On Thursday, December 5th, World Volunteer Day was held and, according to tradition, the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve decided to gather the most active volunteers of the outgoing 2019, who most often came to our events.
The meeting day was Saturday, December 7th, so that even the busiest people could make a trip to our schedule. Finally, the gatherings and troubles were over, the metro, trains and buses arrived on schedule — all our guests were there. A fascinating walk of almost ten kilometers was waiting ahead. A light morning frost and a chill wind tried to frighten everyone with a cold, but soon a forest surrounded the group from all sides, and immediately it got much warmer.

On the way, I didn’t have to get bored: either the deer’s footprint, the rare moss, or the old star mushroom will be found on the side of the road. In such a situation, the main thing is not to lag behind your comrades and not to miss a rare shot. Phones and cameras were rapidly losing RAM and charge.

Having discovered that some especially diligent naturalists were behind, their comrades ran back and forth to find photographers who had lost their sense of time. But the road will overpower the going! And if this path is fascinating, full of interesting stories and in good company, then it is absolutely not surprising that such a walk will end quickly, even if it lasted more than five hours!
Ahead was a hospitable house – the 40th cordon, where everyone was waiting for hot tea and pies. A wonderful day spent in nature left behind pleasant memories, cheeks glowing from frost, beautiful photos, memorable souvenirs and slight fatigue!

We are very grateful to our fellow volunteers for their invaluable help! Thank you all very much and see you soon!