“When we tug at a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world.” – John Muir It’s easy to become removed from Nature; to become lost in virtual worlds as we work in our cities of metal and stone. It’s easy to forget how tightly bound we are to the world when our …
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Danger in No Man’s Land
Setting out from the Kyrgyz border post at Bor Dobo, I had a decent idea of the distance (15+ km) between me and the Tajik border. I assumed that I would be able to catch a ride, but figured I could hike the difference if none came along. From the start, the scenery was stunning. After …
Sary Tash to the Tajik Border
We dropped down over Taldyk Pass and the tiny town of Sary Tash lay spread out before us at the base of the mountain. When my pre-arranged taxi ride from Osh, Kyrgyzstan to Murghab, Tajikistan fell through (the driver decided he didn’t feel like driving on a holiday after all), I had a few minutes …
Hiking through Ala Archa
After a wonderful day of hiking up Kashka-Suu, I met with the Trekking Union again to make the journey out to Ala Archa National Park. Named for the juniper trees (archa in Kyrgyz) found throughout, it is one of the most stunning places I’ve ever seen. Like the day before, we started early. After another …
Spelunking in Jeongseong
“…You fear to go into those mines… You know what they awoke in the darkness…” That was the warning given to Gandalf by Saruman as the two discussed how the Fellowship would get the Ring to Mordor. I have a feeling that, if they’d been talking about Hwaam Cave (화암동굴) near Jeongseong, the same words would have been uttured, but …
The Sleeping Mountain at Seoraksan
My friend Cody and I arrived in Sokcho around 2 p.m. on Saturday. Both of us were tired from the long bus ride, but we set our fatigue aside to venture into the stunning Seoraksan National Park (설악산국립공원); Korea’s first national park. After dropping our bags off at our hostel, we caught a bus and …
Gobi Tour: Part Two
So that last post was kind of a beast. This next one won’t be nearly as long. That’s mainly because we went through the rest of the tour at a more leisurely pace than those first two days. It’s also because I didn’t keep very good notes about what happened each day, so I’m having …
Gobi Tour: Part One
This may have been the most difficult entry for me to write, not because of the subject, but because of the environment I’m writing in. I am back home in Washington state, my travels (for now) ceased. There’s something about being back home that seems to suck the inspiration away, the desire to reminisce about …
Terkhiin Tsaagan Nuur National Park
As you may have read in the previous two posts, I rode a motorcycle from the city of Tsetserleg to the small town of Tariat to check out the Terkhiin Tsaagan Nuur National Park. I had planned to camp for several nights, but ended up staying at the Khorgo Ger Camp with the super nice …
The Open Road Before Me: Motorcycle Trip from Tsetserleg to Tariat
As I’ve mentioned many times, my initial desire to visit Mongolia was kindled by a childhood friend of mine moving here for several years. Several years ago, that desire was further fueled after I watched the awesome miniseries ‘Long Way Round‘ starring Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman. The two actors, also close friends, embarked on …
The Open Road Before Me: Motorcycle Trip from Tsetserleg to TariatRead More