19-Aug-2006 -- 50N – 120E Hulunbaier (呼伦贝尔), ]Inner Mongolia (内蒙古), China
Line Hunting Date: August 19, 2006
The 1st Confluence Hunt in the Ultimate Grassland
We were invited for a workshop at Hailaer (海拉尔)city, the capital of Huleunbaier, the most northeastern prefecture of Inner Mongolia. It is an area well known for the vast and lush grassland.
There were two flights a day from Beijing to Hailaer during the summer month. We opted for the early morning fight so we have time to go line hunting. Our flight arrived on time at 9.30 am under overcast sky. By 11 am our local host had a car organized so we took off toward this confluence point about 90 km north based on GPS distance.
The drive toward north followed a well paved highway with wonderful scenery of gentle rolling hills of grassland. After about 100 km of driving, and we took a dirt road toward west after passing a village called Bayi Ranch (八一牧场) with 8 km remaining to the confluence point.
The area we drove through were a mixture of native grassland and large track of wheat fields. After a few turns and twists we stopped on top a hill which put us about 600 meters from the confluence point located on another hill. Unfortunately, it started to drizzle as we started our hike toward the point.
As we got near the hill where confluence point located, there was a large herd of sheep passing through. Just as we reached the confluence point, the herder galloped toward us on his horse. We had a nice visit with this Mongolian rancher, Mr. Bai who lived with his brother is a house not too far from the confluence point. They have over a thousand sheep and pretty much live all year around in this isolated location. In essence, this is his confluence point.
This was a pleasant hunt and gave us a good appreciation of the grassland. A little sunshine would made this a great hunt.
Rating of this hunt :
Degree of Challenge:
1 – can be an easy drive up (1= very easy - drive to the point; to 5= a death march – glad it is over)
Scenery:
3 – Classic grassland of Mongolia (Scale: 1= not interesting at all; 5= take your breath away)
Culture-social factors:
3 – Isolated Mongolian ranching family (Scale: 1=dull; 5= most stimulating)