Bellow the team has taken time to answer some questions regarding the expedition. Enjoy!

Sarah:

Your most memorable moment:

There were a lot of moment, were I would smile and tell myself, “this is why I’m here!” The entire Gobi experience was unforgettable, the hospitality of the locals, and the harsh beauty of the landscape.

Spending the night with a local family during a Thunderstorm was a highlight. Kiting past herds of curious camels or horses was also pretty cool.

The biggest challenge:

The biggest challenge was trying to get to our end point! Between the ever-challenging terrain, time after time of being lost in a maze of hills, and on top of that the crazy unpredictable winds, the kiting was very challenging. We would often get pulled out of our buggies, which was always a bit confidence shattering.

What was the most unexpected:

Absolutely everything. Even thought we had done research, and read up on Mongolia, we had no clue what to expect. At the beginning of the expedition we were concerned about were to find water, and local interactions; which ended up not being a concern at all. Instead the challenges were the winds and the terrain.

How did it feel getting to the end?

So so so so great! From day one, after doing less than 3km, we quickly fell behind schedule for the rest of the trip. Saynshand, our end location, always just seemed out of reach. Especially the last week, the winds were not in our favor, and we pushed hard, which made reaching the end point so much more rewarding!

What are you doing after the expedition:

I am now in Toronto, continuing work on a short documentary on waste management in the north (or lack off). We are now in the editing stages, so I’ve been spending most of my days starting at a computer in editing studio.

Any future expeditions planned?

Always! I would love to do another kite buggy expedition and a couple of us are also planning a river trip in Mongolia and Russia. But there are so many other expeditions that I would love to do, possibly a long trip in Russia, a longer kite-skiing trip in Greenland, or a horse back riding trip.

Eric:

Did Mongolia meet your expectations?

This trip was not about expectations, which was frightening. On previous trips that I have completed we left with vast amounts of knowledge, a clear route, and a tested method of travel. All of which this latest trip lacked.

What items did you wish you had, and what items did you wish you had left behind?

The extra tire and the 14 M Yakuza were both unnecessary on the trip. Our buggies survived magnificently and the tires rarely lost air. As for the 14 M we never encountered light winds which would have made it useful, however we did encounter strong winds in which we could have used smaller kites, such as a 2-3 m kite. I would also have equipped both buggies with trailers, giving us a bit more storage capacity and reducing the overall weight on the back axle of our main buggy. And I would have brought a larger picture book and a Mongolian-English dictionary so that people could communicate to us.

What was your favorite local interaction.

In one of the small villages about half way through the trip, a musician took us into the local music school and let/forced us to try all the various Mongolian instruments, and demoed a fair amount of them herself. Not only was the music amazing, but it was also a reminder that there were many ways in which people communicate, music being only one of them.

How does it feel now that you are back home?

Honestly I miss the epic aspect that expeditions provide to my life. It’s actually difficult to settle back into life at home, it's good to see friends, and nice just to hang out for a while, relax. But generally I feel, immediately at least, unaccomplished. It seems that the success of the expedition belittles the small accomplishments of every day life. After living a life driven towards a goal it is difficult to come back and just live. I am admittedly exhausted, not physically, but my ability to summon enthusiasm and drive will need some recovery.

Any future expeditions planned?

No not at the moment, only dreams. But i geuss that’s the point, at least some of them will be worth following!

The Welcoming town of Dengerhangay

A few short clips that demonstrate a usual village visit.

The final push

Day 31 of expedition

Distance traveled: 62.6 km

Day 32 of expedition

Distance traveled: 82.2 km

Position: N44° 45 E110° 11

We woke up early to start hauling. By mid-day the heat was unbearable, travel was slow and our water consumption had increased drastically. With only three expedition days left, the town of Saynshand, our end point, seemed just out of reach. But by 4 pm the winds started to increase, and we headed out with our 10 meter kites. At first travel was slow, but the winds increased fast and after both getting dragged out of our buggies and through the thorny bushes, we decided it was time to switch to smaller kites. The open rolling terrain allowed us to travel fast till night fell.

The next morning we woke up to a beautiful day; steady winds, blue skies, and flat rolling terrain. We cruised away from our camp site. After the first hour and a half we had already done 25 km. By 2 PM, the town of Saynshand came into view. After spending the last week wondering if we would ever arrive, it was a huge relief to see it just ahead. We stopped for lunch wondering what to do next. The town of Saynshand is home to just under 20, 000 people and is the capital of the Dornogov province. Because it is situated just beside the Trans Siberian railroad, it has hotels, shops, museums and internet cafes. But instead of pulling into our end point, Eric and I decided to continue past the busy town, and push on for another 15 km to a beautiful and tranquil tourist ger camp in the middle of the steep. We kited right up to the parking sign and landed our kites. After being served a great meal of meat dumplings, Eric and I walked away from the camp to drink our first cold beer and celebrate arriving at our end point.

Since arriving in Mongolia over 40 days ago, the entire trip has been a non stop adventure. We came with so many unanswered questions; neither of us had ever traveled through a desert, nor done an expedition with buggies. We stepped far outside of our comfort zone - between the ever challenging terrain, the gusty winds and the limited water - there were so many unknowns. But after 32 expedition days, exhausted and covered in sand and dirt, we have finally arrived.

A big thanks to everyone who helped make this trip possible, especially Curtis Jones. Although sadly he is not here with us now to celebrate, he spent a year planning this expedition with us and traveled with us for the first 10 days of the expedition.

Arriving a day early we have time to relax before starting our two day drive back to Ulaanbaatar, the capital city. We will continue to update the webpage with video and photo's and blogs.

Sarah

The long haul

Day 29 of the expedition

Distance traveled: 40 km

Day 30 of the expedition

Distance traveled: 37 km

Position: N 45,09 E 108,27

 

Not much has happened, we are hauling, exhausted and in low spirits. We desperately need wind if we are going to make it to our end point and so far all we have gotten is a steady head wind, which makes hauling all the more difficult. We have three days to make it to Saynshand, with 130km left. Fingers crossed we will get the winds we need!

Eric

Mongolia

Day 27 of the expedition

Distance traveled: 53.7 km

Day 28 of the expedition

Distance traveled: 23.2 km

Position: N45° 30 E107 ° 36

Top picture: Local herders

Bottom picture: Buddhist prayer wheels

I still remember the night, about a year and a half ago when Curtis, Eric and I sat around flipping through an atlas, looking for new exciting spots to kite. We came across Mongolia and decided to try to attempt to cross the Gobi by kite buggy.

I knew nothing about Mongolia, and over the last year as we've researched and planned our trip, I started to read up about this fascinating country. A country that during the days of Chinggis Khaan, his army conquered and expanded the nation from Korea to Hungary and from India to Russia. They even moved their capital to the present day Beijing. They were merciless warriors, but with every rise, there is also a decline. After Chinggis Khaan's death, tension between his sons resulted in civil war, and the great empire slowly crumbled.

Much later in 1578 Buddhism was introduced and men were sent to monasteries instead of the army. Buddhism flourish till communism took over. In 1937 the new communist government destroyed over 700 monasteries and killed over 30'000 monks in Mongolia. It's wasn't till recently in 1990, that religious freedom was regained and in 1996 that the fist non-communist government was elected.

Half of Mongolians live in ger's (felted tents we know as yurts) and live stock herding is the main economy. With a population of only 2.6 million people, there are around 34 million heads of live stock. The country is also known for it's cashmere exports, and new mines are starting to open up showing promising sings of a better economy.

It is the wild west. A country with no fences and wide open spaces. Where the living conditions are harsh, yet the people are friendly. A country where you can still find dinosaur eggs laying around in the desert. I have only started to understand their history and culture and fill lucky to have spent the last month and a half traveling through this amazing landscape.

As the end grows nearer, I wish we could travel longer and farther. We have 6 days left to reach our end point, before we must start our way back to the city to catch our flight home.

Sarah

concerns

Day 25 of the expedition

Distance traveled: 36.7 km

Day 26 of the expedition

Distance traveled: 71.1 km

Position: N45 38 E106 38

We have one week left on the trail. After spending 26 days out here and with three hundred kilometres left to Saynshand, that one week seems to short. We have gotten to the point in the expedition where we are beginning to become comfortable with our surroundings and the challenges that the Gobi presents. At the beginning of the trip we had many un-answered concerns; with regards to the terrain, the amount of weight that we could carry with our buggies, the amount of water we would consume in these conditions, the strength of our equipment and interactions with local people.

The terrain proved more difficult than we had imagined, but it was difficult to base our imagination on any tangible evidence. Even our highly detailed topographical maps barely show the extent of the hills that we climb. But so far nothing has been able to stop us, although the terrain has often made travel rather slow.

Weight and storage space were big concerns, mostly because we had yet to actually see the carrying capacity of our buggies. Each buggy needed to hold four Ozone kite, a spare tire, our personal kit, water, food, and various other equipment. Luckily most of our equipment does fit into the buggy, but the space is tight and usually we keep our helmet and harness strapped on the exterior of our carrying bag.

Water was by far our greatest concern. How much would we consume in a day and how much could we carry with out overloading our buggies. At the beginning of the trip we each carried 30L, enough water for ten days of moderate consumption. At this moment in time we have found that carrying less water and traveling faster has been more successful. Because our days are more active we tend to consume up to 4 L per person, yet we only ever carry 4 days of water at a time. Over all water has been easy to find, there are ger's nearly every 30 km (if you keep an eye out for them) and wells or springs every 120 km.

Our equipment has been doing fine, for the most part we were unconcerned about the Ozone kites, we have used them in the past and they have never broken. Even under the harsh conditions in the Gobi they have faired quite well. We were slightly concerned about the zippers on our Hilliberg tent, generally zippers do poorly in sandy conditions, yet our tent still stands, every zipper still works even after the sand storms. Our largest equipment concern was for the back axles of the Libre buggies. We are by far overloading their usual weight capacity as generally buggies are used on flat beaches, not through thorn bushes and rocky terrain. So far so good, we have not noticed any bending.

Finally we were uncertain as to the attitude that the locals would take to our endeavour. When we first started out we were startled by how many empty vodka bottles littered the sides of the road, and how many people could emerge form what seemed like a small car. We were also worried about the general safety of our equipment in towns. In both cases we have had little trouble; in the communities we have left our equipment to the kids and it still all comes back to us. In the country the people have always been kind and generous, and largely supportive of our endeavour.

Eric

Shelter from the rain

Day 22

Distance traveled: 56.9 km

Day 23

Distance traveled: 12.5 km

Day 24

Distance traveled: 32.1 km

Position: N45° 26 E105° 17

Top picture: Entering the town of Delgerhangay

Middle picture: Kids playing on our buggy

Bottom picture: Shelter from the rain

We woke up in a maze of rolling hills. We spent the day navigating our way through, kiting when we could and hauling at other times. By late afternoon we hit better terrain and with our 7 meter kites in the air, we held an upwind tac, trying to stay on our bearing. The light of the moon allowed us to kite well after the sun had set, stopping just a couple kilometres outside the town of Delgerhangay.

The next morning we woke to an overcast humid day with head winds. We hauled the remainder of the distance into Delgerhangay. A young girl who saw us approaching quickly introduced herself and insisted showing us around the town. She brought us to all 5 food shops in town. Along the way an increasing crowd of kids grew. Once we had picked up some extra food and filled our bags with water, the rain started to fall. It was useless to try to explain to the young girl that we should continue on our way as she had a tour of the town planned out for us. First stop was a cozy ger that was home to the elders. As the rain poured down, we sat inside and drank milk tea, showing the elders pictures of home. The kids played outside with our buggies, racing them around the block. About 8 kids would be pushing, pulling and riding the buggies.

Once we finished our second cup of tea, the girl motioned that we must go somewhere else, guiding us to the music room in the local school. Horse head fiddles and other instruments that I had never heard of hung from the wall. After the music teacher demoed all the instruments, she handed us both two instruments and attempted to teach us how to play. Next stop, the girl led us to her family's ger for a third cup of tea and some cookies. She eagerly flipped through her family picture album.

By afternoon, once the rain had stopped, we waved goodbye to the kids and hauled out of town. We didn't get very far till a sand storm blew in. Hoping it would pass, we covered our faces, sitting in our buggies waiting. As soon as the blowing sand ceased, the skies turned dark and the rain started to fall hard. We could hear the thunder and see bolts of lightning.

It was about this time that a family driving to their ger spotted us. Even though we explained that we had a tent, they insisted that we must head to their ger for shelter till the storm passed. Only a couple kilometre away, we all huddled inside a small felted ger. The stove in the middle was stocked with small twigs from the bushes and dried shit. Soaked to the bone, we accepted tea and meat soup, slowing warming up. When the rain cleared for a couple hours, they brought us outside and let us ride their horses. We then all moved up to the neighbouring ger, which was much bigger. As the rain started again, 12 of us and 4 baby goats sat inside sipping on tea. Everyone found their spot on the floor and we all fell asleep.

The next morning was cold, but the clouds were clearing from the sky. The family we stayed with woke up early and were busy rounding up their herds and started slaughtering a couple of sheeps.

We thanked them and waved goodbye. With head winds we hauled all day, slowly inching our way up what seemed to be a never ending hill.

Sarah

Follow the track

Day 19 of the expedition:

Distance Traveled: 24.3 km

Day 20 of the expedition:

Distance Traveled: 35.2

Position: N 45,21 E 104,03

Picture caption: up on the river bank just before entering the town of Sayhan Ovoo

We are uncertain as to exactly where we are. Come to think of it that saying has come out of fashion after the invention of the GPS. We know where we are; truthfully though, we have no clue where we should be, which is on the track to DelgerHangay, the next town on our route.

The last two days have felt very similar to this, trying to find our way through the hills on the patchwork system of roads. It has been somewhat challenging and time consuming. Yesterday the winds were favourable yet quite strong, kicking fine dust into the air and making the visibility poor. For the better part of the morning we were unable to find a track that traveled in the direction we wanted to head. The tracks act a bit like a drainage system, at first the track is merely a trace on the ground, barely an indentation but still void of vegetation. Then slowly it picks up other tracks of similar size, usually leading off to family gers; similar I suppose to driveways in north America. As the tracts join together they become deep so much so that at times the back axle of the trailer drags on the ground. And eventually they arrive at a destination, usually a town.

By late afternoon we arrived at the town of Sayhan-Ovoo, found the local well and filled our water bags for the next part of the journey. We were not in need of supplies, so after talking to the few locals that were intrigued by our odd set up, we headed out into a dust storm and quickly lost sight of the village. Within a few minutes, we came across a sign indicating there was a tourist ger camp 11 km down the road. This was the first road sign that we have seen the whole trip, and more importantly it confirmed a good meal. We had no intention of staying the night, after all the winds were still blowing strong and the moon would be out and almost full, we potentially had a long evening ahead of us.

The meal was delicious, mostly because it included a salad, something that we had not eaten in 20 days and a sort of large fried goat dumpling, all served with tea. The great taste of the meal was quickly overshadowed by the task of navigating. The first road that we took led strait into the mountains and quickly turned the wrong direction. No good. We hulled back along the road for about an hour and then took another track, which ended up doing somewhat of the same thing. By this time it was dark and we were riding a roller coaster of a track, ripping down hills, swerving out of control on soft sand, and climbing back up the next hill. When we eventually encountered power lines we decided to call it quits. It was quite dark, the moon was behind cloud cover and we could barely see the track. Maybe tomorrow with the sunlight we will be able to better find our way.

Eric

Kiting in the Gobi video

 

Half way!

Day 18

Distance traveled: 35.37 km

Day 19

Distance traveled: 31.18 km

Position: N45° 25 E103° 19

The small town of Togrog was just over 35 km ahead of us. Eric and I excitedly talked about what treats we should pick up. Because of the expensive cost of cargo, we had decided to pack out all our food (with the exception of 100 Camino chocolate bars) in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.

For such a huge town we were surprised about the lack of selection. We spent an entire day testing different food; none were very exciting. But we settled on a meal plan of oatmeal for breakfast and either rice or ramen noodles for dinner, with various powdered sauces that all taste roughly like salt. For snacks we had our delicious chocolate bars from home and we picked up granola bars and a variety of dried fruit and nuts.

Leaving our start point of Altay, we carried with us all our basic food for the entire expedition, planning to stop in small towns along the way to pick up treats and extras. And we have stopped at a couple ger's for the occasional local meal, which pretty much consists of meat and more meat (we are never sure what kind of meat) with a warm drink of salty milk tea.

The winds were teasing us in the morning. They blew strong till we were ready to travel, then died down to almost nothing. We could hear thunder in the distance and it grew louder as the dark rain clouds moved towards us. We quickly threw our gear back into the tent and waited for the storm to pass.

After the storm passed, the winds were back up and we launched our kites and made our way towards the small town. Arriving after dark, we set up camp just outside of Togrog. In the morning we headed in. Our first stop was to pick up water. The well was very obvious with a couple of locals and a small herd of cows surrounding it. We waited our turn to fill up our water bags and asked directions to the store. Inside, Eric and I were like two kids in a candy store! We picked up some potatoes and onions (the only veggies they had) some bread and an over sweetened version of Nuttella and cookies!!

With head winds, we hauled out of the town. We attempted tacking back and forth till the winds died down, and hauled into the night We have passed the half way mark! As the crow flies, we have covered 554 km, with only 539 km till our end location!

Sarah

Distance

Day 16 of the expedition

Distance traveled: 29.5 km

Position: N 45,13 E 101,33

Day 17 of the Expedition

Distance traveled: 80.5 km

Position: N 45,28 E 102,31

The last two days have shown great contrast. Yesterday was a slow and gruelling day with little wind. We still kited, but the attempt was rather sad and mostly involved a lot of waiting for the occasional gust of wind. During the gust, we would kite as fast and as far as we could until the kites inevitably fell out of the sky during a lull. Then we would begin waiting again. By afternoon it became apparent that there would be no more wind for the day; we had waited 30 minutes since the last gust. It was time to haul. In poor spirits we continued to haul into the night, eventually getting to bed around 1 am.

In the morning we woke early and set up the solar panels outside where they would begin collecting sunlight. The winds were just a breeze but it was obvious that this would be a kiting day. In our excitement, we ate and packed our gear quickly in order to get off at a decent hour.

Despite a wrong turn around mid day, which brought us further into the mountains than we would have liked, the terrain and winds cooperated. We made camp near night fall and finally checked the GPS for our distance traveled. 80 km! By far our longest day! If we were tired, we did not show it. We were excited but more importantly relieved. Since the beginning of the trip it had worried us that the winds or the terrain would prevent us from making more than 50 km in a day. Now at least we knew it was possible. Hopefully in the next few days to come, we will be able to beat that distance!

Eric

In search for better terrain

Day 14

Distance traveled: 44.6 km

Day 15

Distance traveled: 34.8 km

Position: N45 ° 13 E101° 11

 

Spring has arrived in the Gobi. Grass clumps and bushes spot the terrain and small flowers have started to bloom. To my right, the snow that covers the mountain tops slowly melts away. This is a magical and a beautiful country! Never in my windless dreams would I imagine kiting along with camels to one side and a heard of horses to the other.

The winds are still gusty and unpredictable. Both Eric and I have had our fair share of daily crashes (and scrapes and bruises!), but that has become the norm. The terrain is always changing, one minute we are cruising across a flat expanse, the next minute we are stuck in a salt march and are force to pull our buggies out.

Never knowing what's ahead has kept the trip challenging and interesting, but has made navigation hard. With us we have a couple set of maps, a compass and a GPS to help us find our way. But the challenge is finding good terrain. When we are lucky we can follow a road, which is little more than a dirt track. Other times we make our own way across the open country, trying to avoid salt marches, sand dunes and thorn bushes that grow so thick it's almost impossible to haul our buggies through.

Yesterday after spending the morning trying to find our way out of salt marches, we found good terrain and kited into the small town of Jinst. This is the first real town we've visited - with electricity, a store and a school. It didn't take people long to notice us, and soon we were surrounded as kids and teachers poured out of the nearby school. One young lady who worked as a teacher spoke English. Immediately we were invited into her home for juice and cookies. The kids followed us, and practiced the English they knew telling us their names and age. We showed them pictures of home. The picture that intrigued them the most was one of narwhals. The young teacher explained to us that for most of the kids, we were the first foreigners they had met. It wasn't till two hours later that we waved goodbye to our host, leaving her a children's book on the Canadian Arctic for her and her students. It was the least we could do. Everywhere we have been, people have gone out of their way to invite us into their homes. The kids followed us out of town, watching us unroll our kites. We said "bayartai" which is Mongolian for good bye and kited away.

Today the terrain was ever changing and the winds were light. We kited when we could, hauling when the winds or terrain would force us to. As the stars came up, we hauled into the night listening to the Rolling Stones on our little speakers.

Sarah

High winds and dismal terrain

Day 12 of the expedition

Distance traveled: 36.2

Day 13 of the expedition

Distance traveled: 48.1

Position: N 45 28 E 100 16

We woke up still in the sand storm with a covering of dust over all our gear. The dust oozes through the zippers and eventually settles on our sleeping bags and tent floor. Even the slightest movement causes the dust to leap back into the air obscuring our vision and choking our lungs. By mid morning however the storm had settled enough to make forward progress. For most of the morning the winds stayed constant and strong, allowing us to fly our 4 meter Flow's at a generally good clip. We were traveling off-road and navigating by GPS and map, slowly making our way to an area marked on the map as sandy. Once we got there we had the option of keeping off road or continuing through the sand.

By 4 in the afternoon it became apparent that we had missed the road. It also became apparent exactly what "sandy" really denoted on the map. There was indeed sand, but it posed only a minor discomfort. The difficulty lay with the small shrubs growing in the sand. As the shrubs grew, they collected sand at their base, placing each small shrub atop a mound. At first this made for a rough ride, bouncing along the ground with the sound similar to running over potato chips on a bike. But eventually the mounds became bigger, and every bump would send the rider skyward. We were flying our 10 meter Mantas at this point, hoping that the larger kites would keep our momentum going even over the bumps, which they did but at a cost.

Near sun down it became apparent, after being lifted out of the buggy 8 times and having a row of bruises on my leg, that kiting in this terrain with the dimming light was becoming futile. We pulled the buggies, sometimes on all fours, to a location flat enough to pitch a tent.

 

The next morning we woke to a Mongolian making a significant amount of noise outside our tent, untouchably trying to wake us. It was 6 in the morning. He was a delightful man and with his energetic use of hand signs and interpretive dance, our conversation lasted longer than most. The early morning was a bonus in many ways, the winds were strong and this would have made for great sailing. However due to the terrain we were restricted to pulling our buggies in hopes of finding a road.

By mid day with our monocular we spotted a van traveling fast over the horizon. Our hopes soared, a van moving that fast over this terrain must be traveling on a road! An hour later we managed to converge with the small dust track.

The rest of the day went well except for a small run in with a salt march. We managed to kite till the sun set and make some miles to prove it. Hopefully we will be able to keep up the distance for the next few days.

In closing I should mention that we will most likely update every two days, as with Curtis' responsibility now divided between the two of us and a larger focus on making distance, we have been short of both time and electricity. If either of these situation change in the next few days, we will continue posting updates daily.

Eric

Only two of us

May 25 and 26^th

Day 10 and 11

Distance traveled: 51 km

Position: N45 ° 51 E099° 21

Only a couple of days ago we were a three person team, all working for the same goal. Today we are only two. Sadly Curtis has decided to leave early due to family reasons. As soon as the decision was made, the ball started rolling fast - flights were changed and a pick up was arranged.

As soon as the winds increased, we launched our kites, heading west, aiming towards a river and a small settlement of a couple gers, where Curtis would meet his driver and head back to the city. The winds blew steady all afternoon, giving us hope of reaching the river that day. But 5 km away the sun dipped below the horizon and the winds faded out.

We got into the small settlement early the next day, with time to spare before Curtis left. So we headed to a nearby ger for meat dumpling and milk tea, then went down to the river to wash and start re-organizing all our gear.

Eric and I met Curtis over three years ago, when he moved to our home town to work as a pharmacist. He quickly picked up dog sledding and kite skiing and became a good friend. The three of us headed to Greenland on a kite skiing expedition and shared an amazing 45 days of expedition life together. It was sad to see him leave this expedition early. 

Eric and I will continue on.

The driver stood there waiting for us to say our goodbyes. We hugged and said some parting words, before they closed the doors to the van and started their two day drive back to Ulaanbaatar. As it was still early in the evening we had hoped to continue kiting till the sun set, but as the van pulled away the winds soared into a vicious sand storm that lasted the rest of the night. 

We wish Curtis all the best and safe travel home.

Sarah

Music in the night

Day 9 of the expedition

Position: N 45 43 E 098 43

Distance Traveled: 17.8 km

I throw a rock at the tire, Curtis and I have been doing this for the better part of an hour, the objective is to bounce a rock off of one tire and hit the other. So far no one has succeeded, although I have been hit by some of Curtis's rocks. It's a lame pointless game. There is wind, but it's a head wind. And so we continue playing. At the very least the wind keeps us cool.

As dusk starts to fall the winds diminish and then changes directions completely, and as usual they stabilize; light but strong enough for our 10 M mantas. Two hours pass, the stars come out and a massive semi truck rolls by half a km away, its driver oblivious to our presence, which is good. The last time a semi truck stopped 15 Mongolians spilled out the back, some with a hint of vodka on their breath. Luckily while the Mongolians are a rough and roughdry bunch (they love to wrestle) all have been very kind, and never a problem to our security. However the fading light and the steady winds make this time precious to us, we would prefer to slip away into the night un-encumbered by their curiosity.

When the winds finally die the decision is passed to hull the buggies under the field of stars. To add to the situation, Curtis deploys his I-pod and speaker and we walk into a surreal night of stars and song.

Eric

Leaving the mountains behind

Day 8

Distance traveled: 51.1 km

Position: N45° 43 E098° 30

The wind tunnelled thought the mountains all night beating on our tent, keeping the three of us awake. It was a tail wind, and when the sun came up we launched our smallest 4 meter Ozone kites and left the mountains behind us. However as the terrain flattened out at the edge of the foot hills the winds increased, to the point where the gusts would rip the kites our of our hands. In the valley to our right, dust devils whirled looking like mini tornadoes.

Once again we rolled up our kites and pulled our buggies. Earlier in the trip we had to pull our buggies because the terrain would not cooperate, but today, painful we pulled them across great kiting terrain. The winds were way to strong even for our smallest kite, so we put our heads together and came up with a alternative plan. Out came the leatherman and we butchered our spare line, re-rigging our smallest kites onto very short two meter lines. And away we went, into the night till it became two dark to travel, and our bodies were sore. After over a week of hard work and slow progress it feels great to be making miles forward.

The air is dryer, and the terrain has been showing less signs of vegetation. Dust has managed to get into everything we own. But ahead of us lays flat slightly rolling terrain as far as we can see. And just beyond, about 75 km away is a river were we can refill our water supply and attempt to scrub some of the dirt of our bodies.

Sarah

Dark Side of the Moon

 

Day 7

Position: N 45° . 52 E 097° .52

Distance Travelled: 22.8 km

Sitting around a modest wooden table holding large saucer cups filled with warm salty milk tea, three Canadian travellers stare ignorantly at the menu. Which item has meat I ask, knowing full well that they likely all do. Our gracious host leafs through our Mongolian phrase book and points to hot food. I figure that's as close as we will get to actually ordering so we smile and wait to be served.

We have pulled camp and hauled the buggies to a nearby town to replenish our water stores and enjoy a traditional Mongolian meal. After entertaining the town with buggy rides and photo shoots, Eric, Sarah and I get down to business. This is the point in our trip where I decide if I want to continue. It is something that really has not been talked about since the accident 6 days ago. I begin the conversation, asking the team how they feel about the expedition thus far. Both Sarah and Eric agree that the trip has been a little unexpected as far as reading wind and terrain go and that the pace hopefully will pick up soon. It is quite common to struggle in the first week to 10 days of an expedition as routines and schedules slowly work into efficient travel. They are confident that things will turn around soon.

I have had a lot of time over the last 5-6 days to think about why I am here, and if I should continue. I have spoken candidly with my team mates and tried to be honest with myself. Knowing my friends and having a very reassuring voice from home has given me a stronger confidence in my own abilities. I tell Sarah and Eric I would like to see the trip through and finish with them.

We wave good bye to our hosts and pull out onto the desert plain in the mid day sun, water bags and belly's full. Our destination is through a mountain pass and hopefully to sustained flat terrain. The winds are non cooperative and or tack is too high; we are forced to pull the buggies once more. The foot hill pass is other worldly, beautiful in the setting sunlight. With the sun low, we try once more for distance with kites before making camp. Twice, large shipping trucks with full loads turn swiftly into our path and chase us down, honking and shouting, to grab our attention (as if the honking was necessary). With darkness upon us and a real fear of becoming road kill we make camp, hopefully hidden in the moonscape safe from curious truck drivers.

Curtis

Through the dusk

Day 6 of the expedition

Position: N 46 03 E 097 45

Distance traveled: 31.1 Km

No wind during the day leads to bad sun burns. Currently my right knee, the left one being covered by the shadow of my book, is a rather tender colour of red. Our Camino chocolate has melted. Our water consumption has skyrocketed. The winds are meant to increase in the evening, but by 3 in the afternoon, the grass stands still. Suddenly the tent starts shaking and we head excitedly out to test the wind direction, it's blowing the right way! Suddenly the air, and our lungs, fill with dust. Another dust devil. We watch it blow its way across the Gobi, vanishing in the distance as the wind fades back to 0.

By 4 we prepare for departure, the wind still gusty and unpredictable. When the time comes to launch the kite, I count 4 dust devils on the horizon, the one closest to me, brushes by a few minutes later, whipping dust in my face, I can feel the strain on the kite but for the most part the devil leaves it alone. Half an hour later we have traveled 1 km and the winds have shifted 180. Sarah calls a break and we re-evaluate our situation. After about 30 min of waiting and discussing the option of hauling our buggies, the wind changes, making kiting once again possible.

As predicted, the winds stabilize and the dust devils vanish as the sun gets low on the horizon. An hour before sun down, I suggest we change kites, to the 7m Frenzy, the same kite that Curtis had his accident with 6 days prior. A silent moment passes but the rest of the team agrees. We unroll the kites in silence. The sun goes behind a cloud and the air feels cooler. I launch my kite, and it gives me the usual lurch forward with a little lift off the ground as it sores into the sky. Powerful but manageable. Sarah then Curtis follow suit.

Within minutes we are cursing. I watch the dust whip off the back tires of Curtis buggy as he pulls some hard turns to avoid ditches. The wind stabilizes and the kites just hang in the air. In less than an hour we spot the lights of Bayan-Ondor and the salt marches stretching out behind it. Eight days ago our Russian van had gotten stuck in those salt marches and we had come to this town for lunch. We camp a respectful distance away. Tomorrow the plan is to pull in for lunch and have a conversation over a hot cup of milk tea. After all this is the town that Curtis agreed to push on towards before making a decision about continuing on with the team.

Eric

Away from the city, into the Gobi!

 

Hide and Seek

 

Day 5

Position: N 46° .11 E 097° .24

Distance Travelled: 41.3 km

Cruising along, just inches from the desert floor, I check my kite and then glance ahead to see Sarah off to my left and notice the shadow of Eric's kite just above me and to the right. Looking over my left side I notice a third vehicle, a curious nomad, keeping pace on his motor bike, his young daughter riding the gas tank. It appears that they have been following us for some distance waiting anxiously for one of the kites to drop so they can make their final approach and thoroughly investigate the situation. The wind , for the most part gusty, drops into a soft lull. I work the kite in a figure of eight pattern trying to propel the buggy forward, it's of no use, the kite falters and folds a little touching down softly on the ground in front of me. This pleases the nomad very much as he seizes the opportunity to pull in close, turn off his bike, and introduce himself. We have been caught once again.

Before coming to the Gobi I was under the impression that we would see very little life ( maybe a nomadic family every 4-5 days). Now 5 days in to the trip I am beginning to think that going unnoticed and discreetly "dropping in" on a herder may be impossible. Granted you can see a horse or traveller coming in the distance hours before they arrive, and true a trio of large flying orange kites dancing above the horizon may not scream discretion, but this is the desert after all, might we go unnoticed just one night, just one morning.

We have had visitors and unexpected invitations at all hours, morning, night, in the rain, or on route. It puzzled us at first that we could not seem to develop a routine, some sort of schedule for efficient travel. It is becoming clearer now that this expedition ,very much unlike Greenland may be more about a human and cultural connection , rather than reaching a physical endpoint.

After explaining the buggy, the system and that I am from Canada, I play with the kite a little in the dying wind, waiting for it to pick up before I sit back in the seat and rock the kite downward, I move forward and wave good bye to the herder and his daughter. The interactions are becoming easier, and we are making good distance. Maybe we will make it to Shainshand, hopefully taking advantage of all the great interactions and life this desert has to offer along the way.

Curtis

Life in the Gobi

Day 4

Position: N 46° 22 E 096° 56

Distance traveled: 12.84 km

I expected the Gobi to be a bleak and uninhabited vast wasteland. However ever since we have left the city, we have seen life everywhere. On the drive down, enormous vultures perched on the side of the road, rabbits, foxes and marmots scurried back into their burrows as we passed by.

Curious horses watch us haul our buggies, the occasional eagle will circle above trying to figure out what we are. Herds of sheep and goats wander the land, followed closely by a herder on horse or motorcycle. Alike, the Mongolian people have been curious too, and at 7am we heard the sound of a motorcycle approaching. Two young guys from the closest ger (Mongolian yurt) had seen us kite by yesterday and decided to check us out. After taking Curtis then Eric on to a wrestling match, they waved goodbye, however their old motorcycle refused to restart. So the guys, still half awake helped push the bike to jump start it.

Curtis and I then headed to a closest ger to restock our water supply. A family quickly welcomed us inside their home for tea.

Once back at camp we carefully took the tent down, as the winds howled. The winds were way to high to kite, and still increasing. So with our faces covered with our goggles and neck warmers we hauled our buggies down wind. In the afternoon the rain started to fall hard, and we quickly set up our tent.

However as we slowly move further into the Gobi, the terrain starts to flatten and slowly signs of life become less and less.

Sarah

Hot weather and flat terrain

Day 3

Position: N 46 22 E 096 46

Distance traveled: 25.7

 

As a general rule of thumb, I would consider any day in which I get to kite and ride a camel, a rather good day. Unfortunately pulling buggies through the heat defiantly dampened the mood.

The morning was rather relaxed. With no wind by 11, we settled with pulling/pushing the buggies up hill. Its hard work, especially under the Mongolian sun, but with a buggy, as apposed to a rickshaw or other carriage that a human would pull, a buggy at least gives you the luxury of riding down the hills. And today involved lots of down hill. Our general strategy was to move out of the foot hills and onto flatter ground where we would have a better chance of kiting. We also knew that the main track or road was in the same direction and, if we could get there, we would have our navigation and terrain issues solved.

By the time we battled through the foot hills, we were exhausted and despite liberal applications of sun screen, we still managed some impressive sun burns. But like a charm, the moment we arrived at the end of the foot hills, the winds picked up enough to start out kiting towards the main track. With the kites in motion,  we zipped over the remaining rolling terrain, passing gers and herds of livestock. Every now and then a herder on horseback or motorcycle (Mongolia's new horse) would follow us for a few kilometres before eventually turning back to their flock of animals. Near sun down we reached the track and rolled on to a near by ger truck stop, which is where I met Mr camel and his owner. Through the evening many people came over, even what I could guess to be a family, who through a long game of charades on a sketch pad, managed to invite us in for dinner. We (if the point got across) gratefully declined, as we had already made dinner, but stated that we would be by in the morning.

Eric

Cause for thought

Day 2

Position: N 46.18 E 096. 27

Distance travelled: 10 .2 km

 

My forearm feels like it's on fire. The right side of my body is numb, I am on the ground still moving forward, still attached to my kite, no longer in my buggy. Reaching up through mouthfuls of dust and dirt I grab the red brake line that always seems to be just slightly out of reach and the kite grudgingly lowers to the ground, still tugging but pacified for the moment. Eric runs over to check on me. I am ok, bruised and scraped, but this could have been worse…much worse.

Our system is simple. We start with a large modified kite buggy holding all our gear, food, water, and of course driver. Sitting in the buggy we are able to move forward with the power of the kite ( attached to our harness) and steer with our feet using the front wheel. If any part of this system were to fail it is mostly likely to be my ability to stay in the buggy when the wind pulls a little to hard. This is essentially the weak link that led to my accident. I feel now that I am in over my head. My confidence is shattered, in fact I am afraid to sit back in the buggy and try again.

Eric, Sarah, and I sit and talk options as my adrenaline lowers and the pain of falling from the sky begins to set into my hip. This is real, this is dangerous, and I confide to the team that I am not sure if I can or will want to continue. I go to bed unsure if this will be my last night on the trail as part of the team.

With morning comes a clearer mind and a very sore right arm. After a night's rest and some time to review options, I tell the group that I will be willing to try again. Slower, with less wind and a personal intermidiate goal of 100km (the next town). We travel 10.2 km, pulling, pushing and riding our buggies over the vast desert. We even made some distance using sails fashioned from therm-a-rest and a wind sock. More importantly, I sat back in the buggy, with a much smaller kite, and cruised through better terrain . With my confidence growing, I start feeling better about the next couple days and grateful that Eric and Sarah are willing to change the pace, reaffirming their ability to be great team mates and friends.

Curtis

Crazy winds and bad terrain

Day 1

Position: N46° 20.143' E096° 19.682'

Distance traveled: 2.3 km

We woke up to a beautiful day, calm and clear skies. We said some parting words to our driver, who turned around and headed back home. The van drove away into the distance, the town of Altay was behind us, we had over 1000 km to travel in front of us.

We took advantage of the nice weather and finished assembling our buggies. Curtis and Eric decided to test out the Mongolian way of making fires, with shit. After collecting dried sheep and goat shit, and some dry grass for kindling, they placed it into a pit and lit it. Amazingly it burned putting off some very strong smelling aromas. But we managed to cook up a lunch of veggies in tin foil over our fire.

The winds started increasing, but erratic, blowing strong one minute, then dyeing off the next. Eager to get some mileage, we launched our kites. But after only a couple minutes the bad terrain and gusty winds ceased to cooperate. So we tied a rope to our buggies and started hauling them over the salt marshes. In some area's it took all three of us to push and pull our heavy buggies through. Just as the sun started to set, and the winds died down, we came across better terrain. We had only gained a couple km, and exhausted we ate some spicy soup and crawled into our sleeping bags.

Sarah

Last day in the van

Position: Altay foot hills, 3 km south of Altai city

Mongolians have a very broad definition of what constitutes a road. After spending nearly 2 hours in a ditch (our driver had to jack the car up 3 times to get out of the salt flat mud) and almost flipping the van, I was glad when we pulled into Altai.

Once in Altai we had to check off a list of errands: we required 70 L of water, air for our buggy tires, some last rations for the road, and finally some petrol for our MSR stove. The 70 L of water was the most difficult to locate. Quite early on we had eliminated the possibility of buying bottled water, partly because of the cost and more so, what would we do with 70 bottles? The remaining option was to locate a well, which our driver found for us in the center of a small ger suburb on the edge of Altai. The water source was operated by an elderly woman who continually smiled as she operated the valves that controlled the flow of water coming out of a large black tube. While we filled up our water carrying bags, locals periodically arrived on motorcycle carrying immense vessels to be filled with water, and carted it back to their gers.

After all was done, we drove out into the steep, about 3km from town, in an attempt to avoid the various power lines that sprawl outward from the city. Generally power lines will be a nuisance and not a threat, forcing us to land our kites and haul our buggies until we are clear of the cables. If the wind cooperates and the lines are high enough we may be able to kite under them, although this risky business has Curtis worried.

For the rest of the evening, we huddled the tent with our driver over a bottle of vodka and some chocolate, learning some key Mongolian phrases. Apparently an important one is "nokhoigoo" which is somewhat like a greeting, but literally means "call off the dogs".

Eric

Mongolia by Van

Position : Sleep?

We are officially on the road. Actually we have spent more time off the road than on it since leaving UB..

Pavement becomes gravel, gravel becomes a worn 4 wheeler path, and the path eventually becomes a river crossing.. But not to worry a short five hours later and we have found the pavement again…no wait , more gravel .

Outside the city the landscape slips back from the roadways a 100 km in every direction, flat , directionless, and walled on the extreme end of the horizon by mountains. Gers the (Mongolian yurt) dot the Steppes and horseman drive their herds up and over the hills to graze in fresh pastures. Two days into the three day road trip west and we have encountered nomads , birds of prey, an ancient city and health restoring hot springs.

It appears we have one final day of travel before saying good-bye to our driver and filling our water stores. We arrive in Atali tomorrow and so begins the Gobi crossing, but that's tomorrow. Tonight we will try to sleep peacefully as the howling dogs of a nearby town try harder to keep us awake.

Curtis

Our first days in Ulaanbaatar

 

Last days in Ulaanbaatar

After spending the morning trying to find the Canadian embassy and running errands, we got news that our buggies had arrived, although they "exploded" was the message. Curtis and I headed to the airport, fingers crossed that all the buggy parts would be there.

The boxes had major rips, but from a quick look, everything seemed to be there. However our next challenge was to clear customs. Luckily Bernard who drove us to the airport was there to help, arguing back and forth with the customs agents: they wanted to charge us import taxes, Bernard was trying to convince them that the buggies would not stay in the county, therefore there was no need to pay import fees. They reluctantly let us take our cargo.

Back at the apartment we assembled and checked our buggies, the only things missing were two bolts to attach the back wheels. Thankfully we have spares, although they are slightly shorter, hopefully they'll do the trick.

Tonight is our last night in the city, so we are busy doing final pack out preparations before we begin our three day road trip in the morning to our start point.

Sarah