Shchugor channel narrows, forming the rocky “Upper Gate”. Opposite the mouth of the stream on the left bank of Shchugor is a wonderful place for a camp. We will explore the caves in the limestone outcrops of the right bank of Shchugor. Overnight, rest, fishing.	Catamaran	24 km
Day 12	Breakfast, we continue the rafting. We walk from the Upper to the Middle Gates 11 km. Lunch combined with a tour of the cave and an ascent to the main shore of Shchugor (the top of the rocky Gate). After lunch we walk 8 km to the Bolshoi Patok River. 10 km below the mouth of B. Patok we stop for the night.	Catamaran	29 km
Day 13	Breakfast. We continue the rafting. We go to the mouth of the Katya-El River and, a little lower, to the site of the former village of Michabichevnik. At the mouth of the river Kyrta-Yel we have lunch. A fast current carries us into the Pechora River. We finish the rafting in the village of Ust-Shchugor. We settle down for the night. Banquet to mark the end of the active part of the trip.	Catamaran	43 km
Day 14	Rest day (used in a convenient and beautiful place along the route). Field bathhouse on the river bank, walks, photography, picking berries and mushrooms.

* The route or schedule along the route can be adjusted on the spot, based on weather conditions, the preparedness of the group and other circumstances.

The tour price includes: equipment rental (catamarans; oars; life jackets; tents, campfire equipment, camping mat, sleeping bag), 3 meals a day, all transfers according to the program, services of guides and instructors and a cook. The cost of the route includes accident insurance. An insurance policy is issued for the group and is kept by the instructors along the route.

Not included in the price: insurance against tick-borne encephalitis, backpack rental, photo and video shooting.
Required additions:
. They work on the program , 1 person per catamaran.
. Life jackets and oars are provided as special equipment;

As personal equipment on a hike, you must have: backpack, windproof suit, rain cape, hat, warm clothes, at least two pairs of shoes + flip-flops or sneakers, swimsuit, personal utensils, flashlight, hygiene items.

Estimated additional expenses: food on the train, souvenirs.

Required documents: passport, voucher.
Nutrition: 3 times. Food is prepared by instructors over a fire according to recipes , if you wish, you can take part and learn several secrets of culinary skills.
Medicine: The guides have a first aid kit. You can take a personal first aid kit (if necessary).

The Podcherem-Shchugor pairing has been attractive for a long time, but it seemed that it would take a lot of time (3-4 weeks).

But we had to keep it within 2 weeks, so we chose a shorter portage option - not through Ponya River, and through Telpos River. I was a little concerned that this route had not been used for a long time... but I wanted to try it.

The portage turned out to be very difficult Telpos River, especially 2-3 km before the stream Vaska-Kemasny-Yol(floodplain forest littered with windbreaks and densely overgrown with grass, the GPS signal is often lost, you start circling)…

And there was no climbing (the weather did not give us a “window”).

Our trip

But, let's start in order: the summer of 2019 in the basin is characterized by unprecedented water flow (it rains all summer and the spring level on the rivers lasted until the fall!). In such conditions, it is much more difficult to rise against the current: pebble spits and gently sloping banks are flooded, the current is stronger, and there are fewer reaches. Therefore, after speaking with a national park ranger in Podcherye village Evgeniy - asked to throw us higher Orlovka village.

“The time will come when a city will be built on the other side of the Pechora, and a beautiful park will be laid out here and working people will enjoy this amazing spectacle.” V.A.Rusanov

Podcherye - Kamchatka

Arrived late in the evening steamship "Shapkina" V Podcherye village and immediately transfer to the “komyachka” (a long wooden punt boat with a special “ski”, under the engine it can pass through rocky rifts). It was amazingly comfortable to move against the current at night on such a boat - very soft and reliable. Drove the boat inspector Alexey, a native and expert of these places.

The steamboat "Shapkina" is sailing through a thunderstorm

In the morning they already began to move up on their inflatable kayak "Lukna-470", but due to the high water we spent more time on foot and rarely paddled. I manage to do up to 20 kilometers a day. But the higher you go, the harder each km becomes. The parking lots are in good condition, there are many new shelter huts (with bathhouses).

shelter “Petny” (R. Podcherem) (everything is there - a canopy and a hut and a fireplace and a bathhouse and even a woodshed!! and almost all the shelters on Podcherem and Shchugor are built this way) (and everywhere, of course, there is a toilet and a place for garbage )

According to plan we reach Kamchatka parking lots, there is no shed or hut - only waist-deep grass. And this is where the extreme begins. Firstly, the weather is radically deteriorating - there is a thunderstorm almost continuously! Secondly, there are no remnants of the path, no marks - we walk along the azimuth (in 2 walks).

Stream Vaska-Kemasny-Yol

Our first trip was according to plan before stream Vaska-Kemasny-Yol(for myself, shortened to Vaska-Yol), and during a thunderstorm at night we found ourselves in the most difficult and unpleasant place on this portage - it was impossible to go straight - windfall, hummocks, thickets! The GPS signal is often lost - you start to “wrap up” (also, the batteries on the GPS run out, and there are spare ones in your things, but it takes a long time to search...). In general, when we, with incredible physical efforts, made 2 circles in one place and did not get any closer to Vaska-Yol stream- I had to leave the drop here and with great difficulty break out of these “witch” circles...

The next day we had a day's rest - Volodya's waders were completely torn, and he didn't have much strength to walk... But the next day, in the sun, we walked this difficult section almost straight (the sun helped us walk straight when the GPS signal disappeared).

Successfully reached Telpos River, and there, due to the high water, it was difficult to find a place to camp (there was water almost everywhere!!). But we settled down...

Rafting on the Telpos River

Then there was the 2nd trip to get there and we started rafting along Telpos River.

I was struck by the pristine pristineness of the shores - no traces anywhere, beautiful! (but problematic with campsites). The water was very high, the speed was 10-15 km/h. 50 kilometers of the river to the mouth could be flown in 3-4 hours.

We walked a little and stopped for a day at the mouth Semidyrka River- to stay longer on such a beautiful river. At night, the water began to rise sharply and our evening fire on the spit was flooded by almost 1 meter, but the tent was higher and the water did not reach... although we were worried!

But rafting Telpos River It was fabulous on such water - no shallows, no stones - you fly straight at high speed! But very quickly Telpos River ended.

Shchugor River

Although on Shchugor River In such water the speed was high. We walked 60-70 kilometers in a day without effort, and every other day we had to take days off to get to Ust-Shchugor village on time (tickets for the boat were purchased in advance).