By Jacqueline Conway

San ban no! (Hello in Mongolian)!

“People don’t meet accidentally. We meet because we are supposed to at this point. That is why we are all here now”

This poignant Mongolian saying has an extra special meaning to me… I’ve dreamed of visiting Mongolia, “The land of the eternal blue sky” since I was a little girl. Those World Book Encyclopedias and National Geographics at home hooked me with their black and white photos of horses on vast steppes, ridden by men in heavy coats and hunting eagles on their arms. It seemed so remote and far removed from what I knew as a kid growing up in suburban Sydney. So, being fortunate to have the opportunity to travel and trek in my adult years this trek was to be a dream come true, but like so many other people’s plans it was thwarted in 2020 by the pandemic.

Ulgii Airport.The incredible Diamonds Team!

Rescheduled to 2024 with a team of 12 wonderful Diamonds, to finally reach Ulaanbaatar (aka UB) and then fly West to the Altai Mountains was quite an emotional moment. We had all managed to assemble in UB with bags via 5 different flights…that itself is an amazing feat!! Now we were set to leave the small town of Ulgii in a 4-jeep convoy, where we were told by our delightful guides Ulzi & Turbish, that we would not see any villages or other Westerners for 10 days!! “We meet because we are supposed to at this point.” So true…Live in the moment & the day, I reminded myself & the team.

To reach our 1st camp we had a full day’s drive which started on bitumen, but soon progressed to dirt roads and then endless grass hills with 2 tracks & questionable navigability. We crossed rocky creeks & passed through valley after valley, dotted with local nomad families in their white gers (aka yurts) & endless herds of goats, sheep, yaks and horses. It was a bone-jangling crash-intro view into this incredible remote way of life that has barely changed in centuries. I couldn’t look away for a moment.

Our 1st camp was at the base of a gorge, on a raised plateau in a wide valley. Our tents were pre-set in 2 neat rows and dinner was on the boil when we arrived. Now I felt like we could finally relax and believe that we were really here, and this adventure was very much happening!! Woohoo! The skies didn’t darken until 9.30-10 pm, so this day seemed endless.

As well as our leader Turbish (a professor in Ecology and Biology) and our translator guide Ulzi, we also had a team of 3 cooks, 1 doctor, 1 camp master (also an amazing singer) and 4 cameleers to help us explore & traverse this incredible mountain landscape, for the 8 days we would walk through it. We didn’t know that the cooks, doctor & camp master (all from UB) hadn’t visited here before, so they were just as excited as we were.

In the morning, 9 Bactrian camels & 6 horses (all unnamed) arrived with the friendly cameleers. The camel’s 2 humps were so funny – flopping this way & that. So different from the Aussie one-humpers! They were loaded skilfully with all the camp gear & our bags, with much groaning and an occasional well-aimed spit!

Another Mongolian saying is…”Rush slowly”…and this indeed we learned to do.

So, the next 8 days kind of went like this…we got up at 6.30-7am (although light at 4.30am), had a bird bath, then packed up our tents. Had a great brekkie at 8am on tables setup in the sun, a bit of a yoga stretch & helped pack up the camp where we could. Then with a “Yowee-ah” (Let’s go!) call from our hiking leader we were walking by 9-9.30am, leaving the camp behind. We would stop 1-2 times before lunch to take in the scenery. It felt a bit too slow on Day 1, but we soon came to appreciate the slower pace, having time to absorb so much detail in our new habitat. The 2 camel trains and the cooks etc. would catch up with us at lunch, providing us with warm thermos meals of meat & rice variations, plus a salad and chocolate bar. They would then go ahead to set up the next camp, while we took our time walking, talking, taking endless photos of flowers, mountains and horses, and on a few occasions being invited in for tea at some friendly nomads’ gers we passed by. We trekked from 13 – 24 km per day.

We saw very few well-worn trails – some vague foot pads here and there, and a few zig-zag trails up to the passes. We mostly made our own tracks which is a unique style of trekking. Sometimes you don’t choose the best path and find yourself in a bog or at a creek too wide to cross, so you have to detour, but you all end up at the same place eventually. It allows you to walk solo & stop when you want to, or with others abreast, not in front or behind. Conversation flowed easily and much laughter was shared.

There was very little rubbish, which was such a blessing. Not many tours come through here due to the short summer (2 months) and the sheer remoteness of the ranges. There are no shops or villages. Most nomads live very simple lives in their transportable gers, with only the modern additions of solar panels and an odd mobile phone to be seen. Some closer to town had motorbikes and small vans/trucks. Otherwise, horses were the main mode of transport and were very revered. Camels and yaks were delegated to carry heavier loads. The nomads eat a plain diet of meat, curd, yogurts, mares milk & mild strength vodka, so they produce little rubbish (and have very good teeth!). A reminder to us all how our Western culture creates more problems than it can solve!

Taking turns to cross the Turgen river on horseback on day 2 was an exhilarating moment for us all. No need for bridges here!! We had many more ahead of us too. Then following the Kharkhiraa River, the mountains grew larger and more snow-capped as we trekked higher up the valley. We were rewarded with clear views of 2 ranges that would form our 2950m high pass between them – the Kharkhiraa Range & the Turgen Massif. We enjoyed camping with an amazing panorama view of the Kharkhiraa Range (4050m), for 3 days (at 2600m)…a chance to slow down even more, and not have to pack up camp for the next 2 days…very welcome for all!

We managed 2 fabulous side treks on these days. The first was upstream to 5 glacial alpine lakes that are a source of the Kharkhiraa river. Lots of rock scrambling and a river crossing with rubber boot covers was required. We climbed to 3000m to view the highest one. It was an exciting moment even though very cold and windy!

The 2nd day trip was a very steep ascent up a range behind our camp, which was the most technical walk of our trip. The weather changed constantly, revealing clear valleys one moment and then a whiteout the next! Our raincoats and gloves were all tested! All our team reached a 3300m ridge line to be rewarded with an amazing glacial view on the other side. Lunch was a cold affair tucked amongst rocks to escape the light snow & wind, but it’s not often you lunch with a glacial view, so we went with the flow!!

With some choosing to return to camp from here, 5 of us plus guides decided to continue up another ridge line to aim for 3500m. It was rocky & slippery, with patches of snow visible amongst the lichen-covered rocks, so great care was required. We all cheered and high-fived each other as we hit the 3500m mark on Kalina’s watch.

Our guides had never been up here before, so were buzzing too! Light snow was falling as we descended, and we soon found a big patch of snow to play in like silly school kids!

The next day we had our first principal pass to cross (between the Kharkhiraa & Turgen ranges) at 2950m elevation. I had visions of a narrow track between 2 steep mountains on either side. Big surprise to find it was a massive flat (and very boggy) plateau at a guess 5km wide. That goes to show the scale of this place!! We all managed well with the 400m ascent to it by practising our pause step & saving the chat for our snack breaks.

The scenery was so cinematic, with the roaming horse herds and camel train adding to the drama. “Pinch me please!” I thought…so many times! The other side was a gentle sloping green valley. Just so pretty in the sunshine.

Each valley we passed through held its own beauty & majesty. Always mountains in view, big clouds and that eternal blue sky. This valley had many lakes glistening in the afternoon sun. All so lush at this time of year with ample grass for hungry animals fattening up for the long, cold winter ahead.

The families we met along the way were so generous with their invitation into their homes, offering humble food, milky yak tea, and answering our many questions via our interpreter. Their stoicism, strength and love of the land & their animals was just so beautiful.

The kids were curious, playful and funny, and skilful riders. Such respect for these people. It is part of their culture to welcome any traveller into their home. It comes from a survival instinct…centuries in the making, as well as the simple desire for human connection.

At our next camp by Blue Lake, we were treated to an incredible sunset & then mirror-like reflections of mountains on the lake in the morning. Can this place get any more magical??

Black Goat pass was our 2nd & last pass at 2960m. It was a hotter, more exposed ascent, but Wow, oh Wow! was it spectacular on the other side! It almost gave us vertigo as we carefully picked our way down a zig-zag trail, whilst trying to soak in the incredible view unfolding below us. The surrounding rocky & arid mountains contrasted with the lush and green valley below, complete with a beautiful river flowing through it over light pink granite boulders. Am I dreaming still?? No, I’m really living this!! 😊 Camping by the river we enjoyed a funny & moving evening of singing entertainment from our camel crew. One we will all never forget.

The last day of trekking is always a hard one I find…and it wasn’t just the 24 km day ahead. Mixed emotions filled my mind & heart…of it all coming to an end…it’s all gone way too fast (did we not rush slowly enough??), whilst the body and feet are feeling tired and ready for a rest. I want to soak in every moment. The river rushing past us, the smell of the Larch pine trees we passed (being the first trees we’d seen in 7 days), the eagles we spotted circling above us, the light on the mountains, the final river crossings on horseback that we may never experience again, the banter of the cooks and cameleers at lunchtime.

The final trekking day - 'rushing slowly'

This dream has surpassed all I could have imagined. The amazing cohesion of the Diamonds team and the local support team was truly special. We had all become a close family as we migrated across this land. They wouldn’t be here if we weren’t, and vice versa. We have each been respectful and curious of each other’s cultures, and shared funny moments, even without sharing the same language. We shared a unique experience that the same itinerary at another time could not replicate. It’s a moment in time that will never come again. “People don’t meet accidentally. We meet because we are supposed to at this point. That is why we are all here now”. Our footprints are already forgotten by the ancient land we passed through. Many have passed before us. Our journey and team experience we will not forget.

Descending the Black Goat river valley for the day, we finally reached our last camp in a dry river bed – Tel Mod. It had been hot and dusty 24 km, and hard going on the feet. We had exited the National Park & started to see more herding families living in gers with more mod cons (and sadly rubbish). It was here we had a teary but heartfelt farewell to our gorgeous Cameleers: Aruka, Khoso, Big Angha & Little Angha, as they headed back the way we had come to return home and participate in a local horse racing and wrestling competition the next day. We wished them all luck as they rode away…literally into the sunset. We would receive their results the next day from Turbish.

Our adventure wasn’t completely over though. Two Russian combi-like vans called Furgons were already at camp (along with their Kazakh drivers), waiting to drive us back to Ulgii the next day.

These were a lot of fun, as we sped along dusty tracks past the massive Atchit Lake (we had passed on the first day’s drive) and then crossed some shallow rivers without a hitch. The Kazakh music was blasting on the radio as we eventually reached civilisation again…a strange feeling for us all. After some frenzied souvenir shopping, we were treated to hearing a local Kazakh man & his 2 young adult children musicians play & sing traditional songs on their 2 string horse head guitars. Their gur was lined with stunning hand-embroidered rugs on the walls, and we were fed more tea & snacks. What a treat! So talented.

That final night was in a camp just out of town, where we all slept in our own gers. Very spacious after 8 nights in a tent!! A little drop of local vodka and red wine with dinner helped us celebrate a truly incredible Diamond adventure… one that will live in our hearts and minds forever.

I’ll finish with a few more Mongolian sayings:

“For now, don’t say Goodbye. We are just travelling on different paths for a while. We will meet again”

“Be Ta Nata ha teh” (We love you Mongolia!)

“Bay-an-tha” (Thank you) for welcoming us and for this truly exceptional experience. 😊

What we did:

· 8 Days hiking/ 2 days driving (410kms)

· Approx. 150km walking total (including toilet diversions!)

· Highest pass – 2960m

· Highest ridge climb – 3500m

· Meat eaten – a lot..

· Chocolate eaten – even more!

· Laughs had - a million…

· “Oh wow, pinch me” moments- even more!!

From the team:

“Pre-Mongolia: nervous, can I do this? Why am I doing this? Who are these women? Russia, Mongolia, China, what am I thinking?

Post Mongolia: grateful, awesome, respected, inspiring, team building, accomplished.” Julie Anderson

“Probably the best hike I have ever done. Mongolia is a magnificent, vast and inspiring country.
A wonderful group of women led by a great Mongolian team. Feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to do this trip.” Kim Buckingham

“Mongolia. I had no idea what to expect, all the books, you-tube videos even real-life experiences did not do justice to the experience I had with a group of like-minded women, led by our effervescent coach Jacq Conway.

5 weeks after our return I find myself daydreaming DAILY about the open, pristine landscapes, people…everything!

This place has settled well and truly in my soul💗❤️” Linda Young