Hiking in the Gobi

July 7 -- The Gobi _Desert_. You'd figure it'd be parched and dry. Nope. Not strictly true. Apart from the rain we saw in the earlier days, today was a water-themed day.

We got an early start to try to see wildlife in the nearby Yol Valley. Our hike into the valley went along a small stream, likely runoff from the earlier rains. Unfortunately, all we saw were pequots, rodent-like creatures, and a type of vulture. In the middle of the trek we came across sections that still had thick ice that we inched by. You could even see the blue of the ice in some places. The ice was crystal clear in a few areas. A very cool hike despite no fancy animals. At least I didn't freeze!

We stopped at a small museum on the way back which had dinosaur bones and eggs, as well as pelts and stuffed versions of all the animals that we didn't see. It was small but an impressive museum for being in the middle of the Gobi. At a shop outside, I bought a set of (sheep's?) anklebones that is used for fortune telling. Your fortune depends on the side on which four bones fall. It's a common game that we've seen in many shops and ger camps.

After lunch and a kip, we went for another hike. This time we hiked through a gorge to a frozen waterfall. Again, ice in the Gobi. Before we left on the bus, we started tossing a frisbee around. Some locals saw and came to join us! That was pretty neat! I think it'll be nice to bring frisbees for kids on future trips....

After returning to camp, we watched as the locals raised a ger. It only took an hour. A ger is made of a lattice wall with six sides. There's a central upper circular frame from which 90 poles extend to the lattices. The frame is held up by two posts. The inside of the ger ranges from five feet high on the edges to about eight feet in the center. It's about twenty feet in diameter. The ger skeleton is wrapped in felt made from sheep's wool. A linen sheet covers that and then it's wrapped with a canvas covering. The center is left open as a window but can be covered for warmth. A small door provides the only entrance. It's surprisingly cozy. There are all sorts of rules -- you need to step in/out with your right foot, you have to walk around clockwise, you can't walk through the central posts, etc.

Tomorrow, we have an early departure as we're flying up to Ulaanbaatar. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to post these reports...