Around north side of Baikal
 

I dont suppose any of you intrepid Siberians have followed the western arm of the BAM railway from Taishet (on the Trans Sib, west of Irkutsk) past Ust Kut and to Severobaikalsk on the top end of Baikal.
And who knows, even over the Severo ranges to Tynda?

thanks

Ch

changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes...
 

Hi Chris, it will take some time, but I hope to do just that. Heading west out of Vlad, I plan to round the lake before heading south to Mongolia...long story. By the time I do it you'll no doubt have another guide coming out- keep 'em coming! Hook.

Good on you Hook, just followed it on Google Earth - it cant fail to be interesting and if it all gets too much I suppose you can throw yourself onto (or under) the train. That whole region holds a kind of fascinating horror for me.
Dont know if you know but Trailblazer who publish my books produced a guide to the BAM line (the 'northern Trans Sib'). Google: <Siberian BAM Guide>.
The effort in producing that book kind of matches the whole BAM project, but it's pretty good for maps, etc.

Let us know how you get on and do me a yarn for AMH 6.

Ch

I hope it's not off-top, I'd like inform everybode about great place near BAM.
This is the Chara Sands (or Chara desert).
In Russian: Чарские пески (Чарская пустыня)
It close to Chara and New Chara villages.
This is amazing sand desert about 5x12 km
You can see this place in GoogleEarth.

I've never been there, but really hope to do it in the future on enduro (such as Suzuki Djebel, DR250 or simular)

Here is pictures of this place which I find in internet:

ôîòî.ñàéò | ïðèðîäà | ×àðñêàÿ ïóñòûíÿ(2)
ôîòî.ñàéò | ïðèðîäà | ×àðñêèå ïåñêè. Áàðõàí
ôîòî.ñàéò | ïðèðîäà | ×àðñêàÿ ïóñòûíÿ(3)
ôîòî.ñàéò | ïðèðîäà | ×àðñêàÿ ïóñòûíÿ
ôîòî.ñàéò | ïåéçàæ | ×àðñêàÿ ïóñòûíÿ

Hm. How do I find the Chara Sands on Google Earth? All the keywords Shustrik mentioned wouldn't work for me.

Lars

It's at N56 50 E118 8 west of Tynda

Ch

Thanks Chris!

No worries! Leave some for us.

Ch

That is a strange and small desert in what appears to be, on Google Earth, a well watered area (river courses nearby).
Does anyone know why this sand desert exists over such a small area?

Been looking at the same trip myself Chris ... with a twist ... out to the far east via the BAM road (I have an up to date Russian Road atlas if you need a peek, just give me a bell mate), then fly up to Magadan, and back west via the Kolymna Road (Road of Bones) to Yakutsk and then the really challenging bit ... the Lensky Trakt ... a zimnik (winter road) that follows the Lena from Yakutsk back to Ust Kut. If you get stuck there are plenty of boats and hydrofoils to bail out with.

There is also a decent road from Yakutsk to Lensk (2/3 of the way back to Ust Kut), that heads West first and then south ... and not following the Lena river.

I wouldnt want to do the Lensky Trakt solo tho .....


Some good reading on the area are Athol Yates' BAM / Kolymna guide, tho it is very Rail centric ... has good info on towns and Chara Sands and other bits of interest along the way. Also just read a good book on the Lena villages and towns ... River of No Reprieve, by Moscow based American Jeffrey Tayler

Hi Walter, sounds like the ravings of a bloke who's been indoors looking outdoors too long! The RoB stage would be your only chance to relax!

Been in touch with the BAM author who tells me AFAHR there's is not much of a track alongside the BAM - no surprise there. And as there is a daily train the track would see a lot less traffic than the RoB so I wonder if it even exists much of the time? I suppose there is the railway between trains and over rivers.

up to date Russian Road atlas
Is that the £35 one - yes I'd like to borrow it as it happens. Had a quick look at it in Stanfords the other day, but not long enough to see much.

I read about some RTW HPV'ers who paddled and pedalled and skied across from Alaska in winter and planned to take the Lenska in summer but among other stuff (like falling out) got put off by ...
hundreds of kilometers of rough travel without access to immunization from a notorious tick (species Ioxodes) very active in the region at this time of year (one of ten bites is deadly, but immunizations are available in cities such as Irkutsk)
Still, they were on pushbikes so would have got eaten alive.

the Lensky Trakt ... a zimnik (winter road) that follows the Lena from Yakutsk back to Ust Kut. If you get stuck there are plenty of boats and hydrofoils to bail out with.
As I understand it the Lena River IS the zimnik, there is no continuous riverside road much as in summer the towns rely on boats. In between they bomb it asap to stop the block ice backing up the river and flooding like it did in 2001 (Lensk was ruined, Yak got flooded).

There is also a decent road from Yakutsk to Lensk (2/3 of the way back to Ust Kut), that heads West first and then south ... and not following the Lena river.
Yes, read about this one somewhere too - this would be the summer 'letnik' such as it is. Are you sure it's 'decent'? No trains or boats to bail you out on this one.

I think it would be a job for ag bikes - it's like the Darien but without so many bandits and about 80 times as long! To do it in one summer you'd have to take the rivers as you find them so would want something like this:
[landrover pic]
Stick a branch through each wheel of the bike and sit it on a blow up pontoon each side.

Or lay the bike on a pair of Alpackas - they weigh less than 2kg each:
https://www.alpackaraft.com/store/in...D=66&do=detail
Then followers could get towed over too. It all sounds so easy behind a keyboard!

River of No Reprieve
As it happens I just tracked that down yesterday and was going to buy it so I'll borrow that too if I may. Clearly we are on the same diabolical wavelength...

Ch

PS, nice westher forecast:
[yaktemps]

Mad Buggers.

Here are a couple of maps from an atlas I picked in Russia.

The first shows a road to Severobaikalsk this continues to the tip of L Baikal and then east along the railway.
the second picture show the road "without covering" continuing on to Tynda.

Chris If you would like to borrow this map book I can send it to you.

Steve

excellent
 

Steve, Chris ... sounds like we have a plan ..... when do we leave?

Yes ... this little sucker is only really a problem in May and June (so I am led to believe). Going on a motorcycle gives you a bit more time flexibility than a pushbike, and as long as you stuck to July August September, the Ixodes doesnt come in to it

AFAIK Mr Yates was last there in 1999, so its very possible if not very likely much will have changed in terms of roads. More recent road atlases show a lot more "roadage" than ones I bought 3-4 years ago. That is possibly due to increased grader usage.

Just looking at my road atlas now ... and without any shadow of a doubt it is showing a definite road all the way from Bratsk (or even to Tulun if you want to go bank to the main trans siberian), through Ust Kut, Tynda and all the way to Komsomolsk. From Komsolmolsk to the coast at Sovetskaya Gavan there is no road marked on my atlas, yet I know for a fact Mr Attwood here in this very post rode a dirt track from Sovetskaya Gavan past Komsomolsk to Khabarovsk twice in 2004 and lived to tell the tale.

Hi Colebatch,
You do not have to ask me twice, I would love to go back.

My problem is I still have a list of places to go and ride and although that list is getting smaller, the list of places to go back to is getting bigger. There is a danger I could disappear up my own exhaust.

Debra and I are riding Alaska to Argentina early next year and we don't plan to be back before spring 2009.

Anyway judging by our miserable failure to meet up for a beer at the HU rally it's better we don't try and get organized. :)

Steve

BAM riding
 

July 2009?

Chris Scott warned me that you were lurking.....

Note, I have the local Russian maps (1:50,000) that show ALL of the roads and tracks and they are shown all the way along the BAM to Port Vanino.

Let me know!

Adrian .... you are in. And you better get a-scannin on those maps

July 2009 it is

When I was hanging around Baikal I met a guy who'd just been over the northern side. Riding a standard Honda XLV400 Transalp (sound familiar Walter?) He rode from Skovodrino to Tynda then across the northern side along the BAM and back down the western side earlier this year. He had some great photos. Looked tough but doable. Good luck!

I had an atlas with gas stations on it for that area, but unfortunately not any more.

Cheers.

Thanks Mate,

If its doable on a 400cc Transalp with dual purpose tyres then on something like a DRZ400 with knobblies, it should be no problem ... weather depending of course.

btw ... Tried to catch up with you last month mate... but couldnt find you in that packed bar

Yeah, no hope in hell in that bar...

Anyway, maybe we could meet up another time. Expect to be in London from 24 to 30 November. I'm trying to sort out my photos from my Russian trip now and applying for some jobs.

Anyway better quit the thread hijack. :offtopic:


I'll have a look for the guy's email, but I don't recal if he gave it to me or not.

The road immediately to the east of Baikal looks a lot tougher than Skovo - Tynda etc.

North of Bajkal
 

Helo Chris!
1. Don´t believe any maps from Russia!
2. In my information north of Baikal is road but not bridges across Angara river. You must use train bridges and tunnels.
3. One possibility is flow by boat from Ust-Kut (Bratsk) by Lena river to Jakutsk.

Main road in Russia are in good condition, but small road are only mud. North from Bajkal are only swamps.
But Bajkal, Tuva and Burjatia republic are nice place on world. People are very hospitable, but have a lot problems with alcohol.

The road immediately to the east of Baikal looks a lot tougher than Skovo - Tynda etc.

Yes that was my instinctive impression.

1. Don´t believe any maps from Russia!
Same goes for many maps rtw. I think you have to compare map depictions to actual known routes (such as RoB) and then guestimate.

2. In my information north of Baikal is road but not bridges across Angara river. You must use train bridges and tunnels.

Well according to GE it looks like something has been built in parrallel to something older over the river at Novy Ouyan (N56 11 W111 38) and as we hear Trannie Man managed it.
There is a kilometre long bridge over a reservoir 300km west of Tynda which looks kind of exposed. And there is the 16km long Severo' tunnel after Angara. I suppose best would be follow a train through - or take the bypass.

Main road in Russia are in good condition, but small road are only mud. North from Bajkal are only swamps.


Yes I would guess the network of backroads on an atlas gives a false impression of rideable possibilities but the railway is there for sure and with some sort of quickly-deployable amphibious element you wonder why there aren't queues forming already!

But Bajkal, Tuva and Burjatia republic are nice place on world. People are very hospitable, but have a lot problems with alcohol.

Even with the drunks I think the social aspect would be part of the appeal of FE Russia, so it would be a shame to rush the BAM, even if you could...

Ch

Every train bridges and tunnels in Russia are strictly watched by solders. I think that money is best solutions. But I afraid that solders will be too hungry.
I am not visiting this region, but three years ago I thinking about this trip. My friends did this trip. They had to go from Bratsk to Jakutsk by boat, because there are absolutely no roads only train bank.
Do you know story about Russian girl with motorbike on this road? She went by railway bank all way. Around rail road are only swamp. She has russian motorbike IZ and three month free time. I not remember all, but I think that she crossed this long bridge. And she pass tunnel by platelayer (small train? train with one wagon with motor?). But she was Russian people.

Your plane is very interesting for me.....
I very like Russia and I would like come back to Bajkal/Siberia region.
This summer I was in Mongolia. I went by train with motorbike from Moscow to Novosibirsk and back from Irkutsk to Moscow. Russia is very nice country.

Correct bridge coordinate near Uoyan is: N56 11.000 E111 38.000.
Do you know Scottish mosquitoes? They are small and absolutely peaceful in comparison to Siberian!
Your plane is absolutely crazy. I will go with you!

I add link to very good map of Bajkal:
Mapový server &mdash; mapy.mk.cvut.cz

I ask my friend from Moscow. It is not problem cross this river by wood camion.

Hey guys,

I have about the same plan in mind, along the BAM, up to yakutsk and then east to Magadan. Only, this would be by car, so being rescued by the train is not an option. I have met this german-russian couple who did exacly that route 2 years ago by pushbike. They definitely had to cross railway bridges (some unpassable by car) and didn't see a soul guarding those... Looking at their pictures, it looks like in spring/early summer, most of the roads were mud, but you still see the occasional UAZ getting through. So I thinks it is not true to say that the whole trip is done on the train track, but definitely it is a rough one.

Oh and yes, they WERE bitten by the bloody tick!

Chris: where does this raft-surrounded landy picture come from? If I can get hold of that kind of equipment, my plans would definitely look more possible to me!

BTW, you guys fancy escorting a pair of swiss-belgians in a 2 wheel drive in summer 2009?

Chris, probably not you, I know what you think of 2cv's from what you wrote in your first sahara book ;-)

Cheers, Seb

Picures of the Lena Highway in summer
 

This is on my list of roads to do but alas I think only in winter in a truck with a bike in the back seems viable judging by these pictures of the road in summer. Perhaps you could bypass the bad bits by off roading it through the woods but I want to experience "ryskaya zima" anyway so if and when I get there I want it to be winter - lethal on a bike in those temperatures!

Check out the pics - my particular favourite is the blonde in her 350Z in white heels and cocktail dress!

Russian Highway from Hell

Just for clarity ... the Lena Highway is not the same as the Lensky Trakt. The Lena highway with all the pics above is the "highway" from Tynda to Yakutsk. Lena Highway (the M56) is a pretty well used road these days, and I would suggest that those fotos are taken immediately after particularly bad weather, and are definately not typical of the road.

Everyone I know who has ridden the Lena Highway (including film footage by Ewan and Charley) have never mentioned any difficulties at all on that road.

Car?
 

I think by car you'd want one of these... Russian built, Lada based so spares should be available and amphibious and surprisingly cheap too.

baikal 2014
 

Hello,
I prepar, now my travel to baikal:

I would like to know if i'ts possible to go by track to Bratsk to Severobaykalsk and take a boat to travel Baikal to go to Listvyanka?

If russian Biker know how cost the travel by boat?

or second way irkutsk, ulan ude and i wloud like to go by road or tracks to maKarinino and kurumkan . and go back.
or the road to go to Olkon island and perhaps take my motorbike to go to this island.

thanks for your advice
tiger

Tiger, the routes have been very well documented since the 5ish years since this thread (by people in this thread).

There is a decent gravel road between Bratsk and Severobaikalsk (reportedly the easy part of the BAM road, I have only ridden the sections further east). There is a gravel road that connects Severobaikalsk to Irkutsk and Olkhon island. There is also a hydrofoil (boat) connecting Severobaikalsk and Irkutsk via Olkhon. The hydrofoil is a passenger boat and I doubt you could travel with a motorcycle.

For maps have a look at open street maps.

pushbikes are allowed on the hydrofoils. Motorcycles definitely are not.

Prices on hydrofoil for overbaggage were quite high, I think 4 or 5 % of ticket price per kg.