Russians pay a green visit
NEW CASTLE – In less than 48 hours, Polina Raygorodskaya and Igor Bratnikov traveled from New York City down into the National Forest in Craig County.
The couple’s intent is to go all the way across the United States, visiting National Forests and National Parks along the way – and minimizing their carbon footprint by asking for rides.
Polina Raygorodskaya and Igor Bratnikov pose with Smokey Bear outside of Sandy and Dale Grubbs' home near New Castle. Photo by Amanda Horn
On July 28, they made it to Craig County by way of Washington, D.C., where they toured the USDA Forestry Service Building to kick-start their journey south.
Inspired by hiking in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire, Raygorodskaya and Bratnikov yearned for other people to appreciate the nature that sometimes get taken for granted, they said. “You might not appreciate it until it’s gone,” explained Raygorodskaya.
And so, they founded GreenXC that has as its mission to promote the National Parks and National Forests while encouraging the younger generations to be proactive about the environment. Their final destination is Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park in California. By then they will have covered roughly 4,447 miles.
“We are young and not typically environmentalists,” explained Raygorodskaya.
GreenXC hopes to attract other young people like Raygorodskaya and Bratnikov, who are unaware of the issues the National Parks and Forests are dealing with, and get them to become active in the preservation of these forests and parks.
The task of getting rides from generous strangers turned out to be a little more difficult than the two New York City residents expected – except in the case of Craig County.
Sandy and Dale Grubbs of Craig County heard about GreenXC through The New Castle Record’s July 13 article, “Can you provide ride to promote ‘green’?” and then contacted GreenXC through their website.
“We think it’s good young people are bringing awareness,” said Sandy Grubbs. She and her husband volunteered to pick up Raygorodskaya and Bratnikov in Staunton on July 28 and drive them through parts of the Jefferson National Forest.
The New York City residents “were immediately impressed by their southern friendliness and charm,” they wrote about their initial meeting in Staunton. “We spent the rest of the day sharing stories and listening to their tales of the area, the differences in culture from our usual city life and discovering the majestic beauty of the Jefferson National Forest.
They spent the afternoon hiking Roaring Run Trail along Roaring Run Creek in Botetourt County – where they encountered a rattlesnake. The snake’s picture is on the couple blog about their trip.
Sandy and Dale Grubbs also offered the couple overnight lodging in their home.
Raygorodskaya and Bratnikov had planned to plant a tree in Jefferson National Forest as they intend to do in each forest they visit, but could not, they said, because the Forest Service in Craig County is closed.
Raygorodskaya, who is a fashion designer and founder and president of Polina Fashion LLC, and Bratnikov, an avid travel photographer and journalist, planned to get a ride from Craig County to Cincinnati on their next leg toward Chicago, Ill., but at the last minute, that fell through.
They had to rent a car, according to their website, visit http://greenxc.com.
“Thinking of this as a great opportunity to offer a ride to others we posted it on various websites but no one responded. Twice we saw the disappointing failure of the current ride sharing tools from the rider and driver perspective,” thew wrote.
Bratnikov writes his experiences in his column on Examiner.com and is pursing a law degree at Boston University.
– Amanda Horn
