Trekking in the Taklimakan Desert
The venture described here is one of our more demanding and exciting ones. The trek was to far northwest China. We had been in the area before, on a trip run by Mountain Travel-Sobek. On that trip we were intrigued by our short visits to the ruins of caravanserais and cities that lay on the silk route from Europe to China. We had not really been planning to visit the region again, but when we got a brochure in the mail from the trip leader, (who is a friend of ours), we were captivated. It only took us about an hour to decide that we had to go. This second trip was with Geographic Expeditions, and involved lots of driving, camping in tents for
about three weeks, and a trek across a portion of the desert, for 35 days total. We really felt fortunate that we, well into our 60s, were mentally and physically able to deal with the trip.
If you overlay a map of the USA on one of China, it almost matches. So, our trip was equivalent to flying from New York to St. Louis, Mo., and driving in a big loop through Texas to Arizona and Nevada, taking a hike through a desert in Nevada, and then continuing the driving to Salt Lake City, where you would then fly back to New York.
The Taklimakan Desert is one of the worlds largest, measuring about 600 miles from east to west and 300 miles north to south. The name means "Who goes in, does not come out." The desert has incredibly terrible weather. It is very cold in much of its range in winter, but some areas are hot year round. It is extremely hot in summer everywhere. Water is very scarce, and much of it is salty. The region is a very large basin, ringed with high mountains. The Karakoram range of mountains and Tibet are on the south, and the Tienshan Range is to the north. The Pamir Range separating China from Russia, now Kazakhstan, is on the west. There is no high range to the east, but the slope is inward, and beyond the low
ranges is the Gobi desert. Consequently, lots of water flows in to the basin from the mountains, but since there is no outlet, any salts in the water are there to stay.
This desert contains the lowest land point below sea level in the world, over 500 feet. It is also the hottest desert, because of the low points, at over 140 degrees Fahrenheit maximum at the surface of the sand and rocks. The low point, called the Turfan Depression, can have shade temperatures of 130 F even in the winter. (continued)
The picture at right exemplifies the wonderful desert sand dunes, reaching to the horizon. Like an ocean frozen in time, pristine except for your own footsteps. The Elderhiker Handbook describes our feelings; that this trip exposed us to the conditions and regimen of the caravans of the past. We lived the history of the Silk Route. A life enhancing experience brought to life in the Handbook.