Mountain Bike Czech
Pavlo Kuzyk’s Walk to Nepal
Pavlo Kuzyk’s Walk to Nepal:
This March, Pavlo Kuzyk, 31, is packing his pack and walking the walk to educate people about the harmful effects of CO2 emissions. Pavlo wil start in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine (the author’s hometown) and walk approximately 8,000 kilometers to end up at the base of Mount Machapuchare, Nepal.
The goal is to “draw attention to environmental issues, including global warming and the role of transport in climate change and to advocate hiking.”
Pavlo believes that ordinary people can do a lot to save our planet. With transportation contributing to 20% of global CO2 emissions a simple change from driving a car to walking can decrease this number significantly. Pavlo suggest car-pooling, using public transportation and taking vacations to one destination as opposed to country-hopping from place to place over a short period of time.
While studying in Florida, Pavlo hiked throughout most of North-Eastern Florida, hiking and biking up to 80 km per day while learning about the history of the surrounding area.
The proposed walk to Nepal will take place in two segments, tentatively scheduled from March – April 2011 and concluding between October and November 2011. Another one of Pavlo’s goals is to demonstrate how countries can be explored by foot. He will offer formal and informal talks along the way, hoping to make a global impact.
Pavlo’s philosophy on hiking is a green one. He believes in benefiting the environment, not destroying it.
As such, he will take care to not to destroy vegetation, clean up trash and practice ‘Leave No Trace’ ethics. Pavlo will be camping for the majority of the walk.
Pavlo first conceived of this journey through a dream. “For many years almost every night I had a dream that I’m walking to a mountain, which had a very specific shape, but something always prevented me from reaching it. I looked for my Mountain on the Internet, but for a long time I couldn’t find it. And then finally I saw it on one of the photography websites. Its name is Machapuchare; it’s in Nepal. But most interesting was that it turned out to be sacred to local people, so it’s prohibited to climb it and apparently it has never been done. I thought: maybe I should walk there, and the dreams stopped. But then I got a new job in Prague and decided to postpone the walk for another year. That same night I saw the mountain again… I understood that I had to do it now,” says Pavlo
The idea of walking 8,000 km isn’t daunting to Pavlo, nor does it seem mad. “I always liked walking for long distances and I wanted to do something for the environment. What better destination may there be than a mountain untouched by humans?” says Pavlo.
Growing up. Pavlo’s family had a large influence on his consciousness of nature. Pavlo lost himself in his parent’s books on zoology and ecology. Pavlo found himself drawn to animals and environmental issues. After seeing the projected data for pollutants in the atmosphere by 2000, Pavlo knew he had to do something and this shaped his studies. As for forming a close connection to the land, both of Pavlo’s parents are from villages where he spent summers herding cattle, taking care of hay and collecting medicinal plants.
Amongst his many travels, Madagascar is the one place that has moved Pavlo the most. “Most of the country is highlands, but they also have tropical forests and semi-deserts. Majority of plants and animal species there can’t be found anywhere else on Earth. Unfortunately, most of them are endangered. People clear forests at an alarming rate; everywhere I went I saw smoke of the burning trees. This leads to massive ecological problems, like ground erosion, floods etc. If such a unique place will loose its ecosystems, it would be a fatal loss.”
Pavlo is drawn to landscapes of all kinds. “When I was a child I once read that Asian deserts are quietest places on Earth and if a beetle there flies over you, its humming is perceived to be as loud as a roar of a reactive plane. That fascinated me. I decided that I would cross Karakum desert in Turkmenistan.” Pavlo lived in a yurt, rode a camel and “enjoyed the smell of sand giving away its heat at night.”
When asked for his favorite books regarding nature of the environment, Pavlo didn’t hesitate to answer. He cites “Living Planet,” by Sir David Attenborough and “Asia” about nature and living creatures on the continent. “Books like those were hard to get in Soviet times and thus very valuable. For example, my mum exchanged “Asia” for a crystal dinner-set.”
As for personal solitude, Pavlo heads to the hills just outside his city of Ivano-Frankivsk in Western Ukraine to an area that stretches along a river where there are huge gypsum rocks and many rare plants and animals. Unfortunately, this place has seen negative impact of civilization in recent years. From trash from picnics to illegal construction, Pavlo’s place of solitude may not remain that way for long. When Pavlo inquired about the construction, his personal information was given to the people responsible for the construction as a means to intimidate him.
Despite the negative environmental effects, Pavlo remains positive about the possibility for change. And the mountains are calling, “I like mountains because there I feel power; I feel inspiration,” says Pavlo. And it is in the mountains where Pavlo will end up if his journey is successful.
Undiscovered Earth will be posting updates about Pavlo’s journey, so stay tuned and good luck, Pavlo!
*Pavlo is looking for support in the form of equipment or money for food or motel/hotel donations. Supporters will be mentioned in media publications including “International Tourism journal, a Ukranian tourist magazine. Names and logos will also be featured on clothing made for the walk. Pavlo is happy to provide updates along the way with photographs and text.
*To find out more about Pavlo and how you can help, feel free to contact him at kuzykpavlo@mail.ru
Bio: Pavlo Kuzyk studied in the Department of Biology at Lviv National University named after Ivan Franko, where he received degrees of Specialist (with honors) and Translator of English; and at the University of Florida, where he defended his Doctoral thesis. Pavlo has worked at Emory University (Atlanta, USA), The Institute for Mountain Forestry of Ukrainian Academy of Sciences (Laboratory of nature-saving forest technologies; Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine) and currently works in The Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences (Prague, Czech Republic).
Over the past 1.5 years he has published > 50 articles in “International tourism” and “Tasty Truth” (New York) magazines, “Wysoky Zamok” and “Galychyna” newspapers, as well as on nbb.com.ua.
During the last two years Pavlo’s photographic work has been exhibited at 4 photo-exhibitions, including the prestigious national exhibition “Nature 2010″ (June-July 2010). Furthermore, during this time he has had 5 personal photo-exhibitions.
Being in excellent physical shape, Pavlo has participated in running competitions at 5 and 10 km and many times he was 1st in his age group, and 1st, 2nd or 3rd overall. Another of his unique achievements is a 60 km hike in August, the hottest month in Florida, without stopping, eating or drinking (time: 9 hrs 26 min).
Pavlo is fluent in Ukrainian, Russian, English and colloquial Czech. He has also studied German, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Malagasy and Fijian languages and is currently learning Chinese.
About the Author
Undiscovered Earth is a resource for Exploration, <a href=’http://www.undiscoveredearth.com/’>Environment</a>, and Expression. Undiscovered Earth is a voice for those who love the outdoors, nature and the environment and features profiles <a href=’http://www.undiscoveredearth.com/category/profiles-environmental-profiles-people-and-environment/’>environmental news</a> , product reviews and poetry, fiction and essays.
Adam Vagner Semering
