We unconsciously started preparing for this trip already in Irkutsk, where we bought two sleeping mattresses and a little gas cooker. In UU we bought the almost cheapest and lightest tent we could find. And in UB we finally stocked up with a cooking pot, a map, a water filter, new walking boots for Tom and a lot of food before heading to Tsetserleg in central Mongolia.
We planned to walk to the blue mountain lake. Our first day should be simple. South out of Tsetserleg and than following the river to Bulgan. However, we already missed the right road and ended up on the wrong side of the city. So we tried to find our way over a small hill, stupidly ending up between the arms of the river (is a water rich valley). Getting out of our boots (and thoursers) we made our way through and spent a very windy and rainy night on top of a little hill 1 km from the river.
We saw a great deal of rain and this beautiful hairy Yaks during the first day.
Next day shopping in Bulgan (we had the impression that the whole village came by the little shop to have a look at the funny tourists) and then following a tiny valley. This night we were surprised by the cold finding ice crystals at the walls of our tent.
Into the wild, no gets anywhere near to be seen.
It got pretty cold, after a shower in the river and sunset.
On the day three we were prepared to head out into the wilderness (no paths on the map), however even though the area is far from any settlement you will always find a tiny path caused by a horse, a yak or a goat. Anyway we had a tough time getting up the pass that connected two valleys and finding space to walk through. When we at the end of the day recocnised we haven’t seen one single soul that day a little truck containing five mongolian man stopped next to our tent.
We exactly, did we decided to this here?
Day four and a little hill later rewarded us with the most idillic valley we have seen in whole Mongolia, the warning of bears in the national park and some nice cheese made by the park attendants family. Of course a broad valley does not come without wet feets.
The most idyllic valley, we found in Mongolia (not that we found that many).
Usually I envy all these people that post pictures of their tents somewhere in nature.
The next day we made a little effort getting up early and take the walk through the valley. It wasn’t as complicated and at five in the evening 600 m up hill, exhausted we reached the blue lake (seeing it from the distant it has actually the same colour as the sky, in our case blue).
The indeed very blue lake.
And it was thaaaaat cold.
Why is it that water and sunset go that good together?
We spent the whole next day recovering at the lake, sleeping, washing some socks, making bread from baby mush and hoping somebody would come by and offering us a lift. But it was indeed not a very populated place and nobody came by.
I guess, we won’t by this baby mush again, even though the bread was great. Even had garlic inside.
Since my health did not improved (got a nice cold) and we were running out of food we made the way back to the valley. At one of the few gers Tom used the old Chinese trick to get us a driver back to Tsetserleg (calling somebody who speaks English and Mongolian). We stopped by the park attendant to say god bye and ten car break downs and diverse filling ups of the radiator water we arrived back in Tsetserleg and got a big meal, a nice bed and a lot of sleep.
The ranger and his wife. He was so nice warming us up with mongolian vodka and handing us bread with about 1 cm cover of butter, which was solo good.
And this friendly guy with his unreliable jeep brought us back to Tsetserleg, while his wife used the opportunity for a shopping trip.
