A big hike in search of Wild Giant Pandas
The trip
comments below are from my Wild Panda
search the week of July 20, 2006. We can
set this trip up for you, with a recommendation that you stay a minimum of 5
nights, but a full week is really advised.
Our trip really
begins when we stop at a roadside inn for lunch. Jane our very attractive
translator,
leaves the table and slips into a room across from where we are eating. She enters that room a stylish and classy
Chinese woman who could be dressed for business most anywhere in the
world. She comes out dressed in military
style camo clothing and heavy duty hiking boots. She is now G.I. Jane.
After lunch we
drive up the narrow and winding mountain road another 30 minutes and then stop
and begin unloading. Several local
people stand around the car waiting. We
have reached the trailhead. Jane advises
us that the local people will carry our packs.
At first I hesitate, then I decide to go along with the game plan they
have laid out. Later, I'm glad I let
someone more accustomed to the elevation and steep trail carry my pack.
The hike to the
campsite takes about 6 hours. We travel
about 15 miles horizontally and make a vertical climb of 3,000 feet. Much of the hike is exceedingly steep. I'm really glad I took my own advice and
worked out for a couple months on a treadmill while carrying a 50 pound
pack.
My good
physical conditioning keeps me in the game all the way. Even though I'm the oldest one along, by 18
years. It turns out I'm the second
oldest person they know to have made this climb. I just refuse to believe that 58 is OLD.
Along the way
we spot much wildlife including Takin and Jane's first view ever of the Golden
Monkeys. During our week in the
mountains we spotted the following wildlife:
Golden Takin
Goral
Serow
rock squirrel
chipmunk
bamboo rat
vole
golden monkeys
It was a very
good 5 days of wildlife viewing. At the
end of this article is a detailed mammal sighting list.
There were
hundreds of birds. Some species that
stand out were the black pheasant, a sparrow hawk that was the only raptor we
spotted, a bustard and so many different small species that flitted in and out
of the bamboo, tracking our movements all the time.
We saw several
poisonous snakes, no common name, but thankfully a species that is exceedingly
shy and was always spotted slithering away into the bamboo.
There were at
least a half dozen, maybe a dozen species of bee. Some tiny ones that hovered and darted about
and some really big fat black bumblebees. We also saw a cloud burst of
fireflies one evening after dinner. I
hadn't seen fireflies since I was a young child. They were only seen once.
Also a shy
ground squirrel nested a few yards from the cabin we stayed in. He came out to eat leftovers that were rinsed
from our pans and dishes.
Sleeping
quarters were tight. A raised sleeping
area provided group sleeping accommodations for about 10 men during the time I
was there. The two women each had a room
to themselves. The door to the outside
of our shack was ill fitted and made a horrendous squealing noise each time
someone went in or out during the night.
Still, with earplugs and noise reducing headphones I slept very well.
Food was cooked
and served family style from a couple of big pots. The camp cook was quite good. I was pleasantly surprised by his skill and
his happy demeanor. When I made a
special request for low sodium, low fat food he just smiled and made me the
exact same food as everyone else, but as I requested.
July 20, 2006:
Today we're
hiking in a conifer forest whose trees are densely packed together. There is a scattering of deciduous trees
spread through the forest. Beneath the
trees, growing luxuriantly in the dark shade is the umbrella bamboo that these
pandas love and thrive upon. The
umbrella bamboo is even more dense than the first two days of searching.
This dense
growth of bamboo and overshadowing trees makes the forest eerily quiet. The lush green growth sucks up every
sound. The damp and moist earth is a
great sound deadener.
There are a
dozen bee and fly species that constantly hover around us. Sometimes landing upon us. They are irritating, but in general don't
bite or sting us. The exception are the
cow flies that sometimes bite and draw a drop of blood. They are slow moving, hovering a few inches
away, before choosing the tastiest piece of bare skin to draw blood from.
Moss, fungus
and mushrooms grow everywhere. There is
so much moisture in the air that they grow beneath fallen trees, along the
trail, in takin poop, and even high in the trees, where we spot some golden
monkeys chowing down on the arboreal fungus.
I have seen
more wildlife on this hike than I have seen on all of my other China trips
combined. There is takin spoor
everywhere. Panda poop is common and we
regularly came upon signs of pandas that were only hours old.
During this
panda search only one live wild panda was spotted. He was moving away and the guide in the lead
position spotted his black and white butt waddling quickly into the dense
bamboo as we approached. Does this mean
the trip was unsuccessful? I don't think
so. I cannot guarantee panda sightings
on this trek.
It is difficult
to spot them, not impossible and not unlikely, but also not a certainty. The signs were all around us. This location has the highest probability of
a successful sighting of Giant Panda of any location in the world today. Researchers regularly make this habitat their
locale for study because of the high concentration of pandas here.
This is not an
easy hike. It is a rugged journey that
shouldn't be undertaken by anyone not in reasonably good physical
condition. I'm 58 and overweight. I worked out hard and diligently every day
for two months before going and I was glad I had done so.
To give some
perspective to the difficulty level I took along two pair of long pants because
I knew my clothing would be wet all the time.
I kept the dry pants for around camp and each morning would slide the
slightly soggy, cold and very uncomfortable pants on. These pants were specially purchased for this
trip. Quick drying, highly puncture
resistant, hi-tech fabric that at the end of the trip were so tore up by the
bamboo that I threw them away.
I am a veteran
of hundreds of hikes and camping expeditions, so there were no surprises for me
in terms of how difficult the hike was.
Nor were the living conditions unbearable. We had a wood cabin to shelter us, which was
certainly better than a tent. The food
was excellent and plentiful, which is all you can ask for on a mountain
expedition such as this.
We were
accompanied by two extremely skilled trackers, Fung and Jung (pronounced
young). They slipped through the bamboo
like ghosts, while I bulled my way through like a crazed Golden Takin. During our search for wildlife Fung was first
to spot the takin and the golden monkey, although I like to think I would have
seen them first if I had been in the lead.
He was
quite talented
at spotting animals. Later, after Fung
spotted the Golden Monkeys, I spotted both the black pheasant and a Serow first
and so I redeemed myself.
My overall
impression of the trip is that it is a truly fine adventure, but it is not for
everyone. You must be willing to live
rough for a week and to hike a tough trail.
If you are up to that challenge, then this wild panda search will
probably live in your memory as a top rated hiking adventure.
End
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