Sunday 31 March 2013



On 14 September 2012, my brother and I touched down in the small, provincial airport of Moron, in northern Mongolia.  It was the start of a month-long cycling and packrafting (bikerafting) adventure intended to take us through the wilds of Mongolia.

The idea for the trip was conceived on a week-long canoe trip through Algonquin National Park, Canada. We wanted to go bigger and better next time; something more exciting.  And so we found ourselves under the big blue skies of Mongolia, armed with a 2 bikes, 2 trailers, a month's supply of spaghetti bolognaise and the spirit of adventure. 

Our home for the month was the province of Khovsgol aimag, in northern Mongolia.  A region dotted with mountains, rivers, wolves and bears; with clear blue lakes scattered like sapphires on the grasslands.  A spot between the plains of the Mongolian Steppe and the wilds of Russian Siberia.  The plan was to make a loop by cycling for three weeks to the Delger Moron river, taking our bikes apart, strapping them to our packrafts, and paddling our rafts downstream to wind up back at our starting point. 

It was an extraordinary trip. The weeks of careful planning were rewarded. Where else could you cycle through majestic snow-capped mountains and past pre-historic lakes. Wake up under a full moon so bright it obscures the stars. Float down crystal clear water, circled by eagles overhead and great fish beneath. Cycle beside wild ponies and Bactrian camels. And be asked for tea, quite by chance, in an Olympic medal-winner's ger. 

We thought we would put together a blog of our trip.

If you have any questions or comments, please let us know: jhjrobson@gmail.com.

James and Alex. 











1 comment:

  1. Hi James and Alex.
    Your trip is completely awesome, congratulations. I've always wanted to go to Mongolia, maybe in the near future.
    We have put a new and your link on our website Planeta Packraft. www.planetapackraft.com

    We created planetapackraft.com. Me and my colegues, Edu Muñoz and Hilo Moreno, are very excited about this new project and we hope it will have also a good acceptance.
    With Planeta Packraft we will try to provide clear vision about what packraft is, and how it can be used.We will try to give all type of information with articles about it's history, gear, trips, and many other interesting things about this amazing way of traveling.
    Also this site will provide a space for all those who want to share their experiences with others.
    We would like to create a community that it's able to run this web page day by day, by it self, making it grow little by little.
    In addition to the articles and the information, we will add other packraf publications on the web or blogs thought the tab "Noticias".
    We are just three guys at the moment, but there are a few more interested. We have just started to sail in this river, without knowing where this will end, but this is not important, because long ago we learned, that getting to our destination is not what really matters.

    Warm Regards
    Iván

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