Tankhoisky (Khamar-Dabansky) Section

The “Osinovka River” Ecological Trail is located within the Baikal State Nature Biosphere Reserve. Work was carried out on a 6-km section of the trail (the full extent of the trail is about 10 km, however the remaining part runs through the plains along a field path, and is in good enough condition that no changes were needed). 15 volunteers from Russia, the USA and the UK took part in the effort. Work was begun on the 29th of June and completed on the 10th of July. The team leader was Nikolai Nikolayevich Volodchenkov, an employee of the Baikalsky Nature Reserve. The total work by the volunteers amounted to around 1000 person-hours.

That time was taken up by the following work:

1. Two new sections of the trail were prepared for the construction of a new bridge across the Osinovka River (the construction of the new suspension bridge will be carried out by employees of the nature reserve itself, who have considerable experience in that field);
2. The foundation of the trail along the Osinovka River was cleared (rocks, sticks, logs were removed from the trail, and exposed roots were covered).
3. The old crossings and bridges on the trail in wet areas and over streams were removed and new ones constructed
4. The stone crossing across the Osinovka River, not far from the Winter Cabin, was reconstructed.
5. On steep sections and slopes, the trail was cut into the slope to ward off erosion in these places and guarantee the safety of tourists in these sections.

The base camp was pitched immediately at the beginning of the trail, at the place known as “Kolbina Polyana,” 3 km from the Tankhaya settlement, where the Baikal Nature Reserve’s office is located. It would be no lie to say that the volunteers were very lucky in terms of the weather: out of 13 days only 3 were rainy, which is rather rare in said areas. Work on the trail was carried out with the help of recommendations of American experts in trail-building from Mark Mendal’s team and of the work experience of the employees of Baikal Nature Reserve.

At the end of the project, the work was approved by the director of Baikal Nature Reserve, Vasily Ivanovich Sutula. A farewell party was organized for the last day, which took place on the premises of the nature reserve’s Welcome Center.