The Russian map is full of places that are still unknown, but damn promising. Everyone knows Baikal, Onega and Shikhany, but who knows about the "Black Brothers" or the blue lake in the Astrakhan region? That's it.
With the lake named after the British novelist, the same story. If you've heard of this place, then you've sat somewhere nearby or are a fan of the White Fang.
Alaska a la Rus
One look at the photo of local serenity - and you hardly recognize the Russian reality: it is more like the scenery for the filming of a film based on London and his work, only wolves with bears are not enough. It is understandable - in black and white on the map it is written: "Jack London Lake".
This topographic object is not limited to the blue blob of the lake - the surrounding forests form a national reserve, very interesting, but difficult to access. You need to leave Magadan - by car or peshedral. In the Far East, they joke that there is still a way. You need to go to the supermarket, quarrel with the guard and break ten bottles of the most expensive alcohol, then varnish the top with a can of caviar. Then you will be taken by car with flashers, with a breeze home. Attention! The recipe works only for locals - convicts from Europe to Kolyma for 50 years as not rolled.
Let's return to a more traditional route: from Magadan you will either have a month-long march on foot, or a trip along a five-hundred-kilometer highway to Yakutsk, and then along the village on the Sinegorye, which is on the shore of the reservoir in Kolyma (there is the Kolyma HPP, which produces the lion's share of Kolyma electricity).
And to the west of this artificial reservoir is the desired park. There are no more roads there, you will have to cut another 60 km along the forest tundra, dotted with rivers, streams, rocks and ravines with steep slopes. The abundance of wild animals, including bears, makes it the most difficult and dangerous tourist route in Russia.
You can wait for someone from the locals who own an all-terrain vehicle. Or on foot. The helicopter is not considered - they do not fly here.
On the spot you will find pristinated beauty: ice that does not melt until mid-July, propping up the Ridge of the Big Anngachag, and centuries-old trees.
Our lake is located at an eight-hundred-meter height, and the area exceeds 14 sq.km. The depth in some places reaches 50 meters. A series of ducts connects the lake with another - "Dancing grayling". And then, in turn, with the reservoir. Hypothetically, you can get there by water. The reservoir is narrow, replete with capes, bright and assorted vegetation characteristic of the forest tundra.
The ridge, to the foot of which the lake presses, is the highest in kolyma. Two of its peaks exceeded a two-kilometer height ("Aboriginal" has 2287, and "Snow" - 2293 meters).
And what about Jack?
There is no official version that would explain the unusual name. But there are two folklore. One is more romantic, the other is more realistic.
- So. It is alleged that the first guests of these places found near their parking lot a book of London "Mark Eden". The choice is very strange, not suitable for the exterior of Kolyma. And who brought it there? It's an open question.
- Another legend is more prosaic. In the 20-30s of the XX century, the commercial development of the Soviet North took place at a rapid pace - it was impossible to push through the tundra because of geological exploration and gold mining parties. A romantic Briton, who glorified the bulldog, Alaska and gold, who was a man of action, was very fond of Soviet citizens. His works were read by the country, and collections of works and individual collections were published in millions of copies. Geologist Alexander Skornyakov worked on the shore of the reservoir in 1932 and named it in honor of his favorite writer, who so vividly described the spirit and beauty of Nordic nature.
