Kayakasia

1 day ago

E8 to E11 (44km) : Upper Egiin Gol

The rain stopped just as we were about to launch our kayaks. Another day of blessed weather without worry!

The low mist veiled the surrounding mountains in white shrouds. Sunlight appeared and disappeared, illuminating different areas of the vast grasslands in yellow and shades of green. We witnessed this interplay of moisture and light from the seat of our flowing kayak, our changing position adding to the light dance.

A house attracted as much attention from us as wildlife. Often a wooden cabin with a wisp of smoke from the chimney. We could only imagined what it would be like to live within this pristine landscape. Sometimes a Toyota Prius would be parked beside the house. It was off grid living at its best - nature isolation, energy, mobility…add in a Starlink and you have connectivity!

In fact, it surprised us that we had cellular connectivity most of the time along the river. We didn’t see any cellular towers, actually not even electricity poles of any sort. Where were the signals coming from ?

The smooth grasslands were crisscrossed by dirt lines. As most of the land was not private nor fenced, anyone and everyone can drive anywhere they want, leaving countless parallel and weaving tire marks. Even the herders were replacing their horses with cheap Chinese motorcycles. So it created some excitement when a herder in traditional robes rode his horse into the river in front of us to cross to the other side.

This stretch of the river was very scenic. And we stopped multiple times to soak in the scenery. It reminded me of snorkelling in Raja Ampat - so pristine, so untouched, so much to feel for - and also if the place was not a top 10/10, there was no need to stop and just carry on.

Sometimes the rocky mountain and conifers scenery reminded me of John Denver’s songs. You know, the Montana and Wyoming settings of Leslie the dog TV and other old cowboy movies.

And it was hard to accurately describe or photograph what we saw or justify the beauty of the vast expanse before us. On the left it could be high mountains with dense conifers and on the right a flowing river through steppe grasslands. A place like this demanded presence. It required you to be fully there.

The big picture was seemingly perfect.

No violence of water or lava were visible upon these landscapes. The land was instead sculpted gently by generations of winds. That a mould of sand on a grassland would be smoothed, a wayward branch blown away…that the trees that only had a few months to grow all grew to the same height and colour, shedding no leaves except tiny needles of green that blended in. What else could our eyes do to enhance what nature had done ?

I started looking at the smaller things. Maybe I would find some imperfections among the bark of trees, the muddy banks, the fallen tree….even these I discovered the lichens, the wild flowers,…even that fallen tree that should had marred the neat strands of trees…it was held up by the soft grass, floating on eternal green; bleaching in the sun.

It was not a dead wood on the grass.

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Kayakasia

2 days ago

E1 to E8 (116km) : Upper Egiin Gol

The Egiin Gol flowed out from the southern tip of Lake Khövsgöl by spilling onto a wide, flat valley plain. We started 40km downstream of that exit, to avoid the river’s braided beginnings of multiple shallow, winding outflows and channels that had no discernible main channel.

While we intended to paddle 40km on Day 1 to understand the river, her flow rate, character, and dangers, we ended up paddling 70km due to my error in reading the chart! What was supposed to be a leisurely 4-5 hour paddle to our first camp for lunch meant we only arrived around 4pm. A late lunch followed by a quick dinner and equally quick retreat to our tents, as rain felled in the evening.

For the short note on this day - we followed a clear water river cutting through rock canyons and lush steppe landscape nourished by rain. The sub-arctic larch forest grew thick on high slopes of mountains, end abruptly with a rolling steppe grassland without a single tree, that sweep all the way to the river’s edge.

Wild horses and domesticated hainags (yak x cattle) grazed on pastures of sweet grass. Soaring black kites and many unfamiliar species of puddle ducks and diving ducks. The diving ducks were especially fun to watch, as they dived and disappeared or you would be paddling and one popped up for air suddenly beside you, causing an immediate panic for the duck, which sprinted away on their legs on top of the water!

It was an interesting Day 1 because everything looked so unfamiliar and disconnected. Not only was flora and fauna different, the landscape was closer to picturesque Canada than the wide expanses of Mongolia that I thought. The rush of waters coursing through twists and turns also meant we had to constantly manoeuvre our kayaks safely.

The water flow rate was good and we planned to paddle 50+km the next day, again meeting the land team for lunch around 2pm.

The expedition was planned to mitigate adverse weather, with a daily early start at 530am and ending paddling before 2pm, where convective storms often occur. So far, the weather forecast had been great and we could maybe extend our paddling to beyond 2pm in the coming days.

I thought it was very comfortable camping for our first night on the river. A roomy private tent with a large vestibule that sheltered my packs and me. It was high enough that I could zip it up and sit on my camp chair to take off my boots and mess about my wet gear.

I lie in my tent listening to the spluttering of raindrops, tired from a long day of paddling but also excited to explore more of this beautiful river tomorrow.

#egiingol #mongolia #expedition #kayaking ... See MoreSee Less

Kayakasia

1 week ago

The first hours on the Egiin Gol river. Everywhere looks like a good place to stay!

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