The next day we awoke to a clear sky, which was good as it was our day hiking through the National Park. As usual we set off on Mongolian time i.e. late! But it was only expected to be about 15 miles of relatively easy walking with a bit of scrambling. Turns out altitude is a pain in the neck!
Just after setting off through the gatesd of the National Park, we came across a Cairn which our guide requested we walked around it 3 times placing a new stone each time to wish the walk luck. This seemed like a good idea so we all obliged and headed off into the forest towards an old Buddhist Temple. The temple had once been a home to 1000 monks, but during the Communist rule, it was destroyed. There is now only a musuem and a single temple building in place. We looked around the temple under the tutelage of the infamous Troll and those who felt they would be unable to complete the walk were asked to turn around at this point.
The hike took us through some beautiful forests and mountain passes, with some breathtaking views. When we reached the top we were given the option to continue onto the next peak, where we would be able to see Ulaanbaatar, or head back to site. Unfortunately the storm clouds had gathered over the next peak so we took the sensible option and headed back to site. This turned out to be a very good option as the heavens opened about 1½ hours before we got back to site. Even with the rain the hike was very good.
On arrival back at site, we found that the group based on site that day, and the walkers who turned back at the temple, had again mobilised pretty quickly to minimise the rain damage, and ensure that most of the kit remained dry. The stoves were also on the go to get the hikers warm and dry. The rain this time was not quite as unrelenting as the first storm so we mostly escaped without too much drama.
Once the rain cleared up, we each had bucket showers before settling down to a lovely risotto dinner cooked by Dawn for both our Aravt and the Aravt we have been out on activities with. A good end to a generally good day.