I’m awake at 4:30am for nature toilet and see the moon is a bright ball of orange setting over the tree tops while the sun is coming up in the East at the same time. This far North there’s only four hours of darkness. I take a few photos and then crawl back into my sleeping bag to warm up. Padraig and John were derelict in their fire duty last night and there’s only cold ashes left in the stove. We’re all shivering in our sleeping bags and I give them a hard time and say I’m not leaving bed until a fire is going and the tepee is toasty. John braves the chilly temperature and leaves his bed to build a roaring fire. Soon the tepee is comfortably warm and we prepare for the day.
We’re packing up today and riding to White Lake to tent camp for the night before returning to help the herders move to another spot. Before leaving, I take more photos of the families and they seem more comfortable with me poking my camera into their daily life now that we’ve spent more time with them. The young boys who were pointedly avoiding me have even come around.
The main herder joins us for a second breakfast again and brings souvenirs that he’s carved out of antlers. Padraig and John purchase some gifts for friends and family back home. They’re intricately carved and beautiful.
It takes Erdenee and Narankhuu an hour to sort through the kitchen gear and our bags to pack the saddle bags again. It’s hard work hoisting the heavy bags onto the horses backs and securing them and I feel useless unable to help them but John and Padraig pitch in. We say goodbye to the herders and head off through dense forest and soggy ground. It’s tough going for the horses as they’re sinking into the deep mud. They try to stick to the edges of the muddy trail and my shoulders and legs are getting swatted by branches and small trees. Suddenly we emerge from the trees to a vast plain dotted with wood cabins. These are the herders spring and summer homes when their livestock will live in the open pastures for a few months. Sheep, horses and cows graze, occasionally lifting their heads to watch us ride past. It’s nice to be on dry, solid open land again. My horse perks up and trots ahead to be second in line behind Narankhuu’s mount.
We stop for lunch on the edge of the plain in a copse of leafless trees. We’re surrounded by mountains and I can see White Lake far off in the distance. Narankhuu and Erdenee make themselves comfortable, propped up on an elbow with their legs outstretched on the ground and we sit cross-legged around Unuruu. The herders and horse guides prefer to be on the ground rather than on stools or chairs. They often prop half their body up against a tree or curl up on the ground for a nap. Their deels protect their clothing from the damp and dirt.
We arrive at White Lake’s sandy shores. The lake is covered with ice and the green plains are covered with small yellow flowers. A dry area is located to pitch our tents and the kitchen tent. I manage to erect my tent in a timely fashion and not that it’s a contest, but it’s to be noted that I beat some of the boys.
I walk down to the lake’s shores and there’s a thick sheet of ice covering most of it. Mini ice bergs are piled up along the edges with free flowing water in the shallows. I have a quick wash to rinse off the dirt and dust from our ride. The cool water feels good against the back of my neck where the sun’s been beating down all afternoon. John’s given me a pair of paper slippers to wear so I can air out my sweaty boots, so I’m tramping around in the sand and grass in hotel slippers😀.
Erdenee and Narankhuu set up the kitchen tent and Unuruu starts dinner. Suddenly I hear Unuruu shouting as she exits the tent. I run up asking what’s happened and upon peering inside I see that one of our camp stoves is engulfed in flames. Erdenee runs inside and using the cuffs of his deel like oven mitts, grabs the stove and runs outside. The stove’s propane is turned off and the flames go out. Whew! That could’ve quickly gone sideways and lucky that Unuruu checked. With the excitement over, I grab my camera and head out to explore.
Later Padraig, John, Unuruu, Erdenee and I cross a stream to walk further down the shores of the lake to cut chunks of ice for our drinking and washing water. On the way back to camp, Padraig and John sing Irish folk tunes and then Erdenee joins in with a Mongolian one. Unuruu sings a children’s song and then we all start singing Old MacDonald’s Farm with animal sounds included.
The tin whistles come out again and I badly perform my entire repertoire, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Erdenee gives it a try but a lot of high pitched shrieking emits and he laughs, handing the whistle to Narankhuu. We try to explain to blow into the whistle softly and Narankhuu has a little better luck. Padraig shows him notes to play and then Narankhuu goes off script and wiggles his fingers rapidly over the holes creating more high pitched shrieking. Unuruu gives it a try and is determined to master Twinkle Twinkle. She does really well and Padraig says she can have the tin whistles and sheet music for her classroom (she’s an English teacher when she’s not guiding).
We move onto tongue twisters and there’s much giggling and laughter as Unuruu struggles to pronounce the words quickly. She gives us a Mongolian one and I can’t begin to wrap my head around it. We get so involved that our dinner is quite late so we head to bed once the dishes are done. As I’m crawling into my tent a vehicle arrives with a local family so I dig out some gifts for the kids. They’re enamoured with the glow in the dark bracelets and run around waving their arms.
I’m exhausted after three hours in the saddle on a hot, sunny day and curl up in my sleeping bag.
