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[RC] Barbara's trip to Mongolia - Steph Teeter



Begin forwarded message:

From: "Janet Webb" <janetw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: August 20, 2007 12:42:58 PM MDT
To: <stephteeter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: jw bcl Barbara's trip to Mongolia

Hello...Barbara McCrary asked me to forward selected portions of the travel journal coming via email from Mongolia that might be of particular interest to horse folks (Barbara mentioned that you might also wish to share them on the Ride Camp site). The various journal entries that have been forwarded have been written by the group's principle leader/organizer who also happens to be a published author. At this point in their journey Barbara, Lud and about 15 other travelers have departed from the main city of Mongolia by bus. It sounded like an arduous, dusty trip to get to this point...
August 17, 2007
...Meanwhile, Joe Jordan was working a map - one of the best available to us in the US - while Penny Kenez had her handheld GPS - but without a back-up map (none of the major GPS distributors in the US have them for Mongolia - I had checked before the trip) all she was getting was coordinates When we showed our Mongolian friends our map they looked at it and examined it and then said that it was not accurate - "wrong map" they said. So, we drove ever onward. Passing across what seemed to be endless plains with herds of horses scattered across them - horses, horses everywhere - healthy Mongolian horses beyond counting.
At noon we arrived at Hustai National Park - the place where the Przewalski horses were reintroduced back into the wild. The Mongols call the horses "Takhi" which means respect. It's a story quite similar to that of the California condor - in this case it was a wild horse that became extinct (hunting and habitat change primarily - Mongolians eat horsemeat) except for some in European zoos. Eventually through an international effort, the horses were reintroduced into Mongolia and there are now several hundred in three different protected locations. We had an introduction to the story by a young multi-lingual Mongolian named Gadbold - he speaks English, Japanese, Russian and Mongolian - and then watched a short video in a circular conference hall. It's a remarkable story and one that has touched the hearts of conservationists the world over. Google the word "Przewalski" and you'll get the websites of the organizations involved.
Sadly, the only times that the horses are visible in this wild place is early mornings or early evenings when they come down off the mountains for water. We would not be able to see the horses this day - score one demerit for the Tour Leader - next time we'll come in the afternoon and stay overnight in the local ger camp to get two chances to see them. So, after an hour of hearing about the horses, we turned around and found a spot on a hillside and spread out various pieces of carpet and cloth (and the Kieffer's aluminum Space Blanket - they're prepared for ANYTHING) we dove into an array of Mongolian flatbread, hardboiled eggs, apples, jam (our Mongolian friends were astonished when several of us put jam on the meat-filled flatbread). Then back on the bus for the next 275-220-180-220 km to our destination.


August 18, 2007
...Sunrise revealed the valley filled with fog and mist, but as the day warmed up the fog burned off to reveal a small rocky mountain across a stream to the east and the sand dunes in north and west. The day remained overcast throughout, and the weather has been extremely pleasant.
After breakfast - fried eggs, sausage, bread, instant coffee, tea - the group assembled on the south side of the camp to do a bit of horseback and camelback riding We watched as the Mongolians began separating out the horses they wanted to use - all of the horses were loose on the pastureland adjacent to the camp - and watching the men - and boys - race across with the lasso-on-a-pole that they use to capture horses was breathtaking.
There's always been something of a debate among historians of these matters as to who might have been the better riders - the Mongols, or the vaqueros of Spanish and Mexican California. The descriptions by eyewitnesses are similar - the uncanny appearance that rider and horse were actually one, the quickness of the horse's turns and the obvious joy that both riders took in showing off their skills. I don't think the traditions ever actually met, but if we could arrange it through a time machine, having a vaquero and Mongol do their stuff in the same setting would be something to arrange.
There weren't enough animals to handle the entire group so the riders went off in shifts - some aboard horses and some on camels, then returning an hour later and switching until by noon everyone had done their thing. Lud and Barbara McCrary, of course, showed their decades of riding experience, and it was a delight to watch Lud work his horse with his knees and by shifting his weight until they go in tune together. The horses are very small compared to horses in North America - and Mongolian riders perch up on the shoulders of the horse, sitting very erect and standing in the stirrups during the gallop. Seanna even had her horse stopping quickly and then backing up - fancy stuff. As they came back from their excursions they were nothing but smiles.
Camels are wondrous creatures - lumpy and bumpy and gangly things, all knees with that almost arrogant tilt of the head. Their eyes are lovely with long lashes, almost as if transplanted from another creature. The camel herders warned of the sudden lurch when the animal gets up and each group member whipsawed back and then forward until the animal stood. Wedged between the two humps, each of them strode off toward the sand dunes. The gait of a camel is long and smooth - undulating - but the Camel-getting-down moment was as exciting as the going up.





Janet McCrary Webb
Big Creek Lumber Co.
3564 Highway 1
Davenport, CA  95017

phone:  831-457-5023
fax:  831-423-2800
janetw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx




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