Внедорожный поход. Забытая дорога Демидовых, преодолеваем 40 вёрст по историческому пути металлургов

Hello everyone. It's snowing and raining in Yekaterinburg today! I'm getting the Sobolka ready for the summer season: scheduled maintenance, automatic transmission repair and tuning, Prado transfer case upgrades, and interior changes. We're taking a swamp buggy ride around the area. At the end of October, a small group of us got together to hike the Demidov Highway. Background: The Demidov Highway is a historic road that connected Nizhny Tagil with the Visimo-Utkinsk Plant (now the village of Visimo-Utkinsk). It was built in the late 18th century by order of Nikita Akinfievich Demidov to expedite the delivery of pig iron to the plant. We already attempted it in 2023. This time, we had planned an overnight stay in the forest and were better prepared. Crews: 1. Natasha Sobol and I, a 4x4 Cummins Prado, automatic transmission, transfer case, all MT35 locking systems, winch included. 2. Evgeny Sobol, a 4x4 2GR Prado, automatic transmission, transfer case, all MT33 locking systems, winches in the front and rear power bumpers. 3. Evgeny and Lena, a UAZ 469, military bridges, XT35, winch in the front bumper. 4. Evgeny and Ivan, a UAZ Patriot 409i, MT33, winch in the front bumper. 5. Taras, a buggy, Daihatsu engine, automatic transmission, MarkII gearboxes, MT33, winch in the front and rear. It took us almost an hour to enter the highway. The UAZ tried different trajectories, diving up to its headlights. I found a simpler option, but had to use weight. It got easier from there, but there were a lot of deep ditches. We stopped. We went out for lunch and some minor repairs. The UAZ had collected some grass in the gearbox bellhousing, and it had gotten stuck under the clutch pressure plate diaphragm spring. My rear left tire had also started leaking air; a crack I'd sustained during a hike through the Ural Mountains was beginning to open up. We decided to drive to the parking lot and put on the spare tire there. It was decided to set up camp while it was still light. We reached the "Europe-Asia" sign and set up the cars. I quickly pitched the tent, set up a gas stove inside, and the boiling water in the pot not only heated the air but also created a hammam effect. The water in Sobol heated up to a comfortable 40°C in the heat exchanger from the antifreeze. A hot shower in a warm tent with temperatures near freezing outside was a treat. Sleeping clean. And then there were gatherings around the fire... And poems from Taras, which he dedicated to Beloved. In the morning, Natasha held a yoga session for Evgeny and Taras. Breakfast, packing up, checking the equipment, and then we were back on the road. We had half the route left, the half we couldn't complete last time. We continued moving steadily. But then we got stuck in a swampy clearing, three cars on winches. We reached the X-point, which had been the finish line of our previous attempt to conquer the highway. There was a river ahead. The photo didn't convey the depth of the ditch, but everyone stood pensively in front of it until Zhenya decided to drive through. Turns out it wasn't as scary as it seemed. The wheel dented due to the width of the Sobol. Air started leaking. We removed the wheel, straightened the wheel with a sledgehammer, and continued on. Another series of baths with the therapeutic mud of the Urals. Another river, but this one was easier. We laid down sand tracks and We're driving along. The sun is starting to set, but we're just a little ways from the village, and a third river, the Mezhevaya Utka, appears ahead. And then we, too, began to think – we needed to take a "leap of faith." Zhenya was ahead again, and we, grinning from ear to ear, plopped into the river. There was another marshy section where we had to unwind the winch. And then the drive back to the village was hassle-free. Tired, satisfied, with a sense of accomplishment and good memories, we headed home! It was a truly exciting hike! Wishing everyone great off-road adventures!