Today is the last day of horseback riding, and its bittersweet. I love our guides. I’m going to miss them. I didn’t sleep well last night. The bed was really hard, and there were wolves around again. The dogs were barking and chasing them around all night. There was frost on the ground this morning. By the time we had finished breakfast, it had burned off, and the chill was fading as well. We took the horses to a wide open field to let them run and burn off some energy. Singer wasn’t listening very well so I held him to a walk, which he didn’t like. Eventually I let him run. That horse has a great gallop…. and he’s SUPER fast.
When we got back they had finished loading the yaks, so we set off to a long, slow ride. We came out of the forest and back onto the steppe. I can’t adequately describe how beautiful the country is. As far as the eye can see it’s open field and mountains, and streams, and herds of grazing animals, but no roads, no telephone poles, no evidence at all of what some might call civilization. It’s breathtaking. I find myself sad to leave it.
We stopped for a rest with Jack’s aunt for a little while before meeting up with our driver Tseren again. We took one more chance to ride out to a waterfall, which was both pretty and unexpected. Jack’s cousin accompanied us on a gorgeous black horse. On the way back, Bayanaa challenged me, Peter, Susan, and the younger Korean to a race. We really let the horses open up and Singer found a whole new gear. I’ve never gone that fast on a horse before, and the feeling was incredible. Singer has this amazing gait, you just grab a fistful of mane, adopt a jockey stance, and let him go. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. Bayanaa had to work to stay ahead of me, and everyone was ear-to-ear smiles when we stopped. I wish I had thought to put mu camera on movie mode to capture it.
After that, we all had one last lunch together. Bataa sang a song for us, wishing us a good journey. In Mongolia, a song tribute is not uncommon, and is a sincere offering. He surprised everyone with his singing skills. Bataa has been the quiet one of the group. Watching them gallop away with the horses and yaks was really bittersweet for me. I’ve become pretty attached to our horsemen. Then again, we’ve spent every hour of the last six days with them, so it’s hard not to feel attached.
It’s hard leaving the back country, but it will be harder still to go home in a few days. A significant part of me feels at home here. I wish it could just keep going on.