A later start doing chores before leaving town for another week in the hills. A kind family paid for our stove petrol at a gas station, as well as loading us up with candy. Some curious old factories on the way out, before crossing a river and up a short pass – where we met some 4WD overlanders from Fairfield that had hired bikes for the day.

Strangely the climb out of the next valley was both deserted (no gers or grazing animals) and a mellow gradient that didn’t kick at the pass. Free of herds, the wildflowers were plentiful.

Did get some lunch time spectators though, later over the pass two boys on a motorbike were looking for these horses.

Winter stock shelter and yards.

Getting to the pass, briefly back at 2000 m.

Off the pass, the gradient became steeper. With the trees, wildflowers and lovely stretch of singletrack it was feeling a bit like the Canadian Rockies.

It had been a while since we’d had a boggy little push…

We sidled above the valley floor trying to find the best path for the route that had been described to us.

Small diversion, from our overnight diversion, to a highpoint with views of three rivers meeting.

Power lines going in.

We headed up that way to try and find the little visited hot springs Murray from Fairfield had told us about.

Twas only seven kilometres off our route to the Orkhon Valley to find the hot springs. Another boggy section guarded a nice sheltered campsite. Well, we still got wet from the afternoon thunderstorm – but we had our tents up by then and it passed quickly enough.

A family camping for a couple of weeks came to visit for a bit; communication somewhat easier than usual.

Fairly standard Mongolian camping dinner – fried onions, carrots and capsicum with noodles and some sort of unknown meat.