Trespassing Chernobyl. Escaping Prypyat ghost town

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This is part 2 of the story. In part 1 I sneak inside Chernobyl exclusion zone and walk to one of the most remote dead villages, Krasno, which is famous for it's abandoned wooden church.

The day for me started when I woke up in abandoned village house in Krasno. As all other buildings here, now it has no owners. So, I used it as a hotel.

There is no sound except the sounds of the forest. I go to the next village - Mashevo.

Here the houses are preserved even better than in Krasno, you can find "accommodation" with a stove, beds and live there. Thought about an opportunity: To fish in canals, collect mushrooms and berries in the forest, read books from the local library... "Into the wild", Ukrainian version. If the border guards (the state border UA - Belorus is only few km away) do not catch you, fine and kick out of zone. Or mosquitoes and gadjacks do not eat you, here there are hordes of them.

While wandering from house to house, the evening came.

There are many interesting villages on the Left side of zone, instead of those I visited, could still go to Usov, Haradchan, Paryshev and many more. But I have a limited supply of food, and I didn't plan to walk for more than a few days.

I'm going back to Prypyat. Again crossing the railway bridge in the total darkness.

At 3 or 4 AM I'm there, feeling feet ache - two nights of intense walking.

I'm spending the remaining hours of the night here.

Slept few hours in an apartment near the center, woke up to see the sunrise, walked around in the city.

Climbed some roofs - all of them are open and nobody will be angry at you (if not spotted by the police guards, but they are probably sleeping early in the morning).

Ok, I'm tired and going to sleep too all day in one of the sixteen-floors building.

I woke up several times when official excursions come out on the roof of my house and my neighbor's house, someone yells "hellooo wooorld i'm heeeere". Here's the jerk, why bawl so much?

In the evening I collect drinking water from the secret stalker's source (former water treatment station) and leave the city. Realized I still have some buckwheat and a third part of a large can of stew, can go for a short walk probably somewhere else where I have never been.

But a terrible summer thunderstorm begins, and the " escape back home" option in my head wins.

An epic thunderstorm, every 5-10 seconds the sky flares with a few lightnings. The rain begins when I pass Chistogalovka, the burried village (the radiation level in 80th was so high that authorities decided to burry all the buildings in the ground). The raincoat does not save from the wet grass I have to walk in.

Dogs barked near Korogod - somebody there? Guards? Don't know.

Crossed the river Uzh. Already grass and reeds are so high, that above my head - it means I'm totally wet, it was raining really hard. So on the wade I don't put off my shoes, the feet wouldn't be more wet (as they are wet 100%).

In the morning I (unnoticed by guards) went outside the Zone. Was lucky enough to hitchhike a passing car, and returned to Kyiv.

Thank you for reading, you can also read my another story about Chernobyl trespassing:

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