High temperatures this summer have broken records — and spawned much whining — all over the country, but in Russian Siberia, where the images of snowy, frozen desolation usually come to mind, it’s actually quite lovely. According to the ten-day forecast that I’ve pulled up when writing this post, it’s mostly sunny skies, with highs in the mid-70s to mid-80s, with nighttime temperatures only dropping down to the mid-to-high-50s. This is ideal weather when exploring the wilderness of Siberia — specifically the Wild-Deer Streams Nature Park, about 60 miles southwest of the city of Yekaterinburg. Rafting Along the Serga River Rolling Down the Serga River. Photo: Erik R. Trinidad I had gone on a hiking and rowing excursion there, for a quick jaunt between cities along the Trans-Siberian Railway. Behind a monument unofficially denoting the divide between Europe and Asia, is a vast landscape of Siberian taiga forest — an ecological biome of coniferous forest between tundra and steppes, found in northern latitudes. Before me was a scene of green — very different from my thoughts blanketed in white — with the foliage of spruces, firs, and the occasional willow. Within this 50-sq.-mile park, I went with guides from the Yekaterinburg Guide Center to hike on trails, explore caves, and row in inflatable rafts along the Serga River. It was refreshing to know that not one person complained about weather that nice summer day in Siberia — although if I was there in the winter, I’m sure it’d be an entirely different story.

High temperatures this summer have broken records — and spawned much whining — all over the country, but in Russian Siberia, where the images of snowy, frozen desolation usually come to mind, it’s actually quite lovely. According to the ten-day forecast that I’ve pulled up when writing this post, it’s mostly sunny skies, with highs in the mid-70s to mid-80s, with nighttime temperatures only dropping down to the mid-to-high-50s. This is ideal weather when exploring the wilderness of Siberia — specifically the Wild-Deer Streams Nature Park, about 60 miles southwest of the city of Yekaterinburg.

Rolling Down the Serga River. Photo: Erik R. Trinidad

I had gone on a hiking and rowing excursion there, for a quick jaunt between cities along the Trans-Siberian Railway. Behind a monument unofficially denoting the divide between Europe and Asia, is a vast landscape of Siberian taiga forest — an ecological biome of coniferous forest between tundra and steppes, found in northern latitudes. Before me was a scene of green — very different from my thoughts blanketed in white — with the foliage of spruces, firs, and the occasional willow. Within this 50-sq.-mile park, I went with guides from the Yekaterinburg Guide Center to hike on trails, explore caves, and row in inflatable rafts along the Serga River. It was refreshing to know that not one person complained about weather that nice summer day in Siberia — although if I was there in the winter, I’m sure it’d be an entirely different story.