Pittarak Expedition>> Gobi desert update
Much has passed, we are now 490 km into our journey and yet we have 600 km left to our destination. We have cleared the foot hills, and there is little elevation change from here on in. Besides the occasional sand dune and salt marsh we are in the open. We have lived through our fist sand storm and managed to cross two rivers, a rare chance to bathe in the desert. Regrettably our trio is down to two.
The only thing that has stayed the same are the winds, which have been turbulent and as unpredictable as always. However we are finding that as the heat of day dies down the winds tend to stabilize and we are capable of traveling into the cool dusk, one of the better ways of ending a day. As spring slowly turns to summer we are also becoming aware of the increasing temperature, which makes the cool night under the moon an enjoyable time to travel.
Our first river reached was a defining moment for the team, partially because it was the first real chance we had to bathe, but more importantly: Curtis had decided that this would be as far as he would continue. It was a sad moment on the river bank when we saw the white van approach knowing that it would soon take Curtis away. As the driver smoked a cigarette we said of final goodbyes and suddenly Sarah and I were alone in the howling wind. Curtis’ decision to leave had come suddenly even for us, and swallowing the reality of being alone in the desert was hard. The howling wind did not make the situation easier, slowly a sand storm was boiling up, and within a hour we could barely see 25m in front of us. Dust got into everything, and after a long night’s restless sleep covered in sand we were glad to break camp and fly on the tale end of the storm.
We have also learnt that off-roading (roads are a bit of an exaggeration, the Gobi really only has dirt tracks) can have its consequences. For instance areas marked as sandy are rarely sandy, in fact they are slightly more like a shrub forest then a sand bowl. Sand, at least flat sand, is easy to negotiate but shrubs, especially ones higher than the wheels of our buggies are cause for concern. Our 10m Mantas, which had enough pull and power to heave over the shrubs, did most of the work through the shrub forests.
Since this incident however the travel has been good, and even hulling over even terrain is, well not pleasurable but at least tolerable. When the winds are good, such as yesterday, our first 80km day, we are capable of making miles, and hopefully there will be many more days like such.
Eric
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