In Mongolia a horse can take you far, but when the mountains become especially high and wild, the horse trail comes to an end. To continue into the realm of the snow leopard, argali mountain sheep, and ibex, it's time to hike.
Join us on an exploratory trek to develop a new hiking trail through a remote mountain range in Mongolia's western province of Hovd. This is tough country. It's steep and extremely arid. There are no hiking tracks, just game trails to follow.
This trip combines three of our passions, Mongolia, hiking and wildlife. The area is home to a variety of rare species. You can expect to see asiatic ibex, argali, and perhaps even the notoriously elusive snow leopard (there is a healthy population here). After our initial scouting trip in October 2019, we were planning to return in 2020 but we can wait as long as it takes! (snow leopard photo courtesy of National Park Administration).
When we say this trip is exploratory, we mean we are looking for people who will not whinge when the day turns out to be longer and harder than expected, or a sudden snow storm strikes. But you can be sure you will be one of the very few outsiders to ever have travelled here.
For us, simply going for a look is not enough. We are teaming up with the local National Park administration to help fund a wildlife monitoring project, and you will be participating. Using trail cameras and other techniques you will work with park rangers to help determine the population of endangered species.
As an added bonus, by working with the Park administration, we are able to access areas that would otherwise be closed.
This trip gives you the opportunity to be part of a team pioneering a new hiking route through untracked mountain country. As part of a wildlife monitoring project, we won't just be taking the easiest route. We will be getting up high to where we are most likely to encounter wildlife (and for the spectacular views too). This is country for the true adventurer.
For our first exploratory trip in 2023 we are planning to use packhorses to carry our main gear. You will need to carry your personal gear for the day in a small backpack (warm layers, water etc), until meeting the horses at camp. If you have never done an overnight hike, or hiked off-trail, this is perhaps not the trip to be starting with.
The focus of this trip is the great hiking along with opportunities to spot wildlife. During our initial scouting trip in October 2019, we regularly encountered herds of ibex and sighted argali mountain sheep. OK, we may not have actually seen the snow leopards, but they are definitely there - in the course of our short trip, we saw footprints in the snow several times, and our local herder friends report seeing them regularly. Unfortunately, that's often while the big cats are attacking their livestock.
The good news is that the National Park administration is keen for us to help them monitor the wildlife on a regular basis, particularly using camera traps. We will help fund the monitoring and develop a mutually beneficial relationship where you, the hiker, actively contributes to building up a database of wildlife observations.
You need to have 'normal fitness', not 'Bear Grylls fitness'. But if you think normal fitness means regularly walking to the corner shop for a packet of fags, err no that won't cut it. You need to be doing some form of regular exercise, in your job if you are lucky, or getting out running or cycling. Or chasing a ball around a field.
Of course, there's really no substitute for actually going and walking up a hill. We recommend this be part of your training in the lead-up to the trip.
That said, we will spend plenty of time discussing fitness and other expectations (including what you will need to bring) individually. More here.
