Leaving the Selenga behind

Upon leaving Ulan-Ude I knew that our time on the Selenga was limited to three days, a fact that left a feeling of remorse yet anticipation. It would be unfortunate to see the river go, another stage of our journey completed, however I could hardly wait to see the expanse of Baikal.

As the river branched apart we held the left; the Selenga delta is 30 km wide, a wrong turn could add significantly to our days distance. With every division the river became narrower, tall grass and a constantly winding course afforded us no view of what lay ahead. The current all but ceased and the river began to take on the characteristics of a swamp, as we came around yet another exaggerated bend the river finally gave way to the vast expanse that is Baikal.

As we paddled along the shore, the water gradually changed from the brown sediment laden color of the Selenga to the simmering blue-green opal that is Baikal. The water that flows from the Selenga will spend on average the next 300 years in this lake before exiting on the same path as us, down the Angara River. Luckily our journey on Baikal is a little less than a month, enough time to discover this lake we have heard so much about.

By Eric McNair-Landry

Location:
Latitude:51.6834
Longitude:105.71116
GPS location Date/Time:08/27/2010 17:56:46 ULAT

Click the link below to see where we are located.
http://fms.ws/3L-Jq/51.6834/105.71116