Shaman. A real story from my life #4

 When you stand at the crossroads of life, close your eyes before you step. You do not need them. Your road has already chosen you ...      

   Part 7  

    Jan hurried me. In late September, "snow flies" will fly, and he had to manage to teach me how to survive in the taiga. But first I must sign a special contract with the state farm, build a "beam" - a small hut on a sleigh, prepare provisions for the season and collect special equipment. Jan knew that I shoot better than many local hunters, so he ignored this question.   

   But the issue could not be settled without the "secretaries of district committees". The "telephone right" worked. The management of the state farm affirmed my candidacy with the district committee very long. In addition, it was necessary to agree with the pilots of the helicopter, because only they can throw on the cables built in the village hunting hut - "beams" at the point of hunting. And this may require a flight of several hundred kilometers. Return to the village occurs in the same manner. So with helicopter pilots it was necessary to "make friends" and pay in excess of the established tariff.   

   The state farm allocated me a square of taiga in the area of Bolshaya Shirta with an area of almost 1600 square kilometers and set an annual plan. The season began in September and ended in May. They paid well, even without taking into account the large northern surcharges, although this question interested me least. My health deteriorated, the seizures became more frequent and I thought only how much time I had left. Something inside pushed me into the taiga and I decided not to delay it with the day of departure.    

     

   Part 8 

     The flight lasted a little more than an hour. Jan showed me the destination on the map, but I was so deep in my thoughts that answered mechanically and "woke up" only when the pilot shouted: "Approaching!".   For the base, we chose a hillock on the bend of the river. The pilot began to decline. Because of the wind, we had to do several attempts, but at last the "beams" was set where it was planned. Jan nodded contentedly. "Quickly learn," he said, and jumped to the ground.   

    After a couple of hours, I stood alone with my dogs - the husky Umka and German Shepherd puppy Dinosaur (Dino) in front of the hut and waved good-bye with our "paws" in the wake of the departing Jan. His destination was one hundred kilometers down the Taza River in the Tolka area. I did not know yet that from this moment and for 9 months I will communicate only with my dogs. There were two of them. Umka - a two-year-old female husky - got to me from the father of one of my former pupils. Learning that I was leaving for the taiga, he said with a brief accent in his voice: "Take Umka. You're good person, she'll be better there with you..." People told that he was an excellent hunter in the past. But, when the son was taken to the boarding school, he began to drink heavily. He lived in a plague, built .... in the middle of the apartment in which he exchanged all the windows and doors for a couple bottles of vodka... 

     "Well, guys, now let's talk about taiga romance" - I turned to my four-legged friends.   

To be continued …    

  Shaman. A real story from my life #1

 Shaman. A real story from my life #2 

Shaman. A real story from my life # 3