Day 7 and 8 Hogrog to overnight camp

We planned to leave around 1030 AM to make our way back to Hogrog. Our dog didnt come up the hill with us because we didn't want him to get into fights with the local dogs, but another dog adopted us on our trail and he did come. He was nicknamed Poodle dog because he walked like a poodle. He got into a few skirmishes but managed to walk away most of the time. He really enjoyed being with us and we enjoyed his company. As soon as it looked like we were getting ready to go he was there waiting to join us on the journey

We set out on our trek up through the pass to the top of the mountain and Poodle Dog was out clearing the way for us. After a saddle adjustment we continued our walk back to Hogrog, stopping for occasional drinks and to pick up lost glasses and other items. The snow we stopped at earlier had all but melted now, but the views remained breathtaking. Lunch was provided before we left and safely stored in the saddle bags. We stopped at the same spot on the side of the hill, and somehow the plastic wrap had come off and my lunch and was all through the saddle bag. We were not really that hungry so once I emptied the contents of my saddlebag, Poodle Dog had a good feed of chicken nuggets.

After lunch we continued on for another 5 km where we met up with our support vehicles. The pack horses were unloaded and we set off through the gorge. There were a few river crossings to negotiate and Khan was more interested in getting a mouthful of grass instead of looking where he was going. He fell head first into the river with me still on his back. The family jewels were crushed against the saddle bar and I rode in agony for the final 8 kms. 
On our arrival back at the Hogrog camp  we were assigned a yurt which was a welcome relief. I donned my shorts and made my way to the creek to try and ease the swelling. The water was cold but bearable and I sat in the creek for a few minutes getting relief. Back in the yurt we made a fire and settled in for the night. I noticed our original dog was still on the chain and asked why this was so. His owner was coming to pick him up and we were sad to see him go. We still had Poodle Dog though, and he was snuffling around at dinner time waiting for some food.  He had some dreadlocks in his tail that would make bob Marley envious, and Ann tried to cut a few free. 
It was here that I found out that any footage I had on my camera from late the day before until now was corrupted thanks to a dodgy SD card. I am worried now my GoPro footage may have suffered the same fate as it was from the same supplier and I cant view it on my Chromebook. Hopefully it is just a glitch with the file codec. We settled in for the night and got a good nights sleep. 

The next morning we set off on our way back to Renchinkhumbe, although it was too far for a 1 day ride. We decided to break it into two 30km legs. We had a steady drizzle for most of the way and by the time we reached our camp site even our Driz-a-bones were soaked.  Just before we got to our camp site our group broke into 2 groups. My group rode direct to the camp, whilst the other group were taking bets on the distance feom the red roof house to the site. Ann is using a ride tracking app that calculates the distance traveld on GPS positions. That group ended up on a canter to the camp and somehow one of the wranglers ended up in a hole with the horse on its baxk on top of him. It xould have been very nasty for all concerned but fortunately aside from a bit of bruising both horse and rider were OK.   We had the option of tenting or sharing a cabin. I wasnt going to tent it again as I could feel a head cold coming from the last cold night so I put it to the group that I wanted to share the cabin if they were ok with it. Most were OK
with it, and once I was in my sleeping bag curled up I was out for the count. I wont mention any names but there was a lot of snoring going on through the night, and not from me!
The next morning the rains had cleared and the horses were all relaxed in the fields outside the cabin compound.

 

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