From Orkhon Valley I backtracked up to Kharkhorin for some gas, then drove northwest until I reached Tsetserleg. Tsetserleg is a logical stopping point on my way further west, but it’s also known for the beautiful mountains bordering the north end of town. So I thought it was worth a day to get some more hiking in. I checked into Fairfield Guesthouse, run by a really nice Aussie dude named Murray, and took a much needed shower and did some much needed laundry.

After cleaning up, I still had enough time left of the day to check out the provincial museum, which was actually quite cool. It’s in a well preserved former temple complex just up the street.

The next morning I set off to do the seven mile loop hike through the mountains north of Tsetserleg. I started off climbing to the wrong saddle, but luckily I figured out where I was supposed to be quickly. After some short scrambling and bush whacking, I was back on track.

The valley on the other side of the saddle was really worth the climb. It was wide open with pines and aspens all over. And since it’s fall the aspen leaves were bright gold.

I was enjoying the walk so much that I missed my turn off and went about a mile and half too far up the canyon. Oops! So the seven mile loop became ten. I didn’t mind one bit, though.

I hiked up to the top of a ridge and came down the other side, past a bunch of cows and horses until I finally made it back to town.

Don’t let the autumn vibes fool you, it was a really hot day, but a great hike. After coming down the canyon, I passed by the Galdan Zuu Temple at the base of Bulgan Uul on the way back to the guesthouse. It was locked up tight, but I still climbed the stairs to the top anyway.

The restaurant at the guesthouse may have been the best I’ve had outside of Ulaanbaatar yet. I had a pizza one night and a really good burger the second. It’s nice to get an occasional break from the camping food. The next morning I said goodbye to Tsetserleg and headed northwest again. First, though, I checked out the Taikhar Rock (N 47.600473, E 101.253655)

Local legend has it that a giant snake was eating up animals and people all over the region. So, the great hero, Bukhbilogt, dropped this giant rock on it’s head and saved the day. The Taikhar Rock looks more like the local graffiti Rock, to be honest. Most of what I saw was communist era graffiti, but supposedly they found inscriptions and petroglyphs dating back to 6000BC!

Further on I found a really amazing and unexpected section of cliffs along the Chuulut River (N 48.099566, E 100.3091). It was a perfect place for a little break.

Finally, I passed through the little town of Tariat and stopped at the Khorgo Volcano (N 48.186724, E 99.856881). It’s extinct now, they estimate the last eruption was around 10,000 years ago, but it looks much more recent.

The whole surrounding terrain is just covered in lava rocks and looking down into that cone it looks like it blew up last week. The wind decided to kick it into high gear just as I arrived for my hike up too. Not at all scary when you’re standing on the rim of a volcano.

Khorgo Volcano and the surrounding area looks a bit desolate. Luckily, there’s a pristine fresh water lake just on the other side of the lava field, Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur (Great White Lake).

It was getting a little late in the day. Time to think about finding a place to camp. As you approach the eastern side of the lake there are a lot of tourist ger camps, but I drove to about the mid point of the lake, far from everything, and found a great spot for Camp 12 (N 48.193384, E 99.696924).

I left Camp 12 early because I had a very very long drive ahead of me. I followed the lake for a bit then my road turned north and very rocky. So I said so long to beautiful Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake and settled in for a long, slow, bumpy, all day ride.

As I said, the roads were awful, but the views were mostly amazing.

I thought I could do the drive in one day, but I underestimated the roads. I did stop at a “tomb” as it was labeled on my map and found another deer stone on the way.

Eventually, my poor back and my head couldn’t take anymore pounding so I set up Camp 13 for the night, about twenty five miles short of my destination. Which is why I’m including it in this post instead of the next one. Just as everything was set up and I was getting ready to start dinner, a nice Mongolian man on a motorcycle with a rifle on his back stopped by, and with mediocre sign language on both our parts, he was able to convey that they were hunting that night and I was apparently right in the line of fire (?). Hunting what exactly? I don’t know, but I don’t want a souvenir bullet from a Mongolian who can’t tell the difference between a LandCruiser and a goat. This also explains why I saw several guys on motorcycles with rifles throughout the day. So, Camp 13 became Camp 13a and was immediately decommissioned. Camp 13b (N 49.443748, E 99.992216) was established about five miles away high up in some hills next to some very scary pines. No kidding it was super dark in there!

Well, that’s gonna be it for this post. I’ll cover the rest of the drive in the next one. Here’s a spoiler for the next post, I didn’t get shot. Yay!!!