Friday, August 21, 2009

August 14th - August 21st (day 33-40): Sidetrip to Altai Tavan Bogd

August 14th (day 33, 54km): We had a slow start to allow time for one more big breakfast at the Blue Wolf Cafe before heading off. We made quick progress over a pass as the road was in good shape and we were well rested. The plan was to have a short day and stay at a tourist ger camp in Sagsay (the first town we would pass through). Unfortunately the camp was fully booked by a Chinese tour group. Though the kind staff at the camp offered us a place to sleep in their own apartment, we decided to carry on further and found a nice place to camp.

From Olgii to Altai Tavan Bogd (and back)


August 15th (day 34, 25km): It was chilly when we got up. It got colder as we cycled up a 2600m pass (for reference, Olgii is at 1660m). As we took a quick break at the top it started to snow. On the way down from the pass Krystil's hands got cold and we had to stop a few times to warm them. When we got down to the valley the precipitation had stopped but the temperature was still cold and the clouds were threatening so we decided to pitch the tent by the river. A number of other tents were scattered around the area and we quickly found out that they were harvesting the grasses for winter. After some time of hiding in the tent Chris went to socialize with one group of reapers.

From Olgii to Altai Tavan Bogd (and back)


August 16th (day 35, 59km): The temperatures were still low but the skies had cleared. As we gained elevation heading up a valley we were quickly surrounded in snow. The road was soft and wet from the snow melt but the blanket of snow added beauty to the scenery. The valley was narrow and steep but populated, so we passed in close proximity to many people and gers. As we neared a lake at the top of the valley the snow mysteriously disappeared. After descending from the pass we crossed a park check point at a bridge. From here we began to have great views of snowy mountains which form the border with China.

From Olgii to Altai Tavan Bogd (and back)


August 17th (day 36, 50km): We biked to the south-western shore of Hurgan Nuur. As this is a populated area and not a major through road the route around the lake was difficult to follow. At first we tried to stay high but as the road petered out near a cluster of gers it became apparent that we had chosen the wrong track. We were invited into one of the gers for some tea and snacks before heading off to find the right road. The biking was slow due to the micro terrain in the area (a lot of going up and down over small hills). We eventually made it to within a few kilometres of Syrgali (a bridged narrowing between the Hurgan and Hoton lakes) and found a forested spot to camp. This campsite was the western most point we will reach on this trip.

From Olgii to Altai Tavan Bogd (and back)


August 18th (day 37, 65km): After crossing the bridge at Syrgali we started heading back towards Olgii along a more northerly route than we had come from. The route took us past some interesting graveyards near passes. The road eventually joined Hovd Gol (river) and followed its southern shores. Our maps show the road following the northern shore so we spent some time keeping our eyes open for a crossing. Like other roads that follow major river drainages, this one was quite rocky. We found a nice place to hide our tent in a side valley and only had a couple cows and one nice man on a horse visit us in the evening.

From Olgii to Altai Tavan Bogd (and back)


August 19th (day 38, 65km): We followed the river-side road to Tsengel where we found a good guanz to eat lunch at. We ate buzz: boiled meat dumplings. We limited ourselves to 16 each since we wanted to do some more cycling in the afternoon. As we were leaving town, three young boys on bicycles followed us for some distance. With their lightly loaded bikes they were much faster than us on the soft roads (they must have thought we were pretty out of shape). We made it over a pass to Ulaanhus (where we failed to find an open guanz for dinner). Shortly after Krystil's rear rack broke. We made a temporary repair and camped in the first hidden spot we could find.

From Olgii to Altai Tavan Bogd (and back)


August 20th (day 39, 40km): The road up the next pass turned out to be sandy. We thought this area was too mountainous to have sandy roads. At least since we were heading east (for a change) we now had the prevailing winds in our backs. After pushing and pedalling our bikes over the final pass, we started our descent into Olgii. The power was out in town so we had to content ourselves with cold showers and a limited menu at the Turkish restaurant. Though we weren't in nearly as exhausted a state as the first time we arrived in Olgii, we still thoroughly enjoyed these relative luxuries.

From Olgii to Altai Tavan Bogd (and back)


August 21st (day 40, rest day): We enjoyed another big breakfast at the Blue Wolf Cafe on Krystil's birthday (though they didn't have any yoghurt and fruit). We met an interesting American man who has been organizing horse tours in Mongolia since 1992 (his clients had just departed the previous day). We also chatted with a couple Irish lads who are participating in the Mongol Rally. We enjoyed additional luxuries such as the sauna at the town's public bathhouse (the motorcycling Americans we met the previous week told us about this) and found some German chocolate in the grocery store (most sweets we find here are made in the developing world and are generally of lower quality). We are expecting the arrival of Chris' sister and brother-in-law (Anna and Tyler) tomorrow on a plane from Ulaanbaatar. They will be joining us for the last two weeks of our trip. We plan on taking an indirect route to Khovd from where we all fly home.

Additional pictures from this part of the trip are in the Olgii to Altai Tavan Bogd (and back) album.

Here's a map of route for days 33-39 (google earth version):


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