17-Jul-2015 -- This is the 8th out of 17 reports of confluence visits while cycling from Kashgar (喀什) to Xī'ān (西安). I cycled through the Chinese provinces of Xīnjiāng, Qīnghǎi, Gānsù, and Shǎnxī, 3600 km in 25 days. The story starts from 39°N 76°E. The previous report is 38°N 93°E.
The confluence is located only 2.5 km from the main highway G315 between Délìnghā (德令哈) and Wūlán (乌兰). But a salt lake separates the confluence from the road. The question was whether I should walk around on the eastern or western side. I opted for the eastern side, because it allowed for a shorter walk. Coming from the west, I cycled all the way to the eastern side of the lake. But before leaving the highway, I noticed two yurts near the confluence point that I would have to pass. I feared that there might be dangerous dogs, so I changed my mind and tried the western route. This meant cycling back 4 km and starting the hike from a distance of 4 km.
For the first 500 m the ground was solid, but then I came into the vicinity of the salt lake. The ground got softer and soon I wasn’t sure whether it was still safe to keep on walking forward. This time I decided to go around it following the edge of the lake. This almost doubled the walking distance, particularly because the edge of the lake was jagged.
The confluence point is located 400 m from the edge of the lake and about the same distance from the yurts. This is just enough to be safe from dogs. Horses were grazing nearby, but there were no dogs or humans around. At the confluence, the ground is fairly stable consisting of a mixture of salt and sand. Little bushes give the scene a beautiful greenish atmosphere.
After the visit, I walked back to my bike and kept on cycling eastwards. In the evening, I reached Wūlán where I met again the English cyclists.
CP Visit Details:
- Distance to the road: 2500 m (beeline)
- Distance to a track: 2500 m (beeline)
- Walking distance: 7000 m
- Distance of bicycle parking: 4000 m
- Time to reach the CP from the road: 90 min
- Time at the CP: 1 PM
- Measured height: 2942 m
- Minimal distance according to GPS: 0 m
- Position accuracy: 3 m
- Topography: flat, mountains nearby
- Vegetation: little bushes
- Weather: partly cloudy sky, 26° C (felt temperature)
- Given Name: The Go Around the Lake Confluence
The story continues at 37°N 99°E.