April 5, 2007
To Mile marker 1797: Free camp, First day in Tibet
When we wake up it is still cold, but a quick look out the window shows blue sky. We eat the last of our cornflakes with a cup of coffee and carry our gear out into the lobby. A guy is asleep on a couch, but the lock that's on the door handle can be lifted off.
From Deqin (or Dechen) it's about 12kms uphill to a viewpoint where we can see the Karwa Karpo, a beautiful mountain on the other side of the Mekong valley. This is the last place tourists can stop without a Tibetan Travel Permit (TTP).
The Karwa Karpo is a 6740 meter high with glaciers spilling off its side. By the time we get to the viewpoint clouds have been building and are somewhat obscuring the view, but as the clouds move through the valley, we get glimpses of it's peak, shoulders and glaciers.
There is a whole string of hotels on the ridge and a lot of tourists have spent the night here, a good idea that would increase opportunity for good views of the mountain. We talk to some people from Hong Kong and Japan. There are prayer flags everywhere and a line of stupas all make for a very nice colorful foreground to a grand vista. We stay about 90 mins watching the clouds move through, take lots of pictures. Rachel buys two small string of prayer flags to take on our journey through Tibet. One for us for our tent and one to leave at Mt. Everest with Dan's ashes. Patrick buys a small piece of slate with a Tibetan inscription.
We have breakfast at a "Zazz Cafe just opened by a guy from Beijing. He has installed nice Kohler bathroom fixtures, but the hook ups must be from Harbor Freight tools because they don't flush.
After our breakfast, we set off for Tibet...
About halfway in the descent, the asphalt turns to gravel, we'll be riding this for quite a while. Our travel notes made by previous cyclist give us some indication of what to expect, but they are not complete. We are expecting a road camp with maybe some basic accommodation instead we find the town of Hongshan that we had wanted to avoid today. There is a barrier in town just before the bridge, but we just "nee how" and keep going.
Nobody chases us.
We find a stream, filter water in preparation of someplace for free camping. Good spots are scarce through, we end up on a narrow trail behind some willow trees just above the road. Not very private, and as we discover during the night, this is a path frequently traveled by people.
Today's ride: 66 km (41 miles)
Total: 7,568 km (4,700 miles)
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