A Hike Around the Lake

As long as we were camped along Khovsgol Lake, we thought we’d take a little day hike. Those of us on the tour who were in the mood walked along the shore of the lake until we got to a nice little promontory. Then we cut up along a ridge and came out at a spot with a great view, and the makings of a bonfire.

The lower part of the hike was very gentle and easy. It got progressively more challenging as we went. Though I’m not the type who typically gets much out of a walking stick, I’ll admit that by the time we got near the top I was envious of these.

Watching them in action was like watching cross country skiers. They are made of some space-age alloy for super strength and lightness. Great for rough terrain and distance – which is what this hike turned into.

Normally I don’t need something like that on even the roughest ground. I just tilt my hiking boots so they bite into the hillside and watch my step. That only works if you have hiking boots. In an effort to save weight to fit in the airline’s limitation, all I had with me were slip-on.s

That’s a term that fit a little too well in this case. My slip-ons have a covered toe similar to a running shoe. I was counting on this to give me more traction. What I hadn’t taken into consideration is that all the exercise I was getting resulted in a decrease in the width of my feet.

I nearly walked right out of them at least twice. The shoes slipped around both on my feet and on the hill. So I grabbed a stick and used it as a cane until I got to the easier parts of the trail

Once I could trust my shoes to stay on, I tossed the stick aside. I suspect this is the reverse of what usually happens with sticks – going away from the bonfire instead of in it.

We could have hung around until dark for the bonfire, I suppose, but even though the view was gorgeous, it wasn’t enough to hold our interest for that long. We had a bonfire/wine tasting event in the ger camp instead.

All in all I enjoyed myself, but if I had to do it again, I’d bring the right kind of shoes.