Ger weekend
Hoping to escape the nasty brown haze shrouding UB, I decided to organize an outing to Terelj park last weekend. Although it’s getting colder, it’s still reasonable to spend time outdoors, as long as you bring plenty of clothes and keep moving.
In Terelj, which is just 50 K north of UB, we stayed at one of the many “tourist gers.” A ger is a squat, round tent with a hole in the top for a stove pipe. It has wooden spoke frames and is covered with canvas. (Forgot to get a picture but you get the idea). Staying in a ger is a lot like staying in a cabin on the Resurrection trail in winter. The main differences are that the Mongolians don’t have those awesome Scandinavian stoves the Forest Service uses, gers don’t have windows, and you can drive right up instead of hiking.
This particular tourist camp had been recommended to me as being quite cushy, and it was. The lodge was newly constructed, the food was hearty, and a sauna was available for a minimal fee. The bonus: Camp staff came in every few hours all night long to add wood to the stove. What we lost in sleep we more than made up for in warmth. (Those Forest Service cabins will just never be the same for me now).
The scenery in Terelj is striking.
The rounded hills are set off by a series of dramatic granite boulder formations somewhat reminiscent of the desert southwest U.S. Some of us explored the high ridges both days, and others rode horses up and down the valleys.
I’m starting to get the hang of the Mongolian hikes now. Here’s how it works: We start out with a vague destination in mind, and stop frequently for group consultations on course corrections. After a few hours, the route gels and we’re cruising. But then we get lost. Or not lost, exactly, because we know where we are and where we want to go, but it’s not clear how to get there. More group consultations and trudging around through the woods. Finally, just when it seems we might actually have to retrace our steps and go back, we find the way. We return several hours later than planned.
Perfect.
In Terelj, which is just 50 K north of UB, we stayed at one of the many “tourist gers.” A ger is a squat, round tent with a hole in the top for a stove pipe. It has wooden spoke frames and is covered with canvas. (Forgot to get a picture but you get the idea). Staying in a ger is a lot like staying in a cabin on the Resurrection trail in winter. The main differences are that the Mongolians don’t have those awesome Scandinavian stoves the Forest Service uses, gers don’t have windows, and you can drive right up instead of hiking.
This particular tourist camp had been recommended to me as being quite cushy, and it was. The lodge was newly constructed, the food was hearty, and a sauna was available for a minimal fee. The bonus: Camp staff came in every few hours all night long to add wood to the stove. What we lost in sleep we more than made up for in warmth. (Those Forest Service cabins will just never be the same for me now).
The scenery in Terelj is striking.
The rounded hills are set off by a series of dramatic granite boulder formations somewhat reminiscent of the desert southwest U.S. Some of us explored the high ridges both days, and others rode horses up and down the valleys.
I’m starting to get the hang of the Mongolian hikes now. Here’s how it works: We start out with a vague destination in mind, and stop frequently for group consultations on course corrections. After a few hours, the route gels and we’re cruising. But then we get lost. Or not lost, exactly, because we know where we are and where we want to go, but it’s not clear how to get there. More group consultations and trudging around through the woods. Finally, just when it seems we might actually have to retrace our steps and go back, we find the way. We return several hours later than planned.
Perfect.
posted by Susanne D. at 12:16 PM
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