The Kitoy and Biluti Rivers: A Siberian Kayaking Adventure

Spending 9 days on a kayaking adventure down the Kitoy and Biluti Rivers in Siberia has been on my bucket list ever since I first heard about the trip many years ago and this past August, I finally made it happen!  I embarked on the adventure with my best friend Anne, who hadn't been out of the country since the birth of her 8 year old son, and my favorite all star kayaking couple Erin and Toby. It was truly a trip to remember to remember!

 Team USA!

The trip started in Washington DC where we departed our Aeroflot flight to Moscow and onto Irkutsk. Flying with boats is always a stressful aspect of any kayaking trip, and it was especially stressful for us knowing that finding boats in Siberia would prove difficult, so we were extra stoked to look out of window while at the gate to see our kayaks being loaded onto the plane!

Our kayaks being loaded onto the plane

We arrived in Irkutsk (with our kayaks!) after two long days of traveling with little plan besides knowing that we wanted to spend our one free day before the river trip visiting Lake Baikal, considered the deepest lake in the world. After a short rest and some quick internet research, we were off on a mini-adventure! Our plan was to spend the night at the small lakeside village of Bol'shiye Koty (only accessible by boat) and then hike the Lake Baikal Trail back to where we could grab a taxi to Irkutsk and meet up with our group the next day!

We took off in a taxi headed to Listvyanka (where we could catch the boat to Bol'shiye Koty), with a stop at a cultural outdoor museum on the way. It was an interesting stop, and allowed us to learn a lot about Siberian history and culture. After a quick stint on the side of the road looking for our next ride, we were picked up by a local mini-bus and were on our way. We had a minor epic when we weren't sure where the pier where we needed to catch our boat was located, and our Russian language skills left a bit to be desired. Thankfully, with the help of Erin's knowledge of the Russian alphabet, the google translate app and some really nice and helpful Siberian locals, we found our way to the pier with 5min to spare to catch the last boat ride of the day!

The village of Bol'shiye Koty has no restaurants or stores, so we'd stopped by the store before leaving to pick up the essentials (wine and vodka) and were excited to learn that the boat sold pizza! We spent our evening enjoying a gourmet dinner on the shore of Lake Baikal.

Getting fancy for dinner on the shore of Lake Baikal

The next morning we awoke and started our 12 miles hike along the Lake Baikal Trail, headed towards Listvyanka. The weather could not have been better, and the views of the lake were simply amazing.

Hiking along the Lake Baikal Trail

A mid-day dip in the lake

We eventually made it back to Irkustk and met up with the rest of the team we'd be putting on the river with the next day. We had an experienced team from all over the world, including an Irishman, a Norwegian, three Germans, two Russians, a Ukrainian and us four Americans.

Our drive to the river took around eight hours and brought us into the border zone with Mongolia before arriving at the put in of the Kitoy. We arrived at dusk, and without much daylight left to make it to camp, we all just threw our things in our drybags, grabbed some of the group gear/ food and took off. An hour or so later, we found ourselves pulling our boats up into a forest and were at our first of eight campsites of the trip.

Unloading our gear at the put in

Taking off at dusk, headed towards Day 1 campsite

The next day we had many long hours of paddling on class 1-2 water in order to reach our day two campsite. While the whitewater wasn't very difficult, the scenery was beautiful and the level of excitement was high as we were getting closer and closer to the gorges that would bring the best whitewater of the trip.

Typically scenery on Day 2

Chilling at Day 2 campsite

The next three days were filled with the best whitewater on the Kitoy. We ran hard rapids, dried socks by the fire, portaged a river gorge, slept in a campsite overlooking a waterfall and in general just enjoyed being out in nature. No cell phones, no facebook, no political news- just whitewater, awesome people, and vast Siberian wilderness. 

Gorge section at the beginning of Day 3

Day 3 campsite

Trying to get dry by the fire

Fun rapid at the beginning of Day 4

Scouting downstream during the portage on Day 4

Anne checking out the view from our Day 4 campsite

Celebrating successfully navigating the hardest rapids of the run during a lunch break on Day 5

After successfully navigating the hardest river gorge of the Kitoy, we paddled on to the confluence of the Biluti, a tributary of the Kitoy, which we would spend the next three days exploring. The only downside to the Biluti is that in order to get to its rapids, you have to hike for miles upstream through overgrown forests and along steep cliffed out ledges. The last bit of the hike involved climbing down a sketchy homemade wooden ladder, scrambling along a narrow ledge, jumping across a gorge stream, and then ziplining our boats across the gorge. It was quite the adventure, but worth every moment.

Our group tarp at the Day 5 campsite at the confluence of the Biluti

Anne and Me partway up the hike up the Biluti on Day 6

Nini making her way down the ladder to cross the gorge on the hike

Me making my way across the gorge on the hike

The following day, the rest of the group headed upstream with kayaks on their backs yet again in order to reach the upper stretches of the Biluti and paddle the rapids at the top. Anne and I decided to hang back and take a rest day to enjoy the sunshine, crystal clear water and beautiful surroundings. After seeing the group return late in the day exhausted, Anne and I felt pretty good about our decision. 

Relaxing by the Biluti on Day 7

On the morning of Day 8 we woke up refreshed and ready to paddle the Biluti's beautiful rapids. For those that decided to go for it, the day started out with a 30-foot waterfall. While the waterfall looked pretty good, the possibility of being deep in Siberia with an injury was not worth it for me, so I chose to take pictures instead. The rest of the Biluti had some fun rapids and cool mini-gorges before it brought us back to the Kitoy where we would start out long paddle out.

Egor running the 30 footer on the Biluti

Anne running one of the classic Biluti rapids

Day 9 was a slog, and involved many many many hours of paddling class 1-2 water to the takeout. We were all relieved to see the bridge that signaled the road access where we'd be picked up. While happy to be done paddling 30+ miles of mostly flat water, there was definitely a sadness to finishing our big adventure. When putting on the river I expected that I'd be ready for civilization after 9 days out there, but I honestly could have spent another week or two living the river lifestyle. There is really something so special and simplistic about living by the river, with little to concern yourself besides putting in paddle strokes.

Celebrating a successful trip down the Kitoy

After a 4 hour drive back to Irkutsk, our team celebrated with one final night together out on the town. The following morning, Erin, Toby, Anne and I all caught an early flight to Moscow where we played tourists for the day. 

Enjoying a day in Moscow

I cannot say enough good things about our experience in Russia! The people were so kind, the scenery so spectacular and the adventure so grand! Definitely a place to add to everyone's bucket list! And if you'd like to join a trip like we did, check out Two Blades Adventures for more info. 

If you'd like to see more about what our trip was like, check out this sweet video Erin put together of our adventure! 

Russia 2017 from Erin Savage on Vimeo.