Tsaatan country

A Tsaatan home

Yesterday we rode and rode. Decamped at 11:20, stopped for lunch at the miners' camp, but didn't reach the Tsaatan until just after 9 pm.

Highlights include: nearly taking a mud bath when I steered my horse into a tree trunk which threatened to slice off my leg. So I lost my balance momentarily and nearly plunged into the mud.

E. stopped in the late afternoon to fix his saddle. I took the opportunity to slip on my warm jacket, which proved a lifesaver, because again I did not realize we were headed over a pass, one with a fierce icy wind.

The ride was hard. We went through forested slope, roots jutting out of the ground, mud everywhere from the rains. It was treacherous going for a few hours as we headed up to the pass. Several times did our horses stumble, but not to the ground, and we pressed on, and reached the pass

Other travellers were behind us as we traversed the pass. But we waited for them. they were

three people and eight horses, bringing supplies I imagine to the miners. We rode together, mostly single file, along the southern slope, into the setting sun for a long while.

Way, way off in the distance E pointed and suggested that he could spot a white teepee in the twilight. A river flowed down the valley and we looked into the setting sun to see if we could imagine a teepee far off. M. thought he could. I hoped I might.

We veered northwest down the slope, leaving the caravan of horses and supplies to themselves. We crossed boggy terrain and a river, rode up a slight incline to barking dogs and arrived at the nearest teepee. The long day had come to an end.