{"id":1586,"date":"2011-06-25T22:28:47","date_gmt":"2011-06-25T18:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onmytodd.org\/?p=1586"},"modified":"2011-11-01T19:11:58","modified_gmt":"2011-11-01T16:11:58","slug":"chalaati-glacier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onmytodd.org\/?p=1586","title":{"rendered":"Chalaati Glacier"},"content":{"rendered":"

Had a lazy morning. After lunch Alex and I jumped onto the bikes and cycled to the north, towards the Russian border, along the river Mestiachala. The track is rough and rocky and every now and then a stream crosses, or both track and stream use the same bed for up to a few hundred meters. We got wet feet but it was fun to ride through the water.<\/p>\n

After about 9km the track ended at the confluence of the Mestiachala and the Chalaati rivers. We left our bikes behind and crossed the Mestiachala over a narrow Soviet-built suspension bridge. Near the bridge there is a border control post. The soldiers there welcomed us with lots of ‘my friends’ and ‘welcome to Svaneti’ (the name of the region here).<\/p>\n

Then we continued along the Chalaati river on a well-trodden path for about 2km to the foot of the glacier. The river emerges from under the ice. Not just a few drops. It’s a full-blown river right from the start. It looks awesome. We walked around on the ice directly on top of the river for a bit. Everything is covered by small rocks and big boulders that have fallen down from the melting ice.<\/p>\n

Returned on the same way we’d come.<\/p>\n

Cycled: 19km<\/p>\n