Trail Log 1995-1997 - Lamar at Colorado State University
Trail Log 1995-1997 - Lamar at Colorado State University
Trail Log 1995-1997 - Lamar at Colorado State University
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<strong>Trail</strong> <strong>Log</strong> <strong>1995</strong>-<strong>1997</strong><br />
Holmes Rolston, III<br />
Summary<br />
<strong>1995</strong> Military Veterinarians’ Symposium, San Antonio, Texas, and Lost Maples St<strong>at</strong>e N<strong>at</strong>ural<br />
Area. Local trails and trips, Rocky Mountain N<strong>at</strong>ional Park.<br />
Africa: East Africa<br />
Kenya: United N<strong>at</strong>ions Environment Program. Kikuyu Hospital. Aberdare N<strong>at</strong>ional Park.<br />
Mt. Kenya Safari Club. Samburu Game Reserve. Sweetw<strong>at</strong>ers Camp. Masa Mara.<br />
Tanzania. Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Cr<strong>at</strong>er<br />
Africa: South Africa<br />
Visiting Professor, <strong>University</strong> of Stellenbosch. Lectures. Bush Camp in Kruger N<strong>at</strong>ional<br />
Park. Wilderness <strong>Trail</strong>, Metsimetsi, in Kruger. Wilderness Leadership School trek,<br />
Umfulozi. St. Lucia. Addo Elephant Park. Cape of Good Hope. Fynbos flora.<br />
Rocky Mountain N<strong>at</strong>ional Park, backpacking.<br />
Slovenia. Ljubljana, Conference on Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion of N<strong>at</strong>ure Outside of Protected Areas,<br />
and karst landscape in Slovenia. Helsinki, Finland. Cascade Head, Oregon.<br />
1996 Arizona. Petrified Forest. Grand Canyon, hike to Phantom Ranch.<br />
Yellowstone wolves. Minnesota wolves.<br />
Sweden, Oxford, Denmark, Romania, Estonia<br />
Australia. Australasian Philosophy Conference, Brisbane. Cairns and Gre<strong>at</strong> Barrier<br />
Reef. Tam O’Shanter St<strong>at</strong>e Forest and cassowaries. Noosa N<strong>at</strong>ional Park. Braidwood<br />
and Val Plumwood. South Australia and fairy penguins. Tasmania. Adelaide and<br />
Lawrence Johnson. Perth and Western Australia. Ayer’s Rock (Uluru).<br />
Northern <strong>Colorado</strong>, backpacking. Loxah<strong>at</strong>chee N<strong>at</strong>ional Wildlife Refuge, Florida, and<br />
Everglades.<br />
<strong>1997</strong> Eagles on <strong>Colorado</strong> plains.<br />
Yellowstone wolves and wildlife.<br />
Siberia and Lake Baikal.
Rocky Mountain N<strong>at</strong>ional Park, backpacking. Yellowstone backpacking. Horsepacking,<br />
Scapego<strong>at</strong> Wilderness, Montana<br />
Alamosa N<strong>at</strong>ional Wildlife Refuge, <strong>Colorado</strong>
<strong>1995</strong><br />
January 4, <strong>1995</strong>. Wednesday. Adult bald eagle flying right over campus, over the Eddy building,<br />
in clear blue sky, the only bird in sight. R<strong>at</strong>her cold we<strong>at</strong>her, snow covered ground.<br />
January 6-9. Military Veterinarians' Symposium, San Antonio Texas. Talk on wildlife on military<br />
bases. Col. Paul Barrows, their commander. S<strong>at</strong>urday, after talk, walked through the Alamo.<br />
Sunday, rented car and drove through Texas hill country to Lost Maples St<strong>at</strong>e N<strong>at</strong>ural Area. North<br />
on 281, then west on 473 to Kendalia, Sisterdale, Comfort.<br />
Lunched in a nice picnic area <strong>at</strong> Camp Verde. Lots of game fences in here, trying to keep whitetail<br />
deer on their land for hunting leases, or, in other cases, fencing in exotic species to hunt. Reached<br />
Lost Maples. This is named for Bigtooth maple, Acer grandident<strong>at</strong>um, found here (and all up and<br />
down the Sabinal River), somewh<strong>at</strong> as a disjunct. It is abundant in Utah, also in Arizona, Wyoming,<br />
reported in Montana. It is in <strong>Colorado</strong> rarely, <strong>at</strong> Mesa Verde. Hiked down the maple trail and on<br />
down the East <strong>Trail</strong> a ways. Ashe juniper, Juniperus ashei, is the common tree on hillsides. Also<br />
various oaks, Texas ash, Fraxinus texensis; Sugar hackberry, Celtis laevig<strong>at</strong>a; and others. Lovely<br />
day. Shirtsleeve we<strong>at</strong>her. Returned and spent night with Paul Barrows. Wife, Becky, daughter of<br />
Presbyterian minister in Pennsylvania. Monday early, flew home.<br />
Most of the ticks th<strong>at</strong> carry diseases go on and off warm-blooded animals three times, often the first<br />
two stages on very small mammals, like mice and voles, when the larvae are almost too small to<br />
see, like pinheads. Only the third stage do they climb higher shrubs and get onto larger mammals.<br />
The best way to pull them off is to pull gently for a minute or more; this tires their jaw muscles and<br />
they turn loose. But if you squeeze them, feces may contamin<strong>at</strong>e your fingers and then you may<br />
rub it back onto your body, in eyes, etc. Use some waxed paper to pull them, if you can.<br />
(Veterinary talk)<br />
Bald eagle. Seen <strong>at</strong> Fossil Creek Reservoir leaving for Louisiana, Chicago trip. Nice adult.<br />
February 9, <strong>1995</strong>. Thursday. Mother died. I flew to Richmond. Buried her Sunday afternoon,<br />
February 12, in bitter cold <strong>at</strong> Hebron. More in family history book.<br />
March 25. Huntington, West Virginia, trail behind art gallery, with Mary Jack. In good bloom: Rue-<br />
Anemone (Anemonella thalictroides), Toothwort (Dentaria diphylla), Bloodroot (Sanguinaria
canadensis), Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), Spicebush, Heal-all (Prunella vulgaris),<br />
Chickweed (Stellaria media), periwinkle, redbud, red maple. Trilliums coming on, but not yet in<br />
bloom. The Claytonia display down <strong>at</strong> the bottom of the trail, near the Interst<strong>at</strong>e, was the best I<br />
think I have ever seen.<br />
March 26. Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Hour's hike with Ray Anderson on the Appalachian <strong>Trail</strong>.<br />
Nice hemlock woods lower down, oaks higher up, but nothing out. Speaking <strong>at</strong> Wilson College.<br />
Apr. 23. Sunday. Rocky Mtn N<strong>at</strong>ional Park, with Jennings and Dale Bunch, and Jane. Drove up<br />
and went to church. Some blue skies <strong>at</strong> first but then snow showers most of the day. A few elk<br />
before church around town. Then into Moraine Park and <strong>at</strong>e overlooking the park with fifty elk out<br />
in the meadow. Coyote came close by car while we were e<strong>at</strong>ing. Drove up Bear Lake road, with<br />
increasing snow. Another coyote in the road, seen briefly. Jennings and I walked into the lake, in<br />
falling snow. Perhaps a dozen deer.<br />
Returned, drove up Deer Ridge. Not far from the ridge top, half a dozen deer, and one coyote.<br />
W<strong>at</strong>ched one deer, a doe, several times run after the coyote chasing it off. Three coyotes today.<br />
Over Deer Ridge and down into Horseshoe Park, nothing there. Back toward town, about a dozen<br />
bighorns, all ewes, and splendid scene with them on rocks hillside in falling snow. In Big Thompson<br />
Canyon, <strong>at</strong> the diversion a mile or so west of the siphon, three bighorns, two half curl rams. Nice<br />
in the scope.<br />
May 5, Friday. Rocky Mtn N<strong>at</strong>ional Park with Markku Okansen, Turku, Finland. The usual. Went<br />
to e<strong>at</strong> our lunch on rock <strong>at</strong> Many Parks Curve, only to discover th<strong>at</strong> I had put in the wrong thermos<br />
case and we had none. Lunched <strong>at</strong> a pizza place in town. Snipe winnowing along creek in Moraine<br />
Park, quite noisy. It was hard to get out of earshot of the winnowing.<br />
very rainy May. Rain and overcast virtually every day.<br />
May 25, Thursday. Rocky Mountain N<strong>at</strong>ional Park with Hui Yu, her mother, and Jane. Quite<br />
overcast. Elk all over the place, must have seen a thousand. It was hard to get out of sight of a<br />
couple elk, often of a couple dozen, and hundreds seen in Moraine Park and elsewhere, though<br />
few in Horseshoe Park. Briefly snowshoed with Hui <strong>at</strong> Bear Lake. A dozen nice bighorn rams back<br />
toward town, leaving Horseshoe Park. Snowpack is twice normal, in some places nearly three<br />
times normal.<br />
May 26, Friday. Back to Estes Park for a CSU Extension Leadership Educ<strong>at</strong>ion conference <strong>at</strong> the<br />
Holiday Inn. Took Hui back and drove up into the park briefly before the conference and about an<br />
hour after it. Finally clear, in the morning, and, <strong>at</strong> midday the peaks were still clear, though skies<br />
overcast. Same elk.<br />
May 27, S<strong>at</strong>urday. Owl seminar, with Kevin Cook. No owls. We tried the habit<strong>at</strong> on the other side<br />
of the road from the Cub Lake trailhead; this goes up to an area with lots of dead and dying aspen<br />
with cavities and holes, ponderosa pine nearby. Also tried the area right <strong>at</strong> lower end of Beaver<br />
Meadows, parking on the Bear Lake road. Kevin says this is a good area.<br />
Snipe winnowing, very conspicuous sound: huhuhuhuhuhuhu. This is made by their outer tail<br />
fe<strong>at</strong>hers when they are in the air. Look for them in the air; they are hard to see. May be quite high.<br />
Tell by the long heavy, though narrow bill, long, dark, pointed wings, and the rapid wing be<strong>at</strong>. This<br />
winnowing is on the bird records, East and West, one winnow only on each set, but it is there.
"Winnow" - the root is wind, vent, to fan. Whe<strong>at</strong> is winnowed from chaff, fanned in the wind.<br />
Escape flight when flushed is zigzag.<br />
Striped chorus frog, Pseudacris triseri<strong>at</strong>a (pseu dack riss). This is the one calling here. They need<br />
ponds of w<strong>at</strong>er for about six weeks, then can live the rest of the year in wet grass.<br />
Kevin says this is one of the best years ever <strong>at</strong> Crow Valley. The wet we<strong>at</strong>her causes a lot of<br />
eastern warblers to wander west.<br />
Africa <strong>1995</strong> starts below
East Africa<br />
Africa <strong>1995</strong><br />
June 15. Left Fort Collins 6:45 a.m. Left Denver on US Air 1104 <strong>at</strong> 10:15 and had a quite long wait<br />
out on the DIA runway because the loaded plane could not cross an incoming traffic lane. We<br />
changed planes in Pittsburgh, although the one we were on was also going to LaGuardia, and<br />
barely made it because of the Denver delay.<br />
There was a fine view of the St<strong>at</strong>ue of Liberty and Manh<strong>at</strong>tan on the way in. We arrived <strong>at</strong><br />
LaGuardia to find th<strong>at</strong> our luggage had remained on the first plane and we had to wait for it. Given<br />
free meal by U.S. Air while we waited. Took Carey limo to JFK and tried to check our bags on<br />
British Airways, to no avail. Spent night <strong>at</strong> JFK Hilton near JFK airport, r<strong>at</strong>her dirty for $97, which<br />
was half price on a frequent flier coupon.<br />
June 16. Friday. Flight to London, He<strong>at</strong>hrow on British Airways 178. Se<strong>at</strong>ed beside us was a<br />
botanist working with Kew Gardens in montane flora in Kenya, though now working mostly out of<br />
a museum/herbarium in Nairobi.<br />
Night <strong>at</strong> Ibis Hotel, £38. They now charge £1 for the courtesy bus!<br />
June 17. S<strong>at</strong>urday. Flight to Nairobi on British Airways 67. There was a spectacular overflight view<br />
of the Sahara Desert. We flew for half an hour with no signs of humans, or of any veget<strong>at</strong>ion. Then<br />
we would fly over perhaps a road or a pipeline, a straight line north-south down the desert, and<br />
another half an hour before sighting anything else.<br />
Then we flew over Lake Nasser, the lake behind the Aswan Dam. This is an enormous lake with<br />
many arms and fingers, starkly there in the middle of the desert. After th<strong>at</strong> more flight over now<br />
fe<strong>at</strong>ureless desert. Then it got dark.<br />
Met <strong>at</strong> Nairobi airport by Chris Michaelides (P. O. Box 48010, Nairobi, Kenya. Phones: 254 2<br />
521042 or 212861 or 212957. Fax 254 2 520358). Taken to Hotel Jacaranda for the night, where<br />
we stayed the next few days. $96 per night, with good breakfast. Michaelides is friend of Eugene<br />
Decker <strong>at</strong> CSU, though Decker no longer leads wildlife seminars in Kenya, considers it too<br />
dangerous. Decker had advised me to use him as a guide; too dangerous to arrive in Nairobi on<br />
my own <strong>at</strong> night. Michaelides is Greek, born in then Tanganyika, or even German East Africa (now<br />
Tanzania) and had farms th<strong>at</strong> were appropri<strong>at</strong>ed and n<strong>at</strong>ionalized. Has a brother in Idaho and<br />
owns lands himself near <strong>Colorado</strong> Springs. He may come to the U.S. next year.<br />
June 18. Sunday. There were Hornbills (species ?) in the tree outside the window, e<strong>at</strong>ing berries.<br />
White necked ravens. Pied crows also. L<strong>at</strong>er, a kite in the hotel yard.<br />
We went to the Greek Orthodox Church (Agioi Anargiri Orthodox Church) with Michaelides and his<br />
wife. About thirty people there, perhaps one third black. Orn<strong>at</strong>e and liturgical. Then Michaelides<br />
took us to the Presbyterian Church, <strong>at</strong> Madaraka. This is in the Africa Evangelical Presbyterian<br />
Church, a conserv<strong>at</strong>ive denomin<strong>at</strong>ion. (P. O. Box 7554, Nairobi. Phone 503807. Heard Tom<br />
Austin preach, much too long a sermon. Afterward met John Shane, Urban Ministries Support<br />
Group, P. O. Box 60875, Nairobi, Kenya. Phone: 254 2 56 4046. Fax 72 16 44. Also met his wife.<br />
She went to King College and was raised in First Presbyterian Church, Kingsport, Tennessee. She<br />
is rel<strong>at</strong>ed to the Professor Be<strong>at</strong>ty who taught German <strong>at</strong> Davidson. She knew Allen Dryden,<br />
architect who built Walnut Grove Church. Shane has edited a Nairobi Networker: A Church
Worker's Directory. He gave me a copy which I subsequently left with Michaelides.<br />
We lunched <strong>at</strong> the China Pl<strong>at</strong>e in a r<strong>at</strong>her more expensive lunch than I preferred. Bought a jar of<br />
mineral w<strong>at</strong>er there and subsequently carried the jug through the rest of Africa.<br />
In the afternoon we went to the Karen Blixen Museum and home. Some of "Out of Africa" was<br />
filmed here. Jane was reading the book during the course of our Kenya travels. Saw the Ngong<br />
Hills, like knuckles on the horizon (which is wh<strong>at</strong> "Ngong" means).<br />
Nairobi means "cool w<strong>at</strong>ers." Nairobi is on the equ<strong>at</strong>or, though it is high, 7,000 feet. Kenya does<br />
not have the European seasons, summer and winter. Instead they speak of long rains (March<br />
through June 15) followed by a cool season (July/August) and then short rains.<br />
"Safari" is Swahili for "journey."<br />
June 19. Monday. In the morning, we visited the United N<strong>at</strong>ions Environment Programme (UNEP)<br />
building outside Nairobi. Nice grounds. Talked to Sylve Campagne, who seemed familiar with the<br />
oper<strong>at</strong>ion there. She does personnel management. There are 242 professional people there, 84<br />
n<strong>at</strong>ionalities. 481 Kenyans work there, largely in general service capacities. They oper<strong>at</strong>e about<br />
170 conferences per year with intern<strong>at</strong>ional persons coming in. Also in this building complex, there<br />
are the UNICEF offices for Kenya. We went there and talked to Dr. Kopano Mukelabai, officer in<br />
charge.<br />
At noon, we went to the <strong>University</strong> of Nairobi to meet Odera Oruka, professor of philosophy. He<br />
has taught philosophy here for 24 years, and does environmental ethics. He has an M.A. from<br />
Wayne St<strong>at</strong>e <strong>University</strong> in the U.S. and a Ph.D. from Uppsala in Sweden. He is increasingly<br />
interested in environmental ethics. His f<strong>at</strong>her had ten wives and 36 children, 18 boys and 18 girls.<br />
He was born in 1944. Had lunch with him on the p<strong>at</strong>io of the United Kenya Club.<br />
After lunch, I toured the library, with a r<strong>at</strong>her old philosophy collection and lots of religion books.<br />
They seemed mostly hand-me downs from clergymen and missionaries. None of my books were<br />
in the card c<strong>at</strong>alog but daddy's commentary on the pastoral epistles was! The bookstore was<br />
closed for renov<strong>at</strong>ions.<br />
We met two of Oruka's students:<br />
F. Ochieng'-ODhiambo. Tall, he was my guide through the library.<br />
P<strong>at</strong>rick M. Dikirr, doing his Ph.D. in environmental ethics.<br />
The black buses here are "m<strong>at</strong><strong>at</strong>us" from the word for "three." The ride was once three shillings.<br />
At my request we drove through River Street, a seedy and raucous business district.<br />
We visited the St. Andrew's Church, originally a Scottish Presbyterian Church and now in the<br />
Presbyterian Church of East Africa. This is the mainstream Presbyterian Church here, r<strong>at</strong>her than<br />
the evangelical one to which we were taken yesterday.<br />
June 20. Tuesday. Went to Post Office.<br />
We visited the East African Wildlife Society (2nd floor, Museum Hill Centre. Mailing address: P. O.
6<br />
Box 20110, Nairobi, Kenya. Phone 748170. Fax 746868). Michaelides is a member of this society.<br />
Talked to Aaran Eric T. Hanha, membership officer, and Diana Sigei. They have 7,000 individuals<br />
and 300 corpor<strong>at</strong>ions as members, about 3,000 are East Africans. Their membership turnover in<br />
a decade is about 13,000. Membership in U.S. $ is 38. Their main public<strong>at</strong>ion is Swara (the<br />
Swahili for impala), and they print 10,000 copies. They also publish, through Blackwells, a scientific<br />
journal, the African Journal of Ecology.<br />
7.8% of Kenya is wildlife sanctuaries by area. Kenya had a popul<strong>at</strong>ion of 6.5 million in 1963 <strong>at</strong> the<br />
time of independence. In <strong>1995</strong> the popul<strong>at</strong>ion is 24 million. The biggest challenge is wildlife/people<br />
interactions, but no longer poaching.<br />
We left, to go to Kenya Wildlife Services. En route, <strong>at</strong> our request, we drove through a nicer black<br />
subdivision, and there were stalls/shops on the way in. Jane talked with women in a sewing<br />
machine stall.<br />
We continued to Kenya Wildlife Services. Talked to Joe Kioko. Their offices are <strong>at</strong> the g<strong>at</strong>es of the<br />
Nairobi N<strong>at</strong>ional Park. Richard Leakey had these buildings built. He was dram<strong>at</strong>ic in the wildlife<br />
service, stopped poaching, and has since been forced out. But the service has not much changed,<br />
according to Kioko. Again, their biggest problem is not poaching but wildlife/people interactions.<br />
The Masai people do not e<strong>at</strong> wild game. They think God gave the cows to them. Th<strong>at</strong> is why some<br />
of the best sanctuaries are in Masai country.<br />
African pied wagtail about the grounds here.<br />
Nappia grass. Many were carrying bundles of it about to feed their c<strong>at</strong>tle. Ground squirrel, seen<br />
about the grounds here.<br />
The Rift Valley in Kenya is the same geological form<strong>at</strong>ion as in Israel. This valley runs 8,700 km.<br />
from Israel and the Dead Sea to Mozambique.<br />
Mt. Kenya is the only place in the world where there is snow on the equ<strong>at</strong>or.<br />
Tourism is the largest foreign exchange industry.<br />
We lunched in a pizza place in a very nice, brand new shopping center.<br />
Continued to the PCEA Kikuyu hospital. This is about 50 km. north of Nairobi in a quite rural area,<br />
somewh<strong>at</strong> past the village of Kikuyu. Hospital is spread out in a number of one-story buildings,<br />
looking as much like a conference ground or camp as a hospital. No sooner had we walked on the<br />
grounds than Stan Topple walked by, the head physician here, with whom I was in Davidson<br />
College, over forty years ago, and I could still recognize him. Dr. Stan Topple, PCEA Kikuyu<br />
Hospital, P. O. Box 45, Kikuyu, Kenya. Fax 254 154 32413. He is the surgeon here, especially for<br />
orthopaedic surgery. He was in Korea many years, has been here six years or so, along with his<br />
wife, who is a derm<strong>at</strong>ologist, and Norwegian, Mia Topple. He met her in Korea. He has found<br />
especially important the support of the Medical Benevolence Found<strong>at</strong>ion, Houston, TX. He gave<br />
us a tour of the hospital. We walked through one of the p<strong>at</strong>ients' and children's wards. There is<br />
a lot of club foot in African children; he thinks it is the result of inbreeding.<br />
As we left, met Glen James Hallead, coming up from Nairobi. We were l<strong>at</strong>er to see him <strong>at</strong> Mt.<br />
Kenya Country Club. He coordin<strong>at</strong>es visitors from the U.S. They have had perhaps 100 so far this
7<br />
year.<br />
Leaving the hospital complex, we went to see the nearby Church of the Torch. This is a large,<br />
Gothic church, somewh<strong>at</strong> curiously placed on this rural African landscape. We met coming out a<br />
man named John Ngethe (Kikuyu Nursery of the Primary School, Box 198, Kikuyu, Kenya). He was<br />
a teacher, is now clerk of session in the church. We walked with him to the old church, white, built<br />
in 1908 or so. Then we went to a nearby school with small children and visited several classrooms.<br />
They have few or no m<strong>at</strong>erials to work with and no electricity.<br />
Returned to Nairobi, stopping <strong>at</strong> a coffee plant<strong>at</strong>ion on the way back. Some donkeys seen along<br />
the way. Then we went to Chris Michaelides' home for tea. A buffalo skull and horns is on the<br />
outside of the house, this one nearly killed him. He shot two buffalo th<strong>at</strong> were giving trouble in crop<br />
fields and tracked one of them into the woods. It charged and he pushed its horns down and was<br />
thrown entirely over it.<br />
Inside, he showed us a python skin, some 16 feet long. This too nearly killed him. It got him and<br />
was squeezing him, even though he shot its head up. A friend helped him get out. He had one<br />
broken rib from the squeezing. We called home and got Shonny from here.<br />
On returning to the hotel, the kiosk shops th<strong>at</strong> were nearby had been torn down.<br />
June 21. Wednesday. Breakfast <strong>at</strong> the Jacaranda Hotel. Stored luggage there, then took taxi to<br />
the Norfolk Hotel. Checked in. We were soon called for a briefing <strong>at</strong> 10.00 a.m.<br />
Tour members:<br />
Dorothy Minnucci, 305 Ferris Lane, New Britain, PA 189091.<br />
Jerry Minnucci, 1682 Caminito Playa, Glendale, CA 91208. Her son-in-law, who often travels with<br />
her. He is in television motion pictures.<br />
P<strong>at</strong> Jubb, 3455 Hartsock Ln, <strong>Colorado</strong> Springs, CO 80917. Her husband, formerly, was in the navy.<br />
Retired in <strong>Colorado</strong> Springs.<br />
Susie Wittier, 10385 Raygor Road, <strong>Colorado</strong> Springs, CO 80908. Schoolteacher, doing mostly<br />
guidance.<br />
The Norfolk hotel opened Christmas in 1904. Teddy Roosevelt, when ex-president in 1909 left the<br />
Norfolk on the biggest safari ever to leave here, 500 porters. He went through Uganda, Kenya, the<br />
then Belgian Congo, and the Sudan. He was gone several months.<br />
Then we walked around to a bookstore, Text Book Centre to which Michaelides had earlier taken<br />
us, very good bookstore. I bought the Serengeti book, Savage Paradise, and mailed it home. It<br />
cost as much to mail it as to buy it. Back to hotel room for lunch.<br />
Then we walked to town and browsed shops. The town is full of shops with lots of hawkers trying<br />
to sell safaris to you. I bought a broad-brim h<strong>at</strong>. Back <strong>at</strong> hotel, I phoned CSU philosophy dept.<br />
June 22, Thursday. Our tour guide is Abraham, or Ibrahim. We drove north in a good minibus.<br />
Passed Keny<strong>at</strong>ta <strong>University</strong>, on the edge of Nairobi. Drove by lots of pineapple plant<strong>at</strong>ions, owned
8<br />
by Del Monte. In the wetland area is papyrus, and various people had cut this and had it for sale<br />
roadside. Saw passion fruit, a vine.<br />
Somewh<strong>at</strong> surprisingly, American maize, corn, is grown everywhere. It was all over Nairobi in the<br />
idle ground between the roads and the fences, and is here in gre<strong>at</strong> fields, as well as planted on<br />
road cuts, etc. People along the roadside roast it and have it for sale. Also there are mango trees.<br />
Banana trees are everywhere, but I saw surprisingly little in fruit, though bananas are everywhere<br />
for sale.<br />
We reached Aberdare Country Club. Lunch. Lovely country club on hillside setting. Treetops is<br />
reached from here, which is inside Aberdare N<strong>at</strong>ional Park, where people view wildlife (here<br />
commonly called "game") from an elev<strong>at</strong>ed lodge, even sipping cocktails as they view game baited<br />
to come in for the evening. You have to go in with a four-wheel drive and a guide. Various people<br />
here went but we did not go, presuming we will see more wild game l<strong>at</strong>er. It was <strong>at</strong> Treetops th<strong>at</strong><br />
Queen Elizabeth learned th<strong>at</strong> she was Queen of the United Kingdom, her f<strong>at</strong>her having died the<br />
night before.<br />
We took a n<strong>at</strong>ure walk in the afternoon on the Aberdare game reserve. African pied wag-tail.<br />
Bronze sunbird. Hunter's sunbird. Ring dove. Heard but hardly saw, more than a flurry in the<br />
bush, suni, a pygmy antelope. Tropical boubou. Down the trail, the forest opened up into an field<br />
where the wildlife was more visible. Reticul<strong>at</strong>ed giraffe, an unusual species here, not the common<br />
giraffe elsewhere in Africa. The common giraffe have white lines th<strong>at</strong> end without contacting any<br />
other lines but this one is "reticul<strong>at</strong>ed," th<strong>at</strong> is, all the white lines join another white line for a more<br />
defined or geometrical effect.<br />
Also seen here: Burchell's zebra. Jackson's hartebeest. Impala. Warthogs; their tail goes straight<br />
up in the air when alarmed. Grant's gazelles. Thomson's gazelles. Thomson's gazelles are<br />
smaller than Grant's, Grant's is smaller than an impala, which is not all th<strong>at</strong> big itself. Thomson's<br />
have tails th<strong>at</strong> twitch all the time, and a broad black band along the flank. Grant's have a white strip<br />
th<strong>at</strong> goes way up the rump, which is not on impala, also Grant's have less curved horns than the<br />
impala.<br />
Also seen here: Ostrich, there is now only one here. Earlier, they had 6-7 but these gave trouble<br />
with tourists. Dusky flyc<strong>at</strong>cher. Cinnamon breasted bee-e<strong>at</strong>er. On the trail on the way back, safari<br />
ants. Fiscal shrike. White-eyed sl<strong>at</strong>y flyc<strong>at</strong>cher. Black-headed heron. Speckled mousebird (looks<br />
somewh<strong>at</strong> mousey and reminds people of a mouse the way it works around a tree). Blue-thro<strong>at</strong>ed<br />
sunbird. Blue-eyed glossy starling. On the way back, near the servants' quarters, there were<br />
common r<strong>at</strong>s about, out toward the golf course.<br />
L<strong>at</strong>er, in the evening, returned to the golf course area briefly. Hadada ibis (spelled Hadeda in South<br />
Africa book). L<strong>at</strong>er we were to see lots of these, with one of the most familiar calls in certain parts<br />
of Africa. Ha-ha-ha-dah-ha. Noisy in flight.<br />
Jacaranda mimosofolia is in the Bigoniaceae, from Brazil.<br />
Sisal is Agave sisalana, from Mexico.<br />
There are nicely landscaped grounds here, with various imported plants. Seen here:<br />
Moonflower or Angel's trumpet, D<strong>at</strong>ura suaveolens, from Mexico.
9<br />
Bougainvillaea. Many kinds, all with three colored bracts subtending three inconspicuous flowers.<br />
Originally from Brazil, found in Rio de Janeiro by Bouganville.<br />
Hibiscus. Yellow anthers and red stamens. From China.<br />
Bird of paradise (flower). Strelitzia reginae, from South America.<br />
In the countryside about, lots of thorn trees. Fl<strong>at</strong> topped Acacia, 42 species in Kenya.<br />
July 22. Thursday.<br />
I took alone an early morning walk back down the game trail. Hartlaub's turaco (toor rah ko), seen<br />
quite nicely. This is the bird on the rear of the Collins Birds of East Africa.<br />
We left Aberdare, drove to Mt. Kenya Country Club. Thomson's gazelles. Lots of whe<strong>at</strong> fields.<br />
Reached village of Naro Moru; this is the base for climbing Mount Kenya, which is 17,058 feet in<br />
elev<strong>at</strong>ion.<br />
Went to a market on the equ<strong>at</strong>or, with so much hassle from people selling things th<strong>at</strong> it was no fun.<br />
Long-tailed widowbird, with spectacular tail. Several seen from the van. Tail is so oversized you<br />
would think it a burden in flight. But it <strong>at</strong>tracts females. When researchers glued more fe<strong>at</strong>hers to<br />
a male's tale, more females were <strong>at</strong>tracted to nests in its territory. But they jettison the tails after<br />
breeding season.<br />
We reached Mt. Kenya Safari Club about noon; this is also on the equ<strong>at</strong>or. There are birds all over<br />
the lawn and lake. Marabou storks, quite large with air sacs. Egyptian geese. Sacred Ibis; sacred<br />
in Egypt, where it is now extinct (!), but still present here. Black-headed herons. Grey herons.<br />
Hooded vulture. One exotic here: the Saras crane from India.<br />
We stayed in a r<strong>at</strong>her nice cabin some walk away from the dining hall. Servants built a fire <strong>at</strong> night.<br />
This is high enough in elev<strong>at</strong>ion to be cool <strong>at</strong> nights.<br />
Bird walk in afternoon, <strong>at</strong> 4.30. Speckled mousebird. Fiscal shrike. I couldn't trace out the origin<br />
of "fiscal" here. By one account "fiscal" went back to fisk, a public prosecutor, and was taken to<br />
mean "hangman" from the shrike's hanging lizards on thorns, though by another account the shrike<br />
has lots of lizards in the bank and is "fiscally" well off.<br />
Yellow-billed duck, on the pond.<br />
Reichnow's weaver. Yellow. Weavers are about like finches, though they have ten r<strong>at</strong>her than nine<br />
primaries. Both are seed e<strong>at</strong>ers with large bills. This is a large bird group in Africa. Finches build<br />
open nests. With weavers the male builds the nest, while the female sings. The nest is a domed<br />
structure, with an opening <strong>at</strong> the side, top, or bottom. Then the male sees whether the female likes<br />
the nest; if not he has to build another! They are colonial and acacia trees are frequent here laden<br />
with weavers' nests.<br />
Hadada ibis. Bottlebrush tree, with red hanging flowers. Wild Ipomaea, like a purple morning glory.
10<br />
African lily. On one jacaranda tree, a branch was in flower. African greenheart tree. Canna lily,<br />
which is orange red. Lantana, with yellow flower. Olive thrush, like an American robin, and thrushlike<br />
call. Mexican weeping pine (Pinus p<strong>at</strong>ula). Bamboo. African cedar, like a cedar. African wild<br />
olive, Olea africana, which often has ant's nests made of mud in it. Blue-eyed glossy starling. Bluethro<strong>at</strong>ed<br />
brown sunbird. White-eyed sl<strong>at</strong>y flyc<strong>at</strong>cher. Mosque swallow; brown below, forked tail.<br />
Black rough-wing swallow. Gallinsoga, the same weed we have in the U.S. Thorn tree, Acacia.<br />
Acacias are preferred by elephants, who e<strong>at</strong> the trunk bark. Umbrella acacia, which giraffes prefer,<br />
with leaves they can e<strong>at</strong> on the top. Tacanthes camfereta, whitish leaves, mostly on savanna<br />
grassland. Robin ch<strong>at</strong>, seen well in deep brush. Olive pigeon, with yellow beak and yellow rings<br />
around eye. C<strong>at</strong>tail swamp. Black crake, like a gallinule, seen well walking on w<strong>at</strong>er lilies.<br />
Northern double collared sunbird. Tacasse sunbird, very black. Streaky seede<strong>at</strong>er, like a sparrow.<br />
Podo tree, somewh<strong>at</strong> pine like.<br />
Tropical boubou, really a shrike, same genus, with a call like a mockingbird, and a gurgle sound.<br />
Little grebe, swimming on a pond where we hoped to see fish eagle and kingfishers, but did not.<br />
Silky oak. Grevillea robusta. Parasitic fern in wild olive.<br />
Yellow-vented bulbul. (Note th<strong>at</strong> there is both a boubou and a bulbul, seen here moments apart.)<br />
This is like a thrush. Also called black-capped, or common bulbul. Often in gardens and one of the<br />
commonest birds in Africa. With a yellow p<strong>at</strong>ch under tail, where it vents. There is only one bulbul<br />
here, lots more in South Africa.<br />
Stinging nettle.<br />
Moi <strong>University</strong>, <strong>at</strong> Eldoret has a program in wildlife conserv<strong>at</strong>ion.<br />
My guide is Sammy Ole Ntete, Mount Kenya Safari Club, P. O. Box 35, Nanyuki. He hopes to study<br />
wildlife conserv<strong>at</strong>ion; was a guide <strong>at</strong> Masai Mara, but took this job instead, where he can make<br />
more money and go back to school.<br />
June 21, S<strong>at</strong>urday. Samburu Game Reserve.<br />
There were lots of whe<strong>at</strong> fields on way north. Lots of acacia trees with weaver nests. We reached<br />
Isiolo, a town, where the good blacktop road stops. The road thereafter is quite rough and<br />
Abraham drove r<strong>at</strong>her too fast. There is a mosque in Isiolo; most of the people here are Muslims.<br />
Eventually, we turned off the main road on north, which goes to Ethiopia, getting rougher as it does<br />
(so Abraham said). We turned onto a still rougher dirt road.<br />
We visited a Samburu village. The Samburu in northern Kenya are a tribe closely rel<strong>at</strong>ed to the<br />
Masai in southern and western Kenya. They keep lots of c<strong>at</strong>tle in semi-arid areas, vener<strong>at</strong>e the<br />
cows and have taboos against e<strong>at</strong>ing wild animals, which is one of the reasons th<strong>at</strong> wildlife<br />
sanctuaries succeed in their areas. They separ<strong>at</strong>ed from the Masai about 200 years ago.<br />
We reached the Samburu Game Reserve. The reserve is arid country alongside the Ewago Ngiro<br />
River, a through river.<br />
Yellow-necked spurfowl, r<strong>at</strong>her like a francolin.
11<br />
Gerenuk - a very long necked antelope, giraffe-necked antelope. Several seen well here, and<br />
nowhere l<strong>at</strong>er on the trip.<br />
Oryx. Several seen<br />
Grevy's zebra<br />
Nile crocodile, several in river<br />
Olive baboons, frequent during the day<br />
Tawny eagle<br />
impala, many of them<br />
Grant's gazelle (first pix here)<br />
warthogs<br />
superb starling, quite a striking bird<br />
impala male in shade (pix)<br />
dik-dik (pix). Lots seen here in Samburu and few seen l<strong>at</strong>er on the trip.<br />
gerenuk, more of them<br />
dik-dik (and better pix in sun)<br />
dik-dik, two, one in the shade<br />
impala, one male in sun, in a group of two dozen<br />
1 vervet monkey (pix)<br />
2 vervet monkeys grooming on log (pix)<br />
w<strong>at</strong>erbuck. These were first seen here, often seen l<strong>at</strong>er in Africa. Dark brown, shaggy, with a white<br />
ring (a "target") around its rump. (pix, and better pix l<strong>at</strong>er).<br />
Leopard. Seen in tree; we could make out the silhouette and the black spots clearly, though it was<br />
a dense tree. This was my first leopard, and we were only to see one other l<strong>at</strong>er (and much better)<br />
in the Serengeti (see l<strong>at</strong>er). (pix). This is the first of the African big c<strong>at</strong>s for me, but lions were to<br />
come a few minutes l<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
Lions! Very soon after, eleven lions, four females and the rest cubs. Lots of pix and changed film<br />
here. They had no fear of the vehicle and came right by; we listened to the sound of their feet<br />
hitting the sand. They roamed around a bit, then g<strong>at</strong>hered in the shade of a tree not far way. We<br />
were the only vehicle in the vicinity.<br />
This makes the big five for me; In 1990, I saw elephant, and buffalo <strong>at</strong> Addo, one buffalo only on<br />
the night drive there. I saw two white rhino <strong>at</strong> Tembe in South Africa. But I saw the two big c<strong>at</strong>s<br />
here within a half an hour. Lots of lion seen subsequently, but only one more leopard.<br />
Baboons in tree.<br />
Elephants in the river. This was a splendid sight with a good sized group, wading across river, then<br />
wallowing in mud on the other side. They were some distance away, but you could hear them in the<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
Lunch. There is a lodge to stay in here also. There were red-billed hornbills, which had to be
chased away from the lunch area. Others seen l<strong>at</strong>er; they are common in dry river beds.<br />
After lunch, oryx, seen several times.<br />
Giraffes (pix)<br />
Elephants (pix)<br />
Ground squirrel<br />
W<strong>at</strong>erbuck (pix in good light)<br />
Crowned plover<br />
Hooded vulture<br />
Vulturine guineafowl (pix)<br />
Ostrich - maybe 12 seen; these are wild. We had passed an ostrich farm earlier in the day.<br />
12<br />
Drove back to Mt. Kenya Safari Club. Fl<strong>at</strong> tire on the way.<br />
We saw various camels along the way; they are raised here and sold out of the country, often in<br />
Arabia, and Arabians may own the ranches on which they are raised here.<br />
I jogged around the grounds.<br />
June 25, Sunday.<br />
I took, alone, an early morning walk in the area walked with the n<strong>at</strong>uralist on Friday. Anhinga <strong>at</strong> the<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er's edge. Mountain wagtail, walking on w<strong>at</strong>er lilies, a pair. Wagtails are r<strong>at</strong>her like pipits in the<br />
U.S., which also wag their tails. Some of the same birds seen Friday, seen again; good look <strong>at</strong><br />
robin ch<strong>at</strong> especially.<br />
The room tariff posted <strong>at</strong> the Safari club is full board, $ 438 per day! But probably not many of the<br />
tour groups actually pay anything like this.<br />
We drove to Sweetw<strong>at</strong>ers Camp, and had a game drive on the way in. This is a priv<strong>at</strong>e game<br />
reserve, in the Laikipia area, not far from Mt. Kenya, which is quite visible from here. We were in<br />
a tented camp, th<strong>at</strong> is, a fancy tent with a permanent b<strong>at</strong>h <strong>at</strong> the back, but you do sleep under<br />
canvas and a th<strong>at</strong>ched roof. Across the way was a w<strong>at</strong>erhole to which game variously came. An<br />
electric fence, inconspicuously buried in a recessed trench kept the animals out. The camp<br />
gener<strong>at</strong>es its own electricity, 240 volts, and the electricity is only on for part of the evening.<br />
Seen during the drive on the way in:<br />
Burchell's zebra, the common zebra (pix)<br />
Black rhino in captivity. (pix)<br />
Rabbit, or hare<br />
Thomson's gazelle (pix of a group <strong>at</strong> some distance)<br />
Checked in. Lunch<br />
Rothschild's giraffe (pix <strong>at</strong> w<strong>at</strong>erhole)<br />
Candelabra tree, Euphorbia candelabra, the "cactus" like tree. Leafless.<br />
Acacia xanthophloea, the Fever tree. Early Europeans associ<strong>at</strong>ed it with malaria, since it grows<br />
by w<strong>at</strong>er, with mosquitoes, <strong>at</strong> a time when the associ<strong>at</strong>ion between malaria and mosquitoes was<br />
not yet known.
13<br />
I took a bird walk on my own, as the n<strong>at</strong>uralist was too expensive.<br />
Blacksmith plover. The call, a tink, tink, tink, is said to be like the sound of a blacksmith hitting an<br />
anvil.<br />
Yellow-billed stork<br />
Superb starling<br />
White bellied go-away bird (a turaco), nicely seen perched on a bare limb. Large crest, grey, and<br />
white, long tail.<br />
Yellow-necked spurfowl (a francolin)<br />
Golden-breasted bunting<br />
Black-winged plover<br />
There are 19 black rhinos on the reserve. All the indigenous rhinos in Kenya were black, though<br />
some whites have now been sent to Kenya from South Africa.<br />
There are 60 elephants here, on an experimental basis for family planning.<br />
An eland came in to drink <strong>at</strong> the w<strong>at</strong>erhole.<br />
Senegal plover<br />
Scarlet-chested sunbird<br />
baboons <strong>at</strong> the edge of camp<br />
In l<strong>at</strong>e evening, we took a dusk and night game drive:<br />
zebras<br />
elephants<br />
some kind of eagle<br />
jackal - black-backed, running across the road<br />
Grant's gazelle<br />
giraffes<br />
w<strong>at</strong>erbuck<br />
Jackson's hartebeest<br />
Bushbaby (Galago) - hardly seen, just eyes in the dark. But this was the only such occasion on<br />
the trip. This is a lower prim<strong>at</strong>e, or prosimian, with large ears, gre<strong>at</strong>ly elong<strong>at</strong>ed hind limbs, and<br />
long tail. Active <strong>at</strong> night. Call said to be like a human baby. (call is on Calls of the Bushveld tape.)<br />
Serval, a slender, long-legged c<strong>at</strong> (genus Felis), seen briefly in the dark. Again, the only such<br />
occasion on the trip. About the size of a house c<strong>at</strong> with extra long legs.<br />
Spotted hyena, seen reasonably well in the dark. Lots of hyena seen l<strong>at</strong>er in the trip. (British<br />
spelling - hyaena)<br />
buffalo. Two seen pretty well in the dark. So far I have not seen a buffalo by day, but more were<br />
to come l<strong>at</strong>er in the trip.<br />
June 26, Monday. We drove back to Nairobi and took the flight to Masa Mara.<br />
There was a lovely view of Mt. Kenya from the tent in the early morning. The mountain tended to<br />
become cloudy during in the day, but was clear in the early mornings.
14<br />
Lilac breasted roller. Stunning bird. Called a roller from a flight display where it circles around with<br />
a gre<strong>at</strong> drop and around and up again.<br />
On the way driving out of the reserve:<br />
troop of baboons<br />
elephants.<br />
We Drove back to Nairobi, and returned to Norfolk Hotel, to leave luggage, since we could only take<br />
33 pounds on the Masa Mara flight.<br />
Lunch <strong>at</strong> the Carnivore Restaurant. I <strong>at</strong>e zebra, ostrich, and crocodile.<br />
Short drive to Wilson airport, and about an hour's flight west to an airstrip serving the Mara Safari<br />
Club. Met by guide there; his name is Naftali.<br />
There was a troop of fifty baboons along roadside on the way in to the lodge, with lots of small ones<br />
in the troop.<br />
The lodge is a tented lodge overlooking the river, which has hippos in it.<br />
The lodge gener<strong>at</strong>es its own power. There is solar hot w<strong>at</strong>er, but it is only hot in the early evening.<br />
There is no phone service here, though they have emergency radio contact with the outside. They<br />
can talk to planes coming in bringing their guests.<br />
We took a game drive from 4.00 to 6.30 p.m. The area we are in is not really in the n<strong>at</strong>ional park,<br />
but to the north of it. According to the locals, nevertheless, this is where the game currently is. This<br />
is the Ol-Choro-Orowa Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion area, another spelling is Ol Choro Oiroua, actually a priv<strong>at</strong>e<br />
ranch. "Siringet" --this is the Masai name for the area, means an endless plain. The border was<br />
closed in 1977, and Masa Mara developed as a tourist <strong>at</strong>traction only after th<strong>at</strong>. Earlier guides were<br />
oper<strong>at</strong>ing out of Kenya and Tanzania was not making any money off the tourists, even though most<br />
of the Serengeti is in Tanzania.<br />
zebra (pix)<br />
topi (pix). We first saw topi here, a handsome animal, lots of reddish blue color.<br />
Wildebeest.<br />
Thomson's gazelle. Several hundred<br />
Grant's gazelle. Several dozen.<br />
Crowned plover<br />
White-bellied bustard<br />
Black-backed jackal (pix).<br />
The highlight of the evening was a mother cheetah with four cubs. She was resting on a little raised<br />
mound, in a marvelous pose. She did not seem to mind several vans around her, though they had<br />
all to stay on one side.<br />
impala<br />
old male elephant<br />
giraffe, the common one, though they here called it the Masa giraffe. Some white lines do not<br />
connect.
15<br />
francolins<br />
egret, unidentified<br />
eland<br />
zebra<br />
helmeted guinea fowl<br />
ground hornbill, a big one with red face and thro<strong>at</strong> w<strong>at</strong>tles.<br />
The wild dog is extremely rare here, and any sightings are to be reported.<br />
June 27, Tuesday. Occupied all day with three game drives <strong>at</strong> Masa Mara.<br />
Up <strong>at</strong> 6.00 a.m. and out. Grant's gazelles, bustard, zebra, 24 eland, with a three months old baby<br />
one. 5 giraffes. 3 elephants. Topi. Black-headed heron. Superb starlings. Lion and lioness. Topi<br />
(pix). Wildebeest (pix). Thomson's gazelles. Eland. Black-backed jackal. 5 giraffes. Goshawk.<br />
Warthogs. Baboons. Eland. Lion. Back in for breakfast.<br />
Another drive <strong>at</strong> 10.00 a.m. There are 1.4 million wildebeest here, 200,000 zebras, 700,000<br />
Thomson's gazelles. There are 26 herbivores, 20 carnivores, 4 prim<strong>at</strong>es. The short rains are<br />
November through December. The long rains are February through May. Rare here are: leopard,<br />
roan antelope, rhino, wild dog. The wildebeest popul<strong>at</strong>ion is up five times since the 1900's when<br />
they were first counted, then presumably decim<strong>at</strong>ed by rinderpest, introduced by colonial c<strong>at</strong>tle.<br />
When removed from the c<strong>at</strong>tle it disappeared from the wildebeest.<br />
There is a famous migr<strong>at</strong>ion, really a big sort of circular movement, though the exact routes taken<br />
vary from year to year. December through May the wildebeest are in the Masa Mara. June and<br />
July they move to the northwest Serengeti, and by August through November they are far south in<br />
the Serengeti. This is essentially a migr<strong>at</strong>ion following where the food is, or where they sense food<br />
might be; they seem to follow thunder and rain clouds. An individual wildebeest may walk 3,000<br />
km. One gets different answers about which month to see them where. There really isn't a<br />
beginning and an ending to the migr<strong>at</strong>ion; they are always moving. About 1.25 million wildebeest<br />
migr<strong>at</strong>e. About .25 million will die during the migr<strong>at</strong>ion. About .5 million calves will be born <strong>at</strong> the<br />
same time, and only about half the calves will make it.<br />
The wildebeest all drop their calves about the same time, l<strong>at</strong>e-January through mid-March. This<br />
is thought to be a protection against pred<strong>at</strong>ors, which can only take so many and then are too<br />
glutted to e<strong>at</strong> more. The calves are often separ<strong>at</strong>ed from their mothers and lost. But other mothers,<br />
who have lost their calves, will not adopt them.<br />
Hyenas are far the most numerous pred<strong>at</strong>or, there are perhaps 3,000 on the Serengeti-Masai/Mara.<br />
Continuing, mid-day game drive:<br />
51 hippos<br />
b<strong>at</strong>aleur eagle<br />
topi<br />
large herd of impala<br />
The guide took us in to see some protected white rhinos, brought in from South Africa. Armed<br />
guards around them. There are now eight here; there were ten. Two became ill and were sent<br />
back for tre<strong>at</strong>ment. In a pen was a female with a three week old calf.
16<br />
There were 500 black rhinos in the Serengeti-Mara in decades past, now all are gone except for<br />
30 or so.<br />
12 eland, with yellow-billed oxpecker (pix)<br />
40-50 zebras<br />
helmeted guinea fowl<br />
There was not too much moving around in the middle of the day.<br />
Kenya has the richest avifauna in Africa and the third richest in the world.<br />
Return to camp.<br />
Long-crested eagle. Seen perched over the river from the tent site, before lunch.<br />
The most common grass is Red O<strong>at</strong> Grass, Themeda trianda. The most common tree is Acacia<br />
gerrardii.<br />
Afternoon game drive:<br />
secretary birds (pix of these)<br />
30 crowned cranes (pix of these)<br />
little egret<br />
lilac breasted roller<br />
5 lions<br />
1 male with 2 females<br />
1 male with 1 female<br />
Pretty steady rain developed; we had to put the top on, then w<strong>at</strong>ched the lion and lioness in a hard<br />
rain.<br />
wildebeest - couple hundred<br />
Thomson's gazelle<br />
impala<br />
(I changed film here, in the midst of trying to photography a sleeping hyena, and left the back open<br />
by accident. Re-loaded and went forward 5-6 frames. I was confused by the fact th<strong>at</strong> my cable<br />
release was broken and <strong>at</strong> first I did not realize wh<strong>at</strong> was the m<strong>at</strong>ter.)<br />
Hyena (pix)<br />
Cheetah. Mother and 3 cubs. W<strong>at</strong>ched them in the rain (pix). Apparently not the same as the<br />
one with four cubs seen yesterday.<br />
Hyena (pix)<br />
Augur buzzard, perched in tree. Face p<strong>at</strong>tern like a falcon.<br />
Return to camp. Slides of the Maasai shown th<strong>at</strong> night.<br />
July 28. Wednesday. Drizzling rain <strong>at</strong> first.<br />
Early morning ride. 10 lions.
17<br />
2 males, old males<br />
3 females, with cubs.<br />
The darker the mane, the older the lion.<br />
Another pride, with 11 lions, young males (pix).<br />
elephants<br />
zebras<br />
Thomson's gazelles<br />
Cheetah and 3 cubs, presumably the same one seen before.<br />
Hundreds of Thomson's gazelles.<br />
Topi.<br />
Many antelope like the short grass areas, where they are safer. Tall grass hides lions and<br />
pred<strong>at</strong>ors.<br />
3 hyena<br />
1 hyena asleep<br />
wildebeest, several hundred.<br />
500 Thomson's gazelles.<br />
Male and female lion.<br />
2 black backed jackals (pix)<br />
2 secretary birds.<br />
Then we went back to camp and checked out; and were taken to the airstrip about midday. We<br />
waited some time <strong>at</strong> the airstrip for the plane. The plane is a Twin-Otter, made by De Haviland in<br />
Canada, a subsidiary owned by Boeing. On the flight back in some areas two-thirds of the<br />
landscape was planted in maize.<br />
We flew back and returned to Norfolk hotel. We toured downtown with two women from Texas.<br />
I tried to buy a cable release, which had broken; none available.<br />
We had a tour of the N<strong>at</strong>ional Museum. I made a tour of the snake pit; Jane did not. Shonny<br />
phoned. Henrietta phoned, from CSU.<br />
July 29, Thursday. Trip to Tanzania begins, trip to Arusha and Lake Manyara.<br />
We had a fine breakfast served early in the room, because we had to leave too early to get the<br />
ordinary breakfast. Left 7.15 to drive south.<br />
There is more industry on the south side of Nairobi. The first part of the drive is the same as the
18<br />
Mombasa road. Then we took the Arusha road, blacktop though with a good many potholes in it.<br />
The elev<strong>at</strong>ion lowers and the country dries out. There is grassland and waist-high acacia trees.<br />
Lots of it seems uninhabited, though there are occasional houses. We reached the town of Kaijado,<br />
by now there are many full-sized acacia trees. More go<strong>at</strong> and c<strong>at</strong>tle herds. This is Masai country.<br />
ostrich<br />
genet - seen killed on roadside, common genet<br />
2nd genet, killed<br />
striking termite mounds here.<br />
Further south, there are mountains on both sides of the road, the Nmarga mountains.<br />
Reached the border and transferred vans. A crazy border crossing with people, on the Kenya side,<br />
pushing from every side to sell you something. The new guide is Peter Neema, the van is a Nissan<br />
van, with Ranger Safaris, oper<strong>at</strong>ing out of Arusha. He was our guide throughout the Tanzania tour<br />
and we were the only ones in the vehicle. Peter Neema, Box 10108, Arusha, Tanzania.<br />
Tanzania was German East Africa prior to World War I, then made a British mand<strong>at</strong>e, called<br />
Tanganyika from 1920 on, from WW I until its independence in 1962. When it combined with<br />
Zanzibar, l<strong>at</strong>er in the 1960's, it took the name Tanzania. Zanzibar was since 1890 a British<br />
protector<strong>at</strong>e. Julius Nyere was first president, president for 20 years, committed to radical<br />
socialism, always in the forefront of African liber<strong>at</strong>ion struggles. He toler<strong>at</strong>ed little dissent and, <strong>at</strong><br />
the same time th<strong>at</strong> Tanzania harbored many exiles from elsewhere in Africa, Tanzanian jails<br />
sometimes held more political prisoners than did South Africa. The country has remained generally<br />
poor, getting worse, and socialism is still the rhetoric, capitalism increasingly the practice, although<br />
it is mostly a n<strong>at</strong>ion of small farmers.<br />
Tsetse flies made most of central and southern Tanzania unsuitable for agriculture and stock and<br />
the British mostly neglected it.<br />
Continuing, driving south to Arusha. The road on the Tanzania side is better than on the Kenya<br />
side. More arid country, still Masai country. More donkeys.<br />
dik-dik<br />
reached village of Longido<br />
6 zebra (pix)<br />
pale chanting goshawk, on ground, nicely seen<br />
Masai with their c<strong>at</strong>tle<br />
Mt. Meru, seen in distance, above the clouds. This is itself a considerable mountain, 4,556 meters<br />
or 14,943 feet, which is higher than anything in <strong>Colorado</strong>. This in Arusha N<strong>at</strong>ional Park, and a<br />
volcano, with a cr<strong>at</strong>er and a cliff face of 1,500 meters. (This is not to be confused with another Mt.<br />
Meru in northern Kenya, not far from Mt. Kenya, where George and Joy Adamson were, of "Born<br />
Free" fame.) Because it is near the equ<strong>at</strong>or there is not year-round snow on it, though there is<br />
much snow <strong>at</strong> various seasons. Seen still better on the return trip.<br />
Mount Kilimanjaro is nearby, not seen today, 5,895 meters, or 19,335 feet, over 5,000 feet higher<br />
than anything in <strong>Colorado</strong>. Climbers usually suffer from altitude sickness. It is a volcano. Seen
19<br />
somewh<strong>at</strong> better on the return trip, and seen again, best of all, from the plane l<strong>at</strong>er, flying from<br />
Nairobi to Johannesburg.<br />
In Tanzania there is a College of African Wildlife Management <strong>at</strong> Mweka, a village 10 km. north of<br />
Moshi (100 km. east of Arusha) and south of Kilimanjaro N<strong>at</strong>ional Park. This village is not shown<br />
in my big Freytag and Berndt Kenya-Tanzania-Uganda map, but it is in the Lonely Planet, East<br />
Africa guide, p. 606, p. 611, with mention of the College there. One of the favored trails up Mt.<br />
Kilimanjaro starts from here. Ron Engel's friend, Tom Gilbert, taught there; Gene Decker says it<br />
was once better, is now no good.<br />
B<strong>at</strong>-eared fox, killed roadside.<br />
This is still Masai country.<br />
Big ostrich farm.<br />
<strong>Log</strong>s hanging from trees are beehives.<br />
Augur buzzard.<br />
As you near Arusha you climb and there is more veget<strong>at</strong>ion. Much better w<strong>at</strong>ered, now maize and<br />
bananas appear.<br />
Drove though village with market (pix).<br />
We reached Arusha, and drove through Arusha some 10 km. out of town to lunch <strong>at</strong> the so-called<br />
"Mountain Lodge," though there is no particular mountain nearby, on Lake Duluti. Met Keith James,<br />
from Wales, the general manager of Ranger Safaris. Arusha is very much a third world city. The<br />
Tanzanian shilling (about 550 to $1) is very differently priced from a Kenyan shilling (about 52 to<br />
$1). Th<strong>at</strong> is a tenfold difference, and represents something of the difference between the two<br />
countries. Kenya did not n<strong>at</strong>ionalize landholdings <strong>at</strong> the time of independence, although Keny<strong>at</strong>ta<br />
had said he would he reversed himself. Tanzania did and insisted on a socialist economy, which<br />
has not worked, and l<strong>at</strong>ely they have been backing off into capitalism.<br />
After lunch, went to the bank to change money, to the post office, and to a camera store, where,<br />
to my surprise, I found the cable release I could not find in four Nairobi stores.<br />
Ranger Safaris, our tour group, has 100 vehicles, 100 drivers.<br />
Arusha is halfway between Capetown and Cairo, with a roundabout in the center celebr<strong>at</strong>ing this.<br />
We left to drive toward Lake Manyara, and the Serengeti. There is a good tarred road for an hour<br />
or so, until you reach a junction <strong>at</strong> Makuyuni, then a rough dirt thereafter for the rest of the trip.<br />
Sedans disappear and there are only four-wheel drives.<br />
Tawny eagle, you tell it because it is dark brown and by size.<br />
6 ostriches<br />
The country is drying out, but there is still good grass,<br />
few acacias.<br />
Baobab tree, a famous tree. Genus: Adansonia. Odd looking, massive trunks and very contorted.<br />
Pix in Blundell, Wild Flowers of East Africa, pl. 53 and 54. They live 1,000 years, some say 2,000
20<br />
years. They have leaves only in the rainy season. They cannot survive frosts. According to the<br />
Palgrave book on trees (see below), the tree is short and grotesquely f<strong>at</strong>. There may be annual<br />
rings or a sort and large ones may be 3,000 years old.<br />
Namaqua dove, seen <strong>at</strong> dusty roadside, small and long tail.<br />
This drive is now through the Rift Valley. The country becomes again better w<strong>at</strong>ered. There are<br />
even some rice fields in wet areas th<strong>at</strong> c<strong>at</strong>ch a lot of rain before an escarpment.<br />
Lilac-breasted roller<br />
Yellow necked spurfowl<br />
Helmeted guinea fowl<br />
seede<strong>at</strong>er<br />
We reached village of Mto-wa-Mbu, a r<strong>at</strong>her picturesque and very much Third World village. There<br />
is a market for crafts here; we stopped <strong>at</strong> it on the return trip. The name of the village means<br />
"mosquito," or, by some accounts, "gn<strong>at</strong>s." Beyond town, we climbed the escarpment, with a big<br />
washout in the lower part of the road, and a rough road the whole way; often you could only creep<br />
along on it. Eventually we reached the fl<strong>at</strong> summit of the scarp, and drove on a couple kms. to<br />
Lake Manyara Lodge, on the western edge of the Rift Valley escarpment. The lodge overlooks<br />
Lake Manyara, far below and 2 km away. The Rift Valley forms a chain of gre<strong>at</strong> lakes, including<br />
this one. The lodge gener<strong>at</strong>es its own power, turned off between 12.00 a.m. and 5.00 a.m. The<br />
lodge was once oper<strong>at</strong>ed by the Tanzanian government, they failed, and turned it over to priv<strong>at</strong>e<br />
hands.<br />
June 30, Friday. Generally cloudy in the morning, l<strong>at</strong>er brighter.<br />
There are 120 different tribes in Tanzania. Peter is from the Mbulu district and a member of the<br />
Iraqw tribe.<br />
We returned down the rough escarpment road, going to Lake Manyara for the morning. Driving<br />
down the road, the lodge could be seen in the distance (pix). Now we could make out thousands<br />
of flamingoes <strong>at</strong> the edge of the lake, mostly seen as a kind of pink haze in the distance, though<br />
with binoculars you could see th<strong>at</strong> they were flamingoes. L<strong>at</strong>er we were to see them closer up.<br />
2 w<strong>at</strong>erbucks, in the distance, below, from the road.<br />
Stopped and took pictures of a woman named Elizabeth, carrying an 80-pound bag of charcoal to<br />
the market to sell for perhaps $ 2, walking round trip 12 miles to do so.<br />
Reached bottom of the scarp, and entered Lake Manyara N<strong>at</strong>ional Park.<br />
There is quite a dense forest here, with large trees, perhaps the most dense forest we saw in Africa.<br />
12 baboons. These are olive baboons, as the drivers called them; though there seem to be two<br />
species here, the yellow baboon, Papio cynocephalus, the commonest in Kenya, and probably this<br />
one; also there is the Anubis or olive baboon, Papio anubis, also found in Kenya. (Anubis was a<br />
jackal-god in Egypt, whose pictorial represent<strong>at</strong>ion the baboon was thought to resemble.) L<strong>at</strong>er<br />
in South Africa they were chacma baboons, Papio ursinus, though, despite the book drawings,<br />
there seems to be little evident difference between them.
21<br />
mahogany trees<br />
wild fig trees<br />
gardenia tree, in fruit<br />
tawny eagle<br />
2 warthogs, with whiskers. females.<br />
papyrus<br />
ground hornbill<br />
red-billed hornbill<br />
silvery-checked hornbill<br />
ebony tree<br />
2 lions - female seen better, the male was lying down. These two were seen again on the return<br />
trip, with the male now more evident.<br />
Red bishop, a weaver, nicely seen.<br />
hammerkop, in flight<br />
We reached a smallish pool, prior to the main lake shore:<br />
Egyptian geese<br />
knob-billed duck/goose<br />
white-faced tree duck<br />
25 hippos in pool<br />
Continuing toward the lake, with lots of wildlife here:<br />
giraffe and month old baby<br />
elephant, <strong>at</strong> a distance<br />
dik-dik<br />
11 elephants<br />
2 warthogs<br />
zebra<br />
2 dozen impala, 1 male (pix)<br />
wild mango<br />
vultures<br />
crowned plover<br />
There was a field full of 100 or more baboons.<br />
white-necked cormorants, 75 of them<br />
African spoonbill<br />
African jacana, like a gallinule, with big feet<br />
wildebeest and yellow-billed stork (pix)<br />
zebras and storks<br />
white pelicans<br />
marabou stork<br />
Then we reached the lake and somewh<strong>at</strong> <strong>at</strong> a distance were millions of flamingos. These are<br />
lesser flamingoes. There are more flamingos in the Rift Valley than anywhere else in the world.<br />
The "Out of Africa" scene with flamingos was filmed here. Hundreds of pelicans also in the<br />
distance.
22<br />
I took a picture, with yellowbilled storks, in the first (nearest) layer, with black wings, then pelicans<br />
(all white) in the second layer (middle distance), and pink flamingos in the further distance.<br />
more baboons.<br />
Return trip.<br />
Lions seen better now.<br />
We drove back up the scarp, and had lunch <strong>at</strong> the Lake Manyara lodge.<br />
Baboons were on the grounds <strong>at</strong> lunch.<br />
It became sunny in the afternoon.<br />
We drove on toward Serengeti. Reached the town of Kar<strong>at</strong>u and the road improved some. This<br />
is a reasonably prosperous looking village, Peter's home. Whe<strong>at</strong> and barley in the fields. Much<br />
maize. There were lots of unfinished houses; people have to build them pay as you go and this can<br />
take ten years or more. We were to visit a mission dispensary (hospital) here on return. Still the<br />
roads have no sedans on them <strong>at</strong> all; they are all four wheel drives. We went five or six days<br />
without seeing a sedan.<br />
African fish eagle in flight; fine view with white head.<br />
We continued and reached rim of Ngorongoro Cr<strong>at</strong>er, but we were not to descend the cr<strong>at</strong>er until<br />
the return trip. The rim is 7,500 feet and noticeably cooler than the plains below. The cr<strong>at</strong>er is 102<br />
square miles, some 10-12 miles across, and contains perhaps the gre<strong>at</strong>est concentr<strong>at</strong>ion of wildlife<br />
anywhere in Africa. No fences are around it and wildlife are free to come and go, though mostly<br />
they remain in the cr<strong>at</strong>er floor. From an overlook, we could see a herd of 150 buffalo in the<br />
distance below. This is the first time I have seen buffalo in the daylight.<br />
Continuing, on a road th<strong>at</strong> skirts the rim. 1 buffalo in the brush, roadside, seen reasonably well.<br />
w<strong>at</strong>erbuck. This one is the Defassa w<strong>at</strong>erbuck, and has a white rump but not the evident white<br />
target on the rump of the common w<strong>at</strong>erbuck. 8-10 in a field.<br />
Spotted hyena, coming down through brush <strong>at</strong> the edge of the road, 15 feet away.<br />
black-shouldered kite<br />
stonech<strong>at</strong>. White wing, neck, rump p<strong>at</strong>ches<br />
Continued, descending, reaching Masai country, which dries out.<br />
B<strong>at</strong>taleur eagle<br />
superb starling<br />
The acacia here is whistling acacia, Acacia drepanolobium, which is not fl<strong>at</strong> topped. It commonly<br />
has insect galls on it, and the wind blows through them to make a whistle. Baboons like to pluck<br />
off the galls and e<strong>at</strong> them.<br />
Sausage tree, Kigelia pinn<strong>at</strong>a = africana.<br />
2 secretary birds
Continuing, we crossed a long, fl<strong>at</strong>, treeless plain, not yet the Serengeti.<br />
Then we reached the Serengeti, which got somewh<strong>at</strong> greener. Acacia trees.<br />
3 giraffes<br />
60 grant's gazelles<br />
We passed a g<strong>at</strong>e to Serengeti Park, leaving Ngorongoro reserve (pix)<br />
23<br />
200-300 Thomson's gazelles<br />
We drove past Thomson's gazelles and Grant's gazelles for miles.<br />
Kori bustard, 6-8 of them. The Kori bustard is the largest flying bird, and the largest bird, after the<br />
ostrich.<br />
We passed a toll g<strong>at</strong>e area, and paid fees (included in the tour), the Naabi Hill G<strong>at</strong>e.<br />
6-8 zebras<br />
4 common jackals<br />
1 ostrich<br />
The road now is wet; it has rained here earlier in the day.<br />
Cape rook<br />
The low summits here are called kopjes. Elev<strong>at</strong>ed areas with rounded rocks. I never got a very<br />
good geological explan<strong>at</strong>ion for the origin of these form<strong>at</strong>ions.<br />
2 lions seen in distance on a kopje<br />
spotted hyena, nicely seen<br />
many termite mounds<br />
hartebeest<br />
1 lion in the distance<br />
200-300 zebras<br />
4 ostriches<br />
baboon on rock<br />
100 zebras<br />
2 b<strong>at</strong> eared foxes, well seen<br />
2 topi<br />
Nubian vulture, quite large and flying low.<br />
6-7 elephants, <strong>at</strong> a distance<br />
black backed jackal.<br />
helmeted guinea fowl, 3 dozen in road<br />
40-50 zebra. It is getting dark, toward sunset.<br />
Another 40-50 guineas in the road.<br />
6-8 wildebeest<br />
another 200-300 zebras.
24<br />
Reached Serengeti Sopa Lodge.<br />
Tanzania is the second poorest n<strong>at</strong>ion on Earth (so the hostess said), and too poor to require half<br />
or partial n<strong>at</strong>ional ownership of intern<strong>at</strong>ional development ventures, such as tourist hotels. This<br />
chain is owned by a British man and his wife. But Tanzania does tax these ventures heavily, some<br />
30-40% of profits, a portion of which goes to support the parks. Also there is a $ 12 per person per<br />
day entrance fee.<br />
Serengeti Park is 14,000 square km., about the size of Connecticut. The whole Serengeti<br />
ecosystem is about twice th<strong>at</strong>, 28,000 square kms.<br />
July 1, S<strong>at</strong>urday.<br />
At breakfast, there were many zebras on the plains below. Lodge is situ<strong>at</strong>ed on somewh<strong>at</strong> high<br />
ground.<br />
Wild dogs are quite rare here. There are perhaps 30 in the park.<br />
It is 210 km., a long drive over bad roads to the Kenya border.<br />
Morning game drive<br />
Leonitis nepetifolia, interesting flower with the stalk straight through the flower, a mint. Picture in<br />
Blundell, Wildflowers of East Africa, Collins guide.<br />
pygmy falcon<br />
10-12 impala<br />
150 impala (pix), with some gre<strong>at</strong> jumping as they decided to run across the road.<br />
white-browed coucal (a cuckoo)<br />
12 helmeted guinea fowl<br />
baboons<br />
whiteheaded buffalo weaver<br />
6-8 hippos<br />
bare-faced go-away bird<br />
b<strong>at</strong>aleur eagle<br />
3-4 giraffes in distance<br />
12 guinea fowl<br />
Coke's hartebeest, 8-10 of them<br />
18-20 more in distance<br />
ostrich<br />
Continuing, we drove through gre<strong>at</strong> expanses of open grassland, which looked like desirable grass,<br />
but the animals don't like the tall grass and have e<strong>at</strong>en out the smaller grasses in between. There<br />
are plenty of tracks where animals had been here earlier.<br />
hyena (pix)<br />
lilac breasted roller<br />
75 zebras<br />
1 male lion lying in grass<br />
300 zebras
25<br />
50 zebras<br />
1,000 zebras on one side of the road<br />
another 1,000 zebras on the other side of the road<br />
Then a third 1,000 zebras more or less in the road, which we drove through slowly, passing into<br />
perhaps 1,000 wildebeest mixed in with hundreds more zebra.<br />
Coqui francolin with 3 chicks, seen nicely close in alongside the parked van.<br />
White backed vultures<br />
sausage trees<br />
giraffe<br />
reached and crossed a small river<br />
6 giraffe (pix in thorns)<br />
Fischer's lovebird<br />
vervet monkeys<br />
12 guineafowl<br />
blacksmith plover<br />
superb starling<br />
40-50 impala<br />
small crocodile (pix), just after recrossing river<br />
12 zebra<br />
500 wildebeest in distance<br />
2 hippos in the river<br />
50 impala, all males<br />
12 Grant's gazelles<br />
50 impala, all female<br />
topi<br />
12 guineas<br />
w<strong>at</strong>tled starling, Hildebrandt's starling, and superb starlings, all on the same branch.<br />
Reached Seronema Wildlife Lodge, and went in for rest stop.<br />
hyrax, on rocks around which the lodge is built<br />
Agama lizard, with pink upper body in the male.<br />
6 buffalo, with close up pix.<br />
50 wildebeest<br />
300 wildebeest<br />
200 wildebeest<br />
6 warthogs<br />
50 wildebeest<br />
another 50 wildebeest<br />
1,000 wildebeest, more or less near the Research st<strong>at</strong>ion.<br />
5,000 wildebeest, on all sides. We drove through them for 1-2 miles. Peter had heard th<strong>at</strong> there<br />
were large numbers in this area and was looking for them; he had been asking various drivers he<br />
passed.<br />
8 giraffe<br />
white-crowned shrike.
26<br />
8-10 hippos.<br />
crocodile with jaws open (pix)<br />
hyena lying in w<strong>at</strong>erhole, roadside (pix <strong>at</strong> end of film).<br />
ostrich<br />
whiteheaded buffalo weaver<br />
2 lions in tree (pix), 2 females<br />
300 zebras<br />
another 300 zebras<br />
50 wildebeest<br />
12 impala.<br />
We returned to Sopa lodge for lunch.<br />
Afternoon game drive, starting 3.30 p.m.<br />
bare-faced go-away bird<br />
6 Jackson's hornbills (according to Peter, though the guide doesn't list this one).<br />
4-5 whiteheaded buffalo weavers<br />
12 helmeted guinea fowl<br />
50 zebra<br />
4 wildebeest<br />
50 zebras in distance<br />
Nubian vulture, 2 in tree (pix)<br />
100 zebra, roadside<br />
another 100 zebra, roadside<br />
500 zebra, with 150 wildebeest<br />
Then reached another group of 5,000 wildebeest, with perhaps 2,000 zebra in among them.<br />
Then we found leopard, stalking. We w<strong>at</strong>ched the leopard hunt for an hour or more, one of the high<br />
lights of the whole trip. It was making its way down a sort of drainage course with higher veget<strong>at</strong>ion<br />
in which it could hide, and this chanced to run alongside the road, so the vehicle could move along<br />
bit by bit and follow it, coming now and again in and out of the grass. This was a big male.<br />
Many leopard pix, including wildebeest and zebra, and with leopard's head in the foreground. He<br />
was looking for a small zebra or wildebeest. But he never got one, so far as we saw.<br />
secretary bird<br />
male lion, r<strong>at</strong>her well hidden in grass, though near road. We almost didn't see him.<br />
10 ostrich, running<br />
It is beginning to get dark, toward sunset.<br />
8 elephants<br />
10 helmeted guinea fowl<br />
30 helmeted guinea fowl<br />
The sunset was a big red ball in the sky.<br />
Sunday, July 2. Sunny, pleasantly cool. We left for a game drive en route out of the park, and<br />
thence to Olduvai Gorge and Ngorongoro Cr<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
Magpie shrike, 5-6 of them.<br />
5-6 giraffe<br />
12 zebras
27<br />
impala<br />
giraffe and baby<br />
zebras<br />
crowned crane<br />
yellow thro<strong>at</strong>ed sand grouse, 3 seen nicely roadside<br />
Passed through treeless grasslands.<br />
White bellied bustard<br />
hartebeest<br />
Went to the Simba kopjes. Simba means lion; lions frequent the area, liking the lookouts provided<br />
by the kopjes.<br />
ostrich (pix)<br />
8 lions, 2 male adults (pix), lying in sun. I spotted these first!<br />
100 Thomson's gazelles<br />
Grant's gazelle with quite small fawn.<br />
300 Thomson's and Grant's mixed in.<br />
100 Thomson's<br />
300 Thomson's<br />
50 zebra<br />
Kori bustard, close up. This is a big bird.<br />
topi<br />
kestrel, species?<br />
white bellied bustard<br />
Agama lizards on the kopjes<br />
spotted hyena. Striped hyena are here, but seldom seen in the daytime.<br />
50 Thomson's gazelles<br />
We reached a w<strong>at</strong>erhole area.<br />
4 warthogs, <strong>at</strong> w<strong>at</strong>erhole<br />
hyena<br />
2 hyena's around <strong>at</strong> the other side of the w<strong>at</strong>erhole<br />
25 Egyptian geese, about the w<strong>at</strong>erhole<br />
Continuing,<br />
400 zebra<br />
200 zebra<br />
400 zebra<br />
200 zebra<br />
200 zebra. We drove through zebra in various densities on both sides of the road for a mile and<br />
a half. Perhaps 2,000 zebra.<br />
3 ostriches<br />
sc<strong>at</strong>tered Thomson's gazelles<br />
Then passed Naabi Hill g<strong>at</strong>e.<br />
rufous-tailed weaver
28<br />
black chested harrier eagle<br />
2 Kori bustards<br />
50 Grant's gazelles<br />
2 secretary birds<br />
Kori bustard<br />
common jackal, seen nicely. Much like a coyote.<br />
several Kori bustards<br />
sc<strong>at</strong>tered zebras<br />
continuing, on a treeless plain<br />
20 eland in distance<br />
100 Grant's and Thomson's gazelles<br />
5 ostrich<br />
25 ostrich, in one group<br />
1,000 Thomson's gazelles, drove by them for perhaps 2 miles.<br />
300 Thomson's<br />
We passed the Serengeti Park boundary.<br />
Then there was the return trip over the road used to come in, through the dry Masai country, then<br />
we turned off on a different road, shortly to reach Olduvai Gorge, a museum and overlook. Olduvai<br />
is a corruption of the Masai word for wild sisal, which grows there. Exposed in the gorge are 5<br />
beds, the oldest hominid fossils are <strong>at</strong> the bottom 1.5 million years old. Archaeologists claim there<br />
was once a lake here, beside which the hominids lived, now fossilized. All has since been filled in<br />
variously with volcanic ash and sediment.<br />
We lunched here, a picnic lunch, e<strong>at</strong>en outdoors in overlook area. Pictures of Masai women taken<br />
here.<br />
Continuing, back on the main road, we drove to the rim of Ngorongoro Cr<strong>at</strong>er. There was a rest<br />
stop <strong>at</strong> an older lodge, the Wildlife Lodge, then on to Ngorongoro Sopa lodge, arriving about 4.30<br />
p.m. The lodge is on the rim of the cr<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
There is only one full university in Tanzania, the <strong>University</strong> of Dar-es-Salam. There is an<br />
Agricultural College and a Business College <strong>at</strong> Moshi, not far from Arusha.<br />
July 3, Monday. Drive down into bottom of the cr<strong>at</strong>er. For this we had a new guide for the day, and<br />
a more rugged vehicle, a Land Rover. The we<strong>at</strong>her was misty in the morning and clearing as we<br />
went down the cr<strong>at</strong>er. Ngorongoro comes from the Masai warriors who took this region from the<br />
Bantu in about 1800. They used a bell, the sound of which is repe<strong>at</strong>ed in Ngorongoro. In the cr<strong>at</strong>er<br />
there are 15,000 wildebeest, 8,000 zebras, 3,000 buffalo, 100 lions in 5 prides, 400 hyenas in 8<br />
groups, 150 hippos, in 3 pools, 15-20 black rhino, and these have three baby calves of which two<br />
are only about three months old. There are no topi, no giraffes, no impalas. Both gazelle's are<br />
here. Leopards really live in the rim on the cr<strong>at</strong>er, but visit the floor. Cheetah similarly hunt there.<br />
Both jackals are here. Poachers are mostly Somalians.<br />
It is prohibited to be in the cr<strong>at</strong>er after dark. Rangers can then shoot to kill. This is to prevent<br />
poaching.<br />
On the descent, the road proved not really worse than the other roads.
29<br />
Robin ch<strong>at</strong><br />
stone ch<strong>at</strong><br />
northern double-collared sunbird<br />
Hildebrandt's francolin<br />
speckled mousebird<br />
bronze sunbird<br />
golden-winged sunbird<br />
purple grenadier ??<br />
mouse colored penduline tit<br />
umbrella acacia trees (pix). There is a r<strong>at</strong>her good forest <strong>at</strong> the rim, descending for a ways, then<br />
it dries out and there is a grassy bottom to the cr<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
Sodom Apples (Genus: Solanum). With yellow fruit. removes hair from le<strong>at</strong>her<br />
We reached the cr<strong>at</strong>er floor.<br />
2 ostrich<br />
augur buzzard, nicely seen on ground<br />
fiscal shrike<br />
wild fig trees, along w<strong>at</strong>er courses<br />
wing-snapping cisticola<br />
Fisher's sparrow lark<br />
30 wildebeest in distance<br />
50 buffalo in distance<br />
ante<strong>at</strong>er ch<strong>at</strong>, black with white wings<br />
capped whe<strong>at</strong>ear<br />
Senegal plover<br />
red-capped lark<br />
sc<strong>at</strong>tered wildebeest<br />
dusky turtle dove<br />
zebra<br />
12 ostrich<br />
One hippo, lying by the river.<br />
Then we w<strong>at</strong>ched a cheetah, perhaps 150 yards off, for about ten minutes. It was sitting up and<br />
didn't move. Cheetahs are the "greyhounds of the c<strong>at</strong>s."<br />
warthog<br />
red-wing bush lark<br />
20 Thomson's gazelles<br />
Kittlitz's plover<br />
2 jackals, black backed<br />
black-headed heron<br />
sacred ibis<br />
c<strong>at</strong>tle egret<br />
night heron<br />
lion pride (pix)<br />
11 cubs, 3 mothers<br />
Lion cubs have a longer period of adolescence than any other c<strong>at</strong>, two years or more. Cubs do a<br />
lot of play, seemingly learning their hunting and defensive skills this way. The pride is made up of
30<br />
rel<strong>at</strong>ives. Mothers keep their cubs secluded from the rest of the pride for six weeks, but after th<strong>at</strong><br />
the whole pride takes turns nursing, babysitting, and playing with them. Prides may be as large as<br />
40, but if so, break up into smaller groups and assemble in large groups only on occasion, perhaps<br />
after a large kill. Lions can consume a quarter of their body weight <strong>at</strong> one time, and then sleep it<br />
off. The lionesses spend up to 20 hours a day resting, then hunt dram<strong>at</strong>ically, as we were about<br />
to see.<br />
We left the lions a bit to try to c<strong>at</strong>ch some buffalo th<strong>at</strong> were moving through.<br />
buffalo (pix)<br />
Then we returned to w<strong>at</strong>ch the lions some more, culmin<strong>at</strong>ing in a lioness killing a zebra. We<br />
w<strong>at</strong>ched the stalk for an hour or more. The three lionesses went different ways, slowly. The<br />
closest one often looked back, then the second one started out in a different direction, then the<br />
third. There were two zebras oblivious to it all; the wind was in the lionness's favor. After perhaps<br />
forty minutes stalk, the furthest lioness sprang forth, and the zebra ran, but ran in the direction of<br />
the closest lionness, the first one th<strong>at</strong> had set out on the stalk. She waited until it came near, then<br />
sprang, jumped <strong>at</strong> its rear, and it went down. When we next saw it, she was hanging on its neck.<br />
The drivers of the vans moved around a bit closer as soon as it was clear th<strong>at</strong> the zebra was down.<br />
When we got to see it from the new perspective, the zebra was still kicking and one lioness was<br />
still gripping its neck. She held it about 10 minutes until it stopped kicking.<br />
The other lioness went off to fetch the cubs, who came another 20 minutes l<strong>at</strong>er. They all piled on<br />
top of it, but did not immedi<strong>at</strong>ely start e<strong>at</strong>ing it. The cubs stood all round on top of the zebra. We<br />
w<strong>at</strong>ched another 20 minutes but we never really saw it torn open. All this was about midday. The<br />
zebra killed was an adult. Others had said th<strong>at</strong> lions couldn't c<strong>at</strong>ch adult zebras and wildebeest<br />
because they could outrun them, but the three lionesses working together got this one.<br />
Tigers, in India, not Africa, are longer and heavier than lions, but the lion is the second largest c<strong>at</strong>.<br />
Lions do give a "lazy, lordly" impression most of the time, then erupt in the violence of the hunt.<br />
Hyenas are "botched and sulking."<br />
Continuing,<br />
lone lion well hidden in bushes<br />
2 hyenas<br />
We reached the salt or soda fl<strong>at</strong>s on Lake Magadi. Egyptian geese, a hundred or more.<br />
glossy ibis, several hundred<br />
c<strong>at</strong>tle egret, several hundred<br />
blacksmith plover<br />
3-banded plover, nearer the w<strong>at</strong>er<br />
lesser flamingos, 1,000 or more of them<br />
black winged stilt<br />
cape teal<br />
Then we drove to a picnic area, under open trees. There was a black kite accustomed to taking<br />
food from tourists here. Terrible toilets. We <strong>at</strong>e a picnic lunch.<br />
Continuing, after lunch
31<br />
We drove back around in the lake area, there are 2,000-3,000 wildebeest in the vicinity of the lake,<br />
perhaps 500 zebra.<br />
20 helmeted guinea fowl<br />
1 elephant, seen in bush along the river. There are only old male elephants down on the cr<strong>at</strong>er<br />
floor.<br />
Hildebrandt's starling, r<strong>at</strong>her like a superb starling, but without the white on the breast.<br />
ring-necked dove<br />
another elephant<br />
30 baboons<br />
150 Thomson's gazelles, some Grant's<br />
About 6 buffalo (pix), close enough in to see them well, and mixed in with some 200 wildebeest.<br />
The last pix is of a buffalo with an oxpecker on its nose. I saw buffalo here closer and <strong>at</strong> more<br />
length than anywhere else ont the trip.<br />
Egyptian geese<br />
6-8 hippos<br />
300 Thomson's gazelles<br />
2,000 to 3,000 wildebeest, mixed in with 200 - 300 zebras<br />
2 hyenas<br />
Then we came to a rhinoceros with a calf, both lying down in the distance. There were crowned<br />
cranes further behind. We w<strong>at</strong>ched a while in the hopes she might get up but she never moved.<br />
I had asked especially to see a wild rhinoceros as this would make the big five for Jane in the wild<br />
(though we had seen several semi-tamed rhinos, once <strong>at</strong> Sweetw<strong>at</strong>er, once <strong>at</strong> Masa Mara). Then<br />
we went on.<br />
4 hyenas, lying in dirt<br />
1 common jackal<br />
2 common jackals<br />
Then, splendidly, we found another rhino (black rhino) with a baby calf walking behind her. First<br />
in the distance, and then we drove up closer and w<strong>at</strong>ched 10-15 minutes. She was headed toward<br />
a w<strong>at</strong>erhole l<strong>at</strong>e in the day, but e<strong>at</strong>ing as she went along, the calf variously falling behind and<br />
c<strong>at</strong>ching up. (pix)<br />
2 black backed jackals.<br />
6 ostrich<br />
Thomson's gazelles, and Grant's sc<strong>at</strong>tered on return<br />
We returned to the lodge about dark.<br />
Mercer, Graham, The Beauty of Ngorongoro, Nairobi: Camerapix Publishers Intern<strong>at</strong>ional, 1993.<br />
ISBN 1 874041 46 6. The cr<strong>at</strong>er is more or less circular, about 14 km in diameter. Normally the<br />
only elephants there are bulls. Cows and calves stay further up in the forest thickets. Elephants<br />
really have no enemies in the wild; c<strong>at</strong>s can't take them. Lake Magadi is alkaline, or "soda" which
is "magadi" in Swahili. Lions succeed in only 15-20% of their hunts.<br />
July 4, Tuesday. Return drive to Arusha, thence to Nairobi. Long day of driving.<br />
32<br />
Left lodge 7.30 a.m., starting early to allow some time to visit the mission dispensary. Misty and<br />
cool. Passed the Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion Area boundary. Stopped to visit a family in a rural homestead not<br />
far outside the conserv<strong>at</strong>ion area boundary. He is: Juma Tl<strong>at</strong>laa, P. O. Box. 272, Kar<strong>at</strong>u, via<br />
Arusha, Tanzania, East Africa. Took pictures; send him copies.<br />
Drove through Kar<strong>at</strong>u village. We took pictures of woman <strong>at</strong> w<strong>at</strong>er tap, especially since Jane had<br />
worked with UNICEF collecting money to provide better w<strong>at</strong>er taps in East African villages.<br />
We visited a dispensary, a sort of mission hospital, a Roman C<strong>at</strong>holic order. There are 2-3<br />
Europeans here, our host was Swiss, long in Papua New Guinea. Sr. Verona Hutter, Dispensary<br />
Rhotia, P. O. Box 66, Kar<strong>at</strong>u via Arusha. They had had a bad siege with malaria in the spring<br />
before, two people in a hospital bed. There have been droughts in the area, people are poor, and<br />
the government health service (so-called) requires bribes to get <strong>at</strong>tention. People can't afford the<br />
quinine to cure it; they come here.<br />
We visited the m<strong>at</strong>ernity ward; one young women had just had twins the night before; she looked<br />
l<strong>at</strong>e teen age, but the sister said these were here seventh and eighth children; she had six more<br />
<strong>at</strong> home! It is hard to visit this place and not weep.<br />
A young girl wanted a ride with us to the main blacktop road, and we took her along. Took her<br />
picture <strong>at</strong> another well.<br />
2 baboons, roadside<br />
5 baboons<br />
yellow-billed storks, hundreds of them in a roosting tree.<br />
We reached the village of Mto-wa-Mbu again, stopped <strong>at</strong> the market. There are too many people<br />
trying to sell you something.<br />
Augur buzzard<br />
striped hyena - killed on roadside. This is the nocturnal one you never see.<br />
We stopped <strong>at</strong> curio shop on edge of Arusha, r<strong>at</strong>her large one. Jane bought T-shirts.<br />
We reached Arusha. We went to the Ranger Safari maintenance yard, and left Peter here for a new<br />
driver, Joseph. Changed vans for one th<strong>at</strong> would ride more smoothly. Went to lunch <strong>at</strong> the<br />
Mountain Lodge again, then drove to the border.<br />
Mt. Kilimanjaro was somewh<strong>at</strong> visible in haze and cloud in the distance.<br />
3 ostrich<br />
6-8 Thomson's gazelles<br />
The place to see chimps is Gombe Stream Park on Lake Tanganyika, north of Kigoma. This is a
33<br />
small park. Jane Goodall's research st<strong>at</strong>ion is there. You have to go the last part by bo<strong>at</strong>. The<br />
park fee is $ 100 for 24 hours.<br />
Salous Game Reserve, southwest of Dar-es-Salaam, is as big as the Serengeti, perhaps the<br />
world's largest game reserve, and quite wild. It was once a preserve of big game hunters. There<br />
are said to be 100,000 elephants there. Most is trackless wilderness.<br />
Mt. Meru on the return trip was seen better than before, am impressive mountain.<br />
We reached the border and crossed it. Jane bought some beads from the urgent hawkers, making<br />
a deal of $ 10 for four, and had to go into her money belt in the van, with people hanging all around<br />
trying to sell something. R<strong>at</strong>her comical.<br />
We changed vans, and returned to Nairobi. Night <strong>at</strong> the Norfolk Hotel.<br />
July 5. Wednesday.<br />
In the morning, walked to Text Book Centre again.<br />
Schaller, George B., The Serengeti Lion: A Study of Pred<strong>at</strong>or-Prey Rel<strong>at</strong>ions. Chicago: <strong>University</strong><br />
of Chicago Press, 1972. Includes chapters on leopard, cheetah, wild dog, and hyena.<br />
Grzimek, Bernard and Michael, Serengeti Shall Not Die. 1960, transl<strong>at</strong>ed from German. E. P.<br />
Dutton. Also a film of the same name, which won an oscar as a documentary. The Grzimeks were<br />
a famous German f<strong>at</strong>her and son who studied the migr<strong>at</strong>ion p<strong>at</strong>terns and tried to do a census. The<br />
son was killed in a plane crash in a plane being used for census.<br />
Johns, Chris, Valley of Life: Africa's Gre<strong>at</strong> Rift. Shrewsbury: Swan Hill Press, 1991. Also and<br />
originally Thomasson-Grant in U.S. British ISBN 1 85310 197 4. Mostly splendid pictures. $ 26<br />
in Nairobi.<br />
Kunkel, Reinhard, Ngorongoro. London: Harvill (Harper Collins), 1992. ISBN 0-00-272188-0.<br />
Pounds sterling 40. Mostly gorgeous photos.<br />
van Lawick, Hugo, Savage Paradise: The Pred<strong>at</strong>ors of Serengeti. London: Collins Harvill, 1977,<br />
reprint 1983. ISBN 0 00 216771 9. I bought it, $ 25 in Nairobi and it cost me th<strong>at</strong> much again to<br />
send it by surface mail to the U.S.<br />
Scott, Jon<strong>at</strong>han, Kingdom of Lions. London: Lyle C<strong>at</strong>hie, Ltd, 1992. ISBN 1 85626 061 5 on Masa<br />
Mara. Good text and pictures. $ 22 in Nairobi.<br />
Scott, Jon<strong>at</strong>han, The Leopard's Tale. London: Elm Tree Books, 1985, 1988. ISBN 0-241-11444-6.<br />
Text and pictures. $ 15 in Nairobi.<br />
Smith, Anthony, The Gre<strong>at</strong> Rift: Africa's Changing Valley. London: BBC Books, 1988, 1992. ISBN<br />
0 563 36349 5. Done from a TV series. $ 10 in Nairobi. Looks good.<br />
Palgrave, Keith Co<strong>at</strong>es, Trees of Southern Africa, 2nd revised edition. Cape Town, 1977, 1993.<br />
ISBN 1 86825 1713. Major botanical text. 959 pages. $ 30 in Nairobi.
34<br />
Middleton, Neil, Phil O'Keefe, and Sam Mayo, Tears of the Crocodile: From Rio to Reality in the<br />
Developing World. Nairobi: East African Educ<strong>at</strong>ional Publishers, 1993. ISBN 9966 46 584 4. 228<br />
pages. This is a critique of those in the developed North who have failed to identify the links<br />
between poverty and environmental destruction. The real agenda <strong>at</strong> Rio was preserving the<br />
interests of the developed North both <strong>at</strong> the expense of the developing South and of the n<strong>at</strong>ural<br />
world. Middleton is a publisher in Dublin; O'Keefe is in environmental management <strong>at</strong> the<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Northumbria; Moyo is with the Zimbabwe Institute of Development Studies.<br />
Sanchez, Vincente, and Calestous Juma, eds., Biodiplomacy: Genetic Resources and Intern<strong>at</strong>ional<br />
Rel<strong>at</strong>ions. Nairobi: African Center for Technology Studies (ACTS), 1994. ISBN 9966-41-077-5.<br />
16 articles. 371 pages. Sanchez is a Kenyan diplom<strong>at</strong>; Juma is director of ACTS. $ 22 from<br />
ACTS.<br />
Njoroge, Raphael Gerard, and G. A. Bennaars, Philosophy and Educ<strong>at</strong>ion in Africa: An Introductory<br />
Text for Students of Educ<strong>at</strong>ion. Nairobi: Transafrica Press, 1986, 1994. 259 pages. Includes a<br />
section of educ<strong>at</strong>ion and ethics. Both authors teach philosophy of educ<strong>at</strong>ion <strong>at</strong> Keny<strong>at</strong>ta <strong>University</strong>,<br />
Nairobi.<br />
Walker, Clive, Signs of the Wild: Field Guide to the Spoor and Sign of the Mammals of Southern<br />
Africa. Cape Town: Struk Publishers, 1981, 1993. ISBN 0 98977 825 0. $ 10. But, l<strong>at</strong>er, in Kruger<br />
and Umfolozi, the guides did not think so much of this. They said it has lots of errors in it; even the<br />
lion track is wrong about the ridges in the heel pad; it shows two lobes and there are really three.<br />
Anderson, David S. and David R. Bridge, Focus on Africa: Wildlife, Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion, and Man. Santa<br />
Barbara, CA: Bridgewood Productions, 1994. ISBN 0-9639261-0-1. Mostly pictures.<br />
We took a cab to Jacaranda Hotel. We retrieved the luggage we had stored there. Walked around<br />
the shopping centers nearby. I bought an elephant carving. Bought two rolls of Kodak slide film;<br />
I had brought ten with me.<br />
Chris Michaelides came by to visit.<br />
Night <strong>at</strong> the Jacaranda Hotel.<br />
July 6, Thursday. Flight to South Africa.<br />
Left 7.00 a.m. for airport. Hassle there over excess baggage weight, and getting traveler's checks<br />
cashed to pay the fee, about $ 125.<br />
We flew by Mt. Kilimanjaro, seen well, quite visible, though the summit was in and out of clouds.<br />
We arrived in Johannesburg, to find, th<strong>at</strong> evening in the hotel, th<strong>at</strong> my shaver had been stolen from<br />
my luggage.<br />
South Africa
35<br />
July 6. Thursday, continued.<br />
Met <strong>at</strong> airport by Johan H<strong>at</strong>tingh, Department of Philosophy, <strong>University</strong> of Stellenbosch, our host<br />
in South Africa.<br />
Spent night <strong>at</strong> Holiday Inn Garden Court, Pretoria. Dinner <strong>at</strong> the Inn.<br />
July 7. Friday.<br />
Lecture <strong>at</strong> UNISA, the university name shortened from UNIversity of South Africa. This is largely<br />
an immense correspondence course university, but there is a big building all of offices, r<strong>at</strong>her<br />
<strong>at</strong>tractively situ<strong>at</strong>ed in suburban Pretoria. Host here: Pieter Coetzee (pronounced koot see uh),<br />
Philosophy, a member of the Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Society for Environmental Ethics, also Jennifer<br />
Wilkinson, Philosophy, also a member of ISEE. Gave talk, "Feeding People versus Saving<br />
N<strong>at</strong>ure?" Lunch <strong>at</strong> UNISA.<br />
In the afternoon, met with Karin Ireton, Assistant Director, Industrial Environmental Forum of<br />
Southern Africa, P. O. Box 1091, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa. Phone 27-21 800-2687. Fax<br />
27-21 800-4360. They try to serve as a forum to air views. She was in a bush camp earlier with<br />
Johan. Her office is in the Eskom Building (the electric power company of South Africa).<br />
L<strong>at</strong>er in afternoon, we visited some shopping centers, and I bought a new shaver.<br />
In the evening, dinner with Johan's sister and her family. He is a consulting geologist, especially<br />
when people want to build on this or th<strong>at</strong> piece of ground. Irene and Kallie Strydom, Marais Str.<br />
314,, Brooklyn, Pretoria 001<br />
S<strong>at</strong>urday, July 8. We drove n.w. through the Transvaal toward Kruger N<strong>at</strong>ional Park, to spend the<br />
night <strong>at</strong> the Inn <strong>at</strong> Robbers Pass.<br />
Before leaving, we walked to town briefly, then left about 10:00 a.m.<br />
Grey lourie (go-away bird) in tree <strong>at</strong> the filling st<strong>at</strong>ion.<br />
Drove n.w. to stop for picnic lunch <strong>at</strong> Dullstrom, small town, in a campground, outside a shelter,<br />
overlooking a lake. Somewh<strong>at</strong> windy.<br />
Continuing, reached "The Inn <strong>at</strong> Robber's Pass." Delightful place to stay; we were in the renov<strong>at</strong>ed<br />
stables. There were two stagecoach robberies of gold here once.<br />
swallow-tailed drango<br />
kiepersol tree, Cabbage tree, Cussonia panicul<strong>at</strong>a<br />
blackeyed bulbul<br />
jackal buzzard, perched in tree<br />
Universities in South Africa:<br />
1. <strong>University</strong> of Cape Town<br />
2. <strong>University</strong> of Stellenbosch<br />
3. <strong>University</strong> of Western Cape
4. <strong>University</strong> of Port Elizabeth<br />
5. Rhodes <strong>University</strong> (<strong>at</strong> Grahamstown)<br />
6. <strong>University</strong> of Fort Hare (in Alica, Ciskei. The Oxford of the Black Universities<br />
7. <strong>University</strong> of Transkei<br />
8. <strong>University</strong> of N<strong>at</strong>al, with two campuses<br />
8a. Durban<br />
8b. Pietermartizburg<br />
9. <strong>University</strong> of Zululand near Empangeni<br />
10. <strong>University</strong> of Orange Free St<strong>at</strong>e, <strong>at</strong> Bloemfontein<br />
11. <strong>University</strong> of Bophuth<strong>at</strong>swana<br />
12. <strong>University</strong> of Witw<strong>at</strong>ersrand. Wits<br />
13. Rand Africans <strong>at</strong> Johannesburg<br />
14. <strong>University</strong> of Pretoria<br />
15. UNISA<br />
16. <strong>University</strong> of the North <strong>at</strong> Pietersburg, with s<strong>at</strong>ellite campuses here and there<br />
17. <strong>University</strong> of Venda<br />
18. <strong>University</strong> of Medunsa. A correspondence university for black medical students.<br />
This is too many universities for the country.<br />
long crested eagle<br />
36<br />
The innkeeper says th<strong>at</strong> the wildlife to be expected around the inn and in the immedi<strong>at</strong>e area are:<br />
bushbuck, duiker, bushpig, oribi (small antelope like a duiker).<br />
July 9. Sunday. We drove through the high Transvaal, including Blyde River Canyon.<br />
Stopped <strong>at</strong> overlook <strong>at</strong> Three Rondvels (pix), three hut-like cylinders of rock, r<strong>at</strong>her scenic. Jane<br />
bought beads, made of guava, castor, acorns.<br />
Two antelope of some kind seen far below <strong>at</strong> the bottom of the canyon.<br />
Lunched <strong>at</strong> Borke's Luck Potholes, and walked to the potholes.<br />
Redwing starling <strong>at</strong> God's Window, an overlook.<br />
wild cycad seen (pix). Cycads (in Cycadaceae) are gymnosperms, but very primitive ones, found<br />
in fossils millions of years old and once domin<strong>at</strong>ed forests in days of the dinosaurs. They and the<br />
Ginkgo tree are the only seed plants in which the male gametes (cf. pollen grains) are mobile, like<br />
those of ferns, mosses, and algae. They are in pairs, typically, and have a spiral band of cilia (pix<br />
in Sinnott, Botany, p. 645), which they swim with. In other seed-bearing plants the pollen grain is<br />
immobile, though when it lands on a stigma it does gener<strong>at</strong>e a pollen tube through which the<br />
fertilizing nucleus passes (Blundell, Wild Flowers of East Africa, p. 18). They have massive,<br />
unbranched cylindrical stems, covered with scars of abcissed leaves, with the current pinn<strong>at</strong>e<br />
leaves <strong>at</strong> the top, and thus resemble a palm. There are male cones and female cones. The ovules<br />
are naked inside the cones. There is a readable section in Ernest M. Gifford and Adriance S.<br />
Foster, Morphology and Evolution of Vascular Plants, 3rd ed., Freeman.<br />
2nd night <strong>at</strong> Inn on Robber's Pass.
37<br />
July 10. Monday. Drove to Kruger and set up bushcamp.<br />
There was frost on roof of car in the early morning.<br />
black w<strong>at</strong>tle. An exotic tree, imported as a windbreak, etc., and has often become a nuisance,<br />
though it is important to blacks for fuel.<br />
cycads, more seen on the roadside<br />
We entered Kruger Park <strong>at</strong> Kruger g<strong>at</strong>e. Paul Kruger st<strong>at</strong>ue (pix).<br />
4 impala<br />
fork-tailed bee-e<strong>at</strong>er<br />
5-6 female impala<br />
2 warthogs<br />
kingfisher, species unidentified<br />
24 impala<br />
6 impala<br />
We lunched <strong>at</strong> Skukuza. "skukuza" means "the one who changes things" or "one who sweeps<br />
clean" and was the nickname of the first park warden, Colonel James Stevenson-Hamilton.<br />
Clarke, James, Back to Earth: South Africa's Environmental Challenges. Halfway House: Southern<br />
Book Publishers (P. O. Box 3103), 1991. ISBN 1 86812 368 5. 332 pages, cloth. Clarke is a<br />
journalist in Sandton, Johannesburg.<br />
Paynter, David and Wolf Nussey, Kruger: Portrait of a N<strong>at</strong>ional Park. Halfway House: Southern<br />
Book Publishers, 2nd ed., 1992. Originally published by Macmillan, South Africa, 1986. ISBN 1<br />
86812 399 5. $ 25. Halfway House is called Midrand now, halfway between Pretoria and<br />
Johannesburg.<br />
We met Ian Milne, an older guide, who was once to have been our bush camp leader. He l<strong>at</strong>er<br />
<strong>at</strong>tended my S<strong>at</strong>urday seminar. Met Jan Erasmus (Wolhuter <strong>Trail</strong>, Priv<strong>at</strong>e Bag X402, Skukuza<br />
1350, South Africa) and Zettie De Beer (Environmental Educ<strong>at</strong>ion, P. O. Box 50, Skukuza 1350,<br />
South Africa), who were our guides for the bush camp.<br />
Bushcamp people from Stellenbosch:<br />
Ian F. Voges (pronounced voo hus), M. A., and now Ph.D. student in philosophy, who had visited<br />
us in the U.S.<br />
Friedl Marincowitz (muh rin ko vich), his girl friend, M. A. student in philosophy, Wilhelm Verwoerd,<br />
faculty member <strong>at</strong> Stellenbosch in philosophy. His grandf<strong>at</strong>her was H. F. Verwoerd, the architect<br />
of apartheid. His wife is a member of ANC, and a member of Parliament. Both in early thirties.<br />
Marianne Kloppers, secretary in the geography department.<br />
Elbie Vorster, works in food service and nutrition <strong>at</strong> the university.<br />
She is a linguist and librarian. They arrived in a van, or minibus, wh<strong>at</strong> they called a "combi." We<br />
could not take the sedan in, but took the combi, and put our gear in the back of a park service<br />
pickup truck, which they call a "bakkie."
38<br />
We drove to Sand River Bush Camp, and set up camp. The area is surrounded by a fence, with<br />
supposedly an electric fence on top of th<strong>at</strong>, but the electric fence isn't working. You come in<br />
through a big g<strong>at</strong>e, and then close the g<strong>at</strong>e. There was a kitchen area, open sandy area with<br />
th<strong>at</strong>ch roof over it, kitchen sinks, and a pantry closet to keep food in, with a freezer. Cooking was<br />
in a fire area nearby, with a sort of table out there. Cooking was in big pots th<strong>at</strong> you set on iron<br />
tripods. They mostly cooked the evening meal after dark, using kerosene lamps, candles, and<br />
flashlights for light.<br />
We slept on the ground, though they provided a very decent m<strong>at</strong>tress for us. No tent, but we<br />
pitched a mosquito net over us. We had to put anything the monkeys might disturb into a big blue<br />
plastic box and wire it shut. There were flush toilets in a bamboo building, also showers here,<br />
which drained out of big cans on the roof. Wh<strong>at</strong>ever you put in ran out, cold or hot; there was a<br />
stove to he<strong>at</strong> w<strong>at</strong>er in, but nobody used it. People mostly took showers midday, when the cool<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er was bearable.<br />
It got dark early (by 6.00 p.m.).<br />
There was a large-spotted genet, running around the cooking area th<strong>at</strong> night.<br />
After supper, there was some hoofed animal running with heavy bre<strong>at</strong>hing and panting running by<br />
in the dark.<br />
You had to keep a fire going all night and people took turns doing w<strong>at</strong>ch. We were given w<strong>at</strong>ch<br />
4.30 a.m. till daylight (6.30 a.m.). Had to build up the fire and keep the coffee hot. There was good<br />
firewood, very heavy, called leadwood (Combretum imberbe), which burns better than oak. Also<br />
there was another one called red bushwillow. But you don't burn tambuti (Spirostachys africana)<br />
to cook with, because the smoke gets in the food and causes diarrhea. It is a good firewood<br />
otherwise, however, and we burned it regularly <strong>at</strong> night l<strong>at</strong>er in the Umfolozi.<br />
The baboons in the trees were quite noisy, grunting and growling, fussing with each other, so much<br />
th<strong>at</strong> they kept you wake. Lots of other noises, which, as it turned out were lions, hyena, and<br />
leopard. This was the noisiest of the nights we were there. Jane had many misgivings.<br />
Daylight. Coffee and rusks (which are a sweet dried sort of bread th<strong>at</strong> you dip in the coffee. Rusk<br />
- originally a hard ship's bread.<br />
We took off <strong>at</strong> about 6.30 in the back of the pickup truck (bakkie).<br />
The country is veld, also spelled veldt. Veld = Afrikaans, field. Level grassland with sc<strong>at</strong>tered<br />
shrubs or trees, with enough of these it is bushveld. Sourveld is inferior grazing land, c<strong>at</strong>tle cannot<br />
e<strong>at</strong> it much when it is dry. Sweetveld is better grazing land, c<strong>at</strong>tle can e<strong>at</strong> it dry.<br />
Impala.<br />
6 buffalo, seen nicely <strong>at</strong> the roadside<br />
elephant tracks.<br />
We took off on foot, on wh<strong>at</strong> proved to be r<strong>at</strong>her too long a walk. I had failed to get a pencil and<br />
paper <strong>at</strong> hand and did not make good notes on wh<strong>at</strong> we saw on this hike.
39<br />
The guides go first, Jan up front and Zettie after him; he called her his "second gun" and th<strong>at</strong><br />
became something of a joke on the camp before the week was over. Their guns are a .458 Brno<br />
(made in Czechoslovakia), a bolt action with 5 shots in it. They load and unload them each time<br />
we get in and out of the bakkie. Before you are certified as a guide, you have to shoot an elephant.<br />
When they are culling them, they take a helicopter and drive one toward you, and you have to shoot<br />
it.<br />
Toward the farthest point in, we saw a white rhino, one seen nicely and an another seen by others.<br />
We tried to get ahead to get a better view of it, but failed. It got wind of us.<br />
We had snacks, or breakfast, in the bush.<br />
dwarf mongoose, on rocks<br />
African hawk eagle.<br />
People were by now tiring from the r<strong>at</strong>her long walk.<br />
Saw a giraffe, in a field, not long before reaching the truck. W<strong>at</strong>ched it some time.<br />
Several hundred impala running some 50 yards off; nice running and jumping.<br />
We returned to the truck, l<strong>at</strong>e and hungry, perhaps 12.30 or 1.00. We were expecting to be back<br />
by 10.00.<br />
En route back:<br />
giraffe<br />
several hundred impala, seen roadside<br />
return to camp.<br />
Cooked bacon and eggs. I had cooking duty.<br />
Afternoon: rest, then off for "sundowners". We rode some distance in the bakkie.<br />
impala<br />
6-8 kudu - the best view I have seen, to this point.<br />
giraffe<br />
black-backed jackal<br />
one "blue" wildebeest<br />
sundowners in open field <strong>at</strong> a w<strong>at</strong>ering point, with windmill w<strong>at</strong>er pump, though it didn't seem to be<br />
working.<br />
lion tracks here<br />
two owls on the way back silhouetted in the tree <strong>at</strong> dusk/dark.<br />
Went to bed. There were lions roaring in the night; others saw hyenas just outside the fence. Jane<br />
and I were supposed to have night w<strong>at</strong>ch but they didn't call us.<br />
July 12. Wednesday<br />
We were waked up by the guinea fowl calling, also there were lions roaring in early dawn.<br />
After rusks and coffee, off again in the bakkie:<br />
long-tailed shrike
40<br />
jackal<br />
sc<strong>at</strong> from wildebeest<br />
sc<strong>at</strong> from zebra<br />
3 ostrich<br />
rhino tracks<br />
rhino midden - territorial dung pile, a big pile of it; some of it fresh.<br />
2 white rhinos seen in the distance. We tracked around to see them closer up and this time<br />
succeeded. Steenbok, seen well. We crossed a ravine and climbed a rocky hillside to see the<br />
rhinos better. W<strong>at</strong>ched them well for perhaps a minute or two, then someone stood up and<br />
spooked them off.<br />
Black rhino calves trot behind; white rhino calves are pushed ahead. Black rhino are more<br />
aggressive. But sometimes the white rhino calf is out front, and sees you and is curious and comes<br />
on, with mother behind.<br />
Rest/breakfast stop on top.<br />
Typically there are ten wet years and ten dry years here. Zebras do well in dry years. Look <strong>at</strong> the<br />
animal census graphs in the "Make the Most of Kruger Book." They show sharp declines in the<br />
1982/83 drought and the 1991/92 drought, though there is no ten wet/ten dry years cycle evident<br />
here. Animal popul<strong>at</strong>ions of grazers/browsers are rel<strong>at</strong>ed mostly to the availability of food, and<br />
therefore to rainfall. Carnivore popul<strong>at</strong>ions are difficult to estim<strong>at</strong>e, but seem mostly to track the<br />
availability of food in turn, and therefore also track, via the ungul<strong>at</strong>es, the rainfall.<br />
Fires. The veld often burned every 2-3 years, with n<strong>at</strong>ural fires, but often also with fires set by<br />
n<strong>at</strong>ives.<br />
3-4 wildebeest<br />
impala lily - in the rocks.<br />
Kruger is a summer rain area with dry winters. It is winter here now, actually just a cool season.<br />
The Cape Province is a winter rain area with dry summers.<br />
Return to camp for lunch. I had cooking duty again. Took a lot of time chasing monkeys away from<br />
the food for lunch.<br />
Video in early afternoon, a copy of a video th<strong>at</strong> the Park Service has decided not to release -- a<br />
doubtful narr<strong>at</strong>ive th<strong>at</strong> left people confused about the problems.<br />
Off to sundowners<br />
2 nyala seen from the truck. Dark, but r<strong>at</strong>her like kudu.<br />
Sundowners, first <strong>at</strong> a large sycamore tree th<strong>at</strong> people took a notion to climb. There were hippos<br />
in the river, and we went down near the river but had to back off. The hippo was grunting and<br />
coming our way. We retre<strong>at</strong>ed some to an area bene<strong>at</strong>h the sycamore tree. Hippos kill more<br />
people than any other African animal, mostly because people underr<strong>at</strong>e them.<br />
Nice fish eagle in the sky.<br />
We got back in the bakkie to go to another place up the river a bit, and walked down to the river.
But it was getting dark and we didn't stay long.<br />
Returning in the bakkie:<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er dikkop, flew up from the highway<br />
Meller's mongoose. Black, bushy tail. Nocturnal. Ran along the road on the way back.<br />
41<br />
To bed. We kept w<strong>at</strong>ch 11.30 p.m. to 1.30 a.m. The large spotted genet was prowling around and<br />
we w<strong>at</strong>ched it with the flashlight, seen quite well.<br />
Albizia (al bizz ee uh) is the tree, false acacia, r<strong>at</strong>her like an acacia but has no thorns.<br />
July 13, Thursday.<br />
Off in the bakkie <strong>at</strong> 6.30. We returned to the area where we had had sundowners the first evening,<br />
with the windmill and w<strong>at</strong>ering trough.<br />
White rhino midden<br />
sausage tree<br />
impala midden<br />
lappet faced vulture, three in a tree<br />
black-backed jackal<br />
30 impala<br />
strangler fig on a leadwood tree<br />
elephant wallow<br />
Buffalo thorn - Ziziphus, with one straight thorn and one recurved thorn. The Zulus plant them on<br />
graves and think th<strong>at</strong> they can tell how the deceased fare by how the Buffalo thorns flourish or not.<br />
serr<strong>at</strong>ed hinged terrapin<br />
Return to the bakkie<br />
brown headed parrot, seen back <strong>at</strong> the bakkie<br />
seen from the bakkie on the way back to camp:<br />
ostrich<br />
100 impala<br />
4 warthogs<br />
1 wildebeest<br />
lunch and midday rest<br />
3.30 p.m. Off for sundowners, on the last night in camp. Jackal.<br />
Then an elephant encounter. Elephant charge. We were riding along a narrow road, fighting<br />
bushes coming by the edge of the truck. There was an elephant to one side of the road, but when<br />
he saw us he started coming our way, first slowly, and then somewh<strong>at</strong> faster. He was a male with<br />
moder<strong>at</strong>e sized tusks. Jan backed the truck up some distance, and the elephant kept coming<br />
faster. He was in must and aggressive, now with his ears held out open <strong>at</strong> the side.<br />
Jan backed the bakkie eventually into a thorn bush and couldn't go any further. He loaded his gun,
42<br />
awkwardly in the cab, pointed it out <strong>at</strong> the elephant and hollered, and, only some 20 meters way,<br />
turned aside with a "walking tall" posture. We all bre<strong>at</strong>hed a sign of relief.<br />
Some joking l<strong>at</strong>er as Zettie got out the book to read about elephants.<br />
"in must" - a frenzied condition connected with rut. The root is from a Middle Eastern root meaning<br />
"intoxic<strong>at</strong>ed," as in grape "must" used in brewing wine. The condition is especially known in camels<br />
and elephants. The root is not "musk" as in musk ox, musk r<strong>at</strong>, or the musk deer, the scent gland<br />
with strong odor used in perfumes.<br />
Continuing for sundowners.<br />
100 impala<br />
5 giraffes<br />
buffalo in the woods<br />
4 giraffes<br />
50 impala<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er buck, seen well<br />
diker and klipsringer, seen together<br />
kudu<br />
baboons with young<br />
brown snake eagle<br />
Marula tree (Maroela africans). Useful and well known. Fruit is made into preserves. Nut is e<strong>at</strong>en.<br />
Went to see bushmen's paintings under a rock overhang.<br />
Then to sunset in a rock area with notable impala lily, quite massively woody in the rocks, especially<br />
a big one with 12-15 blossoms.<br />
Also kudu lily, also with massive woody base. But this was not in blossom, though the flower buds<br />
were evident.<br />
13 giraffes.<br />
On return, in the bakkie, there were lions on the dirt road. Three cubs resting in the road, and 3<br />
females coming down our way on the roadside.<br />
After seeing the lions Wilhelm let out his famous "Yes" roar.<br />
Back in camp, a steak "braai" (their word for cookout).<br />
To bed:<br />
In the night lions were right outside the fence roaring in the night and disturbed those keeping<br />
w<strong>at</strong>ch, and some sleepers moved in from sleeping close to the fence.<br />
July 14, Friday.
43<br />
Lions roaring as we got up in the morning.<br />
Packed up, without e<strong>at</strong>ing breakfast, and all the while chasing monkeys away from the rusks.<br />
Back to Skukuza, and we parted from the group returning to Stellenbosch. Johan, Jane and I<br />
continued, moving to quarters <strong>at</strong> Huhla (pronounced hush-luh), not far outside of Skukuza. This<br />
was once a railroad warden's house, now used by the park service for small group housing. Very<br />
s<strong>at</strong>isfactory quarters, and we could cook here.<br />
Returned to Skukuza and took game drive in the afternoon.<br />
5-6 kudu, nice males (pix)<br />
50 impala<br />
5 zebra roadside<br />
baboons<br />
fork-tailed drongo<br />
b<strong>at</strong>taleur. Easily recognized eagle. It gives the impression of no tail. B<strong>at</strong>taleur is the French word<br />
for a tight rope walker, and it rocks its wings side to side, like a tight rope walker.<br />
baboons<br />
kudu.<br />
We drove down to the river area, near the boundary of the park.<br />
3 bull kudu (pix) in the evening sun.<br />
Getting toward evening, we went to the area where we heard there was a wild dog den. We had<br />
tried to find it on the way out mid-afternoon to no avail, but now had better instructions. In any<br />
case, now there were five or six cars in the area. The den was 1 km east of the intersection with<br />
S65 on S1, generally west of Skukuza 20 km or so.<br />
First we saw one wild dog in the bush, w<strong>at</strong>ched it 2-3 minutes, then moved the car to see three<br />
pups <strong>at</strong> a den entrance. Then we saw one adult nearby, then two came right out on the road, 10<br />
meters away, and we w<strong>at</strong>ched them a bit, though I failed to get a picture. Then we pulled up to see<br />
perhaps 6 puppies <strong>at</strong> the mouth of the den, then other adults wandering in the bush. Perhaps 4-5<br />
adults seen, <strong>at</strong> least 6 pups seen. The pups are dark.<br />
Only the alpha female has pups. Park n<strong>at</strong>uralists say one female here has had 24 in a liter, and<br />
the other females lact<strong>at</strong>e and will nurse them. Not many pups survive. If a lion finds the den, it will<br />
clean them all out.<br />
L<strong>at</strong>er, on the trail with Cleve Cheney, others were quite surprised th<strong>at</strong> we had seen wild dogs; they<br />
had been coming to the park 30 years and never seen them.<br />
We returned to Skukuza, getting through the g<strong>at</strong>e in time. The g<strong>at</strong>es close <strong>at</strong> dark and you are<br />
fined if you are l<strong>at</strong>e. Huhla is outside the g<strong>at</strong>e, but on the other side and we had to go through<br />
Skukuza to get there.<br />
June 15, S<strong>at</strong>urday. Seminar for the Kruger Park staff, "Value in N<strong>at</strong>ure and the N<strong>at</strong>ure of Value."<br />
My guide for the trail is Cleve Cheney. Also met his wife, who has a job in the office in the<br />
educ<strong>at</strong>ion unit here.
44<br />
Also <strong>at</strong>tending the seminar:<br />
Petri Viljoek. He monitors veget<strong>at</strong>ion, and knows Gene Decker.<br />
Carl Lourens, pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church here. There is an Interdenomin<strong>at</strong>ional Church<br />
th<strong>at</strong> meets in the same building <strong>at</strong> a different time on Sunday.<br />
Johan left Cleve Cheney with three or four of my articles, including the Callicott deb<strong>at</strong>e on<br />
wilderness, Value in N<strong>at</strong>ure, and Feeding People vs. Saving N<strong>at</strong>ure, also some ISEE m<strong>at</strong>erial. He<br />
gave a summary of human-scale development. I discovered th<strong>at</strong> Philosophy Gone Wild and<br />
Environmental Ethics were in the library, already autographed and don<strong>at</strong>ed by someone to them.<br />
I autographed them again, <strong>at</strong> their request.<br />
Pretoria Technikon, a school th<strong>at</strong> has two academic years and one year in the field, a technical<br />
college, and then gives a "diploma" not a degree. But this is changing and the technikons will be<br />
giving a B. Tech degree, perhaps with three years and one year in the field. Technikon South<br />
Africa.<br />
Lunch, then afternoon game drive.<br />
monkeys<br />
impala<br />
crocodile (pix)<br />
impala<br />
lilac-breasted roller<br />
greenbacked heron<br />
tawny eagle, seen <strong>at</strong> length <strong>at</strong> close range<br />
monkeys<br />
impala, 40-50 of them<br />
baboons, pix with young<br />
7 elephants<br />
giraffes<br />
brown-headed kingfisher<br />
glossy starlings, many <strong>at</strong> a picnic area, nicely developed, where we stopped for a rest stop.<br />
fork-tailed drongo, all black with forked tail, a perching bird<br />
grey lourie<br />
elephant, seen in distance<br />
hippos, 5 lying out of w<strong>at</strong>er with birds on them<br />
hippos, 3 in the w<strong>at</strong>er<br />
1 giraffe<br />
martial eagle, nicely seen<br />
buffalo, herd of 150 of them (pix) <strong>at</strong> some distance away.<br />
At a lake, the Lower Sabie Dam site, as far down as we got. We were headed toward Lower Sabie,<br />
but were running out of time, and stayed here r<strong>at</strong>her than going into town.<br />
hammerkop<br />
fish eagle<br />
saddle-billed stork
45<br />
little egret<br />
giant kingfisher<br />
pied kingfisher<br />
grey heron<br />
African jacana<br />
darter (anhinga)<br />
wooly-necked stork<br />
Egyptian goose<br />
5 hippos<br />
African spoonbill<br />
reed cormorant.<br />
Driving back, there was an elephant in the road, again! But this time it backed away without<br />
confront<strong>at</strong>ion.<br />
helmeted guinea fowl<br />
5-6 buffalo, roadside<br />
giraffe, in road<br />
2 giraffes<br />
2 dozen guinea fowl, as we neared the Huhla camp.<br />
There were hyenas calling in the night, close by.<br />
hooo-up, hooo-up call. ("Calls of the Bushveld" tape)<br />
Again, hyenas in the night, further off.<br />
The leopard call is said to be like sawing wood. (It is on the "Calls of the Bushveld" tape, side 2).<br />
July 16, Sunday.<br />
We took off for an all-day game drive, prior to my going out on the trail th<strong>at</strong> evening.<br />
duiker on way out<br />
crocodile<br />
200 helmeted guineas, all along road<br />
We headed toward Pretoriuskop.<br />
rode up Granokop<br />
40-50 impala<br />
crowned eagle<br />
N<strong>at</strong>al francolin<br />
150 impala<br />
long-tailed shrike<br />
Swainson's francolin, with red face<br />
Crested francolin, striped head. Both kinds were in the same flock.<br />
kudu - male and female<br />
5 giraffe<br />
fork-tailed drongo<br />
We then came upon a bloody spot in the road, with three hyenas about (took various pix), and<br />
pulled forward a bit to see three lionesses, one e<strong>at</strong>ing <strong>at</strong> an kill, an impala, in the bush 20 meters<br />
away, and growling when the other two came near, and the hyenas waiting still further out, coming
46<br />
out to the road now and again. The first lioness left, not going far away, and the two other lionesses<br />
by turns came in to e<strong>at</strong>, then the hyenas, and lastly some hyena pups. We w<strong>at</strong>ched all this perhaps<br />
an hour. Here were the "eternal enemies" all together.<br />
Reached Afsaal, a campground. The meaning is "saddle-off", a resting place originally for draft<br />
animals. We <strong>at</strong>e early lunch here. Squirrels about the campground.<br />
Then we took a dirt road toward Pretoriuskop. Rhino middens in the middle of the road.<br />
wildebeest, 5-6<br />
yellowbilled hornbill, the common one here. Diagnostic yellow bill<br />
little bee-e<strong>at</strong>er<br />
2 elephants (pix)<br />
3 kudu<br />
Reached Pretoriuskop, a nicely developed campsite.<br />
African flame tree, orange-red flowers <strong>at</strong> top<br />
zebra<br />
2 w<strong>at</strong>erbuck, <strong>at</strong> Shitlhave Dam, out in the open<br />
sable - nicely seen here for the first time. A dark antelope, black with long horns. "sable" means<br />
"black," a term especially used as a heraldic color.<br />
fish eagle - <strong>at</strong> Verwoerd Dam<br />
red hornbill<br />
gre<strong>at</strong>er blue-eared starling<br />
50-75 impala<br />
12-14<br />
5 kudu<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er buck - all coming to drink <strong>at</strong> the upper end of the pond<br />
Continuing,<br />
12 impala<br />
red-breasted korhan<br />
squirrel<br />
At the w<strong>at</strong>erhole on Nw<strong>at</strong>suthake:<br />
6 wildebeest<br />
4-5 zebra<br />
2 warthogs, one on its knees grubbing<br />
12 impala<br />
4 giraffe<br />
jackal - running near the giraffes<br />
Reached the tar road, <strong>at</strong> junction 1 km. from wild dog den.<br />
Drove by the wild dog den<br />
2-3 pups lying in the shade, but no adults were seen this time.<br />
Continued, returning to Skukuza for my trail.<br />
monkeys<br />
impala.
47<br />
At Skukuza, I separ<strong>at</strong>ed from Johan and Jane to go on the Metsimetsi <strong>Trail</strong>, with Cleve Cheney (P.<br />
Bag X402, Skukuza 1350, South Africa). He is taking a correspondence wilderness management<br />
course from <strong>Colorado</strong> St<strong>at</strong>e <strong>University</strong>, one which had some articles I wrote in the readings (and<br />
one I consulted some with George Wallace and others to set up). The course is being moved to<br />
the <strong>University</strong> of Montana, however.<br />
Mike Landman, whom I had met earlier in 1990 was the director of trails until recently, when he took<br />
a job still with the parks board in tourism promotion. Cleve is now the acting director of trails, and<br />
he expects to be named the permanent director, though there are many slips nowadays with the<br />
new politics. <strong>Trail</strong>s are 8 people, and go out twice a week in most camps. They take 7,000 people<br />
a year on trails, 65% of them are repe<strong>at</strong>ers. The men/women r<strong>at</strong>io is 50-50. 92% of them are<br />
South Africans, only 8% are intern<strong>at</strong>ionals, presumably because there is such a long wait to get on<br />
them.<br />
The black guide (2nd gun) is Fernando. He speaks Portuguese, and a little English. <strong>Trail</strong><br />
participants here go out in a r<strong>at</strong>her fancy bakkie, outfitted with se<strong>at</strong>s in the back and a canvas top.<br />
I rode up front with Cleve.<br />
This is called a "trail," and you have to book a year and a half in advance to get one. But it is not<br />
a backpacking trail; you go to a camp with a fence around it, stay there; there is a cook and food<br />
is provided, as is bedding. You go out each day and hike about, and return.<br />
Other people on the trail:<br />
An Afrikaans family of four: Dennes and Lorraine Rousseau, and their sons Jacques, finishing<br />
grade 11 and Rikus, finishing grade 6. From Schoemanville, near Pretoria.<br />
Philip R. Sagar and wife, Diz. Financial Director, Streetbe<strong>at</strong> Shoes, 17 Doris Street, Berea 2198.<br />
P. O. Box 603, Northlands, 2116. Other addresses, on the photos he sent: Box 354, Bruma 2026.<br />
Inside address: 31 Turnstone Street, Dewetshof, Tvl. 2198. Phone home: 011 622-7271; work: 011<br />
484-3618. Fax 011 484-1191. They have a son in the U.S., in Florida in school and will come to<br />
the U.S. next year.<br />
Richard Tucker, electrical engineer originally, though now he manages various projects. Wife: Mary<br />
Tucker, a bookkeeper. From Edenvale, near Johannesburg. Both men were r<strong>at</strong>her good with birds.<br />
All four had been on trails before and were well travelled in South Africa.<br />
Notes from Cleve Cheney en route to camp. Buffalo are very overr<strong>at</strong>ed; old bulls are more trouble<br />
than herds. There are 1400 white rhino in the park, 140 black rhino, which are solitary and far<br />
slower breeders. Once Kruger had no rhinos <strong>at</strong> all, they were all shot out by perhaps 1910.<br />
The baboons here are chacma baboons, very similar to the olive baboons in East Africa.<br />
The duikers here are grey duikers usually, red duiker are in riverine habit<strong>at</strong>.<br />
There is a large elephant typically coming to drink w<strong>at</strong>er near camp, with a broken tusk.<br />
Metsimetsi, the name of the camp, means "w<strong>at</strong>er, w<strong>at</strong>er."
The term "game" ought not to be used, and they are tying to substitute "wildlife."<br />
Seen from the bakkie en route to camp:<br />
impala<br />
vervet monkeys<br />
crowned plover<br />
4 warthogs<br />
giraffe<br />
a troop of baboons<br />
hyena<br />
guineas<br />
4 w<strong>at</strong>erbuck<br />
Swainson's francolins, 6-8<br />
48<br />
Getting toward the camp, there were 6-8 elephants, with a m<strong>at</strong>riarch, some distance away, toward<br />
the hills.<br />
12 N<strong>at</strong>al francolin, yellow legs, yellow beak<br />
50 impala<br />
1 wildebeest<br />
3 giraffes<br />
We entered the camp. The electric fence is not hooked up. The head of the park insisted they<br />
have one, but they have never hooked it up. Cleve says the fence is more to keep people in than<br />
to keep animals out. In the past lions have been inside the fence, also elephants; but they chase<br />
them out.<br />
This is the Shishengedzine-Nkuwana wilderness area. Pronounced<br />
shish in gherd zhan nuh n'koo wahn nuh<br />
I stayed in the hut with Cleve, a good hut, with a desk <strong>at</strong> the back of it. The walls were made of<br />
bamboo and th<strong>at</strong>ch. The toilet was adjoining, and shower, but one of those th<strong>at</strong> you have to put<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er in before it runs out. He hooked up a cord to the bakkie b<strong>at</strong>tery th<strong>at</strong> ran three small<br />
florescent lights; one over each bed, and one in the toilet.<br />
The cook is David, who brings a bucket of hot (or warm) w<strong>at</strong>er <strong>at</strong> the wake up call.<br />
<strong>Trail</strong> guides burn out after about five years doing trails, not so much tiring from the animals and wild<br />
life but from the tourists they have to deal with.<br />
W<strong>at</strong>er dikkop heard in l<strong>at</strong>e evening, a thin whistle.<br />
More notes from Cleve Cheney, orienting the group around the campfire:<br />
Animals have three zones:<br />
(1) A curiosity zone. Here they may come closer to see wh<strong>at</strong> you are.<br />
(2) A thre<strong>at</strong>ened zone, where they will run away.<br />
(3) An inner thre<strong>at</strong>ened zone, where they think they cannot run away and will <strong>at</strong>tack.<br />
If you encounter an animal, keep facing it and back off. This works 80% of the time. If this fails,
stand your ground. Be bold and noisy, confront it and move closer. You hope this works.<br />
49<br />
In 17 years of trails, they have shot 17 animals, but five of these were in the drought year in 1992.<br />
The stressed animals from the drought gave more trouble. Most of these were elephants; the least<br />
shot were lions.<br />
Cleve doesn't believe in firing warning shots. Elephants will flare their ears and intimid<strong>at</strong>e, but this<br />
is best not called a mock charge. His rifle is a .458 Winchester. Guides are issued a rifle and keep<br />
th<strong>at</strong> particular one.<br />
Black rhinos will charge once and turn around and charge again.<br />
The lion is not the king of beasts; the elephant is.<br />
Hyenas are dangerous only <strong>at</strong> night, and only if you are asleep and not moving. They will bite your<br />
face. But if you sit up they will run off.<br />
Snakes are no real problem, not even in summer, though you have to be careful <strong>at</strong> rocky outcrops.<br />
The puff adder and the black mamba are the two to w<strong>at</strong>ch for. Puff adders are too lazy to get out<br />
of the way.<br />
There were lots of stars in the sky; the Milky Way was especially notable. We looked <strong>at</strong> the<br />
southern cross and figured how to find south from it.<br />
W<strong>at</strong>ched a s<strong>at</strong>ellite cross the sky.<br />
Elephant call in the night.<br />
July 17, Monday.<br />
We left from camp on trail, early, really before daylight, though there was enough light to see a bit.<br />
There is a "hide" (blind) <strong>at</strong> the edge of camp with a w<strong>at</strong>ering hole beyond it; you cross the fence<br />
near here on a style. There were lions roaring just after we crossed the fence.<br />
Hyena tracks seen; there are two lobes in the back pad. Leopards have three lobes in the back.<br />
Elephants push over acacias to get food, and this is considered by many to be destructive. But<br />
often the acacia is not killed; the bending over turns the acadia into a kid of coppice. It resprouts<br />
and the lower leaves are available for other kinds of wildlife. Also grasses sprout bene<strong>at</strong>h it,<br />
protected by the coppice over top.<br />
We saw a spotted hyena a little ways off, and walked closer toward it. W<strong>at</strong>ched it a while. Cleve<br />
said this is not dangerous <strong>at</strong> all; the hyena will run off, as it did. A second hyena also seen, <strong>at</strong> more<br />
distance.<br />
long-tailed shrike<br />
buffalo weaver<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er buck, the "target" seen nicely<br />
50-60 impala, running, with a few wildebeest<br />
lilac breasted roller, doing its flight roll
50<br />
another 50-60 impala<br />
lion tracks seen, with three ridges<br />
reached a w<strong>at</strong>er pool, in a dried river<br />
African spoonbill<br />
goli<strong>at</strong>h heron<br />
3-banded sand grouse<br />
blacksmith plover, with its "tik, tik" call<br />
Egyptian goose<br />
Continuing, leaving the w<strong>at</strong>er area<br />
3 wildebeest<br />
3 w<strong>at</strong>er bucks, again nicely seen, with targets<br />
2 w<strong>at</strong>er buck<br />
elephant tracks<br />
rhino tracks<br />
civet tracks, small and c<strong>at</strong> like<br />
We crossed a r<strong>at</strong>her dry river area again, with crocodile tail-dragging marks in the sand.<br />
open-billed stork, seen in flight. When its bill is closed, there is still an opening in it through which<br />
light passes. Seen in flight.<br />
Climbed a hill, and had field breakfast on top.<br />
30 impala in the distance<br />
6 w<strong>at</strong>er buck<br />
elephant seen on hill top, toward the skyline, in the far distance<br />
baboon skull<br />
gray tree moth (Cer<strong>at</strong>ophagus, which means "horn e<strong>at</strong>er") lays its eggs in the horns on dead animal<br />
skulls, and the larvae e<strong>at</strong> their way in, projecting a long feces tube out below, through which they<br />
subsequently exist. Almost all the horns found on skulls have this moth larvae form<strong>at</strong>ion in them.<br />
little bee e<strong>at</strong>er<br />
Raisin bush. Grewia. This is used to make bows and arrows. You can weave the fibers into a cord,<br />
which Cleve did, and this into a rope. You can make it fine enough to sew with it.<br />
grey heron<br />
hammerkop<br />
saddle-billed stork<br />
Leopard tracks - three ridges seen in the heel pad<br />
3 w<strong>at</strong>er buck<br />
buffalo thorn. Ziziphus. The spirit tree. The black people take a branch and pretend the deceased<br />
travels with it. When the black dies in the city, they take the spirit back to the country where it is<br />
to be buried; they even buy a ticket for it. They maintain th<strong>at</strong> lightning doesn't strike this tree.<br />
Some article in a recent issue of the U.S. Field and Stream studied lightning strikes of trees and<br />
found th<strong>at</strong> beech trees were never struck.
51<br />
Red-billed woodhoopoe, with calls like a fussy woman.<br />
2 zebra silhouetted on skyline<br />
gray lourie<br />
3 kudu<br />
3 w<strong>at</strong>er buck<br />
2 w<strong>at</strong>erbuck<br />
2 kudu<br />
impala<br />
giraffe in bush<br />
zebra tracks look as though the zebra has horseshoes on it<br />
1 zebra<br />
20 zebra<br />
giraffe<br />
6-8 wildebeest<br />
3 wildebeest in distance<br />
kudu<br />
Dung balls formed from dung beetle.<br />
Return to camp.<br />
Near the e<strong>at</strong>ing area, there is a small pool of w<strong>at</strong>er, like a bird feeder, and birds come in. During<br />
and after lunch:<br />
golden breasted bunting<br />
N<strong>at</strong>al francolin<br />
black collared barbet, bright red face and thro<strong>at</strong>. There were five drinking from the w<strong>at</strong>er all <strong>at</strong> one<br />
time.<br />
blue waxbill. With sky blue face and breast, small, a striking bird.<br />
At the big w<strong>at</strong>ering hole, beyond the hide:<br />
baboons<br />
20-30 impala<br />
Afternoon game drive<br />
We drove to the point from which we would walk. En route<br />
12 wildebeest<br />
50 impala<br />
tree squirrel<br />
wart hog<br />
Cleve sees aardvarks rarely, only one or two in 18 years. One was killed by a lion, and he once<br />
saw one from a helicopter. They are nocturnal and only active in the l<strong>at</strong>e night, perhaps from<br />
midnight to 4.00 a.m. Nobody sees them.<br />
steenbok<br />
There are no antlers in Africa, i.e. which grow from bone as in deer and elk. All the animals have<br />
horns, i.e. which grow from modified skin.<br />
zebra<br />
another zebra
52<br />
button quail<br />
2 klipsringer, seen nicely on hillside<br />
green pigeons<br />
The sc<strong>at</strong> of black rhino is coarser and has bigger twigs (size of a lead pencil, maybe even to the<br />
size of your little finger) cut <strong>at</strong> 45 degrees angle. Seen in midden.<br />
We reached an upper w<strong>at</strong>er hole<br />
hippo and calf; we walked round on the rocks to see her<br />
baboons<br />
vultures drinking on the other side of the pool<br />
pied wagtails, common in East Africa, but this is their lower limit of distribution<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er dikkup<br />
3 w<strong>at</strong>er buck<br />
On the trail back to the bakkie:<br />
porcupine quill, quite sizeable<br />
3 w<strong>at</strong>er buck<br />
5-6 kudu<br />
There are no Thomson's gazelles, no Grant's gazelles in Kruger.<br />
zebra<br />
On the drive back to camp, in the dark:<br />
nightjars in the road and flying up, we saw 12-15 of them.<br />
scrub hare. Seen 12-15 times running.<br />
July 18, Tuesday.<br />
We got into the bakkie and drove a distance for the morning walk. In the first few minutes of the<br />
walk, there were jackals calling.<br />
giant eagle owl, flew from perch.<br />
The sound of wildebeest is a grunt th<strong>at</strong> sounds something like "knoo" and hence the other name<br />
"gnu".<br />
10 wildebeest alarmed and running. Nice scene.<br />
lilac breasted roller, rolling flight<br />
parrots spp.<br />
communal spiders, make a web something like a tentworm c<strong>at</strong>erpillar.<br />
zebra, seen in close<br />
giraffe<br />
20 zebra, close in<br />
We found fresh white rhino track and shortly they decided to see if they could track it, so we<br />
reversed our directions.<br />
civet midden. With lots of milliped skeleton fragments. Civets can e<strong>at</strong> them even though they<br />
contain strychnine.<br />
Eventually, we gave up on the rhino tracking and had a breakfast stop. Just as we were leaving,
53<br />
we found a rhino horn (pix), which Cleve said would be worth 5,000 rand (about $ 1,200) in the<br />
market. A good one taken from the live animal is worth 20,000 rand. We tossed it away to let it<br />
recycle!<br />
white-backed vulture<br />
long-tailed shrike<br />
Vultures here do not really circle over a carcass. They come down quickly, even when wh<strong>at</strong>ever<br />
killed it is still e<strong>at</strong>ing it, and wait in a tree around it. They roost in dead trees, but if you see them<br />
sitting in a leafy tree, look for a carcass.<br />
Found the skin of an impala left in a tree, where a leopard had carried an impala up a tree (pix).<br />
martial eagle<br />
porcupine quill<br />
dung beetle balls<br />
more porcupine quills<br />
50 impala<br />
Returned to the truck. The youngest of the boys was pretty fagged out.<br />
From the bakkie, on the way back to camp:<br />
4 kudu<br />
12 zebra<br />
20 wildebeest<br />
mopane (pronounced mo pahn nee). A tree th<strong>at</strong> only occurs north of the Oliphants River.<br />
lunch. At the w<strong>at</strong>er pool for birds, during lunch:<br />
crested barbet<br />
crested francolin<br />
red billed woodhoopoe<br />
golden-breasted bunting<br />
5-6 wart hogs, near the w<strong>at</strong>er hole<br />
wildebeest, impala, near w<strong>at</strong>er hole<br />
Afternoon game walk:<br />
from the bakkie, en route:<br />
3 giraffe; the male giraffe has a bald pl<strong>at</strong>e on top of the horns<br />
5 giraffes<br />
12 helmeted guineafowl<br />
on foot:<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er buck<br />
20 impala<br />
walked down a w<strong>at</strong>ercourse, mostly dry, until we came to a larger pool and waited there.<br />
in the pool, 5 hippos, often yawning (pix)<br />
Shortly, two elephants came to the pool, not th<strong>at</strong> far away. They were taking up w<strong>at</strong>er with their<br />
trunks and spraying it on themselves. (pix)<br />
3 crocodiles on another edge of the pool
54<br />
baboons started to come in, then drew back.<br />
jacana<br />
hammerkop<br />
One of the elephants gave out a loud trumpet call. Impressive. This is a nice finish to the last night<br />
out on the trail.<br />
Returning from the w<strong>at</strong>er hole<br />
5-6 wildebeest<br />
20 impala<br />
Back <strong>at</strong> the bakkie, about dark. On the ride back:<br />
others saw a genet, I did not.<br />
30 impala<br />
another 30 impala<br />
6 wildebeest<br />
6-8 scrub hare, roadside<br />
There was some smell of fire in the air, and we drove up to a radio tower to overlook possible fires<br />
in Mozambique, only a few km. to the east. It became r<strong>at</strong>her windy.<br />
Steak cookout (braai) for supper, but it was r<strong>at</strong>her windy, and we <strong>at</strong>e in the semi-shelter.<br />
July 19, Wednesday.<br />
We packed up for the drive back to Skukuza, a big breakfast. We separ<strong>at</strong>ed from Cleve Cheney,<br />
who had another meeting to go to, and had a different driver back to Skukuza.<br />
30 impala<br />
another 30 impala<br />
wildebeest<br />
hyena, running along the road<br />
6 wildebeest<br />
giraffe<br />
We passed several groups of two p<strong>at</strong>rols on bikes, with guns.<br />
6 wildebeest<br />
20 impala<br />
8 impala<br />
6 hippos, in w<strong>at</strong>er <strong>at</strong> dam<br />
12 impala<br />
Then 6 sable bulls, first in the brush and then walked across the road. Nicest view of them you<br />
could ask for and only the second time I have seen sable antelope.<br />
30 impala<br />
12 impala<br />
baboons<br />
green pigeons<br />
10 monkeys<br />
6 impala
55<br />
giant kingfisher<br />
darter (anhinga)<br />
6 impala<br />
2 warthogs<br />
Reached Skukuza and rejoined Jane and Johan. End of the trail camp.<br />
Left Skukuza, about 9.30, making for Johannesburg and a flight to Durban. Changed clothes and<br />
repacked as best I could.<br />
There was an impala left hanging in a tree by a leopard about half a kilometer inside the Kruger<br />
G<strong>at</strong>e. Others had seen the leopard e<strong>at</strong>ing it earlier in the day, and some were waiting for it to<br />
reappear. We saw only the dead impala. Jane and Johan had encountered a big traffic jam here<br />
earlier on the way in and did not know wh<strong>at</strong> was going on.<br />
We drove to Johannesburg, with not a gre<strong>at</strong> deal of time to spare.<br />
Flew to Durban.<br />
We got a car and drove outside of town 30-40 km to Botha's Hill, and the Rob Roy Hotel, near<br />
Kearsey College (a boarding high school), which was the site of the Environmental Educ<strong>at</strong>ion<br />
Associ<strong>at</strong>ion of South Africa (EEASA).<br />
July 20. Thursday. Spoke <strong>at</strong> Environmental Educ<strong>at</strong>ion Associ<strong>at</strong>ion of South Africa.<br />
met:<br />
Claire Holland, The Wildlife Society, Ungeni Valley Project<br />
Jo Ferreira, from Australia, visiting <strong>at</strong> Rhodes <strong>University</strong><br />
Robert Donnoghue, N<strong>at</strong>al Parks Board<br />
and others<br />
Afternoon: toured the Valley Trust, founded by Halley Stott, a physician, for better nutrition with<br />
indigenous agriculture. We toured an experimental garden, led by Alastair Chadwick.<br />
Norfolk Island Pine, Araucaria heterophylla, a gymnosperm but not a pine, strikingly layered. There<br />
was also one in the Divinity School yard <strong>at</strong> Stellenbosch, said to be the tallest tree in town. This<br />
is named from its origin on Norfolk Island, halfway between Australia and New Zealand (site of the<br />
Pitcairn Islander's second home).<br />
Had dinner th<strong>at</strong> evening with wilderness action group:<br />
Dr. Nolly Zoloumas (zuh low mas), dentist, and member of Wilderness Action Group, member of<br />
ISEE, 208 Musgrave Park, 18 Musgrave Road, Durban 4001, South Africa. Phone 27-31-221377.<br />
Lived in Zambia.<br />
William R. Bainbridge. Bill. long with N<strong>at</strong>al Parks Board, lived in Zambia, now a consultant.<br />
Bainbridge Resource Management, 314 Alexander Road, Pietermaritzburg 3201, South Africa.<br />
Phone 27-331-69133. He subsequently came to the wilderness workshop <strong>at</strong> Stellenbosch.<br />
Roland C. Goetz, Msinsi Holdings, P. O. Box 53301, Yellowwood Park 4011, South Africa. He was<br />
director of Wilderness Leadership School formerly in N<strong>at</strong>al, when I was here in 1990, also was in<br />
Jackson, Wyoming <strong>at</strong> a conference I <strong>at</strong>tended on economic values of wilderness. He now manages
56<br />
a trust.<br />
Nolting, Mark O., Africa's Wildlife Countries. Guidebook distributed by Russel Friedman books.<br />
July 21, Friday.<br />
At breakfast, I met Dr. Baldur H. Koch, Department of Agriculture, Priv<strong>at</strong>e Bag X120, Pretoria,<br />
South Africa. Interested in agricultural ethics.<br />
Picked up in combi by Wilderness Leadership School:<br />
Paul Cryer - he was the one bitten by a snake when Vance Martin's son was here.<br />
Bruce Dell - older and longtime trails leader. He l<strong>at</strong>er came to Stellenbosch to the wilderness<br />
workshop.<br />
Mike Weerts - officially the trails leader on this trip.<br />
Vincent Ncobo, a Zulu with the kwaZulu Parks Board, but placed with Wilderness Leadership<br />
School to get some trails going with some political figures.<br />
We drove to Eschowe, to leave Jane with Wayne Elliot and his seven dogs and two c<strong>at</strong>s! please,<br />
8 dogs, 3 c<strong>at</strong>s<br />
Then we drove on to Umfolozi Park. The combined park is with Hluhluwe (pronounced almost flu<br />
flue ee). Once there was a corridor between them but now th<strong>at</strong> is gone.<br />
We then left the van and packed out. I used their backpack and left mine in the van. Not a bad<br />
load <strong>at</strong> all. In this group there is only one gun up front.<br />
seen on the trail:<br />
baboons<br />
impala<br />
7 rhinos, <strong>at</strong> some distance, though clearly visible.<br />
white-backed vulture<br />
impala<br />
3 w<strong>at</strong>erbuck<br />
wooly-necked stork<br />
crocodile<br />
We spent the first night <strong>at</strong> a throwdown camp in a sandy area. This was my first night in the bush<br />
with no fence around me. The guides look around a bit and try to find an area th<strong>at</strong> has no animal<br />
tracks in it, where the animals are not coming through. You just put down your sleeping bag on<br />
a thin m<strong>at</strong>, and th<strong>at</strong>'s it. They get several pots of sand and pile it up to make a raised fl<strong>at</strong> area for<br />
the fire. The cooking always starts out with browning some onions in a pot, and adding various<br />
ingredients subsequently, a sort of stew th<strong>at</strong> is then poured over rice or some mealy stuff. I had<br />
to do the night w<strong>at</strong>ch from 1.30 a.m. to 3.00 a.m., with a flashlight th<strong>at</strong> wasn't working well. But I<br />
kept the fire going pretty well! All told, a r<strong>at</strong>her quiet night. Wood owl calling in the night.<br />
July 22, S<strong>at</strong>urday.<br />
R<strong>at</strong>her leisurely get up and cooking breakfast. Then we packed up and left, with considerable effort<br />
<strong>at</strong> "leaving no trace." This includes mixing the ashes up in the pile of sand and sc<strong>at</strong>tering it some
57<br />
distance away to the four winds. Then you brush around over your tracks and cover the area you<br />
slept in.<br />
We more or less wandered around through the morning, then lunched <strong>at</strong> a large tree <strong>at</strong> the<br />
riverside, then forded the river, really not much of a ford, but you have to take your shoes off to do<br />
it. The sky was clear, though a few clouds g<strong>at</strong>hering and a predicted front worried them, and they<br />
wanted a protected camp. We climbed up a gentle slope to a fl<strong>at</strong>ter area, and camped in a grassy<br />
area after some time deciding where the rhino were least often coming through. They pitched one<br />
rainfly.<br />
Black rhino browse and have larger twigs, cut <strong>at</strong> 45 degree angles. White rhino graze more and<br />
have less coarse dung.<br />
seen in the day on the trail:<br />
impala<br />
helmetshrike<br />
white backed vulture, flushed from nest<br />
hammerkop nest, with entrance hole<br />
Louis Liebenberg is better on tracks than the Clive Walker book.<br />
scarlet chested sunbird<br />
male nyala<br />
b<strong>at</strong>taleur eagle<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er buck<br />
5 kudu<br />
Some minute ticks were a bother, the early moult stages of a larger tick. They call these pepper<br />
ticks, and they get in especially around your socks. They are almost too small to see and r<strong>at</strong>her<br />
like a chigger bite. They wear sandals and say this prevents their getting hold, though Wayne Elliot<br />
says this is not a good idea in the bush, and th<strong>at</strong> you can just leave your socks off inside your boot<br />
and it works o.k.<br />
There was a bit of rain during the night, and they scrambled out and pitched the second fly, but it<br />
proved hardly necessary.<br />
July 23, Sunday.<br />
Cloudy day, though sometimes cloudy bright. We were off to a leisurely start again and more<br />
wandering around, this time up a higher area.<br />
75 buffalo, seen <strong>at</strong> some distance downriver.<br />
2-3 dozen impala<br />
warthog<br />
5 impala<br />
warthog, up close<br />
We looked around several w<strong>at</strong>er holes where they reminisced about some adventures with rhino<br />
there in earlier days.
The we left our packs to climb a low summit:<br />
chinspot b<strong>at</strong>tis<br />
2 giraffe - I spotted them some distance below.<br />
12-15 w<strong>at</strong>er bucks, as we neared the summit<br />
Reached M<strong>at</strong>shemhlope, 670 feet, with river below <strong>at</strong> 200 feet on topo map.<br />
2 buffalo seen near river below.<br />
58<br />
We returned to our packs and then descended to the river for lunch, on some rocks overlooking the<br />
river. There was a lot of baboon sc<strong>at</strong> on the rocks, and now one of the buffalo was not far below<br />
us. We <strong>at</strong>e w<strong>at</strong>ching it. The buffalo seemed old and tired. Eventually, it got up and walked down<br />
to the river.<br />
green pigeons, close <strong>at</strong> hand.<br />
fork tailed drongo<br />
crested barbet<br />
5 w<strong>at</strong>er bucks<br />
A nyala buck and 10-12 females gradually made their way up the river toward us. The females are<br />
very different in color from the darker male.<br />
brown hooded kingfisher<br />
After lunch, we crossed the river and shortly reached a campsite frequently used by Ian Player,<br />
when he walks in. Some gear is stored here. We pitched camp. I had night w<strong>at</strong>ch 9.00-11.00 p.m.<br />
Quiet night.<br />
July 24, Monday.<br />
Bruce Dell baked a beautiful loaf of bread in the morning, in a pan, but this made a l<strong>at</strong>e breakfast.<br />
Martial eagles, 2 of them, flew over camp and perched over the river where we could see them.<br />
A r<strong>at</strong>her slow morning. We crossed the river again, then recrossed it back and walked out. The<br />
old buffalo we had seen the day before was still around.<br />
When we were almost out, there were three buffalo seen <strong>at</strong> a little distance.<br />
We returned to the combi (van), and unpacked and repacked.<br />
On the way out in the combi:<br />
wildebeest<br />
Charlton-Perkins, William, Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Park. Cape Town: Struik, <strong>1995</strong>. ISBN 1-<br />
86825-745-2.<br />
Mountain, Alan, Paradise under Pressure (St. Lucia, Kosi Bay, Sodwana, Lake Sibaya, Maputaland)<br />
Johannesburg: Southern Book Publishing, 1990. ISBN 1 86812 277 8. 133 pages.<br />
We drove back to Wayne Elliot's to recover Jane from the dogs. We got there about 5.00 and took<br />
a r<strong>at</strong>her welcome b<strong>at</strong>h.
59<br />
We were visited th<strong>at</strong> evening by Burchert Roberts, Department of English <strong>at</strong> <strong>University</strong> of Zululand,<br />
who had read some of my m<strong>at</strong>erial. Friend of Ian Player. He describes himself as a "primitivist".<br />
Interested in African liter<strong>at</strong>ure.<br />
July 25. Tuesday.<br />
We left Wayne Elliot's to drive to St. Lucia for a flight over Richard's Bay, arranged by Ian Player.<br />
Pilot is Ray Rothlissberger, with kwaZulu Dept. of N<strong>at</strong>ure Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion. The plane is owned by<br />
kwaZulu Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion Trust, and was don<strong>at</strong>ed by someone in California. Plane is really mostly<br />
made of canvass. Took an impressive flight over the area, thre<strong>at</strong>ened to be mined for rutile by<br />
Richards Bay Minerals.<br />
We checked into a retre<strong>at</strong> motel, (Bomba Cabanna) with cooking facilities. A troop of monkeys in<br />
the yard was quite playful.<br />
Casuarina, a tree common near the shoreline around St. Lucia, evergreen woody, much-branched,<br />
with whorled leaves conn<strong>at</strong>e forming a she<strong>at</strong>h about the twig, the leaf tips appearing as reduced<br />
bracts. Has the general appearance of Equisetum-like jointed branches. Introduced from Australia.<br />
Is this the tree th<strong>at</strong> in Florida I recall being called Australian pine? Some interpret it as a primitive<br />
dicot, but others think it is reduced from higher plants. Phylogenetic position seems to be poorly<br />
understood (Lawrence, Taxonomy of Vascular Plants, pp. 442-443).<br />
Afternoon:<br />
We drove north to Cape Vidal, from about 3.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. There is a dense coastal forest<br />
here. Red duiker, two crossing the road. Nyala jumped out in the road; we had to swerve not to<br />
hit it. 15-20 impala. Reached Cape Vidal where there is access to the beach. There was a man<br />
here cleaning a good sized barracuda th<strong>at</strong> he had caught, and four or five dozen people fishing on<br />
the beach with long poles. Somewh<strong>at</strong> windy, and beginning to get dark. Jane saw Indian Ocean<br />
for the first time and got her feet in it; Johan swam.<br />
Grey headed gull. Lots of them here.<br />
Spotted eagle owl, presumably, seen in the dusk on return.<br />
July 26. Wednesday.<br />
Johan went out for a morning walk and had an encounter with a hippo coming down the p<strong>at</strong>h on<br />
a shortcut he took.<br />
We drove to Richard's Bay to c<strong>at</strong>ch a prop plane commuter down the coast to Durban. Then a jet<br />
from Durban to Port Elizabeth, where we left Johan on the plane going on to Cape Town and<br />
Stellenbosch.<br />
We were met by P<strong>at</strong> Irwin, whom we had previously met <strong>at</strong> the Environmental Educ<strong>at</strong>ion<br />
conference in Durban.<br />
We drove to Grahamstown, with a circuit via the small towns of Alexandria and Kenton-on-Sea, a<br />
resort town.
60<br />
gre<strong>at</strong>er kestrel<br />
We stopped in the Thomas Baines N<strong>at</strong>ure Reserve. They have 10 buffalo here, 5 white rhino and<br />
one leopard, several kinds of antelope. But the main purpose of the reserve is to save samples of<br />
the original veget<strong>at</strong>ion in the area.<br />
Our Grahamstown hosts put us up in a bed and breakfast, an elegant old home, but it was always<br />
cold.<br />
We had dinner th<strong>at</strong> evening with P<strong>at</strong> Irwin in his home, and others in the educ<strong>at</strong>ion department,<br />
especially George and Gwenda Euvrard (who was l<strong>at</strong>er to take us to Addo Elephant Park), also<br />
Hennie and Caroline van der Meselt.<br />
P<strong>at</strong> Irwin, Department of Educ<strong>at</strong>ion, Rhodes <strong>University</strong>, P. O. Box 94, Grahamstown 6140, South<br />
Africa.<br />
July 27. Thursday.<br />
Lecture in the morning<br />
There was a striking monkey puzzle tree in the campus lawn. Monkeys climb out on long limbs to<br />
get the fruit and the limbs bend down and the monkeys get puzzled.<br />
Lunch with Geoff G. Antrobus, economics and dean of social science, and another economist and<br />
a gradu<strong>at</strong>e student.<br />
Lecture in the afternoon<br />
Trip to Thomas Barnes N<strong>at</strong>ure Reserve, with Derek van Eeden, the manager of the reserve. He<br />
had heard me speak <strong>at</strong> Durban.<br />
mountain tortoise (= leopard tortoise)<br />
6-8 red hartebeest<br />
1 wildebeest<br />
We went to see one million dollars worth of cycads th<strong>at</strong> had been essentially stolen, though taken<br />
with some kind of forged permit in one of the former homelands, and recaptured and planted here.<br />
We had dinner with Felicity Edwards, system<strong>at</strong>ic theology, and Margaret Donaldson, church history.<br />
Edwards did a B.D. <strong>at</strong> the <strong>University</strong> of Edinburgh under Tom Torrance (my advisor).<br />
July 28, Friday.<br />
Morning lecture<br />
I had a brief visit to School of Ichythology, courtesy of Ofer Gon, fisheries biologist who had heard<br />
my talks. The School was founded by a fisheries biologist who was influential in the school here.<br />
He discovered the coelacanths, and one is prominently displayed in the hall, pickled.<br />
Jane went with Anne Irwin to visit two preprimary schools for blacks - one next to finger section of
61<br />
the township with an enrollment of 65 children. The other was nearer in town in a former Methodist<br />
sanctuary; 105 children enrolled and doing very well in classes conducted in three languages -<br />
Afrikaans, English, Xhosa.<br />
Lunch with Brian Peckham, lecturer in law, who was in wheel chair, teaches environmental law.<br />
Also Ivan Schaffer, dean of the law school.<br />
Afternoon lecture<br />
Dinner with philosophy department:<br />
Ian MacDonald, wife Gus (Augusta), has a M.A. from Kansas, no Ph.D., chair of the dept.<br />
Marius Vermaak, studied and taught <strong>at</strong> Stellenbosch, younger.<br />
Frances Williamson, with beard, interested in sociobiology.<br />
Gary ? Newer philosopher, there on contract, only been there a week.<br />
lucerne, or lucern = alfalfa (Medicago s<strong>at</strong>iva), a legume.<br />
July 29, S<strong>at</strong>urday.<br />
We went to a beadwork festival <strong>at</strong> Albany Cultural Museum. African dancers and an African choir.<br />
Then back to the bed and breakfast, and off <strong>at</strong> 12.00 for Addo Elephant Park.<br />
Reached the park and tried to get lunch there, eventually to wait for a lunch th<strong>at</strong> took too long<br />
coming.<br />
Then we drove through the park, but in some haste.<br />
One elephant <strong>at</strong> w<strong>at</strong>erhole.<br />
Another elephant in distance, l<strong>at</strong>er seen close up.<br />
A third elephant on skyline, nice tusks.<br />
red hartebeest, group of 6-8<br />
ostriches - perhaps three dozen seen<br />
12-15 red hartebeest<br />
Then a group of 19 elephants crossing a field, including several quite small ones. Nice scene.<br />
While we were w<strong>at</strong>ching this another elephant came up the road from behind us, and kept coming<br />
closer. We moved forward, only eventually to stop and have it walk past us in the bush.<br />
Return drive, to leave the park:<br />
12-15 eland in distance<br />
Drive to Port Elizabeth, and flight to Cape Town <strong>at</strong> 5.55 p.m.<br />
dolosse - a big stone, anchor like fabric<strong>at</strong>ion, which they pile up to make breakw<strong>at</strong>ers.<br />
Arriving Cape Town, we were met by Johan H<strong>at</strong>tingh, and drove to Stellenbosch, and got set up<br />
in the apartment.<br />
July 30. Sunday.<br />
Went to Presbyterian/Congreg<strong>at</strong>ionalist United Church.
62<br />
July 31. Monday.<br />
11.00 met with divinity faculty, Prof. Pieter Coertzen, dean of theology.<br />
4.00. first lecture<br />
August 1, Tuesday.<br />
lecture<br />
August 2. Wednesday<br />
lecture<br />
evening: reception <strong>at</strong> Johan's home<br />
August 3. Thursday<br />
rainy day, and river walk cancelled.<br />
August 4. Friday<br />
odds and ends<br />
August 5, S<strong>at</strong>urday. Drive to False Bay, Harold Porter N<strong>at</strong>ure Reserve (tea and scones there), and<br />
Hermanus. Rainy day all day, and cold, but still an interesting trip. Johan came <strong>at</strong> 8.30. We drove<br />
south and through The Strand, resort town on False Bay, the bay east of Cape Town. Continued<br />
driving around the coastline to Gordon's Bay and Pringle Bay, then out to see Hangklip and Cape<br />
Hangklip. Johan does sea diving from here. Stopped for tea <strong>at</strong> Harold Porter N<strong>at</strong>ure Reserve, <strong>at</strong><br />
Betty's Bay. There were baboons on the grounds. This is fynbos area. There are a good many<br />
baboons in the area and there are several leopards th<strong>at</strong> prey on them. We went to see a penguin<br />
nesting colony, of jackass penguins, from their call like a donkey. A n<strong>at</strong>ural enemy is the cape fur<br />
seal, in this area. There were also in the nesting area many cormorants: white-breasted and bank<br />
cormorants. There started a very heavy rain while we were w<strong>at</strong>ching and we hastened back. The<br />
penguins normally only nest on islands <strong>at</strong> sea south of here, but in the 1980's they started nesting<br />
here. The area is fenced to keep people out, but you can walk to the edge of it. Also the fence is<br />
to keep pred<strong>at</strong>ors out to which they would not be exposed on islands, such as caracals, mongoose,<br />
jackals. Once a leopard got into the nesting area and killed 80 penguins.<br />
Continued to Hermanus, a resort town, walked around harbor briefly. We were on the lookout for<br />
whales (southern right whales), which come to this area to calve, but saw none. It is a little early<br />
for them. A woman <strong>at</strong> the Porter Gardens had seen one calving yesterday. It cleared some as we<br />
drove back. We stopped and looked <strong>at</strong> a Protea in bloom, roadside; I brought a bit of flower in to<br />
take it apart. It has a sort of a composite-like flower; each individual flower on a long stalk, with thin<br />
floret with four anthers. We stopped <strong>at</strong> a spectacular overlook over False Bay <strong>at</strong> Sir Lowry's Pass,<br />
an overlook th<strong>at</strong> I recall from my 1990 trip here, then with Reinold Rau and his Quagga Project.<br />
More rain on the way back and in the evening.<br />
August 7, Sunday. Jane and I drove to Cape of Good Hope. Left with mostly cloudy we<strong>at</strong>her,<br />
though some blue p<strong>at</strong>ches. But it turned out a quite pretty day, though everywhere mostly cloudy.<br />
The clouds were part of the scenery, r<strong>at</strong>her like the Lake District in England.<br />
Took R310 southwest to its intersection with N2, then N2 into Cape Town. Drove by numerous<br />
squalid townships for the blacks. On into Cape Town and took M3, which runs in front of the
63<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Cape Town. Lovely drive. Lovely city in a lovely setting. The Portuguese were the<br />
first to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, looking for a route to India. The Dutch first settled here<br />
in 1652. The British came in 1806. We continued, south to Muisenberg, and then drove down the<br />
east side of the peninsula, th<strong>at</strong> is, the western side of False Bay. Through Fish Hoek, Simon's<br />
Town, and on down into the Cape of Good Hope N<strong>at</strong>ure Reserve. Marvelous scenery down the<br />
coast.<br />
We reached the Cape of Good Hope N<strong>at</strong>ure Reserve about 10.30. Bartholomeu Dias with three<br />
small ships rounded the cape in 1487 and named it Cabo de Boa Esperanca. Ten years l<strong>at</strong>er, in<br />
1497 Vasco da Gama came round the cape and made it all the way to India. This is fynbos, low<br />
to waist high brush, pruned down by the wind, often many rocks. There are almost no n<strong>at</strong>ive trees.<br />
It is reminiscent in many respects of the Scottish coastal highlands.<br />
We went first to the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost point, which is low by the sea. 3-4<br />
ostriches going in. There were impressive breakers coming in; we w<strong>at</strong>ched them in awe for a while.<br />
Then we drove around to Cape Point, which is high. You park and walk up, 20 minutes climb, to<br />
an observ<strong>at</strong>ion point with an unused tower on it. Lots of people here.<br />
We returned to the car, drove back around to the cape and had lunch, w<strong>at</strong>ching the breakers.<br />
(various pix)<br />
Returning, a nice group of bontebok, stopped and w<strong>at</strong>ched them a while. This antelope is restricted<br />
to the Cape area, richly colored, grouped by some in the same species as blesbok. Neither had<br />
all th<strong>at</strong> much range; both are much reduced in numbers.<br />
Continuing, drove up the west coast of the peninsula, i.e. the Atlantic Ocean side, with more<br />
spectacular driving on a road cut into the coastline, especially the Chapman's Peak stretch. A<br />
couple of baboons <strong>at</strong> one point along the roadside. Clouds continued to enhance the scenery.<br />
Returned on M63 by the Kirstenbosch Gardens area, and picked up the M3 used earlier in the day.<br />
Back <strong>at</strong> the fl<strong>at</strong> by about 5.00 p.m. Quite a memorable and scenic day, <strong>at</strong> the bottom of Africa.<br />
August 7. Monday, lecture <strong>at</strong> <strong>University</strong> of Cape Town<br />
Cloudless day. We drove down with Ian Voges; met with Roy Siegfried, Fitzp<strong>at</strong>rick Institute of<br />
Ornithology, <strong>University</strong> of Cape Town, <strong>at</strong> 11.30 a.m. Lunch with philosophy dept., and seminar with<br />
them and gradu<strong>at</strong>e students afterward. Then drove by the w<strong>at</strong>erfront shopping area. Cape Town<br />
in all its beauty.<br />
August 8, Tuesday. In the morning, met with Charlie Boucher, Department of Botany, and an<br />
ecologist and conserv<strong>at</strong>ionist here. Toured the herbarium. Their research herbarium is soon to be<br />
moved to Kirstenbosch. The biggest herbarium in the country is <strong>at</strong> Pretoria, the N<strong>at</strong>ional Botanical<br />
Institute, a government agency. Kirstenbosch has now been made part of th<strong>at</strong> also. Checklist of<br />
the mosses was done by Bob McGill; I looked <strong>at</strong> a n<strong>at</strong>ional flora th<strong>at</strong> listed them.<br />
Arnold, T. H., and B. C. de Wet, eds., Plants of Southern Africa: Names and Distribution. Pretoria:<br />
N<strong>at</strong>ional Botanical Institute, 1993. 825 pages. ISBN 1-874907-03-X. South Africa has the richest<br />
temper<strong>at</strong>e flora in the world, approxim<strong>at</strong>ely 24,500 species (or infrageneric taxa), almost 10% of<br />
the world's flowering plants. This list is from the N<strong>at</strong>ional Herbarium system, a computer-based<br />
flora. The first part of the list is bryophytes, some forty pages.
64<br />
MacGill, R. E. and E. A. Schelpe, "The bryophytes of Southern Africa, an annot<strong>at</strong>ed checklist,"<br />
Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa, no. 43, 1979.<br />
Cowling, Richard and Dave Richardson, Fynbos: South Africa's Unique Floral Kingdom Vlaeberg:<br />
Fernwood Press, <strong>1995</strong>. 154 pages. ISBN 1 874590 10 5 Fynbos, a veget<strong>at</strong>ion type unique to<br />
South Africa, is the smallest floral kingdom in the world, yet for its size it boasts the largest number<br />
of plant species. Nowhere else on earth are so many species crammed into such a small area.<br />
This is an extremely <strong>at</strong>tractive present<strong>at</strong>ion in text and photography, not only of the flora but of the<br />
fauna it supports. Its conserv<strong>at</strong>ion is of gre<strong>at</strong> concern and one of the leading arguments here is th<strong>at</strong><br />
the solutions to these problems lie in the recognition of fynbos as an economic resource. Cowling<br />
is an ecologist <strong>at</strong> the <strong>University</strong> of Cape Town and a 1994 winner of the Pew Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion Award.<br />
Richardson is a researcher <strong>at</strong> the Institute for Plant Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion, <strong>University</strong> of Cape Town.<br />
L<strong>at</strong>er, I had an interview with geologist on environmental geology.<br />
Lecture <strong>at</strong> Stellenbosch in the afternoon.<br />
Evening: Dinner with Jerry Eckert.<br />
August 9. Wednesday. Hike in mountains out of Jonkershoek N<strong>at</strong>ure Reserve. "Hoek" means<br />
"hook," but here a hollow or valley. The lower parts are plant<strong>at</strong>ions, but the upper parts preserved<br />
as fynbos. We made a considerable climb (about 3,000 ft) over a r<strong>at</strong>her rocky trail, with lowering<br />
clouds above. Then we got into the clouds, eventually made the ridge in deterior<strong>at</strong>ing we<strong>at</strong>her and<br />
got sopping wet coming back down. It was r<strong>at</strong>her hard picking your way underfoot with w<strong>at</strong>er<br />
fogging your glasses, but we made it back. This was a holiday, "Woman's Day," the first such<br />
holiday in South Africa. The higher mountains here are over 5,000 feet, which means they are as<br />
high as Mt. Rogers in Virginia, or Ben Nevis in Scotland, and as high above their base (sea level)<br />
as Long's Peak is above the plains. Others not far away are over 6,000 ft.<br />
Evening: Dinner with Johan's mother and f<strong>at</strong>her; He is a retired pastor in the Dutch Reformed<br />
Church.<br />
August 10, Thursday.<br />
I had an interview with John Hanks, WWF South Africa (formerly Southern Africa N<strong>at</strong>ure<br />
Found<strong>at</strong>ion). He is a friend of Gene Decker's.<br />
Evening: Dinner with Rudi Bigalke, dean, Faculty of Forestry. Forestry here has three departments:<br />
1. Wood Technology. 2. Silviculture. 3. Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion (not the exact names). He is a friend of<br />
Gene Decker's.<br />
Had blesbok for the me<strong>at</strong>-very tender.<br />
August 11, Friday.<br />
Morning: River tour with Danie R. Schreuder, environmental educ<strong>at</strong>ion and the Department of<br />
Educ<strong>at</strong>ion. Visits to various spots on the river reveal a gre<strong>at</strong> deal about the character of the society<br />
on the river. Whites have a clean river and spend money to keep it clean; rivers th<strong>at</strong> flow through<br />
the black settlements are polluted, especially with human wastes, also quite trashy; rivers th<strong>at</strong> flow<br />
through some problem<strong>at</strong>ic colored settlements are
65<br />
the trashiest of all.<br />
Afternoon. Wilderness workshop with Ian Player, Bill Bainbridge, Alex Weaver, Bun Booyens,<br />
Bruce Dell, Rudi Bigalke, Andrew Muir, and others. About 20 participants in the workshop, by<br />
invit<strong>at</strong>ion only.<br />
August 12, S<strong>at</strong>urday.<br />
Tea with Nicholas J. Slabbert, who arranges joint ventures in business, also runs a found<strong>at</strong>ion for<br />
Laurens van der Post. He has set up a Center for Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Business, <strong>University</strong> of<br />
Stellenbosch. He now lives in Maine. He is interested in the possibility of some endowed chair th<strong>at</strong><br />
would be a joint appointment between some school in the U.S. and the <strong>University</strong> of Stellenbosch.<br />
Afternoon: we drove out to some farms on the "wine route"; then to Somerset West shopping mall,<br />
then to the Strand and its beach on False Bay. Marvelous day.<br />
Evening: a fine choral concert by the <strong>University</strong> of Stellenbosch choir, and reception with the rector,<br />
Andreas van Wyk; his field was law. Vice-rector, Walter Classen was in Hebrew, used John Bright<br />
as his text.<br />
August 13, Sunday.<br />
I hiked up Witteberge mountain with Peter Blignaut and his wife, Jill. (Blignaut and Rommelaere,<br />
P. O. Box 334, Parow 7500, South Africa. Phone 930-2313/4. Home: 794 4836. He is town<br />
planner and land surveyor, finishing a Ph.D. degree in planning <strong>at</strong> <strong>University</strong> of Cape Town,<br />
Framework for a Socio-Resource Zoning Management Policy for the Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion and Sustainable<br />
Utilis<strong>at</strong>ion of the Mountainous Areas of South Africa. <strong>University</strong> of Cape Town, Department of<br />
Environmental and Geographical Science, Ph.D. Dissert<strong>at</strong>ion, April 1994. She did an M.A. in<br />
environmental management in the same department. He has been long active in the Mountain Club<br />
of South Africa, a big mountain hiker. They have climbed Long's Peak in U.S and tried Mt. Rainier,<br />
but too much snow. Also they have hiked in the Himalayas.<br />
We drove up DuToitklooppas (Du Toit's Gorge Pass), which is on N1 n<strong>at</strong>ional highway inland (main<br />
highway to Johannesburg). There is now a tunnel bene<strong>at</strong>h the mountain (Huguenot Tunnel), but<br />
the pass road is still open and preferred by many. At the pass, we took a narrow paved road<br />
though a locked g<strong>at</strong>e, which goes up to a microwave tower, and parked the car on the upper<br />
reaches of th<strong>at</strong>.<br />
We hiked into a mountain hut, on a trail, after th<strong>at</strong> the hike was a rock scramble all day. Climbed<br />
a grassy knob, then leveled out on top, then dropped some into a wetter area, then climbed to a<br />
saddle on the flanks of Witteberge (which means white mountain) and had lunch there. We did not<br />
try the summit (1,689 meters, or 5,540 feet), which they said is pretty rough the last part up. We<br />
returned by a different route, I had to pick my way down carefully, often r<strong>at</strong>her rough. At one point<br />
I saw a snake shortly ahead across my p<strong>at</strong>h, which they concluded was a puff adder; it made some<br />
spitting or hissing noises. We reached the cabin again, and walked out.<br />
We drove down the pass on the n.w. side to see the impressive n.w. face of Witteberge mountain,<br />
which is indeed impressive. Also here you can look up to Du Toit peak (DuToitsberge), the highest<br />
in this immedi<strong>at</strong>e area (1,997 meters, 6,550 ft. This is considerably higher than anything in the<br />
eastern U. S. Returned about dark.
66<br />
Fynbos:<br />
The main growth forms are:<br />
--restioid. evergreen, somewh<strong>at</strong> grasslike, solid round stems with joins, suggestive of rush or<br />
sedge. From family Restionaceae, genus Restio. Fynbos has 310 species in Restionaceae, and<br />
203 species in Cyperaceae (sedge). We walked through restioid growth all day. Restionaceae is<br />
almost confined to the Southern Hemisphere, principally South Africa and Australia. It is closely<br />
rel<strong>at</strong>ed to Juncaceae (rushes), but the flowers have a pendulous ovule and are unisexual, mostly<br />
dioecious. Superficially, they resemble Cyperaceae and where they are numerous in South Africa<br />
and Australia they take the place of grasses in the veget<strong>at</strong>ion. The family probably origin<strong>at</strong>ed in<br />
Australia, <strong>at</strong> least the most primitive members are there. Flowers in spikelets, the male ones with<br />
glume-like segments and three anthers. The female flowers have a superior ovary, 1-3 locules, and<br />
ovules th<strong>at</strong> are pendulous from the apex. Juncaceae have perfect flowers, 3 or 6-merous, and<br />
ovules ascending or parietal. Perhaps two-thirds of the species worldwide are in the Cape flora.<br />
--proteoid. Like Protea<br />
--ericoid. Like Erica, or he<strong>at</strong>h-like. small leaves, he<strong>at</strong>her like, often purplish or pink flowers, bell<br />
shaped.<br />
Intern<strong>at</strong>ional biologists visiting the fynbos are often struck with the lack of animals. No large<br />
mammals are seen roaming about, few bird calls can be heard, and one does not need insect proof<br />
netting to sleep <strong>at</strong> night. It can seem th<strong>at</strong> this corner of Africa is a botanical wonderland and a<br />
zoological desert. But there are many more inconspicuous animal and plant interactions.<br />
Especially common is seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory), thought to be common where<br />
nutrients are low, seeds are expensive to produce and rodents are likely to e<strong>at</strong> seeds on the<br />
ground. Ants carry the seeds underground.<br />
Another factor is fire-stimul<strong>at</strong>ed germin<strong>at</strong>ion. Many of the seeds have to be smoked and/or burned<br />
to grow well. Many plants are serotinous, fruiting heads remain on the plant and open up only after<br />
fires.<br />
There are few fleshy fruited species.<br />
Many species have hard leaves, schlerophylly. This seem to be the reason why there are not many<br />
butterflies.<br />
August 14. Monday.<br />
We drove to Cape Town and rode the cable car up Table Mountain. Reasonably good day, but<br />
hazy in the distance. Shopping also.<br />
Went to the Rhodes Monument.<br />
August 15. Tuesday.<br />
Full day of meetings, and lecture in the afternoon. Spoke to the deb<strong>at</strong>ing club <strong>at</strong> their banquet th<strong>at</strong><br />
evening.
67<br />
August 16. Wednesday.<br />
Day of meetings and lecture in the afternoon. Interview with Alex Weaver, CSIR (Council on<br />
Scientific and Industrial Research), head of their Environmental Services. Interview with Bernard<br />
L<strong>at</strong>egan, Dean of Liberal Arts. Interview with Judge Denis Cowan, much interested in<br />
environmental law in South Africa.<br />
Heard lecture by Cyril Ramphosa, on ANC Constitution Commission and a labor medi<strong>at</strong>or. Reunion<br />
dinner with the Bush Camp group th<strong>at</strong> night.<br />
August 17. Thursday.<br />
Drove to Cape Town in time to get lunch with Johan's wife, Marion, and to visit <strong>University</strong> of the<br />
Western Cape. Largely a colored institution; she teaches Afrikaans language and liter<strong>at</strong>ure there.<br />
Brief stop <strong>at</strong> the Cape Fl<strong>at</strong>s N<strong>at</strong>ure Reserve.<br />
Caught plane home <strong>at</strong> 5.00 p.m., flying via Johannesburg, with interesting flight over the Karoo on<br />
the way up. Then overnight to London, then day flight over the Atlantic to JFK New York, with a<br />
splendid view of Cape Cod flying in, the northern hook seen perfectly. Then to Pittsburgh, then to<br />
Denver, a r<strong>at</strong>her roundabout flight and some 37 hours in the system. Gre<strong>at</strong> trip.<br />
end of Afruca 1996
68<br />
Sept. 23-24, <strong>1995</strong>. Backpacking trip to Fern Lake with Will Aiken. Left S<strong>at</strong>urday 8.00 a.m. with<br />
thre<strong>at</strong> of snow in the evening and on Sunday. There had been a major snow storm in town a week<br />
before, broke all kinds of limbs off trees, left 10,000 people without power half a day. But Friday<br />
had been gorgeous. S<strong>at</strong>urday was a very good day. Left Bear Lake about 10.45 and hiked around.<br />
Lunched <strong>at</strong> about the high spot before the drop into Odessa Lake stops, good view of Notchtop.<br />
Nice temper<strong>at</strong>ures. Continued, and reached Odessa. Nice view of a dipper walking out from it.<br />
Reached Fern Lake about 3.00 p.m. A young coyote was dragging off somebody else's daypack;<br />
we saw it just after somebody else had interrupted this. Pitched camp, and cooked early supper,<br />
not knowing wh<strong>at</strong> was going to happen. Walked back and tried to make it up to Odessa again, but<br />
didn't have enough time before dark.<br />
Started snowing r<strong>at</strong>her soon after we crawled in the sack, perhaps 8.30 and snowed all night, a<br />
r<strong>at</strong>her fine flake/pellet mix much of the time. I knocked it off the tent in the night by hitting it from<br />
the inside. About 5 inches by morning, but not all th<strong>at</strong> cold, and still snowing. We packed up and<br />
went round to the lake, thinking to cook breakfast on the ranger's cabin porch, but there is none.<br />
So we found a bit of shelter under trees and cooked breakfast with a nice view of the lake. Hiked<br />
out in intermittent snow, with only l-2 inches underfoot past the Pool. Nice blue grouse, close in,<br />
on the way down. We had two cars, took one back to Bear Lake and separ<strong>at</strong>ed there. I lunched<br />
with a nice view of Moraine Park in the snow, half sunshine. Returned to town, snow disappearing<br />
in the canyon, and nearly 60 degrees and sunshine in town. Giles drove a motorcycle to Phonenix<br />
this weekend and had a safe trip.<br />
September 30, S<strong>at</strong>urday. Hike into Mirror Lake and out, with Will Aiken. We had packed to stay<br />
in overnight, but there was 2-3 inches of snow <strong>at</strong> the trailhead and the we<strong>at</strong>her report was<br />
discouraging. So we set out for the day thinking to make only the river and perhaps west into the<br />
lower part of the Hague's Creek drainage. Left Jeep about 10.00. But we moved well; we<strong>at</strong>her was<br />
broken clouds and r<strong>at</strong>her pretty, so we went for the Lake. Reached the lake about 1.30. Blood in<br />
deer tracks in the snow on the way up. Also spooked one nice bull elk and saw him well, though<br />
briefly in a small open area. Perhaps 4 inches of snow <strong>at</strong> the lake, with some open spots on the<br />
rocks. Lovely view. Clouds are nice drifting in and out the mountains, mostly cloudy with some<br />
brights spots and occasional sun through blue sky.<br />
Lunched <strong>at</strong> the lake and headed out, with steady hike out, reaching Jeep about 5.30 (and an hour<br />
until dark). 12.5 miles, and my feet did better than expected, only slightly sore 2nd toe on right foot.<br />
Drove on up the Long Draw road to its end <strong>at</strong> Poudre Pass, where there is a trailhead in to Lulu<br />
City. Also there is a nice new campground for tents above the Long Draw Reservoir, with a nice<br />
view over a big meadow. Drove home in the dark and actually hit, slightly, a buck about Poudre<br />
Park, though it did not damage the Jeep and presumably not the buck. Jane is in Richmond,<br />
keeping Marc Bryant's kids while Ann and Billy are in Europe.<br />
October 14, S<strong>at</strong>urday. Hike to Chasm Lake with Will Aiken. Left 7.30, not a cloud in the sky all<br />
day. No snow <strong>at</strong> the Long's Peak trailhead, but by the time lodgepole gave way to spruce there<br />
was a little snow underfoot, and it was variously blown in, blown out, packed down by previous<br />
walkers on up above tree line. Lost the trail a bit coming up on Mills Moraine, though only
69<br />
momentary. Went in to the Shelter Cabin, snow off and on underfoot but no problem. The last<br />
scramble up to the lake from the Shelter Cabin took a bit of care, both going up and coming down,<br />
as you were usually on some steep snow or ice with rocks variously showing through. Lunched <strong>at</strong><br />
the lake, getting out of the wind, which was moder<strong>at</strong>ing. Conies heard and seen all day, some<br />
close up <strong>at</strong> lunch. No marmots. Good hike out, about 4.00 p.m. Maybe 75 people on the trail<br />
going and coming. A few elk seen on the way in, a few more on the way out. Ten sheep right <strong>at</strong><br />
the mouth of Big Thompson Canyon, where the siphon is, on the way back, all ewes.<br />
October 21, S<strong>at</strong>urday. Drive up <strong>Trail</strong> Ridge Road with Jane. Quite lovely day, blue sky all day long.<br />
<strong>Trail</strong> Ridge Road had been thought shut, but they managed to open it, and it has been open about<br />
four days. Leisurely trip up and down, then picnicked <strong>at</strong> the Lawn Lake dam break flood pile, since<br />
the road further in to Endovalley was shut. Came home early to get ready for Shonny's 26th<br />
birthday party. Snowstorm coming, and it snowed Sunday, 2 inches in town Sunday night, and<br />
snowed the trail shut for the season. This may be the l<strong>at</strong>est I have ever been up it.<br />
October 29, Sunday. Pawnee Buttes with Kevin Cook and Will Aiken. Nice day. We had hiked in<br />
between the buttes and two big flights of sandhill cranes flew over, maybe 300-400 birds. We<br />
heard them calling first, some distance away, and on when some distance past. L<strong>at</strong>er, <strong>at</strong> the scarp<br />
woodland area, there was another flight, about 400 birds. Marvelous. Kevin did a piece in the<br />
<strong>Colorado</strong>an about it l<strong>at</strong>er th<strong>at</strong> week.<br />
Active in the ponds, including under the skim of ice: W<strong>at</strong>er-bo<strong>at</strong>men (Family: Corixidae, bugs)<br />
and/or Back-swimmers (Family Notonectidae, bugs). the l<strong>at</strong>ter swim upside down. See notes in<br />
Entomology notes, under Order: Hemiptera, Suborder Heteroptera.<br />
Spooked a merlin from telephone wire perch on the drive back. Tell it from a kestrel by the strongly<br />
barred tail, below or above. Kestrel has reddish tail with black band <strong>at</strong> tip.<br />
November 7-22, <strong>1995</strong>. Slovenia, Finland, Washington, Richmond. Conference on Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion<br />
of N<strong>at</strong>ure outside of Protected Areas, <strong>University</strong> of Ljubljana,<br />
Slovenia only became a n<strong>at</strong>ion in 1991, breaking away from Yugoslavia in a so-called Ten Day<br />
War. Prior to World War I, it was Austrian.<br />
November 9,Thursday Conference<br />
November 10, Friday.<br />
November 11, S<strong>at</strong>urday. Took trip through Slovenian (or Slovene) countryside, first north to the<br />
southern Alps, the first half of the morning, then south the rest of the day, through karst topography<br />
and to the Adri<strong>at</strong>ic Sea. In the morning early we drove to Bled, via Kranj, with a marvelous church<br />
on an island in a scenic lake, also a castle overlooking the lake. We walked up to the castle for half<br />
an hour. Very scenic countryside. This is the scenic symbol of the country. Rivers here are<br />
tributaries of the Danube; they flow into Hungary and into the Danube, which flows eventually into
70<br />
the Black Sea. Danube starts in Germany, and is second longest river in Europe (Volga in Russia<br />
is longest, flows into Caspian Sea).<br />
Returned to Ljubljana and were joined by others. We drove south to karst topography <strong>at</strong> Skocjan,<br />
n.w. of Postojna. The region is called Karst, and karst topography takes its name from this region.<br />
There is one of the heaviest rainfalls in Europe and the limestone (and dolomite) rocks are<br />
honeycombed with tunnels and openings dissolved out by ground w<strong>at</strong>ers; much of the drainage is<br />
underground. Large sinks abound, some of them five or six hundred feet deep. Streamless valleys<br />
are common and valleys containing streams often end abruptly where the streams plunge into<br />
underground tunnels. Though there is a lot of rain, the w<strong>at</strong>er runs underground quickly and the land<br />
is left dry and rel<strong>at</strong>ively barren, or <strong>at</strong> least unproductive for agriculture. The collapsing rock leaves<br />
some very steep cliff walls. We walked around in wooded areas perhaps an hour and a half,<br />
descending to a river where it cuts through a cliff-cave. Mild day and some left-over wildflowers still<br />
in bloom. Unusual racks for drying hay are quite tall, high as the roof of a house, and they stack<br />
a thin rack of hay to dry quickly in this region of heavy rainfall. Harald Plachter, from Germany, a<br />
botanist, was good with the flora. The landscape architects with us knew the topography well. The<br />
region is also famous for caves.<br />
Continuing, on to the Adri<strong>at</strong>ic coast, of which Slovenia has only about 40 km. Cro<strong>at</strong>ia got most of<br />
the coastline. We lunched <strong>at</strong> Izola, with a big pl<strong>at</strong>ter of various fishes from the Adri<strong>at</strong>ic. We also<br />
visited Piran and Portoroz. Veget<strong>at</strong>ion here is Mediterranean: olive trees, cyprus, cedar.<br />
Cyclamen hederifolium, seen in bloom wild in the woods, something like a Dodec<strong>at</strong>heon, shooting<br />
star. Acer campestris, field maple, and Pinus nigra, black pine, are common trees.<br />
November 12, Sunday. On flight out, Sunday, the southern Alps seen nicely from the air. The<br />
higher points are covered with snow, but all the lower slopes are quite clear. Flew to Frankfurt, then<br />
to Helsinki.<br />
Paul Davies and Bob Gibbons, Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Southern Europe. Ramsbury,<br />
Marlborough, UK, Crowood Press, 1994. £11.<br />
Mitchell, Alan and John Wilkinson, Trees of Britain and Northern Europe. London: Collins. Collins<br />
Pocket Guide, <strong>1995</strong> and earlier. £10.<br />
November 13-14, Monday, Tuesday. <strong>1995</strong>. External Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Examiner, the "Opponent,"<br />
<strong>at</strong> Ph.D. Thesis Defense, held <strong>at</strong> <strong>University</strong> of Helsinki, Finland. Thesis: The Varieties of<br />
Intrinsic Value in N<strong>at</strong>ure, Leena Vilkka.<br />
November 17, <strong>1995</strong>. Visiting Distinguished Lecturer, "Ethics Gone Wild," American <strong>University</strong>,<br />
Washington, DC, McDowell Conference on Philosophy and Social Philosophy, Jeffrey Reiman,<br />
Coordin<strong>at</strong>or.<br />
December 2-5, Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon.<br />
Adult bald eagle perched in tree, about four miles before arriving <strong>at</strong> Denever Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Airport,
71<br />
on the limousine down.<br />
December 3, Sunday. Hike up Cascade Head, with Marv Henberg and Kareen Sturgeon. She is<br />
biologist, botanist <strong>at</strong> Linfield and knew the flora r<strong>at</strong>her well. Bruce McCune, Oregon St<strong>at</strong>e<br />
<strong>University</strong>, knows mosses, she says.<br />
I was here with Steve Radosevich, forest science, <strong>at</strong> Oregon St<strong>at</strong>e <strong>University</strong>, in May 1994, earlier<br />
with Dan Bottom in February 1991.<br />
Seen during the day: (most are in Pojar and MacKinnon, Plants of Coastal British Columbia).<br />
Lobaria pulmonaria. Lungwort. A lichen with a three-way synthesis, a fungus, an algae, and a<br />
cyanobacteria. Lives in the treetops and is important nitrogen fixer.<br />
Tsuga heterophylla. Western hemlock. The needles are of uneven length (hetero-phylla), r<strong>at</strong>her<br />
widely an irregularly spaced. Often forms such a dense canopy th<strong>at</strong> nothing much can grow under<br />
it. Most common tree in Alaska.<br />
Picea sitchensis. Sitka spruce. This is the main evergreen in the Cascade Head forest. It is a tree<br />
th<strong>at</strong> goes all the way up to Alaska, a major tree there, but here it is only in a narrow band down the<br />
coast, typically within four miles of the coast. Very sharp needles. Oregon's inland spruce is<br />
Englemann. Not so sharp needles.<br />
Douglas-fir. Pseudotsuga menziesii. Seen <strong>at</strong> an inland stop, not <strong>at</strong> Cascade Head.<br />
Deer fern. Blechnum spicant. Dimorphic fronds.<br />
Bigleaf maple trees may put out adventitious roots into the mosses and fungi th<strong>at</strong> cover them and<br />
draw nutrients this way.<br />
Usnea lichen<br />
Oxalis, Redwood sorrel (sour grass). Clover-like leaves.<br />
Polypodium glycyrrhiza. Licorice fern. The only epiphytic fern here. Licorice taste to rhizome.<br />
Sambucus racemosa. Red elderberry.<br />
Ranunculus repens. Creeping buttercup. Invasive exotic.<br />
Banana slug. Large slugs here.<br />
Bird's Nest Fungi. Nidula. Order: Nidulariales. Smaller than a dime. Nicely seen. Another genus<br />
is Cy<strong>at</strong>hus, nicely pictured in O.K. Miller, also in L. R. Hesler. The "egg" is called a peridiole, and<br />
(in Cy<strong>at</strong>hus) is <strong>at</strong>tached to the "nest" by a thin cord, called a funiculus. The nest serves as a splash<br />
cup. When the eggs are splashed out, to several feet, the cord c<strong>at</strong>ches on a twig, stretches, and<br />
the egg hangs there while the walls disintegr<strong>at</strong>e and the spores are released. (description in<br />
Alexopolus, pp. 527-531). Nidula, seen here, seems to have no funiculus, but the eggs are sticky<br />
and c<strong>at</strong>ch on a twig to expose them.
72<br />
Vaccinium parvifolium. Red huckleberry. With green stems. The dominant Vaccinium in the<br />
Oregon Coast Range.<br />
Rubus parviflorus (a misnomer). Thimbleberry. With undivided, though palm<strong>at</strong>e loved leaf. Has<br />
white flower. (same species is in <strong>Colorado</strong>; Weber now places it in genus Rubacer)<br />
Rubus spectabilis. Salmonberry. Salmon-colored berries. Three-lobed leaf.<br />
Adiantum ped<strong>at</strong>um. Maidenhair fern.<br />
Claytonia sibirica = Montia sibirica. Siberian Miner's Lettuce. Seen in bloom. (This was prominent<br />
underfoot when I was here in May 1994.)<br />
Alnus rubra. Red alder. Outnumbers all other broadleaf trees in western Oregon. When you see<br />
a hillside with deciduous trees on it, this is probably it. In the coastal fog belt, it does not require<br />
riparian habit<strong>at</strong>, but covers hillsides. But it becomes rare east of the Cascades. Alder leaves are<br />
shed while still green.<br />
December 19, <strong>1995</strong>. Tuesday. Old Flowers Road from Stove Prairie, alone. Road is open to<br />
public across some 3 miles of priv<strong>at</strong>e land, essentially a sedan road, to the year round Sky Corral<br />
Dude Ranch. Several year round homes in here, and the Stove Prairie Ranch seems to be owned<br />
by a religious group. Sunny day. Parked <strong>at</strong> Sky Corral Ranch and proceeded on foot, walking the<br />
road. This is closed in winter, but will be open to 4WD in summer. Steady but gentle climb, with<br />
light snow underfoot to the Lewis Ranch area, high open area, with a summer cabin there now, but<br />
open to public to pass through.<br />
Descend a bit (this is the upper part of Poverty Gulch), and came round to meet up with where, on<br />
July 9, 1988, I had come in from the west side (when camping with Giles <strong>at</strong> Steve Newlin's Jack's<br />
Gulch camp). There were good mountain lion tracks in the snow, broader than long tracks, with<br />
rear plantar pad three-lobed. Note the Forest Service Road 236 (on map) further west; this seems<br />
to be the only road into the Cache La Poudre Wilderness in this area; it goes down to the S. Fork,<br />
and looks like it comes out about <strong>at</strong> the Jack's Gulch turnoff on Crown Point Road. Try it sometime.<br />
Returned, lunched, and walked round to the Clark Homestead. Ruins and a rough cabin here.<br />
Then walked out. Robins, chickadees. One deer spooked in the woods. 52 deer, a fine herd, in<br />
the open range of the Stove Prairie Ranch on the way back. Returned down Rist Canyon Road,<br />
now paved up much further west than before.<br />
December 24, <strong>1995</strong>. Put my old binocular scope on permanent loan with Kevin Cook. Jane had<br />
bought for me a better one, a Bausch and Lomb <strong>at</strong> the CSU surplus property auction, when I was<br />
in Slovenia-Norway.<br />
December 31, <strong>1995</strong>. Rawhide, Audubon Bird Count. With Kevin Cook. There were perhaps thirty<br />
people, surprisingly on a bit of a snowy morning, although there had been no snow in Fort Collins.<br />
Massive numbers of mallards flew in in 10-12 flights from one end of the sky to another; the<br />
professionals estim<strong>at</strong>ed 15,000 mallards. For our portion of the circle, we were joined by Helen<br />
Hernandez, Loveland, and did a rectangle, County Road 15 north, then west on 84 to 19, then<br />
south on 19 to 80, then east on 80 to the Buckeye site, then south to 78, then east on 78 to 15, and<br />
took this back north to complete the rectangle. It seemed unlikely <strong>at</strong> the start, but we found more
73<br />
birds than we thought we might<br />
rock dove 3<br />
flicker 5<br />
horned lark 74<br />
northern shrike 1<br />
gre<strong>at</strong> horned owl 3<br />
tree sparrows 110<br />
dipper 1<br />
mallard 2<br />
goldeneye 1<br />
song sparrow 1<br />
meadowlark 1<br />
pheasant 1<br />
blue jay 5<br />
junco 6<br />
brown thrasher 1<br />
rough-legged hawk 1<br />
raven 1<br />
kestrel 1<br />
starling 220<br />
house sparrow 5<br />
The brown thrasher was the best bird of the day. We had driven in to a house site with a<br />
considerable shelterbelt of trees and found it in there, along with the blue jays.<br />
Kevin only saw the first two owls. L<strong>at</strong>er he went under the bridge where 15 crosses Boxelder Creek<br />
and one flew out, which I saw well. He says they have lived here a number of years. We got<br />
permission to walk around several homestead areas; and sneaked onto a few other places.<br />
Returned to the Rawhide Visitor area. On the lake thousands of geese and mallards. Thousands<br />
of scaup. Some mergansers and buffleheads. Two good adult bald eagles on an opposite shore,<br />
but nice in the scope. Ron Ryder had found a pair of imm<strong>at</strong>ure Thayer's gulls, sometimes<br />
considered only a subspecies of Herring Gull. The two were feeding on a big dead fish <strong>at</strong> the edge<br />
of the dam, and we could get a good look <strong>at</strong> them, but, even after being told, I couldn't have<br />
identified them from an imm<strong>at</strong>ure herring gull. This is a west coast gull, usually in coastal Canada.<br />
The guide says "casual winter visitor in the interior but identific<strong>at</strong>ion is extremely difficult"!<br />
Home about 2.00, with a snow flurry on the way back.<br />
end <strong>1995</strong>
1996<br />
January 14, 1996. Lonetree Mountain, from Kelley Fl<strong>at</strong>s, alone. Left trailhead about 8.30. Lovely<br />
day, warm, I was soon in shirtsleeves from the climbing. Climb a bit and the terrain fl<strong>at</strong>tens out.<br />
Trying to find the gentler route around to the east, I missed it twice, turning too early on roads th<strong>at</strong><br />
proved to be deadends. The third right turn is the one you want; don't turn too soon. Th<strong>at</strong><br />
meanders up and down a while, crosses a power line with a telephone line, and then climbs back<br />
steadily to join the straight, steep one (on which I returned) toward the top. Up top the terrain is<br />
undul<strong>at</strong>ing but often surprisingly fl<strong>at</strong>. Jumped about 24 elk when I walked into the wooded area<br />
in which they were hiding for the day. Nice views of Cassian's finches. Several hair woodpeckers,<br />
juncos, robins.<br />
Continued north and reached the area where four roads join, here to discover th<strong>at</strong> one of the roads<br />
has been recently bladed and is passable by cars, though it looks like it would be terrible if it rained<br />
hard. Turned west. The bladed road generally follows the old 4-wd road (the Wintersteen Park<br />
Road), but chews it up. Hopefully it will not be built further than the stretch of priv<strong>at</strong>e land in here.<br />
Discovered a man with a jackhammer (rented jackhammer, pickup had an Alaska tag) working on<br />
the road and (as it turned out after lunch) getting ready to do some blasting. He didn't even know<br />
how far the road was going; was just hired to remove the rock. Went on, with more peace and<br />
quiet. Lunched in an open area below Lonetree Mountain. (I followed an old Mary Hagen writeup,<br />
but tossed it as there is more detail here now than in the writeup). A half dozen mountain bikers<br />
on the return, one seems to be a property owner in here. She says the bladed road comes out in<br />
Glacier View off the Redfe<strong>at</strong>her Road.<br />
Feb. 14-20, 96. Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest. Flew to Phoenix Wednesday, Feb. 14, and<br />
waited too long in line to get a Budget Car. Drove to Flagstaff, nice drive up, but arrived in dark.<br />
Thursday, Feb. 15. Marcus Ford, my host <strong>at</strong> Northern Arizona <strong>University</strong>, took me out to Walnut<br />
Canyon, a n<strong>at</strong>ional monument, with Indian dwellings in the canyon rocks. Walked down and around<br />
about an hour. Spoke <strong>at</strong> Northern Arizona <strong>University</strong> th<strong>at</strong> evening.<br />
Friday, Feb. 16. Up early, and drove to Petrified Forest, stopping enroute to see the Meteor Cr<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
I was <strong>at</strong> the cr<strong>at</strong>er pretty much alone. Meteor thought to have hit about 49,000 years ago. World's<br />
first proven and world's largest evident meteor cr<strong>at</strong>er, though some other more obscure sites are<br />
suspected.<br />
On to Petrified Forest and nice day there, with a few walks. These trees were living in tropical<br />
forests here about 225 million years ago; the dominant genus was Araucarioxylon (are-a-carry-ox-a-
lawn). A near rel<strong>at</strong>ive is Araucaria heterophylla, Norfolk Island pine, seen splendidly last summer<br />
in the Divinity School lawn <strong>at</strong> Stellenbosch, in South Africa, n<strong>at</strong>ive to Norfolk Island, off the coast<br />
of Australia. Another rel<strong>at</strong>ive is the Monkey Puzzle Tree, Araucaria araucana, seen <strong>at</strong> Rhodes<br />
<strong>University</strong>, Grahamstown, n<strong>at</strong>ive to the southern Andes. Family Araucariacae. Tall, coniferous<br />
trees, in which the crown is monopodial, with radial limbs. The Grand Canyon, though it has old<br />
rocks, was cut in the last five or six million years, so these trees were living long enough ago for<br />
the Grand Canyon to be cut some 45 times.<br />
One famous log, "Old Faithful," on the Giant <strong>Log</strong>s <strong>Trail</strong>, is 35 feet long and weighs 44 tons. It is<br />
somewh<strong>at</strong> exposed and was hit by lightning in 1962, which caused portions of the log to break off.<br />
The park resource manager then worked hard to repair the log. But today the policy has changed,<br />
believing th<strong>at</strong> it is best to let n<strong>at</strong>ure take its course..<br />
Drove out through the Painted Desert, which is now incorpor<strong>at</strong>ed into the Petrified Forest N<strong>at</strong>ional<br />
Park. The famous "Painted Desert feeling" of hunger in the l<strong>at</strong>e morning with a too l<strong>at</strong>e lunch,<br />
origin<strong>at</strong>ed here.<br />
I was last here in 1961, 35 years ago! May 29, 1961. I paid $ 6 entry fee, senior discount, for the<br />
Meteor Cr<strong>at</strong>er. When we were here in 1961, I paid 75 cents, and Jane didn't go in to save money!<br />
But I figure my salary now is 14 times wh<strong>at</strong> it was in 1961.<br />
Friday evening. Dinner, a Sabb<strong>at</strong>h evening meal, with Marcus and Sandra Ford; she is Jewish.<br />
S<strong>at</strong>urday, Feb. 17. Up to Grand Canyon, driving around through the East Rim Drive. Stopped <strong>at</strong><br />
Lipan Point, with a nice view of Hance Rapids <strong>at</strong> a distance in the river. Western bluebird here.<br />
I found I had a chance for Phantom Ranch, if there were no-shows. They typically book 6-9 months<br />
in advance, about 75 persons, and typically have about two no shows.<br />
Flora: nice Ponderosa pine here. Utah juniper (J. osteosperma). cliffrose, Cowania stansburiana<br />
Two bighorn ewes seen from the rim, a hundred yards below Kolb Studio.<br />
Took too long trying out a pot pie in my backpacker stove, with the oven cover.<br />
Grand Canyon Hike<br />
Sunday, Feb. 18. Waited from 6.00 onward in the dark, and got the first of only two no shows, and<br />
checked out of hotel. Then caught shuttle around to Yaki Point, to go down the South Kaibab <strong>Trail</strong>.<br />
On the trail about 8.00. Steady descent. Nice day, not hot, but comfortable, in short sleeves. Nice<br />
lighting. Two bighorn ewes, r<strong>at</strong>her tame, on the trail about two-thirds of the way down. One group<br />
of perhaps fifteen pinyon jays, r<strong>at</strong>her noisy, with some calls like a magpie. Passed N<strong>at</strong>ural Arch,<br />
seen some distance up off trail.<br />
Reached Panorama Point about 12.00 and <strong>at</strong>e lunch there, overlooking the two bridges. Left about<br />
1.00 p.m. Redtail hawk. Rock squirrel (Spermophilus varieg<strong>at</strong>us) Descended to River, crossed<br />
over the Black Bridge, lingered by the river's edge some. Checking my river pictures l<strong>at</strong>er, this is
where we camped in 1967 on the river trip, 29 years ago. I have only pictures of the Black Bridge<br />
from th<strong>at</strong> trip; the Silver Bridge may not have then been built. Reached Phantom Ranch perhaps<br />
2.30 p.m. The Black Bridge, or Kaibab bridge is the oldest. The Silver Bridge was really built for<br />
the pipeline; mules will not cross it, as they can see the river below through the gridwork floor.<br />
Mileage down 6.3 to river. 6.9 to Ranch.<br />
Descent from rim <strong>at</strong> Kaibab trailhead, Yaki Point, 7260 ft, to river, 2400 ft., is 4,660 ft. Ascent here<br />
is discouraged in summer; too steep and hot. About 250 people a year have to be rescued from<br />
the canyon. No w<strong>at</strong>er on this trail.<br />
There is to be an artificial flood in March, to wash out the accumul<strong>at</strong>ed sand from the side canyons.<br />
Maybe. But the river as a whole has much less sediment than once; it is stopped in Glen Canyon<br />
Dam.<br />
Phantom Ranch was once Rust's Camp, from David Rust, 1902 onward. Teddy Roosevelt stayed<br />
here in 1913, and it took the name Roosevelt's Camp. It became Phantom Ranch from 1922 on.<br />
There are some Indian ruins near the river, from about 1100 A.D., but afterwards unoccupied.<br />
There were for a number of years several stone cabins, now more cabins, for 2-4 people usually,<br />
once and still used by the mule trains. Built in 1976, now there are also 4 dormitories, so called,<br />
with ten beds, for men or women. There are usually about 75 here, if a couple take a cabin; if the<br />
cabins are packed with children or wh<strong>at</strong>ever, there can be 90 <strong>at</strong> maximum. Campground has about<br />
30 sites. About two pack strings of mules come down each day, plus one supply string. There is<br />
a telephone, now via microwave, though once a famous telephone line rim to rim, which is now a<br />
historic landmark.<br />
W<strong>at</strong>er is taken from Roaring Springs, up the North Rim trail, piped down, through Phantom Ranch<br />
and rises by gravity to Indian Springs, from which it is pumped to the South Rim. Also there is an<br />
electric line with the pipe, all buried under the trail, more or less.<br />
There really is no winter here, no snow, but snow on the rims shuts them down pretty much for half<br />
of December and January. There may be show for the first mile or two of trail; too icy to get the<br />
mules over and not really th<strong>at</strong> pleasant for hikers. But from February on through November it is<br />
steadily booked for 6-9 months. The men in the dormitory with me had booked last May for this trip,<br />
now February.<br />
This is Lower Sonoran Desert, with the flora of northern Mexico.<br />
Flora: mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa)<br />
C<strong>at</strong>claw (Acacia greggii)<br />
Prickly Pear. Some willows.<br />
Agave<br />
High today 82 degrees, low 50.<br />
Mule deer in Ranch area. One woman saw a ringtail; I did not.<br />
Monday, Feb. 18. Walked out, Bright Angel <strong>Trail</strong>. Breakfast was <strong>at</strong> 5.30, and left <strong>at</strong> 6.15, not<br />
moving very fast because it was still too dark to see much but the outline of the white sandy trail.<br />
A little more light by the time I went over the Silver Bridge, and soon enough plenty of light to see.<br />
<strong>Trail</strong> goes along the river about a mile or so, then you climb. Relentless climb. But it is a quite<br />
good graded trail, never really the virtual stairsteps th<strong>at</strong> the Kaibab trail has coming down. Passed<br />
Indian Springs. A few deer here. Two tunnels, or, better, rock cuts, are near the top. Somewh<strong>at</strong><br />
cloudy, though the trail is in the shadow of the canyon walls surprisingly so th<strong>at</strong> it was really 11.30<br />
before I had my head in any sunshine. There is good w<strong>at</strong>er <strong>at</strong> Indian Springs, and, in summer,
w<strong>at</strong>er supplies are put in a couple other spots. Also there are a couple creeks. Got out about<br />
12.10, slightly less than 6 hours out. Mileage out 9.3. Total 18.3 miles. Ascent, 2400 ft., to 6860<br />
ft <strong>at</strong> Bright Angel Lodge, 4,460 ft., Sore upper legs a bit, and in the last mile got a chafed place on<br />
one heel; otherwise o.k.<br />
David Thayer, A Guide to Grand Canyon Geology Along Bright Angel <strong>Trail</strong>. Grand Canyon N<strong>at</strong>ural<br />
History Associ<strong>at</strong>ion, 1986. Read <strong>at</strong> Phantom Ranch and on sale in the bookstores there.<br />
Stanley S. Beus and Michael Morales, eds., Grand Canyon Geology. Oxford <strong>University</strong> Press and<br />
Museum of Northern Arizona Press, 1990.<br />
Yellowstone wolves<br />
Feb. 29-Mar. 8, 1996. Yellowstone wolves. Thurs, Feb. 29, left Ft. Collins <strong>at</strong> 6.30 a.m. driving<br />
north. 24 antelope. 12 antelope, before crossing the st<strong>at</strong>e line. In Wyoming: antelope: 24, 10, 50,<br />
12. One adult bald eagle <strong>at</strong> the North Pl<strong>at</strong>te River crossing south of Douglas. 17 antelope. 4<br />
mule deer. Antelope continued: 10, 8, 12, 8, 36. One redtail hawk. 12 deer.<br />
Night <strong>at</strong> Billings.<br />
Friday, Mar. 1. Drove from Billings to Gardiner and then to <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley, Buffalo Ranch facility<br />
where the Yellowstone Institute is housed. 11 adult bald eagles, 1 imm<strong>at</strong>ure on the drive up<br />
Yellowstone River from Livingston. 6 deer.<br />
Entered the Park about 10.30 a.m. 24 elk. 6 elk. Lunched <strong>at</strong> Mammoth Hot Springs. Drove from<br />
Mammoth Hot Springs toward Tower-Roosevelt junction. 3 bison. 4 elk. 36 bison. 5 coyotes,<br />
coming and going from the remnants of a carcass in an open w<strong>at</strong>erhole, having difficulty getting<br />
much out of the w<strong>at</strong>er (pix). Heard these coyotes howling. 3 bison. Passed Tower Junction. 150<br />
elk. 12 bison. 17 bison. 8 bison (pix). 25 elk. 10 bison. 12 bison. 9 bison. 19 bison. 7 bison<br />
in <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley (pix). 40 bison. Reached the <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley Buffalo Ranch, met Pam Goetz,<br />
Assistant Director of the Yellowstone Institute, and moved into Cabin 5.<br />
Potluck supper <strong>at</strong> 6.00 p.m., and opening session Friday night.<br />
The Idaho wolves were a hard release. They were captured in Canada, Alberta and British<br />
Columbia, flown to Montana and just turned loose in the Idaho wild areas.<br />
The Yellowstone wolves were a soft release. They were captured in Canada <strong>at</strong> the same time, and<br />
put in acclim<strong>at</strong>ion pens in Yellowstone. This was hoped to curb their instinct to wander trying to find<br />
their way back home, since the wolves had no idea how far they had been transported from their<br />
home territory.<br />
There are now four packs presently free ranging. There were three acclim<strong>at</strong>ion pens: one on Rose<br />
Creek, which is the creek th<strong>at</strong> flows right by the Ranch, a small creek. This is now called the Rose<br />
Creek pack, the pack th<strong>at</strong> we saw, presently nine wolves, of which seven are year old pups. This<br />
pack is killing about one elk a day. The mother is 9F, the alpha female; their f<strong>at</strong>her was 10M, which<br />
is the wolf th<strong>at</strong> was shot near Red Lodge about the time the pups were born. 9F, the alpha female<br />
has since paired with 8M from the Crystal Bench Pack. One pup was hit by a UPS truck in January
and killed.<br />
The second pack is Crystal Bench. This is from the Crystal Bench pen which is above Crystal<br />
Creek, opposite Slough Creek, the pen of which we could see a bit of chain link fence in the<br />
binoculars from the Slough Creek turnout.<br />
This pack was once six wolves, now is down to three. One, 8M, left and is with the Rose Creek<br />
pack, see above. One, 2M, left and has paired with 7F from the Rose Creek pack to form the<br />
Blacktail pack. One 3M, <strong>at</strong>tacked sheep outside the park and was killed.<br />
The third pack is the Blacktail Pack. This is only two wolves, as noted above 7F from the Rose<br />
Creek Pack having paired with 2M from the Crystal Bench Pack.<br />
The fourth pack is the Soda Butte Pack. They were acclim<strong>at</strong>ed in a pen <strong>at</strong> Soda Butte, now<br />
removed. This has proved a wide ranging pack and they have really moved out of the park to the<br />
north. There is one pup in this pack of which the sex is unknown. One 12M left the pack and<br />
traveled south, and was found shot down toward Dubois.<br />
There are 19 free ranging wolves now in the park.<br />
New captures in January brought an additional 17 wolves, now in the acclim<strong>at</strong>ion pens, of which<br />
there are now four. (1) Rose Creek, above the <strong>Lamar</strong> Ranch facility. Rose Creek is the one th<strong>at</strong><br />
runs through the ranch; it fans out with several branches as it nears the valley floor. (2) Crystal<br />
Bench. (3) Blacktail, a new pen in 1996. (4) Nez Perce, way down toward Old Faithful, a new pen<br />
in 1996. These packs have Canadian names, temporarily. These new wolves are under guard<br />
around the clock. There have been thre<strong>at</strong>s to shoot them.<br />
So there are 36 wolves in the park.<br />
The last two wolf pups in Yellowstone were trapped in 1926. Four were seen passing through in<br />
1934. Yellowstone has been missing wolves for most of this century.<br />
Evening lecture by Mark R. Johnson, D.V.M., the veterinarian in charge of veterinary aspects of the<br />
project. Has a keen interest in the ethics of wildlife handling.<br />
S<strong>at</strong>., March 2. Up <strong>at</strong> out <strong>at</strong> 6.45 to see wh<strong>at</strong> we could find. Drove down to Slough Creek turnout,<br />
and looked south over the Crystal Bench territory, but nothing. Then we heard them howl, to the<br />
north. We walked in the snow about a quarter mile to a knoll, and, with binoculars, saw one <strong>at</strong><br />
considerable distance; it was going downhill, and soon we saw two more <strong>at</strong> a carcass. Eventually<br />
we found seven here, difficult to make out unless moving, but then we knew where they were and<br />
could w<strong>at</strong>ch them. When they left the carcass for a time, a couple coyotes came into feed on the<br />
carcass, and were promptly chased off by the wolves. Wolves have now killed 10 coyotes in the<br />
park, so far as is known.<br />
An adult bald eagle flew in to the carcass, and stayed perched on a tree nearby for quite a while.<br />
More briefly, there was a golden eagle there.<br />
A light plane flew over with the radio trackers. They loc<strong>at</strong>e the four packs each day th<strong>at</strong> the plane<br />
can fly. The signal is just a beep, a different frequency for each wolf, but it is arranged to switch<br />
to a different kind of beep if the wolf is dead.<br />
After an hour and a half or so, the wolves moved up the hill, memorably in a line breaking a new
track in the snow.<br />
We left about 11.00 p.m., first driving down to see whether we could see more of these wolves, then<br />
driving up past <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley to Soda Butte to check for the Crystal Bench pack. No luck there. 7<br />
bison. 18 bison.<br />
The Cooke City road follows Soda Butte Creek beyond here, the <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley goes up another<br />
way, with no road.<br />
The radio tracking on the ground is done by N<strong>at</strong>han Varley (John Varley's son) and Dan McNulty.<br />
N<strong>at</strong>han has just finished a M.S. <strong>at</strong> MSU; Dan finished CU Boulder.<br />
Afternoon. Lecture. Study of track casts. Wolf pups are born in a den and l<strong>at</strong>er moved to a<br />
rendezvous site, which may be moved around some. But the pups do not stray much from the<br />
rendezvous site, to which the parents return carrying food or regurgit<strong>at</strong>ing food every day. A<br />
rendezvous site is usually recognizable, there are bones all around and lots of sc<strong>at</strong>. By the time<br />
the pups leave the rendezvous site to roam freely, their tracks are already bigger than those of a<br />
coyote.<br />
Large dog tracks will be as big as those of a wolf, although not many breeds of dog will be.<br />
The front foot print is bigger than the rear. The interdigital pad has three wings on the front foot and<br />
these are indistinct on the rear foot.<br />
In a track you must distinguish between the minimum outline, which is the size of the foot, and the<br />
deeper exagger<strong>at</strong>ion th<strong>at</strong> results from squishing out further the mud or snow.<br />
There is a ridge of callous on a red fox.<br />
C<strong>at</strong>s have two lobes on the interdigital pad, and rarely show claws. But the bigger the dog, the<br />
more often the claws also don't show.<br />
Snow print wax. A beeswax spray made in Sweden. You have to spray it over a track in snow and<br />
it forms enough crust th<strong>at</strong> you can pour plaster of paris into it; it will set in about forty minutes,<br />
though do wh<strong>at</strong> you can to insul<strong>at</strong>e it while it sets.<br />
L<strong>at</strong>e afternoon. Out in the vans again. 2 coyotes. 50 bison on a ridge. Back to Slough Creek,<br />
where we had seen them in the morning. Coyotes. Bear claw marks on an aspen tree. 12 elk.<br />
There were two wolves back on the carcass, which was now more opened up, in the cold <strong>at</strong> dusk.<br />
Wolves don't have many fleas; fleas are on cavity nesters.<br />
S<strong>at</strong>urday evening lecture by Doug Smith, who tracks them in the airplane. John Weaver made the<br />
studies in the 1970's th<strong>at</strong> recommended th<strong>at</strong> wolves be reintroduced to Yellowstone. In the<br />
American public as a whole, about 80% favor the reintroduction. In Montana and Wyoming about<br />
50%.<br />
One of the newly capture wolves bit John Weaver, and took a chunk out of his thumb. According<br />
to protocol, it was killed to check for rabies, although Weaver were perfectly willing just to w<strong>at</strong>ch<br />
it in the pen and to be content with the blood test, which is less than perfect.
Mech thinks th<strong>at</strong> wolves are not subject to inbreeding depression. But there is worry th<strong>at</strong> there will<br />
not be enough genetic diversity in the Yellowstone wolves. So an effort is being made to get<br />
wolves from different areas in Canada.<br />
Sunday, March 3.<br />
Out <strong>at</strong> 6.45 a.m. We stopped <strong>at</strong> Slough Creek. There were no wolves on yesterday's kill. 3<br />
coyotes on yesterday's carcass. Another coyote 50 yards off. Several dozen elk. 65 bison,<br />
bedded down.<br />
Another coyote walked by close in while we were out looking around <strong>at</strong> Slough Creek. We heard<br />
the wolves howling again; N<strong>at</strong>han Varley and Dan McNulty arrived; radios indic<strong>at</strong>e; the pack is now<br />
on the south side of the road. But we couldn't spot them.<br />
We drove up to Soda Butte to see if we could spot th<strong>at</strong> pack. 3 bighorns, 1 nice ram on the skyline<br />
above the road. Good coyotes howling. No sign of the Crystal Bench pack.<br />
Returning, <strong>at</strong> the lower end of <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley, Candy spotted something coming across the valley;<br />
and we couldn't believe our eyes. It was the Rose Creek Pack, perhaps a 100 yards away. Jim<br />
said this was the closest to the road he had ever seen them. There was a scramble for cameras<br />
inside the van. The wolves turned to retre<strong>at</strong> down toward the river and we got out and w<strong>at</strong>ched.<br />
They got more comfortable <strong>at</strong> more distance from us and spent time around the river, even<br />
frolicking and playing some. (This is on videotape; ending just before the scenes of making casts.)<br />
Then they went up onto the bench behind the river and walked the fl<strong>at</strong> ridge. There were 8 wolves<br />
in a line, a gre<strong>at</strong> sight. The ninth kept much further behind.<br />
We walked down to where the wolves had made tracks in the snow and made casts. There was<br />
a carcass with antlers and ribs nearby, but seemingly not a recent kill. Coyotes howling.<br />
There is a carcass in the Narrows area between <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley and the Slough Creek area; up the<br />
hill from the road. Coyotes are on it, but no evidence of wolves, and no evidence th<strong>at</strong> the wolves<br />
killed it.<br />
Back to the bunkhouse for lunch and afternoon seminar.<br />
N<strong>at</strong>han Varley and Dan McNulty brought in the skull and jaw of the elk on which we saw the wolves<br />
feeding S<strong>at</strong>urday morning.<br />
We w<strong>at</strong>ched an unpublished videotape by Bob Landis, Yellowstone Wolves, Part 2, 23 mins.<br />
08/05/95. D 81836. Landis Wildlife Films. Shows wolves chasing various elk in a herd of several<br />
dozen and picking out one th<strong>at</strong> is limping in the rear legs and taking it.<br />
End of formal seminar.<br />
Back out <strong>at</strong> dusk with Jim Halfpenny and Bob Barber. Down to Slough Creek area. One grey wolf,<br />
then four black ones going over the ridge beyond Crystal Creek.<br />
Monday, March 4. Good snow overnight. Out about 7.30 a.m. 3 coyotes, 3 elk in snow. At <strong>Lamar</strong><br />
Bridge, we saw, r<strong>at</strong>her dimly in the snowstorm, on the hill south of Crystal Bench, 3 wolves and 6-8<br />
elk.
4 coyotes in snow. 1 imm<strong>at</strong>ure bald eagle.<br />
8 coyotes in <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley, moving across the snow, with other coyotes howling from another<br />
direction. Nice scene.<br />
Various bison and elk. Nice bull elk in snow.<br />
Drove to Cooke City to get gas and for lunch, in steady snow. Lunch there.<br />
Bighorn <strong>at</strong> Soda Butte. I took pictures.<br />
We passed the UPS truck with the driver th<strong>at</strong> hit the wolf and killed it in January.<br />
The Churchill, Canada trips are in l<strong>at</strong>e October to early November. The Kodiak, Alaska trips are<br />
in l<strong>at</strong>e summer, August.<br />
Bob Barber is going on a Wrangell Island tour, booked through Overseas Adventure Travel, though<br />
he could as well have booked the trip directly. There are two Wrangel(l) Islands; the one he is<br />
going to is in Russia, north of the Arctic Circle, usually spelled Wrangel, named for Baron Wrangel<br />
who sought it, but never found it, and has not long been opened to tourists. The other one is much<br />
different, far down in the Alaska s.e. panhandle almost where it runs out into British Columbia; this<br />
is usually spelled Wrangell. There is a town here, Wrangell.<br />
We drove back from Cooke City. 2 coyotes. Back down to Slough Creek.<br />
After some wait, we saw seven wolves coming across the slope beyond Crystal Bench. They<br />
disappeared, then, after more wait, came out lower; we drove down the road a bit, and w<strong>at</strong>ched all<br />
nine wolves cross the edge of the fl<strong>at</strong>s (pictures here <strong>at</strong> the end of the roll of film). Then we<br />
followed them, moving further down the road, and, now toward dusk, w<strong>at</strong>ched two wolves chase<br />
two elk across a small clearing and into some conifers. (This is on videotape.) About two dozen<br />
elk came hurriedly out of these conifers onto the fl<strong>at</strong>s below, but we do not know how the chase<br />
ended.<br />
Back to the bunkhouse, and supper with Jim and Diann there. They returned to Gardiner for the<br />
night; Bob Barber and I stayed <strong>at</strong> <strong>Lamar</strong>.<br />
Tuesday, March 5. Blowing snow all day. Bob was soon gone, and I followed, but we could see<br />
nothing in the snow. About 8.30 Jim arrived, but there was nothing where we saw the wolves last<br />
yesterday. Radio indic<strong>at</strong>es the wolves have gone north, with weak signals, pretty far north. The<br />
guy here doing photography has a radio, which is not illegal, though the Park discourages it.<br />
We found the tracks where the wolves had crossed the road, made some measurements on them,<br />
and tracked them a bit in r<strong>at</strong>her deep snow. One way to see wh<strong>at</strong>'s in a track in snow is to cut it<br />
away on a pedestal, and then gently work away the loose snow th<strong>at</strong> has filled in the track, maybe<br />
blowing it away. You can usually tell whether it is hoofs or has four toes or wh<strong>at</strong>.<br />
Wolves usually travel single file in deep snow. In the tracks we could often see a body trough,<br />
where the body dragged through the snow.<br />
Coyote sc<strong>at</strong>s are rarely over 1" in diameter; wolves 1 to 1 ½ inches in diameter.
The trucks came by with mules and with carcasses to feed the wolves in the pens. We went back<br />
to <strong>Lamar</strong> and w<strong>at</strong>ched them hook up the sled and go up to feed the new wolves in the Rose Creek<br />
pens. The mule sled took about four hours to go in and back. Snowing hard.<br />
Lunch.<br />
We had a scanner for the park service frequencies. I listened while I finished reading L. David<br />
Mech's book, The Wolf. The road from Mammoth to Cooke City is temporarily closed; the snow<br />
plow is working it under white out conditions.<br />
30,000 people came to <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley trying to see the wolves last summer. Some wolves were<br />
seen for 43 consecutive days.<br />
KOWA is the good spotting scope the Institute has. 27 power.<br />
The best time to see grizzlies is l<strong>at</strong>e May, early June in <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley, better than Hayden Valley,<br />
though there are some there too. Try the Wildlife Observ<strong>at</strong>ion Class, May 28-31, and then stay on<br />
for Michael Bartley's class, Backpacking in Grizzly Country, or Grizzly Bear Ecology and<br />
Management, June 7-10.<br />
The road was opened again about 5.00 to let Cooke City People pass through.<br />
We went out again and met Jim and Diann w<strong>at</strong>ching bison and an elk carcass with five coyotes on<br />
it, to the north of the road below Slough Creek. Two of the coyotes had a fight, and various others<br />
were driving each other off the carcass. Back to the ranch, and the evening there, with good<br />
discussion of wilderness.<br />
Wednesday, March 6. There was a good full moon as I got up. Clear and cold, -1.3 o Fahrenheit.<br />
Jim and Diann and Bob went separ<strong>at</strong>ely, and in a few minutes I drove down in the Jeep to the<br />
carcass of the night before. Three coyotes on it, but no wolves. No wolf activity.<br />
We drove up to Soda Butte, and, not long after I arrived, I saw the Crystal Bench Pack for a couple<br />
minutes, two blacks and one grey. There are only three in this pack. They came out of the woods<br />
and across into another p<strong>at</strong>ch of woods, and never came out. Jim, N<strong>at</strong>han, Dan, were up on the<br />
hill and claimed they could barely see where they had laid down, and saw them get up and move<br />
around once or twice. Waited till noon, but no movement.<br />
Returned to the ranch and packed up to leave. Back to Soda Butte, but no movement. I climbed<br />
the hill, somewh<strong>at</strong> awkwardly with the spotting scope, but could see nothing. The spotting plane<br />
flew over and circled over where we know the three wolves in the pack were.<br />
I left to head out. There were 7 coyotes on the carcass below Slough Creek. Two were in a<br />
copul<strong>at</strong>ory tie; I w<strong>at</strong>ched them tied for about 20 minutes. Then they broke loose; the male dragged<br />
his rear in the snow some after th<strong>at</strong>. He tried to mount the female again, but to no avail.<br />
About 75 bison on the drive out. 50 elk.<br />
A coyote digging in the snow not far from the road.<br />
Another coyote walked right past the Jeep.
Two coyotes came down the road in front of the Jeep, then veered off downhill.<br />
Dinner <strong>at</strong> Chico's, fancy restaurant and lodge loc<strong>at</strong>ed <strong>at</strong> a hot springs about halfway between<br />
Gardiner and Livingston, though off on the east river road.<br />
Night in Gardiner with Jim and Diann.<br />
March 7, Thursday. Left <strong>at</strong> 5.15 a.m. for the drive home. Breakfast in Livingston. Road to<br />
Livingston clear, in the dark, but the Interst<strong>at</strong>e was one good lane clear of snow, but the passing<br />
lane with light snow, and skittish for any passing. Pretty much the same nearly all the way home.<br />
Slightly under 700 miles in slightly less than 12 hours.<br />
One dipper seen going in the w<strong>at</strong>er and back out, <strong>at</strong> Soda Butte, just as I was leaving.<br />
Fisher, Hank, Wolf Wars: The Remarkable Inside Story of the Restor<strong>at</strong>ion of Wolves to<br />
Yellowstone. Helena: MT: Falcon Press, <strong>1995</strong>.<br />
McIntyre, Rick, A Society of Wolves: N<strong>at</strong>ional Parks and the B<strong>at</strong>tle over the Wolf. Stillw<strong>at</strong>er, MN:<br />
Voyageur Press, 1993.<br />
The Wolf: A Howling in America's N<strong>at</strong>ional Parks. Narr<strong>at</strong>ed by Robert Redford. Zion N<strong>at</strong>ural<br />
History Associ<strong>at</strong>ion. 30 mins. Available: Zion N<strong>at</strong>ural History Associ<strong>at</strong>ion, Zion N<strong>at</strong>ional Park,<br />
Springdale, UT 81767. Also The Yellowstone Associ<strong>at</strong>ion, P. O. Box 17, Yellowstone N<strong>at</strong>ional<br />
Park, WY 82190.<br />
Was Th<strong>at</strong> a Wolf? A Video Guide to Wolf Identific<strong>at</strong>ion. 16 minutes. 1992. Lonewolf Productions.<br />
Bruce Weide, P<strong>at</strong> Tucker, 833 Harrison, Missoula, MT 59802. 406/363-7291.<br />
Ross, Drew, "Bear Deterrent Sprays," Bears Magazine, Winter 1996, pp. 5-7. 11110 N. 5600 W,<br />
Tremonton, UT 84337. 801/257-3634. Also I have a handout from Jim Halfpenny.<br />
Bear W<strong>at</strong>ching Guide, Denali N<strong>at</strong>ional Park and Preserve, Alaska, Bears Magazine, September<br />
<strong>1995</strong>.<br />
The Wolf: Real or Imagined? 1992. Lonewolf Productions. 28 minutes. Also produced by<br />
Montana Committee for the Humanities and Idaho Humanities Council.<br />
Yellowstone Associ<strong>at</strong>ion. Wilderness Profile. their newsletter. vol. 11, no. 1, Winter 1996. Has<br />
a good story on wolf reintroduction.<br />
Beyond Little Red Riding Hood: A Resource Directory for Teaching about Wolves. Timber Wolf<br />
Alliance. Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, Northland College, Ashland, WI 54806. 1994.<br />
715/682-1223.<br />
Yellowstone: Realm of the Coyote. N<strong>at</strong>ional Geographic Video. ISBN 0 7922 3254 2. 60 minutes.<br />
800/626-2500. Quite good. We w<strong>at</strong>ched it. Follows one coyote through a year, when he is chased<br />
out of his pack, spends the winter alone, and finds a m<strong>at</strong>e in the spring (no doubt the narr<strong>at</strong>ive is<br />
pieced together from isol<strong>at</strong>ed shots).
end Yellowstone<br />
March 8, 1996. Received invit<strong>at</strong>ion to give Gifford Lectures, <strong>University</strong> of Edinburgh, Scotland. I<br />
was working through a pile of mail received while gone and came across a brown envelope from<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Edinburgh, the Principal and Vice-Chancellor's Office. Since I once in a while get<br />
solicit<strong>at</strong>ions for gifts through this office, I almost tossed it unopened. But then I thought, "Th<strong>at</strong> one<br />
looks a little different," and opened it to my gre<strong>at</strong> surprise. Sutherland's invit<strong>at</strong>ion letter is d<strong>at</strong>ed 27<br />
February 1996.<br />
Minnesota Wolves<br />
March 28-April 3, 1996. Ely, Minnesota, and the wolves, via Milwaukee and Marquette <strong>University</strong>.<br />
Thursday, flew to Milwaukee, Friday, spoke <strong>at</strong> Marquette. S<strong>at</strong>urday, flew to Duluth and rented car,<br />
drove to Ely. Duluth has broken snow cover, but by the time I got to Ely there was solid snow pack,<br />
often 3 feet or so. Crossed the Laurentian Divide, which is where w<strong>at</strong>er goes three ways, to the<br />
north into Hudson's Bay, or into the St. Laurence, and south into the Mississippi. The Mesabi<br />
Range here is the site of the largest iron mines in the world. The Range Cities are the towns in this<br />
area. The Arrowhead country is this general northeastern Minnesota, which looks like an<br />
arrowhead. Checked into Trezona House B&B, Lynn Olson and Jim MacDonald, owners. He is<br />
from Scotland. Winter temper<strong>at</strong>ures here can be 60 o below!<br />
Sunday, March 30. Visited Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Wolf Center in the morning, wolf flight in the afternoon.<br />
My host is Paul Hansen, P. O. Box 121, Ely, MN 55731. 218/365-7217. He is from Minnesota and<br />
works partly with the Mech wolf project, partly teaches <strong>at</strong> Vermillion Community College. Doing a<br />
M.S. on kit foxes from a school in Texas. Sigurd Olsen was long dean <strong>at</strong> Vermillion Community<br />
College, and left his mark there. This is the jumping off point for the Boundary W<strong>at</strong>ers Canoe Area.<br />
Main host: Susan Meisner, Vermillion Community College; she is in charge of environmental<br />
studies.<br />
Spent the morning <strong>at</strong> the wolf center; there are four wolves in a pen outside a large picture window.<br />
Interpreter's talk. Lunched <strong>at</strong> restaurant adjoining Piragis outdoor store, a famous one here, with<br />
Jim Brandenberg gallery also adjoining.<br />
The study is a N<strong>at</strong>ional Biological Survey study. The local director is Mike Nelson; I met him<br />
Monday afternoon. There are twelve wolf packs on which they have collars, about one animal per<br />
pack. There are about 2,000 wolves in Minnesota, lots more packs than this, and the popul<strong>at</strong>ion<br />
has been steadily expanding southward. One kind of collar is an ordinary radio collar, another is<br />
a capture collar th<strong>at</strong> has two needles th<strong>at</strong> can be radio-triggered to dart the animal. These are<br />
expensive and cost about $ 2,500 versus about $ 250 for the ordinary ones. There are maybe 50<br />
wolves in Michigan, maybe 50 in Wisconsin. The Isle Royale popul<strong>at</strong>ion is not all th<strong>at</strong> far from here,<br />
on Isle Royale (in Michigan, in Lake Superior), and Paul Hanson is to lead an ecology class there.<br />
Th<strong>at</strong> popul<strong>at</strong>ion has been followed for 35 years, the longest longitudinal study of any mammal, and<br />
is now <strong>at</strong> a historic low. Trouble can be canine parvovirus, from domestic dogs, but this is not<br />
distemper. On whether roads bother wolves, see L. David Mech, "Wolf Distribution and Road<br />
Density in Minnesota," Wildlife Society Bulletin 16(1988):85-87. There are as many wolves in
Spain, surprisingly, as there are in Minnesota (Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Wolf, Fall <strong>1995</strong>, p. 8).<br />
Hitler loved wolves and named his retre<strong>at</strong>s after the wolf.<br />
Clear but windy, and we took the wolf flight in the afternoon, but it was too windy to find the<br />
wolves. They bolt two antennae on the struts of the wings, one on either side of the plane, and<br />
by switching from left to right antennas, which are pointed a little differently, they can get<br />
something of a directional fix. Then they circle around in tighter and tighter circle until they see<br />
the wolves--about half of the time they find them. But the winds today prevented circling much.<br />
We did see one bald eagle, nice adult in flight.<br />
Trees here are white pine, red pine, and jack pine. Balsam fir, black spruce (in wetlands), white<br />
spruce, tamarack, northern white cedar. Bigtooth aspen, quaking aspen. Red maple, mountain<br />
maple.<br />
Monday. Drove down to Lake Isabella area and showshoed around a campground area and<br />
further in, looking for a reported wolf kill. Eventually found it, a deer carcass. By now, since a<br />
snow two days before, the wolf tracks are obliter<strong>at</strong>ed, but Paul Hanson said those who were in<br />
here three days ago found wolf tracks all over the place. A recent track seemed to be th<strong>at</strong> of a<br />
fisher. Common goldeneye ducks on the way back. Stopped in <strong>at</strong> the Kawishiwi Research<br />
St<strong>at</strong>ion, met Mike Nelson, who heads the study, and is doing deep trapping in nets, as part of<br />
the larger wolf program.<br />
Monday night. Lecture <strong>at</strong> the college. David Tomeo is host, former Outward Bound instructor,<br />
now teaching <strong>at</strong> the college. Met Andy Hill, a canoe guide in summer and carpenter in winter.<br />
Tuesday. Up early for another wolf flight, and this time we found them. I saw two grey, or<br />
brownish, wolves toward the edge of an open clearing, making a single track in the snow. I got<br />
them in binoculars for about ten seconds, nice view, and they went into the woods <strong>at</strong> the edge.<br />
Clear day, good sun, and gre<strong>at</strong> sight. We circled around several times to try to pick them up in<br />
the woods, but could not find them. The wolves were from the Birch pack, and were seen n.w.<br />
of Crocket Lake (see map). Signals were from female adult 257, male pup 567, male pup 573,<br />
and we saw the female and one pup, they were not sure which.<br />
Returned for Radio talk, interviewed by Mike Hillman, St<strong>at</strong>ion WELY.<br />
After the talk, I went upstairs to meet Bill Arthur, an editor for Jim Brandenberg, who gave me<br />
two of Brandenberg's books on wolves. Bill Arthur, 904 S. Central Avenue, Ely, MN 55731).<br />
Lecture in Leo (Luke) Lucas, Wilderness Management class, 1,00-3.00 p.m.<br />
Wednesday, flew home. There was snow in the night, and about 2 inches on the road, so it was<br />
a bit slow. But by Virginia, MN, it has disappeared and, though overcast, no problem.
Sweden, Denmark, Romania<br />
April 12-May 6, 1996. Sweden, Oxford, Denmark, Romania trip. Bits of encounter with n<strong>at</strong>ure<br />
here and there; a walk in the woods <strong>at</strong> Odense with Finn Arler, also a walk in the woods <strong>at</strong><br />
Aarhus, ending in walk by the sea. Wood anemone, Anemone nemorosa is evidence<br />
everywhere; in deciduous woods it could blanket the forest floor, quite spectacular. Lots of<br />
beech forests in Denmark. In Romania, a weekend in the Carp<strong>at</strong>hian mountains, lovely<br />
scenery, but r<strong>at</strong>her degraded and overused woods. Hosted by Pompiliu Diplan, a gradu<strong>at</strong>e<br />
student in philosophy <strong>at</strong> the <strong>University</strong> of Bucharest, and his wife, and infant child. Nice spring<br />
green against the conifers. Some nice flowering trees, looked like pears, maybe some apple.<br />
One hedgehog killed roadside. A couple hawks. Tried to see the Danube and get to the Black<br />
Sea, to no avail. They kept saying it's not worth going.<br />
June 8-18, 1996. Lusto Finland and Estonia. Aesthetics of Forests conference <strong>at</strong> Lusto, with a<br />
Finnish Forest Museum, near Punkaharju, on an esker with lakes all around. Some hike in the<br />
woods in the course of the conference, but there was not as much n<strong>at</strong>ure interpret<strong>at</strong>ion as on<br />
the 1994 trip. Lovely woods.<br />
June 15-17, 1996. Weekend in Estonia. Stayed in Tallin but on Sunday we were taken out in<br />
the country and I got a couple strolls in the woods. Many familiar genera, though I often didn't<br />
know the species and some things I didn't know <strong>at</strong> all. Generally fl<strong>at</strong> country with fewer lakes<br />
than Finland, and still lots of forests across the countryside.
Australia<br />
July 1 - August 19, 1996<br />
July 1, <strong>1995</strong>. Left Denver 5.45 p.m.<br />
Left Los Angeles 10.40 p.m.<br />
July 2. Skipped it! Crossed the intern<strong>at</strong>ional d<strong>at</strong>eline.<br />
July 3. Arrived Sydney 6.30 a.m.<br />
This is Kingsford Smith Airport. He was the first man to fly the Pacific Ocean.<br />
QUANTAS. The name comes from Queensland and Northern Territory Air Service.<br />
Ansett airlines carries the name of its founder. Bob? Ansett.<br />
Got rental car, drove to motel. Drove to downtown Sydney. Parked and walked to American<br />
Express to cash checks. Walked through downtown Sydney shopping area. Moved car to<br />
parking lot, and walked to the Rocks, lunched <strong>at</strong> MacDonalds, walked to harbor and opera<br />
house. Drove to motel.<br />
The motel is across the street from an edge of the <strong>University</strong> of New South Wales. The<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Sydney is the old "sandstone" university with a full set of facilities. Charles Birch is<br />
there in biology, now retired. The <strong>University</strong> of New South Wales is a post World War II<br />
university, though it is now of considerable size, approaching th<strong>at</strong> of the <strong>University</strong> of Sydney.<br />
Another <strong>University</strong> here is Macquarie <strong>University</strong>. The <strong>University</strong> of Sydney had for thirty years<br />
two different philosophy departments, one in the "analytic" tradition, one in "continental"<br />
philosophy, which also meant some Marxist strains. Those two departments are now united,<br />
though the "streams" are still there.<br />
July 4. Thursday. Breakfast <strong>at</strong> MacDonalds, drove to Geminini Lodge to make reserv<strong>at</strong>ions for<br />
return trip. Groceries <strong>at</strong> IGA, and drove to Blue Mountains. Stopped <strong>at</strong> Glenbrook for<br />
inform<strong>at</strong>ion. Found B&B <strong>at</strong> Wentworth Falls. Drove to the Wentworth Falls Picnic Area,<br />
lunched there with Jane overhe<strong>at</strong>ing in the car. Drove the Cliff Road Drive. Reached Echo<br />
Point, and overlook of the Three Sisters. Galahs <strong>at</strong> the feeders outside gift shop here. Tree<br />
ferns, Cyanthea, Rough Tree fern.<br />
Drove to Govett's Leap and overlook of Bridal Veil Falls. Australian magpie. Pied Currawong.<br />
July 5, Friday. I took the Darwin walk alone. Darwin was here and took this or a similar walk in<br />
the
1800's. Crimson rosellas. Lots of red w<strong>at</strong>tle birds. Drove to Wentforth Falls and walked to<br />
overlook. New Holland honeye<strong>at</strong>er, up quite close. Returned to Blackhe<strong>at</strong>h and spent time in<br />
visitor center. Casuarina, she-oaks, long needle-like stems, green, resemble a jointed pine needle.<br />
The genus was split into three in 1982; most of the Australian species are now Allocasuarina.<br />
Called Casuarina because of the likeness of the drooping foliage to the fe<strong>at</strong>hers of the cassowary<br />
bird. Called she-oak because lumber is oak-like but inferior!<br />
Pteridium - fern is here<br />
The forests generally seem dry, though they call the forests in the drainage courses here<br />
rainforests.<br />
The ranger <strong>at</strong> the Visitor Centre says she sees lyrebirds frequently.<br />
Lunched <strong>at</strong> overlook <strong>at</strong> Govett's Leap.<br />
Drove to Mt. Victoria and then to Bell and turned back west, back through Blue Mountains. Still<br />
quite dry-looking woods. To Kurrajong, Richmond, Windsor, then back into the Sydney suburban<br />
area, to Hornsby and took N<strong>at</strong>ional 1 north. Dense traffic. Night <strong>at</strong> Wong. Supper in an enormous<br />
shopping centre.<br />
July 6, S<strong>at</strong>urday. Left Wong and drove around through The Entrance, a narrow opening to<br />
Tuggerah Lake. Over a bridge here, on to Budgewoi, back to the freeway, regaining it <strong>at</strong> Morisset.<br />
North on N<strong>at</strong>ional 1. Through gum forests, often quite dense rainforests, though often also drier<br />
and more opened up from cutting. Lots of c<strong>at</strong>tle and pasture. No row cropping. Lunch <strong>at</strong> Visitor<br />
Center <strong>at</strong> Taree, in the Manning Valley. On north to Kempsey.<br />
Geo is the Australasian Geographic Magazine.<br />
The ocean here is called the Tasman Sea, as well as the South Pacific Ocean.<br />
On to Coffs Harbor, a coastal resort, then to Grafton, more inland, for the night. Pizza <strong>at</strong> Pizza Hut.<br />
Grafton celebr<strong>at</strong>es its jacaranda trees. This is the Clarence Valley. Red cedar (a cypress?) seems<br />
to have once been a highly desired timber tree here.<br />
Littoral rainforest. W<strong>at</strong>ered by the ocean filtered through sand.<br />
A few banana plant<strong>at</strong>ions toward the end of the day.<br />
July 7, Sunday. Drove north through sugarcane country. Often r<strong>at</strong>her scenic landscape, rolling<br />
hills, with sugarcane on the fl<strong>at</strong>s. Also bananas. Sometimes considerable gum forests. Crossed<br />
into Queensland, and lunched <strong>at</strong> the much developed Gold Coast. Nice Norfolk Island Pines.<br />
Reached Brisbane and found the <strong>University</strong> of Queensland. Staying <strong>at</strong> Woman's College, a<br />
residence hall complex.<br />
July 8, Monday. At the Australasian Philosophy Conference<br />
The word "Australasian" includes Australia and New Zealand, but there is nothing Asian in the term.<br />
Dinner: Spaghetti in a café <strong>at</strong> a shopping centre adjacent to campus.<br />
July 9, Tuesday. Gave paper 11.00 a.m., to about 35 people. Val Plumwood and William Grey<br />
were there; he was William Godfrey-Smith.<br />
In the afternoon, rode a bus to downtown Brisbane, and walked around. Dinner <strong>at</strong> Woman's<br />
College.
July 10, Wednesday. Drove to Lamington N<strong>at</strong>ional Park, and O'Reilly's Lodge. Drove back to<br />
south Brisbane, and down Route 1 to Oxenford and cut off there. Thence to Canungra and booked<br />
hotel <strong>at</strong> # 35! Drove up to O'Reilly's, a resort inside the Park. Narrow, winding road, and slow drive<br />
up. Lunched on hood of car in parking lot. Passed many grass trees on the way up. Xanthorrhoea<br />
preissii. Grass tree. Common black boy. Walked to Tree Tops.<br />
6-8 brush turkeys on the walk. Wild but r<strong>at</strong>her tame. Tree tops is a suspended walkway through<br />
high rainforest. Then to a botanical gardens. King parrots. Lots of crimson rosellas <strong>at</strong> a feeding<br />
st<strong>at</strong>ion. Pied currawong.<br />
Took hike to Moran Falls, and joined a n<strong>at</strong>uralist party on the way down. Interesting forest, lots of<br />
strangler figs. Ferns on much of the forest floor. Trees often have impressive buttresses. Jane<br />
though she caught cold here.<br />
staghorn - the epiphytic plant on the tall trees.<br />
On the drive back, about dusk, nine wallabies on the roadside. The first "kangaroos" we have seen.<br />
W<strong>at</strong>ched them several minutes. Impressive.<br />
July 11. Thursday. Up <strong>at</strong> 5.00 a.m. to get off <strong>at</strong> 6.00 (still quite dark) and head for Brisbane airport.<br />
The drive went smoothly. We reached the airport about 8.00 a.m. and returned the car.<br />
Flight to Cairns. Clear day and nice flight. Arrived about 1.00 p.m. Found motel and spent the<br />
afternoon <strong>at</strong> the Visitor Centre working out tours.<br />
July 12, Friday. By ship to the Gre<strong>at</strong> Barrier Reef. Went by False Cape, then Cape Grafton, and<br />
to Fitzroy Island. Saw Green Island, but didn't take the trip to land there because it is under lots<br />
of reconstruction. On Fitzroy Island, we walked around. Sulfur-crested cock<strong>at</strong>oo. Walked with<br />
n<strong>at</strong>uralist with lots of ethnobotany and folk medicine in the talk. Some vines grow up to one meter<br />
a day. Dead dog tree = Beach plum = ink. Beach almond. Pandanus, false pineapple tree, with<br />
a soccer ball sized fruit, and with roots like a tepee. Fish poison tree. Coral tree. Hibiscus, yellow,<br />
turns salmon color when it falls. Can grow to 4 meters a year. Used for rope fibers and threads.<br />
Coconuts were introduced. Papaya, locally called a paw-paw, introduced. Orange footed bush<br />
hen, makes mound outside tree.<br />
After the n<strong>at</strong>uralist hike, we saw a Ulysses butterfly, with blue color, seen near the oyster research<br />
st<strong>at</strong>ion.<br />
On to the Outer Reef, Moore Reef. Many of these fish can change their sex under various<br />
conditions in the course of their life. Reached the outer reef and a large pontoon anchored there.<br />
Lunch.<br />
Ride in semi-submersible bo<strong>at</strong>. The coral is quite intric<strong>at</strong>e. Staghorn coral, but not all th<strong>at</strong> colorful.<br />
Colorful fish, some large swarms of small fish. No big fish seen. Parrot fish. Returned and went<br />
snorkeling off the pontoon. The w<strong>at</strong>er temper<strong>at</strong>ure is quite pleasant.<br />
Crown of Thorns starfish (COTS) outbreak. This is a coral e<strong>at</strong>ing starfish. It destroys an area, but<br />
there is a recovery after about twenty years. Many think this is a n<strong>at</strong>urally occurring phenomenon.<br />
The starfish turns its stomach inside out to envelope the coral.<br />
July 13. S<strong>at</strong>urday. Drove north to Daintree River Ferry for a river cruise.
Northern bandicoot, killed roadside. There can be up to 3 meters of tide, about 2 meters today.<br />
Mangroves. There are here 3-3 ½ meters of rainfall a year. In March 1996, 1.6 meters fell in four<br />
days, the flood of the century.<br />
In the "river train," a long bo<strong>at</strong>. Two crocodiles, "salties" <strong>at</strong> the w<strong>at</strong>er's edge. The first one was <strong>at</strong><br />
first swimming in the w<strong>at</strong>er. The largest crocodile in Australia was 24 feet long. The largest of the<br />
two was a male, about 8 feet. Also one juvenile crocodile about 3 feet long, in the sun on one of<br />
the mangrove beaches.<br />
Mangrove makes long pods; a new plant will sprout from a pod while it is yet on the tree. Then it<br />
flo<strong>at</strong>s in the river.<br />
A green tree snake, which I never saw. Another one l<strong>at</strong>er, which I did see.<br />
Mt. Thornton, mountain on the skyline. One of the highest in Queensland, about 4,500 ft. Large<br />
egret, all white. White-faced herons, 6-8 in a tree.<br />
Another crocodile, about 4 meters long, seen nicely <strong>at</strong> the river's edge, half out of the w<strong>at</strong>er. Two<br />
more crocodiles, one half out of the w<strong>at</strong>er in the sun. Two more egrets.<br />
Stopped for tea. Boardwalk through the mangrove swamp. Green ants, squeeze one and put a<br />
drop of it on your tongue. Lemon taste.<br />
Archer fish, with spots. Mangrove jacks, reddish fish.<br />
3 crabs<br />
looking glass mangrove, with buttresses<br />
strangler figs<br />
Malaleuca trees.<br />
The Gulf Savannah region is savannah, a name for all the inland savannah, near the Gulf of<br />
Carpentaria.<br />
Fan palm, with leaves like a fan.<br />
End of the bo<strong>at</strong> train ride, returned to the Ferry.<br />
Drove to Daintree village, and lunched there.<br />
Drove to Mossman and Mossman Gorge. Hiked about 4 km. One km in and then a 2 km loop and<br />
then 1 km back out, dense rainforest. Impressive strangler figs and butress roots. Jane did only<br />
part of this.<br />
July 14, Sunday. Drove to Kuranda and walked through the market. Lunch on the back of the car<br />
<strong>at</strong> Barron Gorge W<strong>at</strong>erfalls.<br />
There were cannibals in Australia.<br />
There is less burning of sugar cane now, mostly it is still burned in wet soil fields. A sugar cane mill<br />
is self contained; it uses the cane by-products for its fuel.<br />
Left <strong>at</strong> 3.30 on wildlife tour, Wildscapes Safaris, led by Alberto Vale (originally from Portugal).<br />
Drove south and turned toward Atherton, Gillies Highway. Drip tips on rainforest leaves aggreg<strong>at</strong>e<br />
the cloud moisture into a drip. Dry schlerophyll forest. There are no grasses in the rainforest.<br />
There are straight tall trees with no knots. There are no koalas this far north; it is too hot for them.
We drove through the rainforest and then through some c<strong>at</strong>tle country, then thru Tinaburra and<br />
table lands.<br />
W<strong>at</strong>ched for pl<strong>at</strong>ypus. One seen swimming like a beaver. Then one seen well swimming by. A<br />
good look for only ten seconds or so, but a memorable experience. Another seen swimming back<br />
<strong>at</strong> the place were we had first w<strong>at</strong>ched and failed to see it. The pl<strong>at</strong>ypus is a monotreme; it all<br />
comes out one hole: feces, urine, and offspring.<br />
The Pl<strong>at</strong>ypus (Ornithorhynchus an<strong>at</strong>inus) is only in the eastern belt of Australia, not much west of<br />
the Gre<strong>at</strong> Dividing Range. It remains common in Tasmania. Distribution map on folder below. It<br />
is not said to be endangered or thre<strong>at</strong>ened.<br />
Pl<strong>at</strong>ypus, a folder produced by the Australian N<strong>at</strong>ure Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion Agency, February 1996, is on<br />
hand. M. Griffiths, "The Pl<strong>at</strong>ypus," Scientific American, May 1988.<br />
The female pl<strong>at</strong>ypus has no te<strong>at</strong>s. Milk is produced in large glands under her skin which can be<br />
up to one-third of her body's length. The milk oozes out onto a p<strong>at</strong>ch of fur and the young pl<strong>at</strong>ypus<br />
sucks it up.<br />
The male has a spur on the inside of each hind leg with a venom gland. This can cause<br />
excruci<strong>at</strong>ing pain in humans and can kill a dog. They are used against other males in m<strong>at</strong>ing<br />
season.<br />
No one has ever seen a pl<strong>at</strong>ypus lay her eggs. It is thought likely th<strong>at</strong> she sits in such way th<strong>at</strong> the<br />
eggs pass out and slide onto her abdomen. There are one to three eggs, soft and about 14 to 17<br />
mm. in diameter. She lays on her side and curls her tail to keep them warm against her body.<br />
There is no pouch, unlike the echidna. The young h<strong>at</strong>ch after about ten days. They are about the<br />
size of a peanut, have no hair and cannot see. The mother keeps them close against her abdomen<br />
where they suckle on her milk. They are weaned after about three to four months. Many do not<br />
survive the first year.<br />
Dinner in restaurant.<br />
Seen with spotlight: brush tail possum, another brush tail; rufous ringtail, nicely seen; it went into<br />
a hole in the tree. Coppery Brushtail. Lemuroid ring tail, of which I saw mostly the eyes. At the<br />
curtain fig tree: Long Nosed Bandicoot, on the ground. Coppery Brush trail, across the road.<br />
Green Ring tail, silver stripes, nicely seen. Lumholtz tree Kangaroo, nicely seen, with long tail.<br />
Back to stop for chocol<strong>at</strong>e. On the ride back, two small long nosed bandicoots on the road.<br />
(Giant) white tailed r<strong>at</strong>, white tail nicely seen. One long-nosed bandicoot.<br />
July 15, Monday. Drove down the coast. 10 wallabies on a hillside, w<strong>at</strong>ched from the road.<br />
Passed Mt. Bartle Frere, Queensland's highest peak, 1,622 meters.<br />
Reached Mission Beach, turned off <strong>at</strong> El Arish and into Tam O'Shanter St<strong>at</strong>e Forest. Looking for<br />
cassowaries. Walked a loop, 40 minutes, on the north side of the road with noisy tourists, Lacey<br />
Creek Forest Circuit. Then drove down to Licula Walking Track which I was going to walk through<br />
2.4 km, but Jane found the cassowaries. Splendid views. One adult male and two chicks, though<br />
we did not know <strong>at</strong> the time w<strong>at</strong>ching it th<strong>at</strong> the male cares for the chicks. Nicely seen <strong>at</strong> length in<br />
good rainforest for half an hour, quite close, so close th<strong>at</strong> we backed off a bit. Two chicks with<br />
stripes.
Then others came, including two French boys who made too much noise.<br />
On to Mission Beach, w<strong>at</strong>ched a video on cassowaries <strong>at</strong> the interpretive center. Picnic lunch in<br />
palms on the beach. Drove to old Mission site, in 1914, to the aborigines who were being abused<br />
by Chinese growing sugar cane. Returned to the walking track and went down it again, briefly.<br />
Photographed cassowary dung; certain large seeds do not sprout unless they have been through<br />
the cassowary! So they are necessary for the rainforest.<br />
Drove south to Townsville and found James Cook <strong>University</strong>. Our lodging was <strong>at</strong> John Flynn<br />
College, in the home of the principal (head of the college, a residential unit). The John Flynn<br />
College, James Cook <strong>University</strong>, Townsville, Qld 4811. Wallaby seen when returning to the house.<br />
Our host is Lachlan M. Marsh, was in m<strong>at</strong>hem<strong>at</strong>ics, now the principal. His wife is Helene Marsh,<br />
in biology. She is writing a book on man<strong>at</strong>ees and dugongs with O'Shea, N<strong>at</strong>ional Ecology Center<br />
in Fort Collins, coming to the U.S. in November-December.<br />
D. A. Saunders, A. J. M. Hopkins, R. A. Hau, eds., Australian Ecosystems: 200 Years of Utiliz<strong>at</strong>ion,<br />
Degrad<strong>at</strong>ion, and Reconstruction. 1990, Proceedings of the Ecological Society of Australia.<br />
Chipping Norton, N.S.W.: Surrey Be<strong>at</strong>ty and Sons, 1990.<br />
Craig Moritz and Jiro Kirrawa, eds., Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion Biology in Australia and Oceania. Chipping<br />
Norton, N.S.W.: Surrey Be<strong>at</strong>ty and Sons, 1994.<br />
B<strong>at</strong>es, Gerry M., Environmental Law in Australia, 4th ed. Sydney: Butterworths, <strong>1995</strong>. 405 pages.<br />
James T. Winpenny, Values for the Environment: A Guide to Economic Appraisal. London: HSMO<br />
(Overseas Development Institute), 1991. Winpenny is a development economist in London.<br />
Australia's Cape York Peninsula. N<strong>at</strong>ional Geographic, June 1996.<br />
Cocks, Douglas, Use with Care: Managing Australia's N<strong>at</strong>ural Resources in the Twenty First<br />
Century. Kensington, N.S.W.: New South Wales <strong>University</strong> Press, 1992. 344 pages. Cocks is a<br />
research scientist with the Division of Wildlife and Ecology, CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and<br />
Industrial Research Organiz<strong>at</strong>ion) in Canberra.<br />
July 16, Tuesday. Breakfast <strong>at</strong> the college. Checked equipment with Wendy Power. Met the<br />
Philosophy Steering Committee.<br />
Drove around Townsville and then to Commons Ecological Park, a wetland when there is rain, but<br />
now dry with some bird ponds and hides, which do collect the birds in dry we<strong>at</strong>her. Saw Magnetic<br />
Island off the coast. Brolga, a large grey crane, with red head. One adult and two imm<strong>at</strong>ures seen.<br />
Straw-necked ibis, lots of them. Royal spoonbill, with black bill. Yellow-billed spoonbill, with yellow<br />
bill. The two spoonbills were side by side, one of each. Magpie lark. One wallaby out near a pond.<br />
Gre<strong>at</strong> egrets.<br />
Drove up Castle Hill.<br />
Lecture <strong>at</strong> 5.30. Dinner <strong>at</strong> Marsh home th<strong>at</strong> evening.<br />
July 17, Wednesday. Plane to Brisbane. Talk th<strong>at</strong> night <strong>at</strong> Queensland <strong>University</strong> of Technology<br />
(QUT). Afterward, dinner in a noisy pub. Julian Lamont, QUT, main host; Christy Favor, QUT, an<br />
American; Noel Preston, QUT, studied theology <strong>at</strong> Boston <strong>University</strong>. Malcolm Parker, a physician<br />
in general practice, was a philosophy student and former student of Robert Elliot. Trevor Jordan,
QUT. Elizabeth Saxon, s<strong>at</strong> beside me <strong>at</strong> supper, doing an honors' thesis on environmental<br />
philosophy. John Forge, Griffiths <strong>University</strong>, in philosophy of science. He had been to <strong>University</strong><br />
of Pittsburgh and used some of my articles in a class there. Jerry Gaus, recently come from the<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Minnesota <strong>at</strong> Duluth, knows Michael Losonsky and Jane Kneller. Lamont was a postdoc<br />
<strong>at</strong> the <strong>University</strong> of Queensland and only a few months ago took a permanent job <strong>at</strong> QUT.<br />
Thursday, July 18. Got haircut. Drove north to Maroochydore. Sugar cane and pineapple country.<br />
Striking Glass House Mountains, volcanic necks rising suddenly from the coastal plains. Reached<br />
Maroochydore, lunch with Robert Elliot. Toured his campus, a new university college, started from<br />
scr<strong>at</strong>ch. He is Dean and was the only appointee in Arts, and therefore dean of himself. He now<br />
has 13 faculty and will have 26 next term.<br />
There are kangaroos on the edge of the campus.<br />
Walked around to the beach about sunset. Surfers. Nice Norfolk Island Pine in the motel area.<br />
Hoop pine is another Auracaria, with thick clumpy dark green foliage, n<strong>at</strong>ive to Australia, seen here.<br />
Bunya pine, still another Auracaria, n<strong>at</strong>ive to Australia, not seen.<br />
July 19, Friday. Day <strong>at</strong> Noosa N<strong>at</strong>ional park. Noosa Heads. Walked around to the beach near the<br />
motel again in early morning. Surfers again. Spent the day with Elizabeth Baker as our guide.<br />
2/127 Gray Road, Hill End, Qld 4101. 07 3844 5394. ebaker@scuc.edu.au<br />
Drove north to Noosa Heads.<br />
Mary E. White, The Greening of Gondwana. Ch<strong>at</strong>tswood, N.S. W.: Reed, 1994. 2nd ed. ISBN 0<br />
7301 0390 0. L<strong>at</strong>er seen <strong>at</strong> the <strong>University</strong> of New England. Princeton <strong>University</strong> Press published<br />
a 1990 version, The Flowering of Gondwana.<br />
Australia as a recognizable continent is rel<strong>at</strong>ively recent (30-50 million years ago). Earlier it was<br />
in Gondwana, which was all the southern continents fused together, including Antarctica. At th<strong>at</strong><br />
time, the northern continents (Europe, Asia, North America formed a second supercontinent,<br />
Laurasia.<br />
On the walk from the parking area. Eucalyptus may have striped bark as well as clear bark.<br />
The special character and uniqueness of the Australian flora depends on the omnipresence of the<br />
genus Eucalyptus. No other comparable area of land in the world is so completely characterized<br />
by a single genus of trees. Acacias are almost as widespread and visible.<br />
A peculiar and distinctive quality of the Australian flora is the adapt<strong>at</strong>ion resulting in le<strong>at</strong>hery, hard,<br />
spiny or reduced leaves. This is called scleromorphy, and the plants whose leaves are adapted<br />
in this way are schlerophylls. The evolution of schlerophyll adapt<strong>at</strong>ions is believed to be primarily<br />
rel<strong>at</strong>ed to low-nutrient soils and secondarily to confer the benefits of w<strong>at</strong>er conserv<strong>at</strong>ion under dry<br />
conditions.<br />
The Gondwanan forests are often thought to have been wet rainforests, and schlerophylls a<br />
subsequent adapt<strong>at</strong>ion, but it is not really known th<strong>at</strong> the Gondwanan forests were closed forests<br />
or wet forests.
Schlerophyll forests regularly burn; they are often dry and the leaves are full of oils. They have<br />
many fire adapt<strong>at</strong>ions. Lots of the seeds only sprout after a fire.<br />
Melaleuca (mela, black; leuca, white). Tea Tree. Mottled black and white bark on some of them.<br />
Bottlebrush flowers.<br />
Leptospermum with papery bark.<br />
Pandanus a palm tree with somewh<strong>at</strong> Yucca like leaves.<br />
Screw palm, edible fruit and nut, <strong>at</strong> least by the aborigines.<br />
Acacia, w<strong>at</strong>tle.<br />
Kookaburra, seen nicely in tree, and got good pictures.<br />
Lovely walk. Returned to car and picnic lunch there.<br />
Found a koala up in a tree <strong>at</strong> the edge of the picnic area, got pictures. W<strong>at</strong>ched it some while,<br />
though it was mostly asleep.<br />
Crested pigeon.<br />
Walked a boardwalk. 2 galahs. Jane saw them perched, and I saw them in flight.<br />
Ice cream <strong>at</strong> Baskin Robbins. Drove back. Pelican overhead. Drove down to Sunshine Coast<br />
<strong>University</strong> College. Saw kangaroo with joey in pouch, with head sticking out. Security cop made<br />
me move, and when he got out she took off. A couple more kangaroos.<br />
July 20, Sunday. Drove to Armidale. Left 6.30 a.m. to Caloundra, still on the sea, and turned<br />
inland. Beerwah, some impressive eucalypt forests in here. Kilcoy, bought gas. Esk, high country<br />
with sheep on lands cleared from eucalyptus. Reached New England highway <strong>at</strong> Hampton.<br />
Toowoomba. Warwick, Stanthorpe, Wallangarra, Tenterfield, Glen Innes. Many Scots and English<br />
names through here. Sheep, fruit trees, apples, grapes. Reached Armidale about 5.00 p.m. and<br />
stayed <strong>at</strong> Comeytrowe Bed and Breakfast. Clear day, cool but pleasant. Supper <strong>at</strong> Kentucky Fried<br />
Chicken. Drew Klentzos came round in the evening, my host <strong>at</strong> the <strong>University</strong> of New England.<br />
July 21, Sunday. Hard rain in the night, came down in blowing sheets. Early a.m. some bright<br />
spots, some rain. Nice breakfast in the B&B. Drove to Dangar's Falls in Oxley Wild Rivers N<strong>at</strong>ional<br />
Park (one of several units). Clearing and windy. The last 11 km was on dirt road. Lots of magpies.<br />
Freckled ducks, seen nicely. A few rosellas. Many sheep in dry fields, the brown sheep often<br />
about the same color as the fields.<br />
Walked to Gorge Lookout and Gorge Rim Walk, and around to Dagar Falls Lookout and on to Rock<br />
Wallaby Lookout. The brush-tailed rock wallaby is rare here, not seen. A spectacular falls. Three<br />
wallabies seen, 2 w<strong>at</strong>ched <strong>at</strong> length, then a third one (across the dog fence), seen only briefly.<br />
They have a dark tail, brownish, and somewh<strong>at</strong> reddish backs. Windy. Return to car. Ate in car<br />
<strong>at</strong> Parrott's War Memorial, halfway back in toward town.<br />
Left Jane <strong>at</strong> the B&B, and I drove to Wollomombi Gorge and Falls. There are two falls <strong>at</strong><br />
Wollomombi: one is Wollomombi, which is the larger, and Chandler Falls, on Chandler River, both<br />
seen <strong>at</strong> once. Cool and windy. Walked to lookout. Returned and on the way back drove to Metz<br />
Gorge. About 30 rosellas in a flock on the way in.
Eucalyptus trees here are often dead or dying in the open fields, and there is a mysterious<br />
Eucalyptus dieback, not well understood. Some say a pesticide affects bird eggs and the birds<br />
don't e<strong>at</strong> the insects th<strong>at</strong> damage the trees. Others say the dieback is n<strong>at</strong>ural and cyclic.<br />
The <strong>University</strong> of New England has 4,000 "internal" students and as many "external" students<br />
(correspondence students) who come in for two weeks when the internal students are on holiday.<br />
July 22, Monday. Breakfast <strong>at</strong> the B&B. Drove to the <strong>University</strong> of New England, on edge of town.<br />
Phoned Canberra from a phone booth out in the cold. Brief visit to the library.<br />
Seminar <strong>at</strong> 11.00 a.m. Drew Khlentzos, the main host, very cordial. Tony Lynch, young, recent<br />
Ph.D., now teaching environmental ethics here, since Robert Elliot and William Gray have left. The<br />
Dean of N<strong>at</strong>ural Sciences was <strong>at</strong> the seminar. Others from ecosystem science. Lunch afterward.<br />
Fred D'Agostino <strong>at</strong> lunch. He is a U.S. Citizen, has been here 25 years. He wrote "Transcendence<br />
and Convers<strong>at</strong>ion: Two Conceptions of Objectivity," American Philosophical Quarterly, April 1993,<br />
on hand. The Chair is P. Forrest, whom I did not meet.<br />
We left about 2.15, drove to Uralla, then Tamworth (bought gas), then Gunnedah (groceries for<br />
supper), leaving there about 5.00 and driving south into the dark. One wallaby jumping across the<br />
road. Rosellas. Galahs. We were uncertain about wh<strong>at</strong> kind of motel we might find, but we found<br />
a very decent one <strong>at</strong> Coolah.<br />
July 23, Tuesday. Left <strong>at</strong> 6.00 a.m., still dark, heading South. Frosty car, but, fortun<strong>at</strong>ely, the motel<br />
keeper had covered the windshield. Roosters were crowing in the dark morning, a not uncommon<br />
sound in these towns. We drove south to Gulgong. Two kangaroos in a field, running, in the early<br />
morning light. L<strong>at</strong>er, between Gulgong and Wellington, three rabbits in open brush and trees, like<br />
cottontails. Then 21 kangaroos on a hillside. We w<strong>at</strong>ched them in the early morning sun quite a<br />
while. I made them out to be Eastern Grey Kangaroos. They were various sizes, but the largest<br />
were quite good sized, 1 ½ meters head and body, with 1 meter tail or more. They are a lighter<br />
color than the wallabies. Nice sight.<br />
Gas in Canowindra. One more kangaroo in a field. Many sheep, and now the fields can be quite<br />
green with barley, or something th<strong>at</strong> looks like a turnip. The sheep in these fields are in some<br />
contrast to the sheep seen earlier in dry brown fields in the Armidale region.<br />
Galahs in a park/golf course area in Cowra, perhaps a hundred of them, first on the ground (took<br />
picture) and l<strong>at</strong>er up in trees (more pictures). Magpies. Parrots, some all green color. A falcon,<br />
like a kestrel.<br />
Lunch in Boorowa, in a café, and visited a men's store with curved counters, of which they were<br />
quite proud. On to Canberra, reaching there about 3.30 p.m. Checked into <strong>University</strong> House,<br />
Australian N<strong>at</strong>ional <strong>University</strong>.<br />
July 24, Wednesday. Spent day in Canberra. Jane did wash in the morning. We walked to the<br />
bookstore <strong>at</strong> ANU. Lunch in <strong>University</strong> House in the room.<br />
In the afternoon, we visited Parliament House. A magpie stole the diplom<strong>at</strong>'s lunch on the p<strong>at</strong>io!<br />
L<strong>at</strong>er, visited the Botanical Gardens, with a reconstructed rainforest. Rock gardens. W<strong>at</strong>tles nicely<br />
in bloom. Scribbley gum. We had an excellent and enthusiastic volunteer guide, who had been<br />
with CSIRO for his career, now retired.
W<strong>at</strong>tles are acacias. Acacias are found widely in South America and Africa; they are thorny there,<br />
but not in Australia. But the term "w<strong>at</strong>tle" is restricted to Australia, and comes from their use in an<br />
early settler's type of construction "w<strong>at</strong>tle and daub," mud around interwoven long, flexible stems.<br />
Many have leaves, but many have lost their leaves and have instead a leaf-like fl<strong>at</strong>tened narrow<br />
stem (phyllodes). Others have only modified stems called cladodes. There are 800 Acacia species<br />
in Australia. Few grow into trees; they are shrubs.<br />
Evening, we had dinner <strong>at</strong> an Asian restaurant in the Student Union. Then a seminar <strong>at</strong> ANU, with<br />
only a few present. It had been little publicized, though those there were cordial. Robert Goodin.<br />
Rose, Deborah Bird, Nourishing Terrains: Australian Aboriginal Views of Landscape and<br />
Wilderness. Canberra: Australian Heritage Commission, 1996. 95 pages. ISBN 0 642 23561 9.<br />
Rose, an anthropologist, is with the North Australia Research Unit of the Australian N<strong>at</strong>ional<br />
<strong>University</strong>, Canberra.<br />
M<strong>at</strong>hews, Freya, ed., Ecology and Democracy. London and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 1996. Nine<br />
contributors. Originally published as volume 4, no. 4, of Environmental Politics.<br />
July 25, Thursday. Drove to Braidwood. Examined a womb<strong>at</strong>, killed roadside. Examined a<br />
kangaroo, killed roadside. At least 1.5 meters head and body, plus 1 meter tail. Eastern Grey<br />
Kangaroo. Visited shops in Braidwood, though several of the antique shops Jane wanted to visit<br />
were closed.<br />
Reached Val Plumwood's home after 5 km drive down her narrow lane, with brush on either side,<br />
trying to avoid getting the car scr<strong>at</strong>ched. Lunch outdoors in her lawn/garden. She has solar<br />
electricity and hot w<strong>at</strong>er. Pit toilets. There is a phone cable dug under her road. In the afternoon,<br />
she took us for a walk through her rainforest. Not far away there is a view over an escarpment and<br />
you can see the Tasman Sea in the distance. Lots of tree ferns. Mostly soft tree ferns, but l<strong>at</strong>er<br />
rough tree ferns, with prickles <strong>at</strong> the bases of the fronds. Lyrebird "dancing" mounds. About 4 feet<br />
in diameter, for courting. Saw remnants of half a dozen of these. Saw a bowerbird bower, now<br />
abandoned and I would not have known it was anything <strong>at</strong> all, unless I had been told. Val knows<br />
the n<strong>at</strong>ural history quite well, better than any other philosopher I met in Australia.<br />
Plumwood - a tree here. It starts to grow up in another tree, typically a tree fern, and grows to the<br />
ground, and then up to become a major tree. Lots of younger ones seen clasping tree ferns. They<br />
get quite sizeable, and the main tree rots and sprouts arise around it, and they too get sizeable, still<br />
in a ring around the now vanished original tree.<br />
Tree ferns fall over under their own weight, but the tip will bend around and start growing again.<br />
If the wallabies don't e<strong>at</strong> the fronds too much, it will repe<strong>at</strong> the cycle, and this can go on for<br />
centuries. The wallaby here is a swamp wallaby.<br />
Heard a bowerbird call.<br />
Heard a thrush call.<br />
Eastern yellow robin, seen as we returned <strong>at</strong> dusk.<br />
Returned to house. Made up bed in her guest house.<br />
Evening by the fire with Val Plumwood. Heard her crocodile story, which happened <strong>at</strong> Kakadu<br />
N<strong>at</strong>ional park, Northern Territories, near Darwin. She was <strong>at</strong>tacked by a crocodile in her canoe,
and barely survived.<br />
Antechinus stuartii, Common Antechinus, the size of a r<strong>at</strong>, came into the kitchen to clean up the<br />
scraps. Seen e<strong>at</strong>ing an avocado. A marsupial carnivore, but it e<strong>at</strong>s avocados anyway. E<strong>at</strong>s<br />
insects, arthropods.<br />
About 9.00 <strong>at</strong> night, a visit by her womb<strong>at</strong>. It is now wild, though she once raised it, after its mother<br />
was killed. It scr<strong>at</strong>ched on the outside door, came in, <strong>at</strong>e two carrots and barley flakes by the fire<br />
for 30-40 minutes. I took several pictures. Vomb<strong>at</strong>us ursinus. A somewh<strong>at</strong> relict group, most of<br />
them became extinct before humans reached Australia. Now found only in s.e. Australia, a r<strong>at</strong>her<br />
limited distribution. It grazes in her yard <strong>at</strong> times. She puts up a fence to keep out the kangaroos,<br />
though she has to make a womb<strong>at</strong> g<strong>at</strong>e because she can't keep it out. It digs under the fence or<br />
tears it down.<br />
We spent the night in the guest house. Cold, but <strong>at</strong> least warm under the covers.<br />
July 26, Friday. Left <strong>at</strong> 6.15 a.m., driving out the 5 km. driveway in the dark, though it was light by<br />
the time we reached the g<strong>at</strong>e. Drive back to Canberra. Jane saw one kangaroo on the side of the<br />
road. I missed it. Gas and regrouped <strong>at</strong> Queanbeyan. Airport, and flight to Melbourne, short flight.<br />
Car rental, and found hotel. Lygon Lodge. Drove to Dandenong Ranges N<strong>at</strong>ional park, in terrible<br />
traffic. This is about 20 miles east of Melbourne. When we eventually got there there were some<br />
quite impressive tall Eucalyptus trees, Eucalyptus regnans, tall, spectacular for their columnar<br />
appearance. There are 38 species of ferns and fern-like plants here. The park is generally under<br />
siege by the city, but there are determined efforts to preserve it. Return after dark.<br />
July 27, S<strong>at</strong>urday. Trip to Phillip Island. Drove to Dandenong and the car gave trouble shifting.<br />
So we swapped it for a Ford <strong>at</strong> Budget Car in Dandenong. Drove on down south. South Gippland<br />
Highway, and thence Bass Highway, then onto Phillip Island. Visited Koala Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion Centre,<br />
and had quick lunch. These are fenced koalas, though in a large area in n<strong>at</strong>ural habit<strong>at</strong>. Nine<br />
koalas, some on a boardwalk maybe 20 feet high. All asleep.<br />
Drove on to Cowes, and took bo<strong>at</strong> to see Australian fur-seals, Arctocephalus pulsillus. There are<br />
4,000 or so here; which we saw. We saw thousands on the rocks and a hundred or so swimming<br />
in the w<strong>at</strong>er beside the bo<strong>at</strong>, popping up to take a look <strong>at</strong> us. Spectacular. They were so inquisitive<br />
as to suggest th<strong>at</strong> they had <strong>at</strong> other times been fed, but there was no feeding while we were there.<br />
Seals have no external ears. The Australian sea-lion (Neophoca cinerea) is also on the southern<br />
coast of Australia, but not here, and has external ears.<br />
Lots of cormorants and gulls also seen. Kelp gull. Pacific gull. Pied cormorants, mostly. Little pied<br />
cormorants. Gre<strong>at</strong> black cormorant. Silver gulls, seen on grassy Nobbies.<br />
Returned by bo<strong>at</strong> closer in to sea caves.<br />
Went to the penguin parade. Little (Fairy) Penguin. This is the only penguin to make its base in<br />
Australia. They came out of the ocean in groups of 12-15, starting <strong>at</strong> 5.45 p.m. in the dark. We<br />
saw perhaps 200, some closer in. The waves would come in and knock a whole group over. They<br />
would g<strong>at</strong>her and then run across the beach and into a hill covered with low veget<strong>at</strong>ion where they<br />
had burrows. The males are staking out territories, <strong>at</strong> this time of year. They had been <strong>at</strong> sea<br />
feeding for the day. Various ones were seen closer <strong>at</strong> hand as we returned up the boardwalk.
Drove home in the dark. Kentucky fried chicken halfway back home.<br />
Penguins are found only in the Southern Hemisphere.<br />
July 28, Sunday. Drove southwest to Geelong (pronounced juhlong), then Torquay, and the Gre<strong>at</strong><br />
Ocean Road. Kangaroos on a golf course <strong>at</strong> Anglesea. About 50 seen, all sizes, said to be<br />
kangaroos and mostly females and joeys.<br />
Lunch <strong>at</strong> Lorne in a scenic picnic area.. Cloudy bright <strong>at</strong> best, often overcast. On to Apollo Bay,<br />
got motel about 2.00 p.m. It is quite scenic between Lorne and Apollo Bay, a seaside drive.<br />
Continued west. Some nice Eucalyptus forests here.<br />
Near Princeton, black swans, 8 of them. W<strong>at</strong>ched them some while, the first I have seen. Dusky<br />
moorhen on pond.<br />
Reached the Twelve Apostles. Some eight seen from one loc<strong>at</strong>ion.<br />
Loch Ard Gorge. A ship wrecked here in 1878, 52 people died, 2 survived. A narrow gorge carved<br />
in by the sea. This is the Shipwreck Coast. The Island Archway (took picture). Muttonbird Island<br />
(short-tailed shearw<strong>at</strong>er). This bird flies to the Aleutian Islands up by Japan and down the<br />
California coast, 30,000 km, up to 600 km per day.<br />
I walked in to the Blowhole, 100 meters inland and yet the sea has carved out an underground<br />
tunnel this far in.<br />
July 29, Monday. Drove back to Melbourne. Overcast day. Leisurely drive, little traffic on the road.<br />
Looked <strong>at</strong> juvenile Eucalyptus leaves.<br />
Stopped <strong>at</strong> Anglesea golf course again. Took pictures of kangaroos. Bought American hot dogs<br />
for lunch.<br />
Jane did a woolen museum tour in Geelong.<br />
Rain<br />
Eucalyptus - sheds its bark once a year, r<strong>at</strong>her than its leaves! Nearly 90% of Australia's plants are<br />
found nowhere else in the world (endemics). Most plant families have members with rel<strong>at</strong>ively<br />
small, rigid or hard leaves, schlerophylls, adapted to dry conditions and poor soil. There are layers<br />
of hard cells bene<strong>at</strong>h the leaf surfaces th<strong>at</strong> keep them rigid. Or they have long, narrow leaves. Or<br />
no leaves, reduced to scales along a green stem.<br />
She-oak. The wood is like oak -- hard, dense, straight grained, but not as good a real oak (he-man<br />
oak!), a weaker oak. But others doubted this etymology.<br />
Eu-calyptus. Eu-calyptra, a true cap. The flower buds of all species have an operculum (cap). The<br />
world's tallest hardwood is a eucalypt in Tasmania, nearly 100 meters tall, the length of a football<br />
field.<br />
Grass trees. Xanthorrhoea, a distant rel<strong>at</strong>ive of lilies. Among the slowest growing plants in the<br />
world, it puts out only one new circle of leaves each year. They go back 100 million years.<br />
Australian farmers lose 4 kg. of soil to produce a loaf of bread. The soils are old, and from altern<strong>at</strong>e
floods and drought, much compacted. Half of Australian farmers lose money in any given year.<br />
Back in Melbourne about 4.00.<br />
Dinner with La Trobe <strong>University</strong> Philosophy faculty. Col's Café.<br />
Freya M<strong>at</strong>hews<br />
Alec Hyslop, from Edinburgh originally<br />
Robert Young, rough face<br />
Aaran Gare<br />
Ross Phillips, s<strong>at</strong> beside Jane<br />
student and tutor from <strong>University</strong> of Melbourne, using "Values in N<strong>at</strong>ure" and "Disvalues in N<strong>at</strong>ure."<br />
July 30, Tuesday. Spent day in the stores in Melbourne.<br />
Ate kangaroo pie for supper.<br />
July 31, Wednesday. Lecture <strong>at</strong> La Trobe <strong>University</strong>. 11.00 - 1.00.<br />
Robert Young, chair of dept.<br />
Freya M<strong>at</strong>hews<br />
Ross Phillips<br />
Alec Hyslop<br />
John Fox, full beard, philosophy of science, s<strong>at</strong> opposite me <strong>at</strong> lunch<br />
John Bigelow, from Monash <strong>University</strong>, on leave <strong>at</strong> La Trobe. I conversed with him quite a bit.<br />
Freya M<strong>at</strong>hews and Janna Thompson both teach environmental ethics. M<strong>at</strong>thews teaches ecology<br />
and feminism. She only works half a year by choice.<br />
Hayden Ramsay, a recent Ph.D. from the <strong>University</strong> of Edinburgh, knows Cheryl Foster.<br />
Arran Gare also came<br />
Purusottoma Bilimoria, from Deakin <strong>University</strong>, came. I met him in Boston.<br />
August 1, Thursday. Flight to Hobart.<br />
Met by K<strong>at</strong>e Crowley and baby girl, Alouisa. She teaches a class in Environmental Politics. Went<br />
to B&B and inform<strong>at</strong>ion center.<br />
Crowley is pronounced kraugh, rhymes plow, ley. The Olympics were going on in Atlanta, Georgia,<br />
and she had a cousin who was making n<strong>at</strong>ional news winning her races.<br />
August 2, Friday.<br />
11.00 met Wawrick Fox and drove up Nelson Mountains.<br />
1.00 lecture <strong>at</strong> <strong>University</strong> of Tasmania.<br />
Pete Hay, Centre for Environmental Studies. He teaches a class, Environmental Values" in the<br />
Centre for Environmental Studies.<br />
4.00 lecture, N<strong>at</strong>ure and Culture, with panel. Panelists:<br />
Pete Hay, Centre for Environmental Studies<br />
K<strong>at</strong>e Crowley<br />
Jerry de Gryse, landscape architect, her husband, from Detroit
David Stephenson, photographer and arts.<br />
Dinner in Japanese restaurant. At supper: Paulus Berensohn, crafts, American, from Penland<br />
School of Crafts, near Roan Mountain, NC, Spruce Pine, Bakersville, NC area.<br />
Peter Adamas, American, now Australian. Makes furniture. Both of them were sort of deep<br />
ecologists.<br />
Echidnas are active by day and Pete Hay sees them off and on.<br />
Pl<strong>at</strong>ypus he never sees.<br />
Tasmanian devils are mostly around campgrounds <strong>at</strong> night.<br />
They are black and their eyes don't reflect light, and they are hard to see <strong>at</strong> night.<br />
August 3, S<strong>at</strong>urday.<br />
Got rental car, a rainy morning. Walked to the car rental <strong>at</strong> a gas st<strong>at</strong>ion in the rain. Drove toward<br />
Port Arthur. Eaglehawk Neck. Tessal<strong>at</strong>ed Pavement, rocks with a squarish grid, look a bit as<br />
though they had been laid by a mason, <strong>at</strong> the sea's edge. Blowhole. Tasman Arch. Devil's<br />
Kitchen, all interesting coastal erosion form<strong>at</strong>ions.<br />
Lunch <strong>at</strong> Tasmanian Devil Park. Toured the Park. Tasmanian Devils. Bennett's Wallabies (=Red<br />
Necked Wallaby)<br />
Eastern Quoll<br />
Toured Port Arthur Convict ruins. Masked lapwings on lawn.<br />
Returned to Fulham Cottages B&B, a "property" or "paddocks" with 6,500 sheep!<br />
Night ride, with John Hamilton, director of the Tasmanian Devil Park. He has tried feeding them<br />
to show them to tourists <strong>at</strong> night, but failed.<br />
brush tailed possum<br />
rabbit<br />
2 pademelons<br />
rabbit<br />
7 pademelons<br />
2 Bennett's wallabies<br />
3 pademelons<br />
3 Bennett's wallabies<br />
2 pademelons<br />
more pademelons<br />
2 possums<br />
Bennett's wallaby<br />
4 possums<br />
5 possums<br />
2 Bennett's wallabies<br />
3 pademelons<br />
3 possums<br />
1 hare<br />
August 4, Sunday.<br />
Up <strong>at</strong> 6.00 a.m. and do-it-yourself breakfast in the cottage. Fine, cool day, <strong>at</strong> the start (!), though
it l<strong>at</strong>er deterior<strong>at</strong>ed. Womb<strong>at</strong> killed on road. Drove to Hobart and on to New Norfolk, rain shows,<br />
then steady rain. About 24 black swans on a wetland pond. Steady rain. Picnic lunch near a<br />
power plant.<br />
to Derwent Bridge, with gaining elev<strong>at</strong>ion, first freezing rain, then snow. Quite wintry by the time we<br />
reached Derwent Bridge. Found hotel room, cold, and turned he<strong>at</strong> on.<br />
Drove to Lake St. Clair and visitor center. 1 wallaby along lakeshore.<br />
Drove on to Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers N<strong>at</strong>ional Park - on the Lyell Highway. Mixed snow and<br />
rain.<br />
View over into Surprise Valley. I took a short walk in the Franklin River area.<br />
I also took a 45 minute walk to Donaghy's Lookout, over the river gorge. I could see down, but not<br />
up, too cloudy. Otherwise I would have seen Frenchman's Cap, a famous one. It looks something<br />
like Yosemite's Half Dome, to judge from the pictures. There is Huon pine (Dacrydium) in the<br />
gorge.<br />
Returned to the hotel about dark, cold and snowing.<br />
There is lots of rainy we<strong>at</strong>her here. It rains 7 days out of 10, is cloudy 8 of 10, and the sun shines<br />
all day only one day in 10. It snows 54 days a year.<br />
There are grassy areas with buttongrass. They are n<strong>at</strong>ural, it is too wet there for trees; the grassy<br />
areas do not result from either Europeans or aboriginals.<br />
The elev<strong>at</strong>ion is about 750 meters here. We are surrounded by peaks 1300-1500 meters.<br />
August 5. Monday. 5 inches of snow. Breakfast in a cold dining room. We drove back toward Lake<br />
St. Clair only to find a big gum tree had fallen across the road. Backed up, tried to turn around and<br />
got stuck, forgetting the car had front wheel drive. But workers came by almost immedi<strong>at</strong>ely and<br />
got me out.<br />
Drove back up the Lyell Highway. It was r<strong>at</strong>her icy. Returned to Lake St. Clair and the tree had<br />
been cleared from the road. Walked in to the W<strong>at</strong>ersmeet area. This is Cradle Mountain-Lake St.<br />
Clair N<strong>at</strong>ional Park. Pademelon. Black currawong, very tame, on the rear view mirror of the car.<br />
We headed back toward Hobart. Lunch <strong>at</strong> the same spot, near power plant, as the day before.<br />
Dusky moorhen, near New Norfolk, about six of them.<br />
Bed and breakfast in Sorrell, pizza for supper. Reasonably good we<strong>at</strong>her from noon on.<br />
August 6, Thursday. Had to cancel a Wilderness Flight to the Southwest N<strong>at</strong>ional park and<br />
B<strong>at</strong>hhurst Harbour, there was a cold front coming through and it wasn't safe to fly.<br />
Drive to Richmond, to see convict-built bridge.<br />
Drove up the East Coast. Ferry <strong>at</strong> Louisville to Maria (muh rhe uh) Island N<strong>at</strong>ional park. Very<br />
blustery and overcast. We were the only two on the ferry. We walked around an hour and a half,<br />
to see the Fossil Cliffs. 3 pademelons. 1 Bennett's wallaby. 12-15 Tasmanian N<strong>at</strong>ive hens. 12-15<br />
Cape Barren geese. 5-6 Flame robins.
Cape Barren is the easternmost cape on Cape Barren Island, north of Tasmania. Despite their<br />
name, Cape Barren Geese are only distantly rel<strong>at</strong>ed to geese in the rest of the world. In some<br />
cases, farmers regard them as pests in their fields.<br />
Convicts once were on Maria Island; l<strong>at</strong>er there was a cement plant.<br />
I walked down to see the fossil shells up close; the cliffs are enormous stacks of fossil shells. It was<br />
too windy for Jane; she went on around.<br />
Several thousand wallabies and kangaroos were culled from Maria Island. Neither species is n<strong>at</strong>ive<br />
here. Pademelons are n<strong>at</strong>ive.<br />
Tasmania is the most mountainous island in the world.<br />
August 7. Wednesday. Flight from Hobart to Melbourne, thence to Adelaide. The Melbourne flight<br />
was delayed an hour and a half because 11 persons checked bags in in Melbourne (where the<br />
plane was coming from) and didn't get on the plane. Flight Melbourne to Adelaide.<br />
Met by Lawrence Johnson and Pen Horner, a local environmentalist. They took us to the<br />
Esplanade Hotel, on the beach. Pen Horner, 16 Parkmore, Sturt 5047, SA.<br />
August 8, Thursday.<br />
Bush walk with Lawrence Johnson, in the Lofty Mountains, about 12 km, over Mt. Lofty Summit, 730<br />
meters. Cool, cloudy, but not rain. We walked variously through disturbed and rel<strong>at</strong>ively<br />
undisturbed forest. This is really just a rural hike through semi-suburbs of Melbourne, with some<br />
preserved areas. Nice w<strong>at</strong>tles in flower. Part of the hike went through Mt. Lofty Botanic gardens.<br />
New Holland honey-e<strong>at</strong>er. Scarlet robin. Wood duck = Crested goose. Pacific black duck.<br />
Australasian coot. Little raven. Adelaide rosellas. Eastern rosellas. Superb blue wren. Pied<br />
cormorant. Eurasian coot.<br />
The Lofty Mountains are a southern extension of the Flinders Range, which, further north, is<br />
beautiful but barren. Rare in the Flinders Range is the yellow footed rock wallaby, seen in Cleland<br />
Sanctuary.<br />
Dinner <strong>at</strong> the hotel with Lawrence Johnson, George Couvalis and Linda Burns.<br />
August 9, Friday. to Cleland Wildlife Sanctuary. Rainbow lorikeet. Mountain Duck. Magpie goose.<br />
Sacred Ibis. Kookaburra. Birds in the area.<br />
In the park, confined animals. Red Kangaroo, with a white stripe mouth to eye, a distinguishing<br />
mark. But only the males are reddish; the females are quite blue-gray.<br />
Dingoes. I first heard them howl, like a cross between a coyote and a wolf.<br />
Koalas<br />
Western Grey Kangaroo, with joey. close-up pix.<br />
Euro - with joey, in a rocky area.<br />
By account in the liter<strong>at</strong>ure <strong>at</strong> Cleland Sanctuary, kangaroos with feet less than 35 cms. long are<br />
classed as wallabies.<br />
Lunch <strong>at</strong> Flinders <strong>University</strong>
Seminar <strong>at</strong> 2.15 p.m Chris Mortenson, John Chalmers, from the <strong>University</strong> of Adelaide, were <strong>at</strong> the<br />
lecture and stayed to talk. He incorpor<strong>at</strong>es some environmental ethics into a moral philosophy<br />
course.<br />
Evening. pizza <strong>at</strong> Pen Horner's home.<br />
On the Adelaide trip, I probably should have gone to Kangaroo Island, but did not know this in time<br />
to arrange it. The kangaroos there are a subspecies of the Western Gray. One reason for the<br />
wildlife there is th<strong>at</strong> there are no foxes, rabbits, c<strong>at</strong>s, and other European animals, also it is<br />
rel<strong>at</strong>ively free of weeds.<br />
August 10, S<strong>at</strong>urday. left hotel 10.00 p.m. With Lawrence Johnson, we drove down the coast to<br />
Aboriginal Spring site. The folk tale is th<strong>at</strong> a boy killed an emu and died under a curse. His<br />
m<strong>at</strong>ernal uncle carried his body to Kangaroos Island, shedding tears when he stopped to rest.<br />
Hence the springs.<br />
Then, we went on further south to a geological site. Glacial stri<strong>at</strong>ions and the rock column. Quite<br />
a contrast of the folklore and the science.<br />
Flight Adelaide to Perth <strong>at</strong> 1.40 p.m.<br />
Adelaide to Perth by road is 2,700 km, over the Nullarbor Plain. Null-arbor is bad L<strong>at</strong>in for no-trees.<br />
The Nullarbor Plain road, a transcontinental highway, was finally surfaced only in 1976. It is the<br />
only transcontinental highway, east to west, in Australia.<br />
We flew over the Gre<strong>at</strong> Australian Bight, a cloudless day.<br />
Then we flew over land, looking like a scrub forest, and many hundreds of dried salt lakes. Few<br />
signs of human habit<strong>at</strong>ions, though there were occasional roads. Flight p<strong>at</strong>h is over Cape Arid<br />
N<strong>at</strong>ional Park.<br />
Route 1 runs around the perimeter of the n<strong>at</strong>ion, supposedly.<br />
Western Australia is 1 million square miles, four times the size of Texas.<br />
It has 8,000 miles of coastline. The nearest big city to Perth is Adelaide, 1,700 miles away.<br />
Met by Andrew Brennan.<br />
Dinner with Felicity Haynes, Dean of Educ<strong>at</strong>ion, Jeff Malpas, Murdoch <strong>University</strong>, and his wife, a<br />
librarian, and Victoria Morgan, a student of Felicity Haynes.<br />
August 11, S<strong>at</strong>urday. Drove to Darling Range. To Jarrahdale, then to Sullivan's Rock. Hiked there<br />
for lunch under pine trees. Drosera erythrorhiza. Red ink sundew. In bloom. Also one is a vine,<br />
Drosera spp., with small cup-shaped leaves.<br />
Drove to Mt. Dale, and walked up firetower. Lots of grass trees in the forests. Especially lovely<br />
in the evening sun. Some lovely w<strong>at</strong>tles. Drive to John Forest N<strong>at</strong>ional park and looked about dusk<br />
for kangaroos. None seen. One wallaby glimpsed alongside the road in the dark, on return.<br />
Spotted turtle-dove. Galahs. Australian ringneck parrot = Port Lincoln parrot. pied cormorant.<br />
Long-tailed black-cock<strong>at</strong>oo, seen <strong>at</strong> twilight.
quongan (pronounced kwong gan) - name for the coastal, sand plain veget<strong>at</strong>ion.<br />
jarrah forest - the dominant Eucalyptus is jarrah. E. margin<strong>at</strong>a.<br />
karri forest (E. diversicolor) is further south.<br />
Saw an emu farm.<br />
1080 is a n<strong>at</strong>ural toxin in Australian eucalypts, and it doesn't bother marsupials.<br />
Cinnamon fungus - causes dieback in Eucalyptus.<br />
Bottle brush.<br />
Kookaburra heard calling.<br />
roobar. A bar up front on the car or truck to hit kangaroos<br />
bullbar.<br />
The Northern Territory is not a st<strong>at</strong>e but a territory.<br />
August 12, Monday. Drive north to New Norica (norr-ree-kuh) and a Benedictine Monastery there.<br />
Drove through Muchea, Gin Gin, Mogumber, and then to New Norica.<br />
camels in fields en route.<br />
camelier, a person who handles camels, often Afghan.<br />
rain showers<br />
The pastures ("paddocks") are quite green now, though they become brown l<strong>at</strong>er in the year and<br />
are brown most of the year.<br />
soup and a roll in a roadhouse. Clearing and better we<strong>at</strong>her.<br />
Drove to Moora and on to the Pinnacles, in Namburg N<strong>at</strong>ional Park.<br />
Echidna. Seen crossing the road, and we went up on the hillside and w<strong>at</strong>ched it quite a while. It<br />
fl<strong>at</strong>tens down and balls up and presents a bundle of spines. "Echidna" = "like a hedgehog."<br />
On to the Pinnacles. These are limestone pillars, somewh<strong>at</strong> like rough gravestones. Quite<br />
spectacular and especially nice in the evening sun, interesting light and shadows.<br />
On way back, we tried to see the strom<strong>at</strong>olites, but didn't really know wh<strong>at</strong> we were looking for.<br />
Strom<strong>at</strong>olites are layered rocks formed by fossiliz<strong>at</strong>ion from huge bacterial colonies, which lived in<br />
layers, the top layer phototrophic and the lower layers feeding off their energy. They are known in<br />
various fossil deposits, but active colonies are rare. There are good examples in Baha California.<br />
Kangaroo - seen on road in car lights.<br />
Rain, lightning.<br />
Back about 10.00 p.m. and got pizza.<br />
Pilbara (pronounced, pill buh ruh). The region to the north is the richest source of iron ore in the<br />
world.<br />
August 13, Tuesday. Walked the dog.
Then to Murdoch <strong>University</strong>, lecture <strong>at</strong> 12.30.<br />
Lunch with Jeff Malpas, from New Zealand. He was for a time <strong>at</strong> <strong>University</strong> of New England.<br />
Arnold Thompson, <strong>University</strong> of Manchester, is now here.<br />
P<strong>at</strong>sy Hallen, an American, is here, but in the Science and Technology Program. She has managed<br />
to arrange a position in ecofeminism every other year. It has been filled by Carolyn Merchant, then<br />
Karen Warren, and will be filled next by Val Plumwood, and Vandana Shiva. Hallen supervised the<br />
dissert<strong>at</strong>ion of Wawrick Fox. She works only half a year and is in the bush or wh<strong>at</strong>ever the second<br />
half. She teaches one class in environmental ethics, another in ecofeminism.<br />
There are only four vet schools in Australia: Murdoch, Adelaide <strong>University</strong>, one in Melbourne, one<br />
in Sydney. There is a woman on the animal ethics committee <strong>at</strong> the <strong>University</strong> of Western Australia<br />
who thinks highly of Bernie Rollin.<br />
After lunch, we walked on a boardwalk <strong>at</strong> a pond. W<strong>at</strong>erfowl. egrets, cormorants. Two rabbits on<br />
the Murdoch <strong>University</strong> campus.<br />
Tour of Freemantle - a Victorian town.<br />
Back <strong>at</strong> dusk. This area is called Sunset Coast. lorikeets in the trees along the coast <strong>at</strong> sunset.<br />
The tropical sun can set with a flash of green just <strong>at</strong> the setting. Green flash.<br />
Rottnest Island, a "nest of r<strong>at</strong>s," in Dutch, or, more accur<strong>at</strong>ely, quokkas, a small marsupial.<br />
Kentucky fried chicken.<br />
Ken Johnson, The Ausmap Atlas of Australia. Oakleigh, Victoria: Cambridge <strong>University</strong> Press,<br />
1992. ISBN 0-521-42122-5<br />
Australian bushfires are some of the worst in the world, as a thre<strong>at</strong> to settled areas. The danger<br />
is gre<strong>at</strong>est after veget<strong>at</strong>ion has flourished and then fried out. They cre<strong>at</strong>e their own localized fire<br />
storms. Good map of fire frequency (p. 77). The vastest part of the continent burns less often than<br />
once every twenty years.<br />
Drought is common. At any time some part of the continent is experiencing drought. There were<br />
gre<strong>at</strong> droughts <strong>at</strong> the turn of the century, the 1940's, and in 1982-83.<br />
Floods are common, owing to the extreme variability of the clim<strong>at</strong>e. The intense high rainfall floods<br />
the streams. Wetter or drier periods are common.<br />
Development spreads into flood prone areas, shifts the runoff p<strong>at</strong>terns and makes the floods worse.<br />
Good rainfall map, p. 73. Low rainfall compared with other continents, and more variable than on<br />
other continents. Good clim<strong>at</strong>e maps, p. 71.<br />
Steve Parish, Big Picture Book of Australian Wildlife. Fortitude Valley, Queensland. Steve Parish<br />
Publishing Pty, Ltd. ISBN 1 875932 038. Good pictures of echidna, pl<strong>at</strong>ypus.<br />
Discover Australia. Sydney: Reader's Digest, 1991, 1994. ISBN 0 86438 135 2. L<strong>at</strong>er got it ILL <strong>at</strong><br />
CSU, excellent for a survey of the types of landscapes.
August 14, Wednesday.<br />
Rode to Freemantle on the train. Lovely Norfolk Island Pines in a town square on the ocean.<br />
Toured Capt. James Cook's "Endeavour", 1768-1771, on board were Joseph Banks and Daniel<br />
Solander as n<strong>at</strong>uralists.<br />
Lecture <strong>at</strong> the <strong>University</strong> of Western Australia.<br />
Dinner with Barry Meund, n<strong>at</strong>ive Australian, philosophy of science.<br />
Michael Levine, beard, American. Spent some time <strong>at</strong> the <strong>University</strong> of Virginia, Charlottesville, and<br />
had many temporary jobs. Has a book on Pantheism, with a chapter on whether city people are<br />
easily pantheist. He is not himself a pantheist.<br />
Stewart Candlish, from the U.K.<br />
Mauro Grün, gradu<strong>at</strong>e student from Brazil, Porto Alegre, met me there.<br />
August 15, Thursday. Left 5.15 a.m. for a 6.20 a.m. flight to Ayers Rock (Uluru). More clouds<br />
across the continent than I might have expected.<br />
10.30 a.m. to 2.00. Set up in hotels, lunch, shopping, visitor center. The village is called Yulara.<br />
Drive to Uluru and cultural center.<br />
Dingo seen <strong>at</strong> Mala Walk trailhead, got good pictures. He was looking around for some food.<br />
Drove around Uluru. The rock is arkose sandstone. Ayers Rock was found in 1873 by the first<br />
European to see it, William Gosse, and named for Sir Henry Ayers, an official in South Australia.<br />
Uluru, the n<strong>at</strong>ive name, means "giant pebble."<br />
Drove to the Olgas (K<strong>at</strong>a Tjuta), with lovely clouds and lowering sunlight.<br />
Desert oaks. Casuarinas, grow to 20 meters, a height unm<strong>at</strong>ched by any other tree in the world<br />
in comparable arid conditions (Australia's N<strong>at</strong>ive Trees, p. 11). They were quite lovely on this drive.<br />
On return, a dingo seen about halfway back, Nicely seen.<br />
Drove to sunset viewing area, and saw another dingo there. Lovely sunset colors on the rock, the<br />
only really good sunset lighting effects we saw while there. Afterward, we drove around Uluru again<br />
<strong>at</strong> dusk. Another dingo (the fourth one!), seen on the way back, seen in car headlights.<br />
Anangu - name for the local aboriginal people.<br />
Uluru is a sacred site and the aboriginals prefer th<strong>at</strong> you do not climb it, but give permission<br />
anyway. The signs here says th<strong>at</strong> the aboriginals regret th<strong>at</strong> you cover up the tracks left by Mala<br />
men. Their women weren't supposed to climb it either.<br />
Quoted from sign:<br />
Mala men travel to the top of Uluru. People who do "the climb" are walking over the tracks<br />
of the Mala. Anganga would prefer you not to climb Uluru.<br />
Quoted from Mala Puta, nearby:
This cave is the pouch of the female hare-wallaby. It is very important spiritually. Do not<br />
enter or photograph it.<br />
The Mala (hare wallabies) are one group of their ancestral beings, and ceremonies here recall the<br />
activities of the hare wallabies.<br />
Kohen, James, Aboriginal Environmental Impacts. Sydney: <strong>University</strong> of New South Wales Press,<br />
<strong>1995</strong>. ISBN 0 86840 301 6. Kohen is a biologist <strong>at</strong> Macquarrie <strong>University</strong>, Sydney.<br />
Isaacs, Jennifer, Australian Dreaming: 40,000 Years of Aboriginal History. Sydney: Lansdown<br />
Publishing Co., 1992, 1996. ISBN 0 7254 0884 7. With a history of cre<strong>at</strong>ion, including Uluru.<br />
A few drops of rain fell halfway between Uluru and K<strong>at</strong>a Tjuta. The ranger said they had had a little<br />
rain this morning.<br />
Return to hotel.<br />
Anangu dancers seen briefly, overlooking into a hotel courtyard.<br />
August 16, Friday<br />
Up early and out. Drive around Uluru and walked the Mala Walk. Cloudy day, not much moving<br />
around.<br />
Returned, picked up Jane, and left to drive to Alice Springs. Mt. Conner seen. Sometimes<br />
reasonably good veget<strong>at</strong>ion, but sometimes red dirt with almost no veget<strong>at</strong>ion - was this on c<strong>at</strong>tle<br />
grazed areas?<br />
Reached Erldunda, <strong>at</strong> the junction of the Stuart Highway, which runs south to Adelaide. Emus in<br />
fenced compound there.<br />
Yellow thro<strong>at</strong>ed miner - <strong>at</strong> lunch, seen very close. Cold <strong>at</strong> lunch.<br />
Reasonably good rain showers.<br />
Wedge-tailed eagle. Two nicely seen.<br />
L<strong>at</strong>er, landscape got greener. More trees. Some Eucalyptus around Palmer River, a dry, wide<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er course.<br />
Crossed Finke River, quite dry. These are just w<strong>at</strong>ercourses th<strong>at</strong> flow when it rains. Rain<br />
increasing some.<br />
Reached Alice Springs. I had arranged a nocturnal walk, but it was cancelled due to we<strong>at</strong>her.<br />
Visited John Flynn's grave, founder of the Flying Doctors.<br />
Drove west to West MacDonnell N<strong>at</strong>ional Park, and looked for black-footed rock wallabies <strong>at</strong><br />
Simpson's Gap, but not seen. Too rainy.<br />
There is about 10" of rainfall per year here. Only 4" in the Simpson Desert to the east. There are<br />
cycads here, the only one in Australia, not seen now, but seen the next day, see below.
Took a brief walk <strong>at</strong> the Park entrance, with a 200 year old ghost gum (with quite white bark). Some<br />
rain continues. This messes up some plans, but <strong>at</strong> least we see rain in the desert.<br />
The railroad here was called the Ghan, after Afghan, the camel drivers who preceded the railroad.<br />
It was quite an adventure to ride it.<br />
Returned to the motel, a r<strong>at</strong>her poor motel.<br />
August 17, S<strong>at</strong>urday.<br />
Off <strong>at</strong> 5.00 a.m. in soppy we<strong>at</strong>her, but by 7.00 a.m. <strong>at</strong> Erldunda, sunrise and not a cloud in the sky.<br />
Road trains - tractor trailer rigs, 50 meters long, with three trailers.<br />
To the Luritja Road, and north toward King's Canyon. Drove under a cloud into an overcast again.<br />
L<strong>at</strong>er, brighter. Passed by King's Canyon Campground, with camels, helicopters, and fenced<br />
kangaroos. Entered W<strong>at</strong>arrka N<strong>at</strong>ional Park and to King's Canyon. Stopped <strong>at</strong> store and Jane<br />
locked the key in (!), but luckily did not close the door tightly, and I was able to push in hard and pop<br />
up the l<strong>at</strong>ch.<br />
Took a walk into the canyon with Jane and then she returned to the car, while I did a 6 km loop<br />
alone on the rim. These are the George Gill ranges. Wedge-tailed eagle seen.<br />
Saw both in the gorge and on the loop trail a number of cycads. Microzamia macdonnellia. Judd,<br />
Plant System<strong>at</strong>ics, p. 150. These are only in the MacDonald and Hartz Ranges. There were about<br />
6 on the floor of the canyon, then 4-5 on the west side of the rim, then 15-20 in the Garden of Eden<br />
<strong>at</strong> the head of the canyon, then 3-4 on the east side on the return. Eyrean grasswren.<br />
Nice hike. Lost City. Rounded domes th<strong>at</strong> look somewh<strong>at</strong> like buildings or bee hives. The<br />
aboriginals called them the "n<strong>at</strong>ive c<strong>at</strong>s."<br />
Drove back to Yulara. Quite lovely clouds, and some nice desert oaks. The Casuarinas were really<br />
notable, with a weeping effect, especially with the clouds behind them.<br />
Three feral camels seen some while before the Ernst Giles road joins the Luritja Road.<br />
Feral horses, donkeys, and camels are all a problem. There are 12,000 donkeys, 30,000 camels,<br />
and 75,000 horses feral in Australia. Feral go<strong>at</strong>s are the most widespread, arriving with the First<br />
Fleet and spreading ever since. There are 350,000 of them, everywhere but in the rainforest and<br />
in the deserts.<br />
Reached the campground "cabin" about 5.00 p.m.<br />
This was 790 km of driving today, and then into Ayers Rock after th<strong>at</strong>, which means over 800 km<br />
of driving (500 miles), most of it <strong>at</strong> 120 km/h = 75 mph. I drove 1600 km (= 1,000 miles) in three<br />
days. A disappointing sunset lighting <strong>at</strong> Uluru.<br />
Parentia, a large lizard here, can reach 8 feet long.<br />
Aboriginal fires here had been stopped, and in 1976, a lightning started fire burned 75% of the<br />
veget<strong>at</strong>ion in the Park. Now there are fires set to reduce the fuel load.
Huge streams pour off the rock in a good rainstorm.<br />
August 18. Sunday.<br />
Up <strong>at</strong> 5.00 a.m. Set out on the climb of Uluru <strong>at</strong> 6.40, with dozens of others. Up the rock and soon<br />
onto the chain. A steady climb, and then reach more rounded dome. Then up and down over the<br />
rock and erosion fe<strong>at</strong>ures. It was so windy on top th<strong>at</strong> I could hardly stand up. Sunrise as I was<br />
nearing the summit. I could see the shadow of the rock far out onto the plains. I turned around a<br />
little short of the summit in gale force winds.<br />
Return was easier than I thought. Perhaps a thousand people were climbing it from all n<strong>at</strong>ions, lots<br />
of Japanese. 1.6 km one way.<br />
Between 1931 and 1942 only 22 people were known to have climbed Uluru. In 1969, 23,000<br />
people visited the area. In 1976, 65,000 people, and now there are almost 300,000 a year (Lonely<br />
Planet)<br />
Plane to Sydney <strong>at</strong> 10.45. Flew over Uluru.<br />
Flew over lots of red desert.<br />
Flew over Lake Eyre, a huge dry lake. John Eyre made the first east-west crossing of Australia in<br />
1841. It took five months and his companions died. Lake Eyre filled in the 70's, and again in 1989,<br />
only the third occasion in European memory. Donald Campbell tried to set the world land speed<br />
record here in the 1960's. When it fills it averages about 3 meters deep. In paleontological times<br />
there was a freshw<strong>at</strong>er lake here three times as large. When it does fill, fish are carried<br />
downstream, and gulls and pelicans come and fish there. Two cre<strong>at</strong>ures are permanent: the salt<br />
lake louse (Halomniscus searlei) and the brine shrimp (Artemia salina). The louse stays alive in<br />
mud bene<strong>at</strong>h the dried up crust; the shrimp survives as eggs with a tough skin.<br />
There are frogs th<strong>at</strong> go into suspended anim<strong>at</strong>ion for years.<br />
Reached Sydney. Gemini Hotel, in Randwick area. Took bus to the city, and went back to the<br />
w<strong>at</strong>erfront and The Rocks. Supper in hotel.<br />
Thunderstorm and lightning.<br />
In 1788, when Europeans arrived, the aboriginal popul<strong>at</strong>ion is estim<strong>at</strong>ed <strong>at</strong> about 300,000, mostly<br />
on the eastern and southern coasts and in Tasmania. They spoke 300 languages and were in 500<br />
- 1,000 tribes. They fought each other regularly. They had no written language. Many of them<br />
wore no clothes.<br />
August 19, Monday. Flight back to the U.S. Up and out 7.00 a.m. to get some breakfast from a<br />
nearby Coles. Walked around a shopping center and spent the last $ Aus 50 on books.<br />
Flight to L.A. <strong>at</strong> 12.45. On the return, we spent August 19 twice, having missed July 2 entirely!<br />
End of Australia trip.
Sept. 7-8, 1996. Backpacking to Miller Fork, alone. Not trying to push it, as I hadn't been packing<br />
all summer, due to Finland and Australia. Left S<strong>at</strong>urday, 9.00, on trail about 10.00. Reached the<br />
Signal Mountain turnoff about 11.00, and took an hour to descend the r<strong>at</strong>her steep mile, reaching<br />
Miller Fork <strong>at</strong> 1.00. Ate lunch and set up camp. Nice day. Walked down the Miller Fork trail to<br />
discover th<strong>at</strong> it hits a road not shown on the map about a mile and a half down. Returned, napped,<br />
supper. Baked cornbread, worked real well. Campfire.<br />
Sunday, out about 7.15, and sun reached campsite while I was e<strong>at</strong>ing breakfast. Did the loop,<br />
taking the Donner Pass trail upstream, then climbing to where there is another trail back down to<br />
Miller Fork. Flushed a grouse about where I left the campsite area. Packed out. Steady climb and<br />
I didn't take it too fast. Lunched past the top where you get a good view of Long's Peak and Twin<br />
Sisters. Out about 2.00, and drove round to find the road I had discovered yesterday. The<br />
mountains over on the lower Miller Fork are honeycombed with cabins. Home about 4.00 p.m.<br />
Nice we<strong>at</strong>her.<br />
September 21-22, 1996. Backpack into Hague Creek, stayed <strong>at</strong> Desol<strong>at</strong>ion Campground. I had<br />
a permit for Mummy Pass Creek, but there was snow so I headed lower. Nice day, though there<br />
was often 2-3 inches of snow underfoot, with some areas cleared. I pitched camp in Fl<strong>at</strong>iron, the<br />
furthest up, but a couple showed up with a permit, so I moved to Fl<strong>at</strong>iron. Cooked cornbread in the<br />
backpacker oven. One bull elk in the meadow after supper, and some bugles heard off and on in<br />
the day. Not all th<strong>at</strong> cold th<strong>at</strong> night, and up the next morning to cook breakfast out in the sun below<br />
the campsite. Packed out without event. About 6 miles of hiking. Spent several hours browsing<br />
around the Never Summer Mountains trailhead <strong>at</strong> La Poudre Pass. Try the trail up Neota Creek<br />
from here.<br />
October 27, 1996. Sunday. Hike loop from Upper Beaver Meadows and Beaver Mountain. Alone.<br />
Somewh<strong>at</strong> stormy forecast and overcast previous day, but I set out anyway and had blue sky all<br />
day. Drove to Upper Beaver Meadows but g<strong>at</strong>e was locked, so walked in. Took Ute <strong>Trail</strong>, first dry<br />
underfoot and l<strong>at</strong>er with about an inch of snow. The Ute <strong>Trail</strong> goes up Windy Gulch, but before th<strong>at</strong><br />
the Beaver Mountain Loop cuts off. Good signs here. Horses seem to use this trail in summer,
ut not all th<strong>at</strong> messed up. Turned and headed up the loop. Lunched <strong>at</strong> a nice overlook rock with<br />
two magpies and a Stellar's jay anxious for some of my lunch. Spooked about six elk. L<strong>at</strong>er, nice<br />
view of four coyotes, especially of two of them. W<strong>at</strong>ched for perhaps half an hour until one, a<br />
young one, got so close I gave myself away, lest it get closer. <strong>Trail</strong> goes on around somewh<strong>at</strong><br />
under Many Parks Curve; see map. Out about 2.00 p.m. 6.4 miles counting the walk in.<br />
On way about, about 30 elk in Horseshoe Park, including four gre<strong>at</strong> bulls in my scope <strong>at</strong><br />
once time.<br />
November 8, 1996. Five mile run.<br />
November 10, 1996. Nunn Creek <strong>Trail</strong> failed, then McIntyre Creek <strong>Trail</strong> from Browns Park<br />
Campground (Old Glendevey). Nice day. Coyote about Ted's place on the way up. More snow<br />
on the Nunn Creek <strong>Trail</strong> than I wanted to walk on. This is posted in lower end; see who owns it.<br />
Returned to car and explored Browns Park area. Hiked the lower end of the McIntyre <strong>Trail</strong>, which<br />
comes over to the campground and does not go out through the Old Glendevey route, which is now<br />
an outfitters lodge. Still more snow here than I thought. Lunched where the trail joins the main trail<br />
<strong>at</strong> the creek, with a good bridge. I could find enough space on a south facing slope there to have<br />
a good lunch clear of snow.<br />
Drove around the loop road, via four corners. 33 antelope on a hillside. Napped <strong>at</strong> the Rawah<br />
trailhead on the way back, and found myself hustling to get off the Laramie River road by dark. The<br />
Laramie River road was often snowpacked, though lower down gre<strong>at</strong> stretches were quite clear.<br />
7 bighorns in Poudre Canyon, one full curl ram, one half curl and the rest ewes.<br />
November 17, 1996. Day in Everglades, as spinoff from Conference on Philosophies of the<br />
Environment and Technology, Florida Atlantic <strong>University</strong>. Loxah<strong>at</strong>chee N<strong>at</strong>ional Wildlife Refuge,<br />
just east of Boca R<strong>at</strong>on and Delray Beach. Several of us were out briefly S<strong>at</strong>urday, and I returned<br />
all day Sunday. Hiked around the Marsh <strong>Trail</strong> doing birds, then the Visitor Center, and Cypress<br />
Boardwalk. Then went south to an entrance where there were airbo<strong>at</strong> rides, took one, walked some<br />
there, and returned <strong>at</strong> the close of the day to the Visitor Center area.<br />
Bald cyprus swamp. The veget<strong>at</strong>ion is quite a contrast to the sawgrass of the glades. Cyprus trees<br />
covered with air plants. Understory guava, pond apple, wax myrtle, strangler fig (these are<br />
introduced). Notable air plants are cardinal wildpine, with red (cardinal) flower stalks, reflexed<br />
wildpine. Much Spanish moss, and ball moss. Worked the ferns on the Cyprus Boardwalk some:<br />
royal fern, swamp fern, strap fern, sword fern, le<strong>at</strong>her fern, shield fern. The le<strong>at</strong>her fern is<br />
especially spectacular, fronds to 16 feet long, the largest in North America. Sori on the underside<br />
are thick and give the appearance of brown suede le<strong>at</strong>her.<br />
B<strong>at</strong>on rouge, a lichen here, which makes the tree trunks reddish pink. Quite notable. Lots of<br />
duckweed. Birds: The commonest were coots and common moorhen, or common gallinule.<br />
Gre<strong>at</strong> egret, c<strong>at</strong>tle egrets, snowy egrets (a few), gre<strong>at</strong> blue heron, white ibis, glossy ibis,<br />
mockingbird, loggerhead shrike. Half dozen osprey, seen well. Red shouldered hawk. Bo<strong>at</strong>-tailed<br />
grackles. Black vultures. Mottled duck. Lots of anhinga, one seen with a good sized fish, trying<br />
to e<strong>at</strong> it. Pied bill grebe. Kingfisher. Tri-colored herons, somewh<strong>at</strong> like gre<strong>at</strong> blue, but have white<br />
underne<strong>at</strong>h. Apple snail; the snail kite is here, but not seen, rare.<br />
Everglades are nutrient poor, and the phosphorus runoff from sugar cane to the north brings<br />
nutrient flush th<strong>at</strong> is detrimental, spreads c<strong>at</strong>tails. Florida just defe<strong>at</strong>ed in the election a 1 cent a<br />
pound tax on sugar to help correct this problem.
Eight allig<strong>at</strong>ors seen during the day. One female with one young nearby, though they said she had<br />
had twenty, near the Visitor Center. Several from the airbo<strong>at</strong>. Then one walking along a berm.<br />
Red slider turtles. One big snapping turtle. One small muskr<strong>at</strong><br />
Air bo<strong>at</strong> trip. Across the everglades. Stopped <strong>at</strong> "tree heads," clumps of a few trees or willows.<br />
Otherwise the veget<strong>at</strong>ion is flo<strong>at</strong>ing, though some things grow in the flo<strong>at</strong>ing debris and various<br />
animals can walk on it.<br />
The wind blew strong from the east for several days, unusual, they said, though it calmed for<br />
Sunday. Don Marietta's pl<strong>at</strong>e glass window was covered with a film of dust, though high in a<br />
condominium. This dust is blown across the Atlantic from the Sahel, desert in Western end of<br />
Sahara, in Mauritania.<br />
end 1996.
<strong>Trail</strong> <strong>Log</strong> <strong>1997</strong><br />
February 22, <strong>1997</strong>, S<strong>at</strong>urday. Raptor trip with Audubon south of town. About 15 eagles, mostly<br />
imm<strong>at</strong>ure balds. About six adult balds. Two nice golden eagles in the sky. The highlight was five,<br />
then eight eagles all out in an open field, where they were g<strong>at</strong>hered apparently because of a bit of<br />
prairie dog carcass th<strong>at</strong> one of them had. L<strong>at</strong>er, in cottonwood trees, there were two, one of which<br />
was e<strong>at</strong>ing a prairie dog. Several ferruginous hawks, although I was not all th<strong>at</strong> clear about their<br />
identific<strong>at</strong>ion. One coyote, seen moving across field. Sue Kenney, works for City of Fort Collins<br />
Open Space. Led by Bill Miller, president of Fort Collins Audubon Society. Richard Harkness had<br />
the new photographic guide to raptors.<br />
March 16, <strong>1997</strong>. Eagles <strong>at</strong> the plains reservoirs. Nice day. Coyote <strong>at</strong> the S. Pl<strong>at</strong>te River <strong>at</strong><br />
Masters, w<strong>at</strong>ched him about a minute. Nice pair of pheasants, male and female, seen <strong>at</strong> length out<br />
on the road. Redtail hawk. Two male pheasants. White-crowned sparrows. At Riverside<br />
Reservoir: 1 adult bald on far shore, then eight bald eagles on a rounded sand island, two of which<br />
were adults. Then 2 adults on the ice, and 1 adult perched on far side. Total 12 here. Lake was<br />
open w<strong>at</strong>er, some ice in the bays. Lake was loaded with gulls, especially, more than I have ever<br />
seen there. Lots of scaup. Bufflehead. Mergansers. Four pelicans.<br />
On return toward Empire Reservoir: rough-leg hawk soaring, nice white tail with black tip, tail is<br />
definitely longish. Mallards.<br />
At Empire. 1 adult bald eagle on ice. 3 in trees across the bay, one an adult. Total 4 here. 4 snow<br />
geese. Pintails. Reheads. Shovelers. 10 Gre<strong>at</strong> Blue herons, in a roost across the bay. On<br />
leaving, a gre<strong>at</strong> horned owl sitting on her nest, just up the road from the rough parking lot. Seen<br />
nicely in scope.<br />
Drive toward Orchard along the river. Kestrel. After Orchard, one adult bald eagle soaring over the<br />
river.<br />
At Jackson Lake. One adult in the air leaving the lake area. One imm<strong>at</strong>ure bald eagle perched and<br />
flew off as I drive on. Lunched <strong>at</strong> the far north bo<strong>at</strong> ramp. 1 adult bald eagle perched further north.<br />
1 adult flying low over the w<strong>at</strong>er. 1 imm<strong>at</strong>ure flying over the w<strong>at</strong>er. 4 perched in distant tree, one<br />
an adult. Total <strong>at</strong> Jackson Lake 9.<br />
At Prewitt. 1 single and then 3 bald eagles in trees across the lake on south side, 2 of these were<br />
adults. 12 gre<strong>at</strong> blue herons. All these lakes were loaded with ring-bill gulls, more by far than I<br />
have ever seen here. Total <strong>at</strong> Prewitt: 4. Total for the day 30 bald eagles. One of my better days,<br />
as I recall, for the totals. But none of them were as close up as I sometimes see them.<br />
March 18, 97. Comet Hale-Bopp nicely visible in the evening sky. An evident comet with a nice<br />
tail. A student said you could see it right <strong>at</strong> the start of my Science and Religion class, so we all
went out to see it. I got binoculars from the car, and it is marvelous through binoculars.<br />
March 19, 97. Got up <strong>at</strong> 4.30 a.m. to see the comet from the back porch through the spotting<br />
scope. Again, nicely visible. The comet nucleus is thought to be large as comets go, 10-40<br />
kilometers wide, and unusually active about producing a tail. It is 120 million miles away, or 1.3<br />
times the distance to the sun, though it is up out of the plane of orbit of the Earth around the sun.<br />
It is traveling <strong>at</strong> 75,000 miles per hour. It will return in 2,400 years!<br />
The comet was discovered July 23, <strong>1995</strong> by professional astronomer Alan Hale and am<strong>at</strong>eur<br />
Thomas Bopp in New Mexico and Arizona independently but within a few minutes of each other.<br />
It was then beyond Jupiter, but they could see it because it is very big. There is enough w<strong>at</strong>er in<br />
the nucleus to fill the Gre<strong>at</strong> Lakes. It has two tails, though I am unable to make the second one out,<br />
although it shows up in time photographs.<br />
March 23, <strong>1997</strong>. Sunday. Rocky Mountain N<strong>at</strong>ional Park with Guocheng Liu, from Harbin China,<br />
and Stewart Sargent, as interpreter. Nice day. Half a dozen female bighorns in the canyon. Four<br />
coyotes in the park, two quite close up. About two hundred elk. Snowshoed briefly <strong>at</strong> Bear Lake.<br />
Then walked in to the Pool. Then drove to Many Parks Curve.<br />
April 4-8, <strong>1997</strong>. Trip to St. Andrews Presbyterian College, including S<strong>at</strong>urday morning field trip to<br />
a 2,000 acre woods north of Laurinburg, owned by Morgan family. Nice longleaf pine, but spring<br />
flora were nothing spectacular in piney woods. Much of this landscape was swamp originally, with<br />
some higher ground. Black gums in the swamp, and, here, in two mill ponds upwards of a hundred<br />
years old. Lovely azalea in town, quite spectacular. Dogwood in bloom but past prime.<br />
S<strong>at</strong>urday, April 19, <strong>1997</strong>. Out on the plains with Jennings Bunch and Jane, to Pawnee Buttes.<br />
Went by the Wellington ponds. Yellowheaded blackbirds. Scaup, especially. Rough-legged<br />
hawks. Not much going on <strong>at</strong> Crow Valley. Lunched <strong>at</strong> Pawnee Buttes. You can't drive up to the<br />
overlook <strong>at</strong> this season, due to nesting raptors. But you can hike down in between the buttes. Half<br />
a dozen antelope not far from the Buttes. Another half dozen on the way home.<br />
April 26. Morning in woods <strong>at</strong> Fox Chapel, PA, while <strong>at</strong>tending the American Philosophical<br />
Associ<strong>at</strong>ion <strong>at</strong> Pittburgh. With Will and Sally Aiken. A bird walk with the Audubon society. Whitethro<strong>at</strong>ed<br />
sparrow. Double-breasted cormorant. Doves. Crow. Robins. Cowbirds. Towhees, a<br />
good many. Red shouldered hawk. Titmouse. Mallard. Pile<strong>at</strong>ed woodpecker, two flew by right<br />
over our heads, about as close as I have ever been to one. White-breasted nuth<strong>at</strong>ch. Carolina<br />
wren. Cardinal. Redwing blackbird. Canada geese. Field sparrow, with strong call, like bouncing<br />
ball.<br />
Lots of garlic mustard, Alliaria officinalis, very invasive, introduced from Europe, with garlic<br />
odor. I first found it <strong>at</strong> Holston, VA, 35 years ago! Lower down, in wetter woods, some spring<br />
flowers were nice, especially the finest colony of bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) I recall seeing,<br />
still in excellent flower. Trilliums, only some in flower, most not yet. Toothwort, Dentaria. Spring<br />
beauty, Claytonia. Rue anemone, Anemonella thalictroides. And various others, reminiscent of my<br />
early years in the Appalachian woods. Lovely day.<br />
May 11, <strong>1997</strong>. Sunday. To Crow Valley, r<strong>at</strong>her briefly, and hurried back for Mother's Day.<br />
Swainson's hawks, meadowlarks, lark bunting. Western kingbird. Wren, white-crowned sparrow,<br />
goldfinches (lots of them), blue-gray gn<strong>at</strong>c<strong>at</strong>cher (nice view), yellow rumped warbler, orangecrowned<br />
warbler, doves, robins, towhees (a good many), yellow warbler. One of the nicest views<br />
I have ever had, and marvelous for the yellow. Brown thrasher, half a dozen. Blue jay. Blackbirds,<br />
magpies. Canada gesse, mallards. Half a dozen antelope enroute. Windy, and the birds were
much better in the lower, protected areas.<br />
May 16, <strong>1997</strong>. Drive to Estes Park, with Jane, to speak to N<strong>at</strong>ional Council of Churches workshop<br />
for environmental enablers. Lovely drive. Coyote ran across road in front of car, a couple miles<br />
south of town on return. Nicely seen.<br />
May 18, <strong>1997</strong>. Crow Valley area, again. Still windy, but much warmer. Flicker, Canada goose,<br />
magpie, redwings, coyote in field, seen on way out. At the campground: Doves, meadowlarks,<br />
Western kingbirds, lots of them and noisy. Eastern kingbird. Brown thrasher. Orioles, maybe five<br />
seen, these were not here last week. Empidonax flyc<strong>at</strong>cher. Wren. Robin, goldfinch. Hairy<br />
woodpecker. Killdeer. Horned lark. Yellow-rumpbed warbler. Blue jay. No thrushes, though<br />
others said they had seen them. 2 rabbits, small jackrabbits as nearly as I could make out.<br />
Definitely did not have cotton tails.<br />
Drove around part-way on the bird loop. Gre<strong>at</strong> numbers of lark buntings and horned larks.<br />
Mountain plover, about 1/2 mile south of the stock tank <strong>at</strong> intersection of roads 96 (east-west) amd<br />
69 (north-south). Best view of one th<strong>at</strong> I recall. W<strong>at</strong>ched it half an hour. It eventually came quite<br />
close to the car. Runs in starts and stops, often with a head bob back and forth before it starts to<br />
run a bit. Three burrowing owls <strong>at</strong> the prairie dog town coming back, though no prairie dogs seen<br />
there.<br />
Yellowstone<br />
May 25, <strong>1997</strong>. Sunday. Left 6.00 a.m., drove up I-25. 25 antelope before the Wyoming line. 255<br />
antelope in Wyoming through the day, mostly in two's and three's. They were easy to spot against<br />
the green. One wild turkey hen seen off roadside. Delightful day, lots of clouds, some blue in the<br />
West. Nice and green. Rain-drizzle mist <strong>at</strong> lunch <strong>at</strong> Sheridan.<br />
Continued into Montana. 5 antelope. Total of 285 for the day.<br />
Few raptors seen.<br />
Spent the night <strong>at</strong> Billings <strong>at</strong> Sleep Inn. Jogged around motel.<br />
May 26, Monday. Drove to Bozeman to pick up Jennings. The Beartooth Mountains were<br />
spectacular, with snow, over green landscape. Driving up Paradise Valley there were 24 pelicans<br />
on the river.<br />
Entered the Park. Only five bison, and 12 elk until just before <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley, then perhaps 200 elk<br />
and 60 bison in <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley. In l<strong>at</strong>er days, below, elk and bison are not tallied, but they were<br />
frequent. (This, despite the controversial kill of bison last winter for fear of brucellosis.) Antelope<br />
were frequently seen, but never in large numbers.<br />
One trumpeter swan seen nicely near the road. There was a muskr<strong>at</strong> swimming near it, and the<br />
swan pecked <strong>at</strong> it twice.<br />
Checked in <strong>at</strong> the Ranch. Then back out for the evening.<br />
At a high overlook, one mile back west, one wolf seen nicely. It had crossed the road and was<br />
loping up the sagebrush hill behind. W<strong>at</strong>ched it in the scope about five minutes.
One bear seen <strong>at</strong> gre<strong>at</strong> distance high across the valley. Others said they saw two, and said it was<br />
a counting pair, presumably a grizzly, but I could not have verified this. Then we drove down to<br />
Slough Creek and saw presumably the same bear, or its m<strong>at</strong>e, briefly again, <strong>at</strong> much distance.<br />
However, l<strong>at</strong>er in the week we saw no such courting couple.<br />
May 27, Tuesday. Up <strong>at</strong> 5.30, quick breakfast and out.<br />
Sow grizzly and three cubs across the river on the bench, and moving right along <strong>at</strong> a trot, stopping<br />
from time to time. W<strong>at</strong>ched her ten minutes, then moved the Jeep back to the ranch driveway and<br />
w<strong>at</strong>ched her half an hour. Marvelous, the first time I have clearly and indisputably seen a grizzly.<br />
There was a really conspicuous hump on her back, though none th<strong>at</strong> evident on the cubs. She<br />
stood up on hind feet to look around several times. Sunshine came and went and there was good<br />
light. She eventually disappeared into the woods.<br />
At Slough Creek: a carcass with ravens on it, and three eagles, imm<strong>at</strong>ure balds. One unidentified<br />
coyote or possibly wolf <strong>at</strong> considerable distance on the hillside, never seen th<strong>at</strong> well.<br />
Drove up to Slough Creek campground. Barrow's Goldeneye ducks on the creek. Ring-necked<br />
ducks on a pond. Ground squirrels. Several hundred elk, 150 bison, one herd running fast.<br />
Lunch. Class started 1.00 p.m. Gene Ball is instructor. He spends about half the year in Texas,<br />
includes some teaching <strong>at</strong> Elder Hostels, including some <strong>at</strong> Mo Ranch. Lecture on optics and<br />
ethics. Then out for a hike to Trout Lake. One bighorn ram on the skyline. We hiked up to the<br />
lake, about a half mile up, hoping to see an osprey, but not found. Lom<strong>at</strong>ium, Biscuit-root.<br />
Returned to van. Then we w<strong>at</strong>ched three wolves, a dark one and two tan ones. They worked their<br />
way down from Soda Butte, and we moved the van three or four times to keep up with them. Nicely<br />
seen through the scopes.<br />
A prairie falcon (with "dirty armpits") was harassing a golden eagle, as well as were some ravens.<br />
We grabbed some snacks <strong>at</strong> the ranch <strong>at</strong> were back out <strong>at</strong> 7.00 p.m. We w<strong>at</strong>ched the same wolves<br />
some more, now opposite to <strong>Lamar</strong> Ranch. They chased into a herd of 60-70 elk and split the herd<br />
into half, but caught none. They eventually disappeared into the trees. These wolves are said to<br />
be 38M, 40F, and 42F, the Druid Peak Pack, introduced in 1996. The pack contains 5 wolves.<br />
Coyote seen in the meadow further down. Grizzly sow and three cubs seen <strong>at</strong> gre<strong>at</strong> distance.<br />
Another sow and two cubs seen also <strong>at</strong> a distance. These would not have been recognizably<br />
grizzlies, except th<strong>at</strong> we saw the same bears closer on other occasions.<br />
Total so far 7 different grizzlies, 4 wolves.<br />
May 28, Wednesday. Up <strong>at</strong> 4.15, off <strong>at</strong> 5.30 a.m. In Sough Creek area, an elk calf and mother seen<br />
in distance but seen well. The cows come into the sagebrush to have their calves, where the calf<br />
is hidden and lies alone most of the day. The mother comes to nurse it now and again. The calves<br />
are scentless, though the bears learn to roam the sagebrush searching for calves <strong>at</strong> this time of<br />
year. In three weeks or so, the calves will be up and running.<br />
No bears, no wolves.
To Tower Junction, then to Tower, looking for black bears. Found none.<br />
We looked <strong>at</strong> an osprey on a nest in a spectacular setting, high on a pinnacle. The road runs above<br />
it all and you can look down into the nest. Two eggs, when she got up once.<br />
Harlequin duck on island in Yellowstone River. These are considered rare, and I do not recall<br />
seeing one before.<br />
80% of the park is forested, and 80% of th<strong>at</strong> is lodgepole pine.<br />
Lunch. Left <strong>at</strong> 2.15 for hike in the Tower vicinity. Uphill and cross country scramble. Mountain<br />
bluebird. Lots of Dodec<strong>at</strong>heon. Some Clem<strong>at</strong>is, Mertensia, Forget-me-nots.<br />
Good claw marks on aspen. Two sandhill cranes.<br />
Flushed a gre<strong>at</strong> grey owl, rare. This is the southern limit of its range. Saw it in flight twice. No<br />
horns. The largest owl by size. In a way this is more of a find than grizzly bears or wolves.<br />
Back on the road, there was a black bear and cub of the year along the roadside. We w<strong>at</strong>ched her<br />
an hour; the cub was quite active, scrambling up trees now and again, walking on logs, generally<br />
curious.<br />
Pulled in the Yellowstone Picnic area, near the river, for rest stop. Bighorns on the hill in the<br />
distance.<br />
A little l<strong>at</strong>er, bighorns on the skyline, a splendid aesthetic experience.<br />
Back to the ranch and quick supper.<br />
Sow grizzly and two cubs seen in the distance from the parking lot, across <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley.<br />
Drove up toward Soda Butte, half a mile, spotted three wolves in the distance, seen chasing an elk.<br />
Others said they saw four; I only saw three, two greys one black, presumably the Druid Pack seen<br />
before. Others claimed to see a bear in the distance; I did not.<br />
We drove down <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley. Saw a cinnamon colored, subadult grizzly climbing the sagebrush<br />
hillside. The hump was not all th<strong>at</strong> obvious.<br />
Grizzlies have a more rounded face, appear larger <strong>at</strong> the front end. Black bears have a thinner face,<br />
longer ears, and appear to be higher in the rear end.<br />
Rain and dark.<br />
May 29, Thursday. Somewh<strong>at</strong> rainy. Up <strong>at</strong> 4.15 and out. Grizzly and cub across the valley. Drove<br />
up <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley, and saw a grizzly on the hill. You could see the hump on it, and it had a collar<br />
on. Vesper sparrow.<br />
Then drove down the valley. One wolf climbed over the ridge, presumably but I saw it only <strong>at</strong> a<br />
distance. We then spent some time trying to c<strong>at</strong>ch sight of it again from another loc<strong>at</strong>ion. En route,<br />
there were two coyotes crossing the road, one carrying a skull, one carrying a larger bone, like a<br />
femur.
Then to Tower. The black bear and cub were spotted from the store parking lot high on the hill.<br />
Then we went into the campground and w<strong>at</strong>ched her extensively, down in a valley below the<br />
campground.<br />
Redtail hawk, on rock over pond.<br />
Back to the ranch, <strong>at</strong>e dinner.<br />
Two redtails in dead tree.<br />
After lunch, Chuck Neal, Cody, Wyoming, on backyard habit<strong>at</strong>.<br />
Drove to Cooke City for milk shake.<br />
on return, one moose<br />
coyote with radio collar<br />
w<strong>at</strong>ched wolf video<br />
supper.<br />
Drove down toward Tower.<br />
two coyotes across a pond, nicely seen.<br />
drove the road from Tower Junction toward Mammoth<br />
moose, chewing the cud beside the road.<br />
We pulled up to a viewpoint looking east. Look for wolves where there are elk bunched up or<br />
alarmed. W<strong>at</strong>ch for ravens on a carcass.<br />
Two coyotes about where there were two in the morning carrying bones.<br />
Back to Slough Creek. Grizzly sow and two cubs on distant skyline toward dark, r<strong>at</strong>her nice though<br />
<strong>at</strong> much distance.<br />
May 30, Friday.<br />
Out <strong>at</strong> 5.30 and down the road. There was a herd of elk hesit<strong>at</strong>ing to cross the river, which was<br />
quite swollen. We w<strong>at</strong>ched them a while, and saw two cross. One was swept quite a ways<br />
downstream, and eventually got across. Two bald eagles.<br />
There was a report of a grizzly back across from the ranch. We returned and w<strong>at</strong>ched a sow grizzly<br />
and two cubs on a carcass, across the river, but not all th<strong>at</strong> far off as these sightings go. Quite<br />
nice. They were on a carcass. Two coyotes were trying to get in, also two bald eagles. One of the<br />
better sightings on the trip. The creek across from the ranch is Amethyst Creek.<br />
Steve and Marylyn French are bear experts. Yellowstone Science has an article on bear <strong>at</strong>tacks.<br />
Kerry Gunther and Hopi Hoekstra, "Bear-Inflicted Injuries in Yellowstone, 1970-1994," Yellowstone<br />
Science vol. 4, no. 1, Winter 1996 (on hand).<br />
Black bears keep cubs one year, and breed the second year. Grizzly bears keep their cubs two<br />
years and breed the third year. They breed in May or June and implant<strong>at</strong>ion is delayed.<br />
We drove up toward Soda Butte on report of a wolf kill, but were unable to find it. Coyote running<br />
in the distance. Bighorn ram <strong>at</strong> w<strong>at</strong>erfall, quite a nice scene.
Back to the ranch. The coyote was <strong>at</strong> the den site, but no pups seen. Bob Landis is doing a coyote<br />
study.<br />
4 bighorns in the distance.<br />
Rick McIntyre, a sort of combin<strong>at</strong>ion ranger-volunteer, who has a book on the wolves. Wrote A<br />
Society of Wolves (Stillw<strong>at</strong>er, MN: Voyager Press, 1993, revised edition 1996).<br />
Drove to Tower. Those on the other side of the van glimpsed the sow black bear we had seen<br />
before, but I didn't see it. From Tower drove toward Mammoth. Sandhill crane on nest <strong>at</strong> pond<br />
west of Flo<strong>at</strong>ing Lake. Sora rail on the edge of the pond. Yellow-headed blackbird.<br />
Hamburger <strong>at</strong> Helen's in Gardiner.<br />
One black bear in burned forest on return, nicely seen. A lone adult.<br />
Cinnamon yearling cub <strong>at</strong> the bridge on an old carcass, with a p<strong>at</strong>ch of hair out of its rump. This<br />
is one of "Rosie's cubs."<br />
Different grizzlies seen:<br />
Sow and three cubs of the year, <strong>Lamar</strong> ranch area<br />
Sow and two cubs of the year, <strong>Lamar</strong> ranch area<br />
Sow and two cubs of the year, Slough creek area<br />
Subadult on hillside up road toward Soda Butte<br />
Subadult on hillside down road<br />
12 grizzly bears, to this point<br />
Black bears seen:<br />
sow and cub, seen <strong>at</strong> length, Tower area<br />
black bear across from ranch, in distance one evening<br />
black bear in burned forest on return<br />
yearling cinnamon cub <strong>at</strong> bridge on old carcass<br />
5 black bears, to this point<br />
List of birds seen:<br />
Barrow's goldeneye<br />
Yellow-rumped warbler<br />
prairie falcon<br />
golden eagle<br />
bald eagle<br />
mountain bluebird<br />
redtail hawk<br />
lesser scaup<br />
dipper<br />
harlequin<br />
chipping sparrow<br />
green-winged teal<br />
gadwall
mallard<br />
cinnamon teal<br />
osprey<br />
white thro<strong>at</strong>ed swift<br />
violet green swallow<br />
widgeon<br />
bufflehead<br />
coot<br />
shoveler<br />
ruby-crowned kinglet<br />
sandhill crane<br />
house wren<br />
black-eyed junco<br />
savannah sparrow<br />
vesper sparrow<br />
gre<strong>at</strong> grey owl<br />
Williamson's sapsucker<br />
hairy woodpecker<br />
Townsend's solitaire<br />
trumpeter swans<br />
white pelican<br />
western meadowlark<br />
common merganser<br />
Brewer's blackbird<br />
Lincoln sparrow<br />
redwing blackbird<br />
willow flyc<strong>at</strong>cher<br />
least flyc<strong>at</strong>cher<br />
gre<strong>at</strong> blue heron<br />
robin<br />
starling<br />
English sparrow<br />
barn swallow<br />
kestrel<br />
raven<br />
Clark's nutcracker<br />
glue grouse<br />
Stellar's jay<br />
Canada goose<br />
ruddy duck<br />
magpie<br />
white-breasted nuth<strong>at</strong>ch<br />
common snipe - seen the last evening flying over w<strong>at</strong>er<br />
American goldfinch<br />
flicker<br />
gray jay<br />
western kingbird<br />
eastern kingbird<br />
tree swallow<br />
sora rail - seen walking where the sandhill crane was nesting<br />
savannah sparrow
crows are unusual inside Yellowstone<br />
end of seminar.<br />
Showered. Drove down to Slough Creek to get campsite. Looked around on way back. Coyote<br />
howling nicely, where the elk hid the calf. Back to <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley. Sow and yearling cubs in gre<strong>at</strong><br />
distance on mountain across the valley. Black bear on bench level, opposite and across the river.<br />
Return to ranch. Badger digging in the yard. Seen nicely, digging furiously here and there.<br />
W<strong>at</strong>ched it 40 minutes.<br />
Back out with Gene Ball in van. Snipe seen flying below along w<strong>at</strong>er, nice but brief.<br />
May 31, S<strong>at</strong>urday.<br />
Sow with two cubs of the year <strong>at</strong> Slough Creek by the river, in sage in the distance on old carcass.<br />
Cubs of the year can run under her belly. Cubs of the year are the size of her head. They are<br />
smaller than a coyote. We w<strong>at</strong>ched her on the hillside for an hour, wandering around, for a time<br />
on an old carcass.<br />
Pitched camp <strong>at</strong> Slough Creek, then returned and packed up <strong>at</strong> Buffalo ranch. Back down to Slough<br />
Creek, the sow and two cubs still there.<br />
Drove to Mammoth Hot Springs. Lunch there. Brief drive up to Mammoth Terrace area. Drove to<br />
Bozeman. Checked Jennings in his hotel (Sleep Inn), and I put him to doing the wash while I<br />
shopped. Took him to motel and drove back to Yellowstone. Ate supper <strong>at</strong> Slough Creek<br />
campground. Sow and two cubs seen again briefly near dark. Rainy now and again. Quiet night.<br />
June 1, Sunday. Up <strong>at</strong> 6.15. Sow and two cubs of the year seen again in the distance on the<br />
hillside. There was another sow and two cubs down the Slough (west), seen only briefly, too far<br />
to make out much. But this would be grizzlies number 16, 17, and 18.<br />
Drove back up to <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley. There was a limping sow and three cubs in the sagebrush hillside<br />
north of the road. W<strong>at</strong>ched her quite a while. Nicely seen through the scope, the second or third<br />
best viewing I have had. The cubs were quite playful. She had a decided limp. She didn't seem<br />
to put her front right paw down on the ground <strong>at</strong> all. Others said she had been limping two days.<br />
W<strong>at</strong>ched them as they climbed the ridge and went over it. Very nice silhouetted on the skyline, the<br />
cubs still playing, and she limping. A bit of p<strong>at</strong>hos and some grandeur.<br />
This would be grizzlies 19, 20, 21, 22.<br />
Drove up toward Soda Butte. Returned to campground and packed up. Ate breakfast. Drove to<br />
Mammoth Hot Springs. Called Giles. Drove to Norris. Lunch.<br />
Between Norris and Canyon, there was a cinnamon black bear e<strong>at</strong>ing an elk calf carcass in the<br />
timber. W<strong>at</strong>ched it half an hour (pix). I could have thought it a grizzly cub, though there was not<br />
much hump. The way it postured suggested some. But there was no dished face.<br />
On to Canyon. Bought gas. On to Fishing Bridge. Lots of snow drifts through here, 3-4 feet high.<br />
Stopped by Visitor Center. To Bridge Bay and set up camp. Called Jane, this is our 41st wedding<br />
anniversary.
Back out to look around. There was a subadult grizzly female, first digging <strong>at</strong> a tree across a<br />
meadow, then out in the meadow. The lighter girth band was evident. W<strong>at</strong>ched her an hour, the<br />
closest about 50 yards. This was the closest I was to a grizzly on the trip, and I heard no more<br />
reports of her in the stay there.<br />
This would be grizzly no. 23.<br />
Drove up toward Mud Volcano and <strong>at</strong>e supper in picnic area.<br />
If you can see the claws, grizzlies have much longer claws.<br />
June 2, Monday. Up <strong>at</strong> 5.45 and out by 6.15. This was a cold night, I should have slept in long<br />
johns. Good frost on the windshield. This is 7,700 feet high.<br />
Drove to Hayden Valley. There was heavy ground fog in the valley, and you couldn't see a thing.<br />
Mergansers. Pelicans. Scaup.<br />
Returned to Fishing Bridge, and drove out Pelican Valley way. Quite clear and sunny hear. On<br />
return, there was a black bear in the timber. I first saw it in the rear view mirror! -- and backed up<br />
to find it in the woods. W<strong>at</strong>ched it ten minutes, alone. No one else happened along. This one I<br />
spotted alone and w<strong>at</strong>ched alone.<br />
Returned to Fishing Bridge. Two splendid pelicans flew over the bridge low just as I crossed it.<br />
Shaved in the store and back to campground. Jogged around campground. Shower, and lunch<br />
<strong>at</strong> shower parking lot. Visitor center.<br />
Grizzlies can be black. The hair is often silver tipped, hence, partially, the name.<br />
The hump is muscle, used in frequent digging.<br />
Tundra swans (formerly whistling swans) migr<strong>at</strong>e through here spring and fall and look much like<br />
trumpeter swans.<br />
Black bears' ears stick out overhead in profile. Grizzly's ears may not. They are smaller and more<br />
lost in the profile. In face view, you can see the ears sticking out, but they are still shorter than<br />
black bears.<br />
Posturing can make a black bear appear to have a hump.<br />
Large black bears can appear <strong>at</strong> time to have a concave facial profile.<br />
Grizzly claws generally show in the tracks. Black bear claws generally do not. Unlike humans, the<br />
big toe is on the outside.<br />
Drove through Hayden Valley. Elk and bison. Supper <strong>at</strong> north end of valley in picnic area by the<br />
river. On return coyote across the river. Drove back out the East Entrance Road where I saw the<br />
bear this morning. Nothing. Dark about 9.00 p.m.<br />
The River of No Return is from the salmon, the spawning salmon do not return.<br />
June 3, Tuesday. Up <strong>at</strong> 5.45. Cold night, even more frost than the night before. Scouted as<br />
before. Elk. Snipe calling. Drive out East Entrance Road, then up Hayden Valley, which was clear
as a bell in contrast to yesterday. 1,000 cliff swallows flying in and out under the bridge <strong>at</strong> Elk<br />
Antler Creek.<br />
Spent most of the day in a picnic area near Mud Volcano reading Bruce Anthony's thesis, <strong>University</strong><br />
of Newcastle, Australia. Coyote walked by the car 20 feet away, and prowled the picnic area.<br />
Profuse spring beauties (Claytonia), often a virtual carpet under the lodgepole pine. Grizzly bears<br />
e<strong>at</strong> the roots of these.<br />
Back to Fishing Bridge, and keyboarded the trip in the Visitor Center Parking lot.<br />
There was a moose walking around in the junction area. Supper back <strong>at</strong> the picnic area. Scouting<br />
till dark. Moose again. Western grebe. In the night, the Milky Way was quite visible.<br />
June 4, Wednesday. Up <strong>at</strong> 5.45. Mercifully, the mildest night of the three by far, since I had to<br />
pack up. Off <strong>at</strong> 7.00 a.m. Showered, then drove to Canyon. Gas. Canyon to Norris, one moose<br />
in the timber.<br />
Norris to Mammoth, then Gardiner. There was a bighorn ram right <strong>at</strong> the streamside (pix), having<br />
difficulty, apparently getting up the hill and not wanting to fall into the swollen river.<br />
Groceries in Gardiner. To Slough Creek and pitched camp and <strong>at</strong>e lunch, about 12.30. Spent the<br />
afternoon finishing Anthony's thesis, and keyboarded it <strong>at</strong> Yellowstone Picnic area. Supper there.<br />
Then scouting. 50-60 people <strong>at</strong> Slough Creek seeing nothing, not yet anyway. But there had been<br />
a wolf kill in the area a day or two before.<br />
Up to the lookout one mile west of Buffalo Ranch. Sow and two cubs of the year <strong>at</strong> gre<strong>at</strong> distance<br />
in the snowline across the valley. W<strong>at</strong>ched her half an hour.<br />
Drove on up toward Soda Butte. One mile beyond Soda Butte, saw one grizzly in the woods, in and<br />
out on a sage brush hill. Seen quite nicely for about a minute, after waiting there some time<br />
because others said they had seen it. Well developed hump, and one of the more s<strong>at</strong>isfying<br />
viewings on the trip. About 9.00 but still surprisingly good light. This would be grizzly no. 24.<br />
Back to camp. All the riverside campsite are flooded, the w<strong>at</strong>er up to the se<strong>at</strong>s on the picnic<br />
benches.<br />
June 5, Thursday.<br />
Up <strong>at</strong> 5.45, off <strong>at</strong> 6.00. Sow and two cubs of the year <strong>at</strong> Slough Creek, <strong>at</strong> gre<strong>at</strong> distance, on a<br />
carcass (presumably the one reported to be a wolf kill a couple days before).<br />
One black wolf seen above the bear. Others said they had earlier seen two. I saw it running, and<br />
thought it had laid down beyond a fallen aspen, and, though I w<strong>at</strong>ched it 40 minutes, it did not<br />
move. Since the black spot was still there th<strong>at</strong> evening, it must not have been the wolf. But I did<br />
see it running.<br />
Two bald eagles, adults perched in a dead tree.<br />
Drove to the lookout west of the ranch. Sow and two cubs of the year in the distance across the<br />
valley. The cubs were quite playful on the snow, and moved across it with surprising speed.
There were elk trying to cross the river <strong>at</strong> the <strong>Lamar</strong> Picnic area, though none did it.<br />
Drove to Cooke City. The road climbs and you enter Gall<strong>at</strong>in N<strong>at</strong>ional Forest. The campgrounds<br />
here are still snowed in. Drove over Cooke Pass and the road crosses into Wyoming and<br />
Shoshone N<strong>at</strong>ional Forest. Drops to lower elev<strong>at</strong>ion in Clark's Fork Valley. Marmots.<br />
At and beyond Crazy Creek, Pilot Peak (11,708 ft) and Index Peak are quite striking. Pilot is like<br />
the M<strong>at</strong>terhorn.<br />
Passed the Chief Joseph Highway turnoff. This is the road to Cody and is now kept open all year.<br />
Chief Joseph fled this way, and was chased by the military. There are various accounts of how<br />
Dead Indian Pass got its name.<br />
Drove on up the Beartooth Highway. Claytonias in profusion. Lithophragma. Fritillaria putica,<br />
Yellow fritillary. Yellowbell.<br />
The road climbs with more snow. Beartooth Lake is still mostly frozen, a big lake. Beyond is 3-4<br />
feet of snowpack. Reach Top of the World, a store, but this is only subalpine, and the road climbs<br />
beyond. Visible from here, Beartooth Butte, with two "teeth" on one side, but the real "Beartooth"<br />
is <strong>at</strong> the pass. Clay Butte is also here. There is a fossil deposit in Beartooth Butte in which a<br />
Princeton team found Devonian fossils with the notochord in them.<br />
Reach Chain Lakes, and snowmobilers on the frozen lakes and countryside. There are large rolling<br />
and fl<strong>at</strong> areas here; now fully in the alpine. Lunch.<br />
5-6 feet of snowpack in areas, though other slopes were clear.<br />
Reach West Summit of Beartooth Pass, lots of tundra expanse. This is certainly the equal of <strong>Trail</strong><br />
Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain N<strong>at</strong>ional Park. The West Summit is the higher, something about<br />
11,000 ft.<br />
Some miles further east is the East Summit. They were shooting a TV commercial on how to sell<br />
an refriger<strong>at</strong>or to an Eskimo, and had built a styrofoam igloo and had a dogsled team and all.<br />
Beyond, the "Beartooth" is quite striking, a gigantic tooth, spire seen between other mountains.<br />
(postcard, copied as slide).<br />
Returned. Marvelous clouds, as well as mountain scenery, including a g<strong>at</strong>hering storm after a<br />
splendid day.<br />
Cooked dinner (noodles and tuna) <strong>at</strong> Warm Creek Picnic Ground back inside the park, with the last<br />
of a long-lasting jar of Ranch Salad dressing, on the last of a stir-fry makings used for a salad.<br />
Coyote in timber below Icebox Canyon.<br />
Rain lower down. Phoned Jane from the ranch, and back to the campground and keyboarded the<br />
trip in the rain.<br />
June 6, Friday.<br />
Up <strong>at</strong> 5.15 and out. Sow and two cubs of the year <strong>at</strong> Slough Creek, w<strong>at</strong>ched for 20 minutes.
I went up on a higher hill to try to see a carcass in the w<strong>at</strong>er, which wolves had killed a few days<br />
before, but couldn't see it.<br />
Drove up to the lookout west of the ranch. Sow and two cubs there, across the valley. She and<br />
the cubs went up a long steep snowfield in ten seconds. Surprisingly agile.<br />
Others had seen and heard the wolves howling further up, but no sign of them by the time I got<br />
there.<br />
Back to camp and spent the morning reading Northcott's The Environment and Christian Ethics.<br />
Packed up from Slough Creek. A moose wandered through camp. Spent the afternoon <strong>at</strong><br />
Yellowstone Picnic area reading Northcott.<br />
At 4.00 p.m., went to Yellowstone Institute and set up for the seminar.<br />
My roomm<strong>at</strong>e is Jeff Norberg, 234 Barclay, Lolo, Mt 59847. 307/273-0980. He teaches science<br />
in a Christian high school.<br />
Grizzly bears feed on insects m<strong>at</strong>ing in hordes on cliffs high in the Mission Mountains (near the Bob<br />
Marshalls) in l<strong>at</strong>e July, early August, a r<strong>at</strong>her brief period. The area, or part of it, may be closed<br />
during this time. It is about a day's hike in to see them and back.<br />
Few of the roadside bears, in the old days, were grizzlies.<br />
June 7, S<strong>at</strong>urday.<br />
Up <strong>at</strong> 4.15, off <strong>at</strong> 5.00 a.m. Drove up to Soda Butte. Saw one black bear, first seen <strong>at</strong> a distance,<br />
and then drove the van closer, and saw it r<strong>at</strong>her well in the scope, though briefly (10-15 seconds).<br />
Drove down to Slough Creek. Lots of people there. Someone spotted an alleged wolf in the<br />
distance, and the whole group w<strong>at</strong>ched it and then two others for 40 minutes. They came closer<br />
in, though always <strong>at</strong> much distance. They were all tan, and the eventual conclusion was th<strong>at</strong> they<br />
were coyotes. There were pups in a den lower down.<br />
Returned to the class.<br />
Lecture by Paul Schullery, on Yellowstone bears through history.<br />
Lecture by Dan Reinhart on grizzly bear habit<strong>at</strong>.<br />
Lunch. From the institute, in the distance, an elk calf seen nursing.<br />
Badger out near the sled.<br />
Afternoon: Three lectures by Kerry Gunther.<br />
A coyote came by the ranch house back yard, and went down the creek.<br />
Supper, and then I went out alone. Saw a wolf nicely up Soda Butte way, on the level bench across<br />
the river. This was the best, or second best view of the trip, though the one the first night was also<br />
good. The wolf was a dark color and had a collar on. I w<strong>at</strong>ched it defec<strong>at</strong>e <strong>at</strong> one point. Tried to<br />
see it further down <strong>at</strong> the horse trailer pull out, though no luck. Others said they saw it cross the<br />
river <strong>at</strong> the horse ford without difficulty.<br />
June 8, Sunday. All day field trip. Drove over the Mount Washburn highway. Whitebark pine has<br />
a square-topped look, r<strong>at</strong>her noticeable once you are alerted to it. Up close it is much like limber<br />
pine.
Drove to Canyon. Walk in to bear den.<br />
Walk in to the old Otter Creek dump site. Climbed the hill a bit to where a photographer was killed<br />
by grizzly bears. He was alone and nobody knows the story. He was not found until several days<br />
l<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
Lunch <strong>at</strong> picnic area near the Mud Volcano, where I had been several times before. Coyote in the<br />
picnic area.<br />
Drove to Fishing Bridge. Hike up Elephant Back <strong>Trail</strong>.<br />
Lehardy Rapids, w<strong>at</strong>ched spawning cut-thro<strong>at</strong> trout.<br />
Supper <strong>at</strong> Canyon. Drive back. At Slough Creek, we w<strong>at</strong>ched the sow and two cubs <strong>at</strong><br />
considerable distance. A rainy night.<br />
Sue Consolo Murphy's husband does research on mountain lions, and says they kill elk regularly<br />
in the park. W<strong>at</strong>ch for them in the canyon narrows.<br />
Herrero, Stephen, Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance. New York: Lyons and Burford<br />
Publishers, 1985. (31 W. 21st St., New York, NY 10010).<br />
June 9, Monday. Up <strong>at</strong> 4.15. Out <strong>at</strong> 5.00 on soggy, wet morning. Drove up Mt. Washburn, but too<br />
foggy to see. Drove to Slough Creek, raining.<br />
Lecture <strong>at</strong> 9.00 by Mark Haroldson, a bear trapper. Bear trapping. An excellent talk. He and his<br />
team trap about 40 bears a year, for research, and also problem bears.<br />
There has only been one daytime f<strong>at</strong>ality in the lower 48 st<strong>at</strong>es (the photographer). Playing dead<br />
seems to work.<br />
Night-time tent situ<strong>at</strong>ions are different. There you probably should fight.<br />
Black bears go back 4 million years and have a good deal of genetic variability. Grizzlies go back<br />
only about 1.5 million years and have little genetic variability. The black bears in the park may have<br />
more genetic variability than grizzly/brown bears all over the world.<br />
Lecture: John Varley, the future of Yellowstone grizzlies.<br />
12.00. seminar end.<br />
Drove out over Chief Joseph Highway. W<strong>at</strong>ers are high, and above Cooke City <strong>at</strong> one place the<br />
road was covered with w<strong>at</strong>er, the left wheels reasonably dry, the other side up to my hubcaps. The<br />
Chief Joseph Highway is quite scenic, in the Clark's Fork Canyon. It drops and the road goes over<br />
Sunlight Creek/Canyon, over a spectacular bridge. Then climb to Dead Indian Pass, 8,000 feet,<br />
which was soggy and rainy. Then drop to the plains. Stayed the night with Bruce and Margy<br />
Jones, Cody, Wyoming.<br />
June 12, Tuesday.<br />
Drove home, in and out of rain, sometimes scenic clouds. Arrived about 3.30 p.m.<br />
end of Yellowstone trip
Siberia and Lake Baikal<br />
June 15-29, <strong>1997</strong><br />
June 15, Sunday. Left Fort Collins 5.45 a.m., Denver to San Francisco, arrive 8.35. Met the main<br />
trip leader here, Victor Kuzevanov, Director of the Botanic Garden of Irkutsk St<strong>at</strong>e <strong>University</strong>,<br />
Irkutsk. Met Margaret Betchart. She is President of the Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Associ<strong>at</strong>ion of Ecotourism.<br />
Left San Francisco on Aeroflot 12.30. The plane is an IL-62, Ilyushin-62. Landed in Anchorage,<br />
Alaska, about 5.00 p.m. Flew in over Prince William Sound and Kenai Mountains, some striking<br />
snow covered mountains.<br />
Flight to Khabarovsk, over Bering Strait, sometimes w<strong>at</strong>er with ice in it, though the flight is much<br />
over northeast Russia, all in daylight, arriving about 8.00 p.m. local time, on Monday, June 16<br />
(therefore skipping a day because flying across the d<strong>at</strong>eline).<br />
June 16, Monday. Checked into hotel, an Intourist hotel. Room m<strong>at</strong>e is Mort Glass, Belmont, MA.<br />
Atmospheric sciences, retired. Met the assistant tour leader here, Aleksey Golovko, astrophysics,<br />
especially solar prominences, observed from an observ<strong>at</strong>ory on the shores of Lake Baikal (visited<br />
l<strong>at</strong>er).<br />
The city is r<strong>at</strong>her typically Russian, full of doms, and r<strong>at</strong>her rundown and weedy looking. You don't<br />
get the impression of being in the Orient, either from the architecture or the people. There is lots<br />
of cotton in the air from cottonwood trees. Warmer and more humid than I expected. There are<br />
614,000 people in Khabarovsk. 86% are Russians. There are only 3 churches; formerly there were<br />
over 30.<br />
Stretches of the city have the depressing gray blocks of huge apartment houses th<strong>at</strong> go on forever.<br />
Khabarovsk was named for Khavarov, a brutal Russian explorer.<br />
Salaries are $ 150-250 per month. A typical academic salary is, in equivalent $ 150 per month, or,<br />
$ 200 for better paid positions.<br />
$ 1 = 5,780 rubles.<br />
In 1993, when I was in Moscow, the exchange was $ 1 = 1,200 rubles.<br />
Military service is compulsory for young men, and many seek to avoid it. In the army, life is difficult.<br />
They may not even have enough to e<strong>at</strong>.<br />
General notes on Siberia:<br />
Siberia means "sleeping land." You can put all of the U.S. into Siberia without touching its<br />
boundaries, and fit all of Europe, except Russia, in after th<strong>at</strong>, with room to spare. (Lonely Planet
Guide, p. 695).<br />
The Russians pushed into Siberia something like the European-Americans pushed across North<br />
America, displacing the n<strong>at</strong>ives.<br />
Many Russians were exiled there, some fled there; many died in the mines and work camps, which<br />
were virtual prisons. But some, freed, found freedom in the open spaces.<br />
Fydor Dostoevsky, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, and Lenin were exiles here.<br />
Siberia has 53,000 rivers and more than a million lakes. (Lonely Planet, p. 701).<br />
The main rivers of Siberia are:<br />
Ob<br />
Yenisea<br />
Lena<br />
Amur<br />
nicely shown in Classroom Atlas, pp. 70-71.<br />
Though arable land is in short supply, Siberia is rich in resources--oil, gas, coal, diamonds, bauxite,<br />
gold, fish, timber, in a hostile environment. But to whom will the benefits go? The Russians, the<br />
locals, foreign investors. Siberia is still a frontier.<br />
Siberia has the perennial problem of colonies. When they export the raw logs, or ores, or wh<strong>at</strong>ever,<br />
since a raw log represents only a fraction of the value of the finished products th<strong>at</strong> industry will<br />
produce from them, they are exporting the jobs they need to lift themselves out of poverty. The<br />
Japanese and the South Koreans, or the Americans, who import the logs wish, of course, to retain<br />
those more skilled and productive manufacturing jobs for themselves, since they are the secret of<br />
their wealth.<br />
There is a mad rush to cash in on Russian's n<strong>at</strong>ural resources <strong>at</strong> a time when their collapsed<br />
economy makes them especially vulnerable to exploit<strong>at</strong>ion, whether by the mushrooming<br />
transn<strong>at</strong>ional corpor<strong>at</strong>ions, or (as for so many centuries before) by Moscow. They are naive about<br />
capitalism and the need to regul<strong>at</strong>e it.<br />
Taiga - dense, swampy forests of birch, pine, spruce, and larch. Siberia is the world's largest<br />
forest, and 25% of the world's wood reserves.<br />
Northern Eurasia contains the largest intact tracts of wilderness on Earth, boreal forests (taigas),<br />
bogs, tundra, and mountains. About one third of the area is boreal coniferous forests, the largest<br />
forest in the world. Russia has 54% of the world's coniferous forests.<br />
Northern Eurasia has over 22,000 species of vascular plants, 1,100 species of bryophytes, almost<br />
200 species of amphibians and reptiles, 765 species of birds, and 360 species of mammals. About<br />
10% of animal species are endangered are thre<strong>at</strong>ened; many are endemic to Russia.
Russia has an 80-year old system of strict scientific n<strong>at</strong>ure reserves (Zapovedniki), in addition to<br />
N<strong>at</strong>ional Parks and other st<strong>at</strong>e protected n<strong>at</strong>ural areas. The area so protected is larger than the<br />
U.S. N<strong>at</strong>ional Park system, and, they claim, protects over two-thirds of the rare and endangered<br />
species in Russia, as well as many undisturbed units of all major types of regional ecosystems.<br />
above from blurbs on Russian Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion News.<br />
Vladivostock is closer to San Francisco than it is to Moscow. Lonely Planet, p. 709. Vladivostock<br />
was closed to foreigners until 1992.<br />
Crossing Siberia and the Russian Far East is about the same distance as New York to Berlin.<br />
Lonely Planet Guide, p. 732.<br />
June 17, Tuesday.<br />
Tuesday morning. Tour around the city.<br />
Walk in the park alongside the Amur River.<br />
The Amur River is 4,440 km. long, forms in Mongolia, and flows east to discharge into the Pacific.<br />
The Amur is navigable only 6 months a year and is r<strong>at</strong>her shallow. It ices up sometime in<br />
November and thaws in early May. It is a trading route, a source of fish, and a drain, full of<br />
pollutants from all the cities and towns along the way.<br />
Manchu Mountains in the distance, across the river, and beyond is China.<br />
Visited War Memorial, somewh<strong>at</strong> like the Viet Nam Memorial in Washington, with 30,000 names,<br />
which was 15% of the popul<strong>at</strong>ion in Khabarovsk in World War II (the Gre<strong>at</strong> P<strong>at</strong>riotic War).<br />
Educ<strong>at</strong>ion beyond high school is difficult. One has to pay for this now and most cannot afford it.<br />
Also, they increasingly have to pay for health care.<br />
We visited a market place, bustling and typical.<br />
Half the cars have the drive on the right-hand side, as many are used cars from Japan.<br />
There is snow here from mid-October to the end of April.<br />
KWAS - a drink, sold from big cart-cans.<br />
We got on the train <strong>at</strong> 2.45. The train is electric powered. The name of the train is the Rossia<br />
(Russia).<br />
There were dire warnings from the Intourist Guide, Svetlana, about not missing the train when you<br />
get off for a few minutes <strong>at</strong> stops along the way. Also not to get locked in the toilet, which are<br />
locked about five minutes before arrival in each st<strong>at</strong>ion. You can w<strong>at</strong>ch the waste just flush down<br />
onto the tracks below.
My compartment is about 5 x 6, with two bunk-se<strong>at</strong>s, a folding table and a 3" x 5" TV, which never<br />
had much on it. The wall is simul<strong>at</strong>ed panel, r<strong>at</strong>her nice. There are toilets <strong>at</strong> each end of the car,<br />
although the only one we use is <strong>at</strong> one end. There is a cold w<strong>at</strong>er basin there, difficult to work.<br />
This is the only car with two-bunk compartments. The other cars, about 15 of them, have 4 bunks<br />
and are quite crowded and full of tobacco smoke.<br />
The Trans-Siberian railway is the longest train journey in the world (across eight time zones). The<br />
locals often live by wh<strong>at</strong>ever time they choose. The time in the train st<strong>at</strong>ions in the larger cities may<br />
be in Moscow time.<br />
Moscow to Vladivostok is 9,289 km. = 5,805 miles.<br />
5,805/25,000 = 24%, or about 1/4 of the way around the globe.<br />
Khabarovsk is 8,532 km. from Moscow.<br />
Irkutsk 5,191 km. from Moscow.<br />
3,340 km. - Khabarovsk to Moscow = 2,087 miles.<br />
100 years ago the first train arrived from Vladivostok, 1897-<strong>1997</strong>, which is 500 miles away.<br />
Ours is the best part of the Trans-Siberian, more scenic than others. There will be lots of<br />
wildflowers.<br />
The train went through a tunnel under the Amur River, r<strong>at</strong>her than over the bridge. Then we went<br />
through fl<strong>at</strong> country, with lots of grassy-looking Carex, and white birch, mostly. The birch are about<br />
6" diameter, not larger trees.<br />
Virtually all forests within 10 km. of the Trans-Siberian railway have been logged. Russian Far<br />
East, p. 19.<br />
The wildflowers are quite nice. There is especially a yellow one, day-lily, widespread in the fields.<br />
Spectacular displays of this.<br />
Wild iris<br />
Willows.<br />
Mostly deciduous trees through here, fewer conifers than I expected, though conifers were to come<br />
l<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
We reached Birobidzhan, 87,600 people, a town, little developed, the capital of the so-called Jewish<br />
Autonomous Republic. The name on the train st<strong>at</strong>ion is in Hebrew letters.<br />
Reached Bira and got out a few minutes. The name on the train st<strong>at</strong>ion is in both Russian and<br />
Hebrew letters.<br />
Dinner in the dining car was a greasy diced sausage and brown bread, then chicken, cold peas,<br />
pot<strong>at</strong>oes. Victor Kuzevanov provided champagne, th<strong>at</strong> virtually exploded when opened, because<br />
it was hot.
In the dining car, there never seemed to be more than two knives for four persons.<br />
Mountains now seen in distance, then more relief closer up on the landscape.<br />
Generally very third-world looking. Ramshackle wood houses.<br />
Changed time zones.<br />
Reached Arkhara, bleak and about dark (9.30 p.m here). There were a few women selling food <strong>at</strong><br />
the train st<strong>at</strong>ion. About a 20 minute stop. We didn't see an automobile in the whole town (nor,<br />
except for Tygda, next morning, did I see one in the whole main part of this trip, though there were<br />
some toward Chita, more l<strong>at</strong>er.) More likely there would be an old and odd-looking truck, often with<br />
a leftover from the military look. Looking something like a cross between an old military truck and<br />
a chicken coop. Maybe also an abandoned cab or bed of a truck.<br />
Reached Magdagachi, a big railroad yard, and some apartment buildings. Ten minute stop, but we<br />
couldn't get off. There are no paved roads to be seen.<br />
June 18, Wednesday.<br />
Waked <strong>at</strong> 5.00, with a stop <strong>at</strong> Tygda, another bleak village. Some 5-6 automobiles seen here.<br />
There is some adventure getting your face washed in the toilet. There is a hot and cold tap, but<br />
only cold w<strong>at</strong>er. You have to hold up a plunger under the spigot while you get a trickle of cold<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er. You can't drink this w<strong>at</strong>er. To brush your teeth, you get boiled w<strong>at</strong>er from the samovar <strong>at</strong><br />
the other end of the car.<br />
Although we are only 50 miles from the Chinese border, there is no Oriental look <strong>at</strong> all to the towns,<br />
either the architecture or people, as before in Khabarovsk. The Russians built the railroad and<br />
dumped the settlers along it. More wooden houses, with big piles of stove wood outside.<br />
Breakfast.<br />
Stopped <strong>at</strong> a village ? and got out about ten minutes.<br />
Notes from a lecture in the dining car:<br />
This is permafrost country. It may not be so on the hills but in the valleys, and perhaps on northern<br />
exposures and not southern exposures. The permafrost is in p<strong>at</strong>ches, often small pieces, 10 sq.<br />
meters to 40 sq. meters.<br />
Betula verrucosa, Populus tremuloides, Pinus sylvestris.<br />
Popul<strong>at</strong>ion density in Siberia is quite low, mostly along the railroad, or the rivers, lakes, roads.<br />
Only about 100 frost free days here.<br />
The richest land on Earth per capita is Australia, though it is quite short of w<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
Sign noted, 7,255 km. to Moscow.
Bhur<strong>at</strong>s, a group of Oriental Mongolian tribes.<br />
There is a saying, "There is a dead body under each railroad tie."<br />
Alcoholism is a problem with the locals. The life expectancy is 53 years for men, for women 71.<br />
There are weights on the power poles, with a pulley rig. The dram<strong>at</strong>ic temper<strong>at</strong>ure changes alter<br />
the length of the wires, and this is the way they keep tension on the wires.<br />
There are power poles put up with piles of stones on swampy and permafrost areas. These are<br />
really stones in a wire basket to weight them down. They still pop out in 8-15 years.<br />
There is nothing in the villages remotely resembling wh<strong>at</strong> we would recognize as a store or shop.<br />
No advertisements.<br />
The Russian scientists (especially Elena Kossovich, met l<strong>at</strong>er) want to do some biodiversity<br />
collecting and surveying around Lake Baikal, and they take this opportunity to do so, as, left to their<br />
own resources, they have no opportunity to do so.<br />
This is the world's largest remaining wilderness (Russian Far East, p. 10). Only 1% is protected<br />
overall, and the land is being priv<strong>at</strong>ized rapidly.<br />
In the 1930's 21 million persons were prisoners here, about 25% dying each year. In 1937, 7<br />
million were exiled by Stalin to refill the camps. (Russian Far East, p. 11).<br />
Reached (Y)Erofey Pavlovich, named after Khabarov, his given names, during language class. Got<br />
off. Women selling food (pix).<br />
L<strong>at</strong>e lunch. 2.00 p.m.<br />
Puls<strong>at</strong>illa p<strong>at</strong>ens, Pasque-flower, by the railroad. Mostly in fruit, but a few in flower.<br />
About 4.00 p.m. Stop <strong>at</strong> Amazar. Got off, took a couple pictures, and another Rossia train pulled<br />
in the other direction and blocked the view and access to the women selling food. Women were<br />
filling up the car's w<strong>at</strong>er tanks.<br />
Lots of telephone poles down or nearly down in swampy ground.<br />
The wildflowers have been r<strong>at</strong>her good all day.<br />
Reached Mogocha about 5.45 p.m. and got off train. Women in booths selling food (pix). The<br />
name of the town is on the train st<strong>at</strong>ion and silhouetted against the blue sky. This is said to be the<br />
harshest place to live on the Trans-Siberian railway, because of the permafrost and the intense<br />
summer sun.<br />
After dinner, we heard a r<strong>at</strong>her intense account by a Russian naval officer, in charge of a naval<br />
newspaper, of his 20+ years trusting the Communist Party, of his sense of confusion and change,<br />
and the mixture of good intentions and corruption in the post-Soviet political period.<br />
sign, 6,676 km. to Moscow, about 10.00 p.m.
Reached Zilovo, about 10.15, about sunset, and w<strong>at</strong>ched sunset. Some good light still <strong>at</strong> 11.00<br />
p.m.<br />
June 19, Thursday.<br />
Waked with a stop <strong>at</strong> Karymkaya, for about 15 minutes, about 6.00 a.m. This seems more settled<br />
country, the railroad is constantly along a river.<br />
Reached Darasun about 6.30, two minute stop. The name is on the train st<strong>at</strong>ion. Leaving town,<br />
there was a paved road here for a bit, the first I have seen since leaving Khabarovsk. Also, oddly,<br />
a few stop signs, in English. This is the intern<strong>at</strong>ional sign code, and the English is the official<br />
intern<strong>at</strong>ional sign. Otherwise, the same wooden houses, with some large, industrial buildings, often<br />
looking mostly defunct. There are more or less frequent greenhouses, made of clear or translucent<br />
plastic. Still, no automobiles seen, though a few trucks and motorcycles.<br />
Approaching Chita, the landscape becomes pretty solidly inhabited, and there is considerable<br />
industry. Now some automobiles are appearing, and some large apartments, doms.<br />
Reached Chita (chee tah), popul<strong>at</strong>ion 300,000, founded 1653. Some Burh<strong>at</strong> people seen here,<br />
looking like Eskimos or n<strong>at</strong>ive Americans or Mongolians. This is a military center, and the junction<br />
of the Trans-Siberian and the Trans-Mongolian Railroad.<br />
Chita and Ulan Ude were off limits for foreigners until somewh<strong>at</strong> recently, the l<strong>at</strong>e 1980's, mostly<br />
due to tension in Soviet-China rel<strong>at</strong>ions.<br />
Chita was a place of exile for many revolutionary Decembrists in the 1850's.<br />
On leaving Chita, train rode past Lenan Lake for some time.<br />
Lecture after breakfast on Lake Baikal.<br />
Reached Mogzon <strong>at</strong> 10.45, with stop and got off train. Train name on st<strong>at</strong>ion (pix). The <strong>at</strong>tendant<br />
woman and Mort got into some comedy here.<br />
Athol Yales, Russia by Rail. Old Saybrook, CT: The Globe Pequot Press, 1996. (6 Business Park<br />
Road, P. O. Box 833, Old Saybrook, CT 06475. Bradt Guides. ISBN 1 898323 321. R<strong>at</strong>her good.<br />
There is a paved road from Irkutsk to Chita.<br />
Reached Khilok about 12.45. Two minute stop as I was waking up from a nap. Through this<br />
country the train track is frequently alongside a river.<br />
Reached Petrovsky Zavod about 3.15 p.m. 15 minute stop. There are iron mines here.<br />
The Decembrists were exiled here in 1825 or so, and discovered iron ore. There is a monument<br />
to them, now with Lenin on top. Lenin said he agreed with the Decembrists.<br />
In a tale l<strong>at</strong>er told, a gre<strong>at</strong> grand daughter of the Decembrists was in St. Petersburg, when the<br />
revolutionary Bolsheviks were heard outside. Asking about the commotion, she was told, they are<br />
Bolsheviks, and they don't want anybody to be rich, like your gre<strong>at</strong> grandf<strong>at</strong>her also wished. She<br />
replied. No, my gre<strong>at</strong> grandf<strong>at</strong>her didn't want anyone to be poor!
I took several pictures here of the engine, of women selling food, of two children who, with their<br />
parents, were getting off the train. (The parents refused a tip.)<br />
Changed time, back one hour, now 5 hours ahead of Moscow.<br />
Unscheduled stop <strong>at</strong> Kizha. Big w<strong>at</strong>er tower (pix), cottages in distance with blue shutters. We got<br />
off and walked inside the train st<strong>at</strong>ion, when we were called to get back on.<br />
The landscape is drier, though not semi-arid. It is settled throughout, <strong>at</strong> least near the railroad.<br />
There are some fields of planted grain, said to be barley. Still, there is seldom seen a car, more<br />
often a motorcycle, and nothing th<strong>at</strong> suggests a store.<br />
Reached Ulan Ude about 6.00. Ulan Ude has 366,000 popul<strong>at</strong>ion. There is a famous Lenin head,<br />
and also the main Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Russia. It is the capital of the Bury<strong>at</strong> Autonomous<br />
Republic. It is the second most visited Siberian city, after Irkutsk.<br />
The m<strong>at</strong>ron opened the doors on the opposite side of the track, and we could only get off there, for<br />
a shortened time, since we had had an unscheduled stop. A trainload of soldiers pulled in on the<br />
opposite track, which was crammed with young men in drab uniforms, a very ramshackle looking<br />
train. R<strong>at</strong>her revealing of the Russian military.<br />
The train started moving unannounced, and some had to run and get on, including Virginia!<br />
Supper <strong>at</strong> 7.00 p.m. and while e<strong>at</strong>ing it we passed a big paper pulp mill, now said to be<br />
environmentally friendly.<br />
About 8.00 p.m. Lake Baikal became visible, and, then, the track often ran much closer, often with<br />
the shore only a few meters from the track.<br />
For much of the day, the country had seemed somewh<strong>at</strong> dry, but Lake Baikal veget<strong>at</strong>ion here is<br />
amply wet and lush. Dominantly birch. There are mountains with snow on them in the south, the<br />
Khamar-Daban Range, easily visible.<br />
Pinus sibirica has an edible nut.<br />
The train went by the second and more polluting paper pulp plant, in the setting sun. This plant is<br />
right on the lake.<br />
About 10.45 p.m., it was getting dark. The trains stopped <strong>at</strong> Slyudyanka <strong>at</strong> the western tip of this<br />
southern part of the lake. Omul fish were being sold enthusiastically <strong>at</strong> the stop, a smoked fish<br />
endemic to the lake.<br />
Reached Irkutsk about 12.45 a.m., and more than ready to get off the train. There was a transit to<br />
the hotel in the middle of the night, and I took a welcome shower on a r<strong>at</strong>her slippery floor.<br />
After two and a half days on the train, we are still 5,191 km. from Moscow, or 3,244 miles, the<br />
distance across the United St<strong>at</strong>es.<br />
June 20, Friday.<br />
Breakfast in hotel, 8.00 a.m. Irkutsk Hotel, run by Intourist.
City tour on a nice day. Popul<strong>at</strong>ion here is 700,000, founded in 1651 by aristocr<strong>at</strong>ic exiles, on the<br />
Angara River, people who had some money and culture, even though they were exiles.<br />
We visited a square with three churches. I bought a doll set from the man who carved them in the<br />
market, and asked him to sign the set on the bottom (pix). He ran home to get another set to sell<br />
as well.<br />
The Church of the Savior, 1706. Spasskaya. (pix) This is pictured on the doll set, the first doll.<br />
The second doll is the Church of St. Nicholas near Lake Baikal, seen the next day. The 3rd doll<br />
is the first wooden church in Eastern Siberia, some kilometers away toward Lake Baikal. The 4th<br />
doll is a typical Siberian village church. The 5th doll is a rural house.<br />
In much of the old town, there are orn<strong>at</strong>e wooden houses, with gingerbread (pix).<br />
Visited the Church of the Holy Sign (Znamenskaya tserkov), 1763, a white church. There are the<br />
graves of two of the Decembrists here (pix).<br />
There are 82 industrial enterprises in Irkutsk, a gre<strong>at</strong> many of them are closed.<br />
The main street is named after Marx (Karla Marxa), with a monument to Lenin.<br />
Traditionally, Siberians did not paint their houses, but only the shutters. Blue is for hope, green is<br />
for long life.<br />
The explor<strong>at</strong>ion of American by the Russians was launched from here. This was once said locally<br />
to be the American district of Irkutsk! They traded fur for silk and tea.<br />
Irkutsk is "the Paris of Siberia." There was a gold boom in the 1880's.<br />
The Angara River, the outlet of Lake Baikal, was dammed in the 1950's for power.<br />
Irkutsk St<strong>at</strong>e <strong>University</strong> Buildings seen. The university has 12,000 to 14,000 students. Irkutsk<br />
Technical <strong>University</strong> is bigger, with 25,000 students.<br />
I bought another doll set <strong>at</strong> the Irkutsk Museum (for Shonny), once the Siberian Geological Society,<br />
now a cultural museum.<br />
About 12.30, we had a fine lunch in a restaurant hotel room done up in indigenous decor.<br />
After lunch, we took a tour of the botanical gardens.<br />
Day-lily, Hemerocallis minor, seen here and pix. This is the yellow day lily we saw in masses from<br />
the train. Gray's Manual lists H. fulva and H. flava introduced from Eurasia in the U.S.<br />
Linum sibiricum, blue flax<br />
Puls<strong>at</strong>illa p<strong>at</strong>ens, Pasqueflower<br />
Dianthus versicolor, Campion<br />
Aquilegia sibirica, Columbine<br />
Larix sibirica, larch. 60% of the surrounding forest is larix.<br />
Edelweiss, grows all around Lake Baikal, though not yet in bloom.<br />
Lilium pumilum, a striking red lily, with a single nodding blossom, often seen l<strong>at</strong>er around Lake
Baikal (and l<strong>at</strong>er pix).<br />
Pinus sibirica, with a non-linear bark.<br />
Pinus sylvestris, with a linear bark. These two were seen on a striking graft, with the two kinds of<br />
trunk on the same tree, Pinus sibirica grafted over Pinus sylvestris. P. sibirica has 5 needles, P.<br />
sylvestris has two needles, and they are shorter.<br />
Iris sibirica.<br />
Eurasian crow, with a r<strong>at</strong>her un-crow-like call, quite noisy in the trees.<br />
Leaving the Botanic Gardens, we bought fruit <strong>at</strong> a market, near a large dom.<br />
Then, we drove to Lake Baikal, about 60 km, about 1 1/2 hours, from about 5.00 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.<br />
Checked into hotel there, high and overlooking the lake.<br />
Bought from women selling along the lake shore a necklace of charoite (shar o ee it), named for<br />
the Chara River, a purple mineral, r<strong>at</strong>her amethyst like. The formula is (Ca, Na, K, Sn,<br />
Ba) 3 [Si 4 O 12 ](OH, F)H 2 O<br />
The l<strong>at</strong>itude here is 52 o , about th<strong>at</strong> of Edmonton, Alberta.<br />
Supper about 7.00 p.m. After supper, walked down to the lake.<br />
wagtail<br />
some kind of whe<strong>at</strong>ear.<br />
June 21, S<strong>at</strong>urday.<br />
Walked outside briefly, before breakfast. Scarlet rosefinch, seen well, and finch-like call.<br />
Tour of Lake Baikal Museum, which is run by the Russian Academy of Science.<br />
The scientists on the trip are: (in addition to the two leaders, already named)<br />
Elena I. Kossovich, botany, Irkutsk St<strong>at</strong>e <strong>University</strong><br />
Alexander Timonin, mammologist, and does intern<strong>at</strong>ional contacts for the museum. Had been to<br />
Berkeley, and wore Berkeley jersey, spoke good English.<br />
Alexander A. Bukharov, professor of geology, a director of the Baikal Museum. Spoke no English.<br />
Victor Kholoden, a photographer, and a volunteer for the Botanical Gardens. He played the<br />
accordion, also was preparing a video about the trip, and showed a video made from a trip last<br />
year.<br />
Vasily Smirnov, ichythologist, with a beard. Spoke no English.<br />
General notes on Lake Baikal<br />
The size is about th<strong>at</strong> of Lake Superior, but Baikal holds nearly the equivalent w<strong>at</strong>er of all five of<br />
the Gre<strong>at</strong> Lakes, or one-fifth of all the fresh w<strong>at</strong>er on Earth.<br />
Baikal rift is by far the deepest land depression on the planet, much deeper than the Grand Canyon.<br />
The present lake is 5,750 feet deep, 1.1 miles, with four miles of sediment below th<strong>at</strong> before<br />
reaching the bedrock. (Tanganyika, in Africa's Rift Valley, is the second deepest, 4,700 ft., and the
second oldest 2,000,000 years. It has a larger surface area, and is Baikal's analogue in the<br />
southern hemisphere. The lake is 1,637 meters deep <strong>at</strong> the deepest point, which is in the middle,<br />
near the large island.<br />
Seldom can lakes be older than 50,000 years. They fill with sediment.<br />
Two tectonic pl<strong>at</strong>es are pulling apart and drop the depression ever lower, pulling apart <strong>at</strong> about one<br />
inch a year, which means th<strong>at</strong> the lake can collect new sediment without any loss to its huge<br />
volume of w<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
It varies from 27 to 80 km. wide.<br />
You can drink the w<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
84% of the species are endemic.<br />
There was a glass model of the lake volume in the museum. This is now a World Heritage site.<br />
Baikal freshw<strong>at</strong>er seal. There are 100,000 of them. Nerpa.<br />
Omul - an Arctic whitefish endemic to Lake Baikal.<br />
Baikal sturgeon.<br />
Lake Baikal has 1,085 types of algae<br />
250 mosses<br />
450 lichens<br />
1,500 vascular plants<br />
255 small crustaceans<br />
83 gastropods<br />
86 worms<br />
52 species of fish<br />
Of the things underw<strong>at</strong>er, 75% are endemic. One of the strangest is golymyanka, a fish like a<br />
transparent ball of f<strong>at</strong>, which lives down to 1,500 meters. oilfish, bears live young, a f<strong>at</strong>ty fish.<br />
Comeophorus baicalensis.<br />
Baikal has more endemics than any other lake.<br />
Also, pike, grayling, and perch.<br />
Notes from Dan Bett, "The World's Gre<strong>at</strong> Lake," N<strong>at</strong>ional Geographic, June 1992, pp. 2-39. Baikal<br />
is older, deeper, and more richly endowed with life than any other lake on Earth, p. 1. There are<br />
1,500 endemics, more endemics than in any other lake, p. 38. It is 25 million years old, compared<br />
with Lake Superior, which is 10,000 years old. There are 30 species of sculpins (a kind of fish, of<br />
Cottidae); Lake Superior has four.<br />
There are hydrothermal vents.<br />
It is more than a mile deep, and 1/5 of the Earth's fresh w<strong>at</strong>er is here, more w<strong>at</strong>er than in all of<br />
North America's Gre<strong>at</strong> Lakes combined. (Other sources say somewh<strong>at</strong> less.)<br />
There are 40 or so towns and villages along the 2,000 km. (1,245 mile) shoreline. It is revered in<br />
Russia something like Americans do the Grand Canyon.
The Baikalsk Cellulose Paper Plant was placed here in 1996, to make (hopefully) a super cellulose<br />
for aircraft tires, by Khrushchev, though th<strong>at</strong> never worked out. Synthetic rubbers got better<br />
instead.<br />
In 1904, a railway track was laid across the ice, and 2,000 fl<strong>at</strong>cars and 65 locomotives transferred<br />
to the front.<br />
Burh<strong>at</strong>s are Mongols, living here since before the 13th century. The boundary between Russia and<br />
Mongolia (then part of China) was drawn in 1727.<br />
The Angara River runs through a series of colossal dams, built by Khrushchev in the 1960's. The<br />
Angara joins the Yenisey and then flows into the Kara Sea.<br />
If all its 336 tributaries dried up, its volume could keep the Angara River flowing 400 years.<br />
The pollution levels (owing to its size and remoteness) are still much lower than th<strong>at</strong> lakes of<br />
Europe and North America.<br />
There are also coal-fired plants in towns like Slyudyanka, causing acid rain.<br />
Three tectonic pl<strong>at</strong>es intersect seismically. There is a seismically measurable earthquake every<br />
few hours, most too weak to feel. In 1861, a huge quake sank 310 sq. km. of the Selenga delta into<br />
the earth.<br />
There is a Limnological Institute in Irkutsk.<br />
The shamanist God Burkhan is offered vodka for protection. They did this regularly on the trip and<br />
make quite a joke of it.<br />
Lake Tahoe is said by many to resemble Lake Baikal, though Lake Tahoe is only 10,000 years old<br />
and has two endemic species. Lake Baikal is over 25 million years old and has 1,500 endemics.<br />
It has a limnological process th<strong>at</strong> carries oxygen to the deepest parts of the lake, and so has more<br />
life <strong>at</strong> depths than one would expect.<br />
One shrimp, Epischura baicalensis strains out algae and bacteria resulting in especially pure w<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
The Baikalsk cellulose plant pollutes 200 sq. km. with a bacteria and has devast<strong>at</strong>ed bottomdwelling<br />
organisms.<br />
The Selenga River, a 1,480 km. long tributary, supplies half the w<strong>at</strong>er flowing into Baikal, and is<br />
laden with wastes from three Mongolian cities, as well as from Ulan Ude, the Burh<strong>at</strong> capital.<br />
The Nerpa is a river th<strong>at</strong> presently rises nearby but does not now connect with the lake. It turns<br />
north to flow into the Arctic.<br />
Olkhon, the largest island, is quite dry, in the rain shadow of the Primorsky Range. Often there is<br />
no snow in winter. 4,000 people, 500 are Bury<strong>at</strong>, live on the island. There was a forced labor camp<br />
here in Stalinist times.<br />
end of notes from the N<strong>at</strong>ional Geographic article.
Communism unraveled, and th<strong>at</strong>, we think, was a good thing, but the n<strong>at</strong>ion th<strong>at</strong> Communism did<br />
hold together unraveled, and th<strong>at</strong> is a tragic thing, bringing enormous hardship, if also hope for a<br />
more democr<strong>at</strong>ic and prosperous future. Their unpainted houses with blue shutters are still<br />
hauntingly symbolic.<br />
Lake Baikal (and Siberia in general) is an environmental b<strong>at</strong>tleground.<br />
Afterward, a walk to the solar observ<strong>at</strong>ory.<br />
Aquilegia, columbine<br />
Maianthemum<br />
a Rhododendron, which looks like wh<strong>at</strong> we call Azalea.<br />
We took a considerable hike up to the telescope.<br />
Looked <strong>at</strong> the solar prominences in the telescope, which you could see well.<br />
Daurian redstart, a female, on the way back.<br />
Daur, the Daurs, a people of the Amur River basin, rel<strong>at</strong>ed to the Manchus, Manchurians.<br />
Lunch <strong>at</strong> Hotel Baikal, then to the Church of St. Nicholas.<br />
Then boarded the bo<strong>at</strong>, the M/V Zaisan. It was built originally for towing logs. My briefcase got<br />
carried down on the smaller bo<strong>at</strong>, and I had to spend some time finding where it was.<br />
The cabin is about 7 1/2 x 10 feet, with four in the cabin. I have an upper berth th<strong>at</strong> is not easy to<br />
get into.<br />
There is a shower on board, two toilets.<br />
Victor's daughter is on board, Anna Kuzevanova, high school age.<br />
The small bo<strong>at</strong> has a centrifugal force windshield in the center, a round glass th<strong>at</strong> rot<strong>at</strong>es to spin<br />
off the w<strong>at</strong>er in a raging storm.<br />
We put in for the night <strong>at</strong> Peschanya Bay (means Sandy Bay). Mew gulls<br />
I walked ashore with Mort, and climbed up to a gazebo overlook.<br />
June 22, Sunday.<br />
Large numbers of caddis flies on the boardwalk.<br />
I took a walk before breakfast, in some pines back of the buildings on shore. Eurasian nuth<strong>at</strong>ch,<br />
nicely seen.<br />
After breakfast, the group took a walk ashore <strong>at</strong> Peschanya Bay. Elena Kossovich is quite good<br />
with the flora, and sharp with the mosses.<br />
Rosa acicularis<br />
Sorbus sibirica a Rowan tree, like mountain ash<br />
Rhododendron dahuricum. Looks like an azalea. Has pink flowers in May<br />
Dushekia fruticosa, formerly Alnus, alder. They have separ<strong>at</strong>ed this one out.
Selaginella rupestris<br />
Selaginella sanguinolenta<br />
There is lots of Selaginella here.<br />
Dicranum polysetum, a common ground cover in pine forests.<br />
Hylocomnium splendens<br />
Rhytidium rugosum, falc<strong>at</strong>e leaves<br />
Pedicularis verticill<strong>at</strong>a<br />
Cottoneaster melanocarpus, with whitish leaves. Common shrub here.<br />
Cottoneaster lucidus, with shiny leaves.<br />
Astragalus, sp.<br />
Vicia cracca, Mouse vetch (this one is n<strong>at</strong>uralized in U.S. from Eurasia)<br />
Scrophularia<br />
Polygonum divaric<strong>at</strong>um<br />
Bromopsis inermis<br />
Ambylynotus rupestris, a blue flower, like a forget me not.<br />
Clausia aprica. purple mustard<br />
Arenaria minuartia<br />
Phlojodicarpus baicalensis, white umbellifer, on rare and endangered species list. Collected for<br />
medicine.<br />
3% of the Irkutsk region is strictly protected.<br />
Brym argentum<br />
granite of the middle-Proterozoic, 1.7 billion years old.<br />
The group walked up to the gazebo overlook again, then returned and walked over a low saddle<br />
to Babushka Bay, with a lecture of sorts from a "walking tree," a pine th<strong>at</strong> had long roots stretched<br />
out from the shifting sands.<br />
In geological time, once this area was tropical and had rhinoceros, fossils have been found. It has<br />
been affected by global warming with 3 o C rise over the last ten years. The annual precipit<strong>at</strong>ion here<br />
is 12", somewh<strong>at</strong> dry, and much of it comes in July and August.<br />
Neottianthe cucul<strong>at</strong>a, an orchid<br />
Maianthemum bifolium<br />
Iris ruthenica, in the Red D<strong>at</strong>a book for Irkutsk area.<br />
Linnea borealis, twinflower, as in the Rockies<br />
Vaccinium vitis-idaea (grape of Mt. Ida), mountain cranberry. Also across the northern U.S. I have<br />
it from Mt. K<strong>at</strong>ahdin.<br />
Spiraea media<br />
Returned from walk, back on board small ship, then to main ship. Lecture by Mikhail Kuzmin,<br />
Director, Institute of Geochemistry of Russian Academy of Sciences, Irkutsk, on the sediments of<br />
Lake Baikal. He was on board only a day.<br />
There are 8 km. of sediments.<br />
Video on the sediments, of which cores have been taken.<br />
In 1,000 years there are about 17 cm. of sediments. In oceans there are typically 2 cm. of<br />
sediments in 1,000 years.<br />
Visit to Sagan-Zaba, in Pribaikalsky N<strong>at</strong>ional Park, a steppe area.
Thalictrum foetidum<br />
Grimmia calcareos<br />
Visited Neolithic petroglyphs.<br />
Then we had to be taken round a boulder on the beach jutting out into the w<strong>at</strong>er, six <strong>at</strong> a time, in<br />
a raft, for a walk round on the other side.<br />
Puls<strong>at</strong>illa turczaninowii, a different Puls<strong>at</strong>illa.<br />
Artemisia, sage, common here.<br />
Leymus<br />
Potentilla bifurca<br />
Androsace septentrionalis<br />
Erysimum flavum, wallflower<br />
Thermopsis lanceol<strong>at</strong>a<br />
Polygon<strong>at</strong>um odor<strong>at</strong>um, like a Solomon's seal.<br />
Lilium pumilum, rare and endangered species.<br />
Stellaria dichotoma<br />
Thalictrum petaloideum<br />
Anemone sylv<strong>at</strong>icum<br />
Epilogium angustifolium, fireweed<br />
Chaemaerhodos grandiflorus, though low and without a grand flower<br />
A warm wind came up suddenly, quite suddenly and quite warm, and they hustled us back, around<br />
by raft to where the petroglyphs were, then back to the bo<strong>at</strong>, fearing bigger winds l<strong>at</strong>er, which did<br />
not come. The name of the wind is a sarma (??)- named for the Sarma River (Mark Sergeyev<br />
book, p. 28).<br />
June 23, Monday.<br />
Forest fire in the distance.<br />
Visit to Borokchin Island, with garnets and gulls.<br />
Orstachis spinosa, the artichoke like plant.<br />
Climbed a hill, with a visit to shaman's grave. There is an alpine look to the veget<strong>at</strong>ion, due to wind,<br />
we<strong>at</strong>her, and dry. Rocky steppe. The islands in Baikal are little studied botanically. There are<br />
more than 10 species of Potentilla.<br />
There were many gulls, with four chicks swimming in the w<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
House martins, with white rump, with some spectacular flying displays.<br />
Selaginella is virtually a ground cover here.<br />
Oxytropis caerulea<br />
There is only one lichenologist in the region.<br />
Sedum aizoon<br />
Puls<strong>at</strong>illa tenuiloba, a small Puls<strong>at</strong>illa, lots of these here.<br />
Alyssum
an Oxytropis with a gre<strong>at</strong>ly infl<strong>at</strong>ed pod.<br />
Allium, wild onion<br />
Polygala, named because it improves the milk of cows.<br />
Rhaponticum uniflorum, a thistle.<br />
Saxifraga bronchialis<br />
Abietnella (Thuidium) abietina<br />
Oxytropis tragacanthoides, a rare and endangered species. I took Elena Kossovich's picture as<br />
she was collecting it.<br />
There are only three bryologists in the region.<br />
(1) Leonid V. Bardunov, her supervisor, is <strong>at</strong> the Center of Russian Bryology, a professor <strong>at</strong> Irkutsk<br />
St<strong>at</strong>e <strong>University</strong>. He published a manual in 1961, covering the Altai and Eastern Sajan mountain<br />
area.<br />
(2) Elena Kossovich. She has published a "Unique Objects of Lake Baikal W<strong>at</strong>ershed" book.<br />
Nauka Publisher, Novosibirisk, 1990, in Russian.<br />
The largest moss herbarium from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific is mainly in Irkutsk. She<br />
finished her Ph.D. <strong>at</strong> Tomsk St<strong>at</strong>e <strong>University</strong>. She did a Ph.D. on Sphagnum, pe<strong>at</strong> mosses.<br />
Back on the ship.<br />
Off again about 1.00 p.m, to visit the "thin cape." A border area between steppe and forest.<br />
Walked to a cabin by a stream.<br />
Minuartia<br />
Agropyron crist<strong>at</strong>um, a lovely grass<br />
Dracocephalum pinn<strong>at</strong>um, blue mint<br />
Heraculum dissectum. The <strong>Colorado</strong> one is H. lan<strong>at</strong>um.<br />
Equisetum pr<strong>at</strong>ensa<br />
Ver<strong>at</strong>rum lobelianum<br />
Trollius asi<strong>at</strong>icus, like an orange anemone, knee high.<br />
Mnium cuspid<strong>at</strong>um, in the stream by the cabin.<br />
Brachythecium<br />
Campylium, maybe<br />
Lilium martagon, King's curl lily, often seen.<br />
On return walk, another forest fire, seen in distance.<br />
Back to the bo<strong>at</strong> for a l<strong>at</strong>e lunch, 3.30 p.m.<br />
Off again about 5.00, with a visit to the island of Olkhon (70 km x 10 to 15 km), and a fishing village,<br />
Khurzhir. A fish processing factory runs here three months a year. The channel <strong>at</strong> this point in<br />
Lake Baikal is called the Maloe Mare, or "small sea."<br />
There was a black kite, seen flying about town<br />
We took a tour of the village museum.<br />
A motorcycle with a side car came through the main street off and on, each time carrying five<br />
persons!
Walk to Shaman Rock.<br />
From the rock, we saw mandarin ducks, first seen <strong>at</strong> a distance, then closer, when we walked to<br />
where the bo<strong>at</strong> had come around to pick us up. A very striking duck.<br />
Plover-like bird in the same area.<br />
Return to the bo<strong>at</strong>.<br />
June 24, Tuesday.<br />
I was c<strong>at</strong>ching cold and had to get up four times in the night! Tough getting in and out of the upper<br />
bunk.<br />
The Russians too had their "manifest destiny" to cross the continent.<br />
krai - territory<br />
oblast - region, r<strong>at</strong>her like a st<strong>at</strong>e, headed by a governor.<br />
republic- headed by a President<br />
Types of n<strong>at</strong>ure preserv<strong>at</strong>ion areas:<br />
zakaznik - a preserve, originally hunting preserves, often now for endangered species or<br />
landmarks.<br />
N<strong>at</strong>ional Park.<br />
zapovednik, n<strong>at</strong>ure reserve, for scientific research, not particularly for recre<strong>at</strong>ion. Baikal-Lena<br />
Preserve, and Barguzin Preserve are of this kind.<br />
his is a very pleasant day, but bre<strong>at</strong>h frosty in the air until noon.<br />
Stellaria media - introduced from Europe.<br />
Mysotis suaveolens<br />
Plantago media<br />
Iris flavissima, yellow. In the local Red Book.<br />
Saxifraga sp., small, white, on solitary stems.<br />
Primula farinosa<br />
Cerastium arvense, Mouse-ear chickweed. Found widely in Northern and Southern hemispheres.<br />
Geranium praetense<br />
Iris ruthenica (= Russian), small, blue<br />
Ptilotrichum tenuifolium, r<strong>at</strong>her like an Alyssum.<br />
Spring is dry here, the rains do not come until July and August.<br />
Draba nemerosa. In U.S. from Eurasia.<br />
We made a visit to the farm of Anton Badaev, a Bury<strong>at</strong> farmer, now a farmer, formerly an official<br />
in the Communist party, and in charge of a collective here.<br />
This was followed by a fish fry and cookout by the lake, gala affair. A sheep was "sacrificed" and<br />
roasted, <strong>at</strong> least one leg of it was. Accordion music, dancing.
Return to ship <strong>at</strong> 8.00 p.m.<br />
Supper <strong>at</strong> 8.00 p.m, though we hardly needed more food.<br />
Nova Video on Lake Baikal. Available <strong>at</strong> 1-800-255-9424<br />
The rift is seven times deeper than the Grand Canyon, though mostly filled with sediments. There<br />
are 50 factories th<strong>at</strong> use the Selenga as a drain. The cellulose plant was built in 1966, and<br />
produced the first demonstr<strong>at</strong>ions in Russia over an environmental issue.<br />
Along the railroad, everywhere you look there are the ugly relics of development th<strong>at</strong> has failed.<br />
The Russians moving into Siberia, demanded a tribute, or tax, and were taking half a million fur<br />
skins a year in the mid-1600's, which was 10% of the income of the Russian st<strong>at</strong>e.<br />
June 25, Wednesday.<br />
We made a visit to the Uskany Islands, and w<strong>at</strong>ched the seals from two loc<strong>at</strong>ions for several hours.<br />
There were several dozen of them and we had excellent viewing, walking, then toward the edge<br />
of the w<strong>at</strong>er, crawling up for an overlook where they were sunning on rocks <strong>at</strong> the w<strong>at</strong>er's edge.<br />
There is a much more lush ground cover here. Lots of ants on the island.<br />
The Baikal seal is Phoca sibirica. There are seven species of seals. This is rel<strong>at</strong>ed to the ringed<br />
seal (Phoca hispida) of the Arctic, possibly from a popul<strong>at</strong>ion coming down the Yenisey and Angara<br />
Rivers, or on the Lena River (see earlier). It is only seal restricted to fresh w<strong>at</strong>er. They are<br />
distributed all over the lake, but in open w<strong>at</strong>er. They can be underw<strong>at</strong>er up to 40 minutes, or, in lab<br />
experiments, over an hour. They e<strong>at</strong> especially two species of golymyanka and two species of<br />
bullhead fish. They are hunted in autumn and spring. They keep air holes open in the winter.<br />
They make a kind of lair in the ice and snow in which the young are born. The female suckles pups<br />
1 1/2 to 3 months. There are one or two pups, one bigger than the other. M<strong>at</strong>ing is underw<strong>at</strong>er and<br />
has never been observed. Nursing is above w<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
There is danger from canine distemper, perhaps brought from the Norwegian sea by gulls. The<br />
seals construct something of a house of ice, which makes them difficult to survey.<br />
The number of new pups is counted each year by motorcycles. There are 100,000 seals, from one<br />
to five years old, but 50% are not yet reproducing. They can live to 50 years. S<strong>at</strong>ellite transmitters<br />
were put on four of them.<br />
There is an annual professional kill of 6,000, but there are priv<strong>at</strong>e hunters as well. To get a license<br />
you have to agree to sell the skin to the agency, for 100,000 rubles, or about $ 17 each. The fur<br />
is largely used in the fashion market. It is not really all th<strong>at</strong> warm a fur.<br />
This seal has bigger eyes adapted for deeper diving, than other seals. The females outweigh the<br />
males.<br />
Aquilegia sibirica.<br />
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. Kinnikinnik. The same plant th<strong>at</strong> is widespread in the Rocky Mountains!<br />
Empetrum nigrum. The woody ground cover.<br />
Pyrola asarifolia<br />
Trientalis europaea, Woodland star, first seen in Finland.
Viola rupestris<br />
Euphorbia alpina<br />
Pleurozium schreberi<br />
Abietnella abietina<br />
Saxifraga bronchialis<br />
Linum perenne<br />
Atragene sibirica, a vine like a white clem<strong>at</strong>is<br />
Draba<br />
Thalictrum baicalensis, wind pollin<strong>at</strong>ed, good size<br />
Geranium caeruleum<br />
Mysotis, Forget-me-not<br />
Dicranum polysetum<br />
Rufus sax<strong>at</strong>ilis<br />
Back on the bo<strong>at</strong>, then to wet taiga.<br />
species on the wet taiga:<br />
Dicranum fuscens<br />
Bergenia crassifolia, woody root, broad, light-green leaves<br />
Lycopodium annotinum<br />
Abies sibirica, fir<br />
Equisetum sylv<strong>at</strong>icum<br />
Ledum palustre, Labrador tea<br />
Juniperus sibirica<br />
Aconitum, with big leaves, the tallest herbaceous plant in Siberia<br />
Polytrichum commune, as in the Eastern U.S.<br />
Polytrichum strictum (affine)<br />
Back to the bo<strong>at</strong>, and then to the hot pools. These were indeed hot, or warm, though not big pools<br />
<strong>at</strong> all.<br />
Hesperus sibirica, large purple plant<br />
Pteridium aquilinum, bracken, as over much of the world.<br />
Thymus asi<strong>at</strong>icus<br />
Orobanche caerulea, parasitic plant<br />
Erysimum, sp., like an Arabis<br />
Leymus<br />
Baikal seal lecture<br />
June 26, Thursday.<br />
Some fishing early in the morning. Mostly a day of travel across the lake.<br />
Discussion of rare plants in Russia.<br />
Video on submarine explor<strong>at</strong>ion of Lake Baikal.<br />
Lunch.
L<strong>at</strong>e afternoon. Lecture on fish. There are 4-5 popul<strong>at</strong>ions of omul, occupying various niches.<br />
(1) shallow w<strong>at</strong>er, near the shore<br />
(2) down to 200 meters in the main lake<br />
(3) another popul<strong>at</strong>ion below 200 meters<br />
(4) a steep vertical slope zone.<br />
These popul<strong>at</strong>ions spawn in different rivers, the Selenga is a main one.<br />
We were unable to go ashore in the Selenga Delta, because the lake level is low, and the w<strong>at</strong>er<br />
level where we planned to go is less than a meter.<br />
The delta was seen from some distance off, yet looking like a vast expanse of brown grass, the new<br />
season's green having not yet overtopped the last years. But with binoculars you could see the<br />
green lower down.<br />
There is a lighthouse on an artificial island.<br />
The marsh area is about 7 km. wide with aqu<strong>at</strong>ic grass, and no solid ground.<br />
Visit to Posol'skoye, village.<br />
Here is where a large region of delta sank below lake level in 1861, 190 sq. km. including several<br />
villages, but no one was killed. There was subsidence over a few hours.<br />
Farewell dinner, 11.00 p.m.<br />
June 27, Friday.<br />
Visit to Kadilnaya Bay, and a couple miles walk along the shore.<br />
Lubomirskia baicalensis, (loo bo meer skee uh) a fresh w<strong>at</strong>er sponge, washed up on the shore.<br />
lapwing. Seen <strong>at</strong> w<strong>at</strong>er's edge, a striking bird. Unique among wading birds with its long wispy crest<br />
and green back. Found all over Europe and Asia.<br />
Pologon<strong>at</strong>um<br />
Leontopodium ochrolencum, Edelweiss, a composite, not yet in bloom.<br />
elk sc<strong>at</strong>.<br />
Saw fossil strom<strong>at</strong>olites, and took group picture there.<br />
Then a two mile walk down a steppe plain near the lake shore.<br />
Stipa sibirica<br />
Scorzonera radi<strong>at</strong>a<br />
Phlomis tuberosa, a striking mint<br />
Galium borealis<br />
Valeriana officinalis, Valerian. A field of this (pix)<br />
Achillea asi<strong>at</strong>ica, Yarrow. The <strong>Colorado</strong> species is Achillea lanulosa.<br />
Polygala
Lychnis sibirica<br />
Schizonepetala multifida, small blue mint<br />
Hedysarum gmelinii, a pink legume<br />
Nonnea rossica, borage, with black flower<br />
Hieracium, sp. hawkweed<br />
Campanula glomer<strong>at</strong>a, striking blue<br />
Hemerocalis minor, day-lily<br />
Veronica chamaedrys<br />
Phleum, Timothy<br />
Triglochin palustre, grass-like rare plant<br />
field of Oxytropos caerulea, pix, with village in background.<br />
Hike ended <strong>at</strong> some park buildings. The park employees mostly live here and take care of<br />
themselves, and care for the park on the side. They haven't been paid in six months.<br />
Rhytidium rugosum<br />
Leonod A. Malyshev<br />
Galina A. Peshkova, vascular plants, botanists from Novosibirsk.<br />
telm<strong>at</strong>ologist (telma, stagnant w<strong>at</strong>er, marsh). The study of wetlands.<br />
A hydrofoil ferry came by, it goes to Peschanya Bay daily. There is also a second one elsewhere.<br />
Lunch.<br />
We got off the bo<strong>at</strong> about 2.00, and wandered around the dock until 3.30. Then back to the Baikal<br />
hotel briefly. There were two Americans there, the only two seen during the whole trip in Siberia<br />
and the Russian Far East (outside of a couple <strong>at</strong> the Khabarovsk hotel who had just flown in to the<br />
intern<strong>at</strong>ional airport there). They were lawyers, working out some deal by which the Irkutsk region<br />
people could trade with the Mongolians, without consulting Moscow.<br />
Then the bus back to Irkutsk. Irkutsk is surprisingly hot, 29 o C.<br />
I walked into town and walked through a grocery store. They still pay the cashier first and then go<br />
get their wares. It all looked very third world, but not poverty stricken, reasonably prosperous. Lots<br />
of well dressed young women.<br />
June 28, S<strong>at</strong>urday.<br />
Flight Irkutsk to Khabarovsk.<br />
Up <strong>at</strong> 3.10 a.m. 4.00 bags set out in the hall, 4.30 departure. They provided a box breakfast.<br />
Various delays in the airport, and flight out <strong>at</strong> 6.15 a.m. in a crowded plane, a TU154, Tupelov 154,<br />
named for the designer. A very full plane. They served a hot breakfast of me<strong>at</strong> and rice. But the<br />
plastic knife, fork, and spoon were so flimsy th<strong>at</strong> I couldn't cut the me<strong>at</strong> and had to e<strong>at</strong> it with my<br />
fingers. I tried to peel a small orange with the knife, and was doing pretty well, and then interrupted
it to cut open the instant coffee, which I couldn't tear open, only to find I had fl<strong>at</strong>tened the teeth and<br />
couldn't finish peeling the orange--all the while unable to move my elbows.<br />
But the planes had perfect take-offs and landings every time.<br />
Landed in Khabarovsk.<br />
Afternoon bo<strong>at</strong> tour, on the Amur River, from 1.30 to about 6.30. An excellent dancing group, the<br />
Fabulous Fables.<br />
Dinner <strong>at</strong> 8.00 p.m. Afterward a lovely sunset over the river with barges, w<strong>at</strong>ched from an overlook<br />
passageway on the fifth floor of the hotel, <strong>at</strong> 10.15 <strong>at</strong> night.<br />
The hotel only has hot w<strong>at</strong>er mornings and evenings.<br />
General notes on the mammals of Russia, prompted by a visit to the n<strong>at</strong>ural history museum in<br />
Khabarovsk.<br />
There were find mounted specimens of the following:<br />
Sea cow skeleton. Steller's Sea Cow, or Gre<strong>at</strong> Northern Sea Cow. Hydrodamlis gigas. Was found<br />
in the Bering Sea area. Steller was a n<strong>at</strong>uralist who accompanied Bering. There were once lots<br />
of them, but they were unfearing of humans and slaughtered relentlessly for food and le<strong>at</strong>her. The<br />
sea cow has been extinct probably since 1768, though there were l<strong>at</strong>er reports of it in various<br />
areas. There are only four skeletons in the world, one in this museum. The closest remaining<br />
rel<strong>at</strong>ive is the dugong in Australia.<br />
sea otters<br />
king crabs<br />
grey wolves, Canis lupus<br />
dhole, Cuon alpinus, a wild dog, resembles Canis, but has shorter skull and is placed in a different<br />
genus. In this museum this animal is labeled as a Manchurian wolf, or red wolf. Found in southern<br />
Siberia and Central Asia to India and Malay peninsula. Walker's Mammals, p. 1080. Endangered<br />
species.<br />
Siberian tiger. Amur tiger. Felis tigris.<br />
As l<strong>at</strong>e as 1700's there were tigers in the Lake Baikal vicinity.<br />
Bears<br />
Asi<strong>at</strong>ic black bear, Ursus thibetanus, in this museum called a Himalayan bear, black with white spot<br />
on chest. Walker's Mammals, p. 1086.<br />
brown bear, grizzly bear, Ursus arctos<br />
Caribou (North American term), reindeer (European term), one species, Rangifer tarandus, in this<br />
museum called a Northern deer. This species was all across northern Europe, Asia, and America.<br />
There are even records of it in Idaho in early nineteenth century.
wapiti, elk (American term), red deer, Cervis elaphus, in this museum called a noble deer. The<br />
American elk, Cervis canadensis, is by many considered to be a subspecies of Cervis elaphus.<br />
Musk deer, Moschus moschiferus, small and spotted. Siberian, Mongolian, Manchurian, Korean,<br />
nothing like this in America.<br />
Roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, though Walker shows Capreolus pygarus as the species in Siberia,<br />
thought by other to be a subspecies of C. capreolus. Not in America. They have generally adapted<br />
well to civiliz<strong>at</strong>ion, even though they are much hunted.<br />
boar, Sus scrofa, n<strong>at</strong>ive to Europe and Asia. The European wild hog.<br />
moose (North American term) or elk (European Term), Alces alces<br />
bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis<br />
Old world badger, Meles meles. The American badger is put in Taxidea taxus.<br />
sable, Martes zibellina. Close to martens, fishers. Originally throughout the taiga zone, from<br />
Scandinavia to North Korea. Mainly terrestrial but it can climb. One of the most valuable fur<br />
bearers, its pelt avidly sought since ancient times. Several hundred thousand skins were traded<br />
annually during the l<strong>at</strong>e eighteenth century in the west Siberian city of Irbit. Popul<strong>at</strong>ions crashed<br />
and l<strong>at</strong>er recovered. A single skin can sell on the world market for $ 500.<br />
beaver (introduced)<br />
leopard, Panthera pardus<br />
lynx, Felis lynx, same species in Americas and Eurasia.<br />
fox, Vulpes vulpes<br />
ermine<br />
yellow-thro<strong>at</strong>ed marten, Martes flavigula. Although in same genus as sable, the pelt was of little<br />
value.<br />
wolverine, Gulo gulo. Originally from Scandinavia to Siberia, Alaska, Canada, U.S.<br />
After the museum, we went shopping in the Amber Room, not far away, lovely display of amber.<br />
Then back to the hotel. Left <strong>at</strong> 2.30 for the airport.<br />
Took off <strong>at</strong> 4.30 p.m, promptly.<br />
During the flight, there were striking views of snow-capped mountains, and, l<strong>at</strong>er, mountains in<br />
almost solid snow cover.<br />
We flew over Magadan Oblast. Magadan was a famous horror story town of Stalin's Gulag. See<br />
Lonely Planet guide.
Flew by Mt. Denali, silhouetted on a r<strong>at</strong>her sunset like skyline, though the sun did set, it never really<br />
got dark. Six hour flight to Anchorage.<br />
Then to San Francisco (about 8.30 a.m, local time), then to Denver, leaving <strong>at</strong> 12.00, and not really<br />
home till 7.00 p.m., living the same day twice, crossing the d<strong>at</strong>e line, and arriving more or less the<br />
time I took off from Khabarovsk!<br />
Bibliography:<br />
Russian Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion News is published in English, quarterly, as a joint Russian-American effort<br />
of the Center for Russian N<strong>at</strong>ure Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion (USA), the Pocono Environmental Educ<strong>at</strong>ion Center<br />
(USA), and the Biodiversity Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion Center (Russia). Address: Russian Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion News,<br />
c/o Pocono Environmental Educ<strong>at</strong>ion Center, RR 2 Box 1010, Dingmans Ferry, PA 18328-9614.<br />
717/828-2319. Fax: 717/828-9695.<br />
John Massey Stewart, The N<strong>at</strong>ure of Russia.<br />
Davydova, M., and V. Koshevoi, N<strong>at</strong>ure Reserves of the U.S.S.R. Moscow: Progress Publishers,<br />
1989 (in English).<br />
Taiga News, Contact: Pacific Environment and Resources Center, Fort Cronkhite, Building 1055,<br />
Sausalito, CA 94965. Phone 415/332-8200 Fax 415/332-8167. E-mail: perc@igc.apc.org<br />
Azulay, Erik, and Allegra Harris Asulay, The Russian Far East (New York: Hippocrene Books, 171<br />
Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, <strong>1995</strong>. Covers the east, but not the west side of Lake Baikal.<br />
Malyschev, L. I. and G. A . Peschkova, Flora of Central Siberia, 2 volumes, 1972. Novosibirsk. (in<br />
Russian)<br />
Red D<strong>at</strong>a Book, 1988. Some 500 species in all of Russia. The Red D<strong>at</strong>a book is now being<br />
revised. Some 130 of these species are in the Irkutsk area. Elena has an article in it on ferns.<br />
Tely<strong>at</strong>'ev, Victor, Useful Plants of Central Siberia. published in Irkusk. A popular manual, has been<br />
printed in 200,000 copies, and is hard to get.<br />
Bett, Dan, "The World's Gre<strong>at</strong> Lake," N<strong>at</strong>ional Geographic, June 1992, pp. 2-39.<br />
Hayes, Jr., Otis E., Home from Siberia. Texas A&M Press, 1990. He traveled the Trans-Siberian<br />
from Moscow to Khabarovsk about 1987 in the course of a book about American airmen whose<br />
aircraft crashed in eastern Siberia and whom the Soviets moved westward across Siberia via the<br />
railroad. He wrote me after the <strong>Colorado</strong>an article. Route 1, Box 464, Pierce City, MO 65723.<br />
end of Siberia trip
July 16-18, <strong>1997</strong>, Tuesday through Friday. Rawah Wilderness backpacking alone, mostly to see<br />
th<strong>at</strong> I was in shape for the Yellowstone trip forthcoming. On the Rawah <strong>Trail</strong> <strong>at</strong> Rawah Guest<br />
Ranch by 9.30. Steady climb and got into Lake # 1 about 3.30. Spotted fawn seen nicely on the<br />
way up. Plenty of snow packs still left, and, although I had thought I might go on up to McIntrye,<br />
I decided against it and pitched camp <strong>at</strong> Lake # 1, actually about a quarter mile back. Plenty of<br />
mosquitoes, which, generally, were the bane of the trip. Warm night, good we<strong>at</strong>her.<br />
I was here first in July 1970 (27 years ago!), again in August 1988, with Giles.<br />
Thursday, I did the circuit, back down to the Camp Lake trail, then up to Sandbar Lakes, Lower an<br />
Upper, then to Rainbow Lake, then back out to the main Rawah <strong>Trail</strong>, to Lake # 3, which is above<br />
timberline, then back down past Lakes 2 to Lake 1. Wilson's warbler, probably, maybe an imm<strong>at</strong>ure<br />
MacGillivray's. Lunched back <strong>at</strong> camp, taking my food out to a more windy spot to avoid<br />
mosquitoes and to get a view. In the afternoon, I walked around to McIntryre Lake and found the<br />
spot where Giles and I camped there in 1988. It is on the north side, a fl<strong>at</strong> place in some trees up<br />
a ways from the lake. White crowned sparrow, and the usual birds. <strong>Trail</strong> crew came by; the chief<br />
has been here six summers. Snow is usually gone by July 4, and this is the l<strong>at</strong>est he has seen it.<br />
Mosquitoes are the worst he has seen. He also fussed <strong>at</strong> me for not being 200 feet from the trail,<br />
since the Link <strong>Trail</strong> ran not so far behind my camp, which I hadn't even seen th<strong>at</strong> the trail was there<br />
when I pitched camp, nor had I seen any recent footprints on it when I discovered it the next day.<br />
Friday, hiked out, not too fast, to avoid damage to my toes. Left about 8.00 a.m. and out <strong>at</strong> 1.40<br />
p.m. Nice doe on the trail on the way down. About 20 miles of hiking.<br />
Sore knee, which I nursed along during the Montana trip, and for several months afterward.<br />
Yellowstone and Scapego<strong>at</strong> Wilderness<br />
July-August <strong>1997</strong><br />
July 26, S<strong>at</strong>urday. With Bill Forbes, drive to DuBois, Wyoming. Lunched <strong>at</strong> Split Rock, which<br />
recalls the Pony Express and Buffalo Bill's riding some three hundred miles on twenty different<br />
horses over some twenty hours, averaging fourteen miles per hour. In DuBois, we drove up to an<br />
overlook over the Wind River Mountains. Also visited the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep<br />
Found<strong>at</strong>ion; there is a popul<strong>at</strong>ion of sheep here, more easily seen in winter.<br />
July 27, Sunday. Drove into Grand Teton N<strong>at</strong>ional Park, then Yellowstone Park. Elk seen in<br />
opening by the roadside. Moose killed on road. Stopped briefly <strong>at</strong> the Visitor Center in the Tetons.<br />
Moose seen in willows. Continued into Yellowstone. There was a glimpse of a grizzly, south of<br />
Fishing Bridge, the same area where I had seen one in May-June.<br />
There were perhaps a hundred bison crossing the river in Hayden Valley, in groups of twenty or so.
Quite a sight. They had to swim the deeper part and were underw<strong>at</strong>er except for heads sticking<br />
out. The calves seem to have no big problem; they did it as well as the adults.<br />
Four bull elk in a field, lying down, not long before Canyon.<br />
Checked in <strong>at</strong> Canyon, and then drove out to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Osprey on<br />
nest <strong>at</strong> one of the overlooks. Drove the Mount Washburn Road, and out the <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley road as<br />
far as Slough Creek, but no bear activity. A good thunderstorm on the way back.<br />
Night <strong>at</strong> Canyon.<br />
July 28, Monday. Up <strong>at</strong> 4.30 a.m. and off to <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley. For the first few miles we were in and<br />
out of fog, but the Mount Washburn area was clear. Stopped <strong>at</strong> Slough Creek for twenty minutes<br />
or so, then on to Buffalo Ranch. The <strong>Lamar</strong> Valley was covered in fog, but it cleared not so long<br />
after we met the backpacking group <strong>at</strong> Buffalo Ranch.<br />
Backpacking in Grizzly Country. Leaders: Michael Bartley and Marla Darby, both students <strong>at</strong> CSU.<br />
I had Michael in environmental ethics class two or three years back. Others: two from Red Lodge<br />
and Roberts, Sally Rodibaugh and Aileen Anderson; she is a sheep farmer. Ron Mayer and Nora<br />
Scanlan; he is with social security; she is a guidance counselor. Taryn Samuels, working for<br />
Yellowstone N<strong>at</strong>ional Park. E. A. McCracken, Jr., formerly from Arkansas, now Helena MT,<br />
interested in hunting and fishing. P<strong>at</strong> Fiore, young boy who got soaking wet, had worked briefly for<br />
Forest Service.<br />
We shuttled to the trailhead <strong>at</strong> Warm Springs Picnic area, leaving the most of the cars <strong>at</strong> Pebble<br />
Creek campground. On the trail, we climbed 1,200 feet and then dropped into Pebble Creek<br />
drainage. Lunched a little past the top, with various tips from Michael and Marla about how to<br />
behave in grizzly country. Camped <strong>at</strong> site 3P5, in good we<strong>at</strong>her, but it started raining after we went<br />
to bed and pretty much rained for 24 hours. Gentle but steady rain all night. So far we kept pretty<br />
dry.<br />
July 29, Tuesday. A wet day. I managed to get the tent down and packed up when it wasn't raining.<br />
Off <strong>at</strong> 9.30 a.m. and hiked down Pebble Creek all day. Three good stream crossings, which took<br />
some trouble trying to keep halfway dry feet. Good wildflowers. Camped <strong>at</strong> 3P1. Still raining; we<br />
set up camp in and out of the rain, though there were some blue spots. Deer around camp, r<strong>at</strong>her<br />
tame, and, l<strong>at</strong>er, chasing each other around.<br />
July 30, Wednesday. Clear day, and I climbed out into wet pants and boots.<br />
Pam Gontz hiked in and walked out with us. She had come into be sure she caught me about the<br />
Ft. Collins flood, but didn't tell me until we were out <strong>at</strong> the trailhead. One splendid bear tree, with<br />
nice claw marks. But otherwise no fresh bear sign.<br />
Out about 1.00 p.m. Showered <strong>at</strong> the Ranch, dried out, and repacked for the drive to Missoula.<br />
Stopped <strong>at</strong> Mammoth Hot Springs to phone home and found th<strong>at</strong> my office had been flooded out,<br />
floor to ceiling. The <strong>University</strong> suffered $ 130 million damages, lost the books in the basement of<br />
the library, including journals. Lost all the textbooks in the bookstore. I called a New York Times<br />
reporter, who had tried to contact me. Jane had a half inch of w<strong>at</strong>er in the basement <strong>at</strong> home.<br />
Montana trip continued below.
Events in Ft. Collins area:<br />
July 28, Monday. Heavy storms in early morning hours, concentr<strong>at</strong>ed near the foothills west of<br />
town. Eastern portions of the city received little in the way of rain from these early storms, although<br />
1-2 inches fell in the north and northeast parts of town. Light rains off and on through the day.<br />
Heavy rains continued over Horsetooth Reservoir and LaPorte, which received an additional 4<br />
inches of rain. Ditches in LaPorte spilled over their banks, but overall Ft. Collins experienced few<br />
complic<strong>at</strong>ions from the daytime rains. But the soil was becoming s<strong>at</strong>ur<strong>at</strong>ed, with the result th<strong>at</strong> wh<strong>at</strong><br />
came l<strong>at</strong>er was all runoff.<br />
About 5.30 p.m. the deluge started and continued in waves of heavy showers, mainly west of Taft<br />
Hill Road on the west side of town. Nearly 3 inches of rain was reported in this area by 7.30 p.m.<br />
But the worst was yet to come.<br />
The most intense rainfall came between 8.30 and 10.00 p.m., Monday evening, and was<br />
concentr<strong>at</strong>ed between the Quail Hollow and Cedarwood Plaza in southwest Fort Collins. This<br />
storm reported dropped 9.5 inches to 10.2 inches of rain in the area west of the Taft Hill and Drake<br />
Road crossing in less than five hours. Much lesser amounts fell over most area of Fort Collins and<br />
north toward Wellington. Accur<strong>at</strong>e rain gauges recorded 14 inches of rain for the thirty hour rainfall<br />
period, and more than 10 inches in LaPorte. These totals are nearly the average annual<br />
precipit<strong>at</strong>ion.<br />
The w<strong>at</strong>er massed together and ripped along tiny Spring Creek and other ditches and creeks in the<br />
Fort Collins drainage and through the CSU campus.<br />
Before it was over, 1.600 homes were adversely affected. When the Spring Creek flow reached<br />
the western edge of the two mobile home parks near central Ft. Collins, it washed railroad cars off<br />
the tracks and across three huge culverts through the rainroad embankment. There the w<strong>at</strong>ers built<br />
up enough force to destroy the mobile home park and to kill five persons.<br />
Flash floods in <strong>Colorado</strong> are typically <strong>at</strong> night.<br />
continuing, Montana trip:<br />
Bill and I drove to Missoula, good drive, arriving about 10.00 p.m.<br />
Parkside.<br />
Night <strong>at</strong> the Holiday Inn,<br />
July 31, Wednesday. Thelma Elser picked us up; we shuttled the car to Elser's ranch, and she<br />
drove us to the North Fork (of the Blackfoot) <strong>Trail</strong>head, where we joined Smoke and the packing<br />
(Smoke Elser). Drove by the former Lindberg ranch. The Blackfoot River is the river fe<strong>at</strong>ured in<br />
A River Runs Through It, although the filming was done on the Yellowstone River. Some kettle and<br />
kames topography en route.<br />
Wranglers: Cody Hensen, P. O. Box 129, Drummond, MT 59832, has finished <strong>at</strong> Missoula. Raised<br />
on a Montana ranch. Rich Keeland, 5509 Mainview, Missoula, MT 59803. Studying petroleum<br />
engineering <strong>at</strong> Butte.<br />
Orville Daniels and Olleke Rappe-Daniels, 1810 Riverside Dr., Missoula, MT 59804. He is retired<br />
chief of Region 1, USFS, which includes fourteen forests in Montana, Idaho, Dakotas. She is still
an active forester.<br />
P<strong>at</strong> and Bernadette Bannister, 1120 Morningwood Lane, Gre<strong>at</strong> Falls, VA 22066. They also have<br />
property in Montana, and we picked them up halfway out on the road up the Blackfoot. She does<br />
some fundraising for the Craigheads and their found<strong>at</strong>ion.<br />
Jon and Karen Robbins, 2836 Melillo Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. He is lawyer for oil company<br />
in environmental compliance. She is schoolteacher.<br />
Smoke has been packing 40 years in the Bob, cumul<strong>at</strong>ively 22 years of nights spent in the out-ofdoors.<br />
My horse is Coco, a mare. Bill's is Liberty.<br />
The Bob Marshall Wilderness complex includes the contiguous Bob Marshall Wilderness, the Gre<strong>at</strong><br />
Bear Wilderness, and the Scapego<strong>at</strong> Wilderness, which are 1.5 million acres. There is another<br />
million acres of surrounding wildlands. On the complex is almost every big game species in North<br />
America.<br />
The Scapego<strong>at</strong> Wilderness was cre<strong>at</strong>ed in 1972. The centerpiece of the region is the Scapego<strong>at</strong><br />
Massif, an enormous lofty pl<strong>at</strong>eau of rock surrounded on east and west sides by sheer cliffs, the<br />
lower extension of the Chinese wall on the eastern side. The peak of Scapego<strong>at</strong> Mountain is 9,202<br />
ft on the eastern edge of the massif. Flint Mountain (9,079ft) is <strong>at</strong> the north western end. The<br />
massif is really a long limestone pl<strong>at</strong>eau, about 4 miles long, and the actual peak is only a bump<br />
on the massif.<br />
A U.S. surveyor, Chapman, working in the area in the 1897-1900 period gave the peak the name<br />
Scapego<strong>at</strong> after he had difficulty surveying the area (Graetz, p. 131).<br />
On the trail about 11.00 a.m. We are riding in the Canyon Creek Fire, burned 247,000 acres in<br />
September and October 1988, the year of the Yellowstone fires, and the largest fire in the history<br />
of Montana. The fire started in Canyon Creek valley, near the eastern edge of the Scapego<strong>at</strong><br />
wilderness. Smoke heard the lightning bolt th<strong>at</strong> started it and he and his wranglers went over and<br />
put it out, or <strong>at</strong> least suppressed it. But a forest crew came in next day and said it was a prescribed<br />
n<strong>at</strong>ural burn, so let it go. It flared up the next day and took off. The decision to endorse the let burn<br />
policy was made by Orville Daniels, who was on our trip.<br />
We w<strong>at</strong>ched recovery after fire throughout the trip, which was r<strong>at</strong>her uneven. Some lodgepole was<br />
waist-high, but much was no more than knee-high, and on lots of slopes there was hardly any<br />
evident recovery <strong>at</strong> all. Generally, the recovery was slower than I might have hoped.<br />
Generally wildlife on the trip was more sparse than might have been expected. There were no<br />
recent sign of elk, though lots of older sign. No sheep seen. No go<strong>at</strong>s. No bear or wolf tracks,<br />
though there were coyote tracks. Smoke says he thinks the fire dispersed the wildlife to other parts.<br />
Although there is food, the burned forest is hot and there is no cover, either for shade or for hiding.<br />
Lots of Ceonothus. The stems th<strong>at</strong> stick out above the snow are killed back, and this was often<br />
evident. Lots of fireweed.<br />
Rode up Hobnail Tom <strong>Trail</strong>. Rode by a pack bridge, lunched, and rode by North Fork Cabin.<br />
Stopped <strong>at</strong> North Fork Falls, which could only partly be seen from our side.
Camped <strong>at</strong> Sarto Creek, in fl<strong>at</strong>s near river. Very good campground. Lichens, old man's beard, had<br />
surprisingly re-grown on the dead timber.<br />
Rode 11 miles today.<br />
3 deer in camp.<br />
August 1, Friday.<br />
Packer boots are a cross between a riding boot and a hiking boot, which many like in Montana.<br />
Packed up and on the trail. Reached Carmichael Cabin, and stopped there. A sheepherder built<br />
it. He had 4,000 sheep in Depression days here. (We camped here on return trip.)<br />
Climbed steadily through the morning, and lunched on top. Lovely up top, with nice view, nice day.<br />
Then descended below the cliff, which is the south end of the Chinese Wall. Two mule deer under<br />
the ledge some distance away, in spectacular setting. The first had enormous antlers, a big buck.<br />
Rode through one basin and over to the next, which is Half Moon Basin, where we camped several<br />
days, in spectacular setting. We first tried to camp <strong>at</strong> a lower camp which had been trashed out,<br />
and then rode back up to camp higher. This required riding over and back over a quite swampy<br />
area th<strong>at</strong> the horses had a hard time getting through. L<strong>at</strong>er, we found a way around it th<strong>at</strong> we used<br />
several times.<br />
August 2, S<strong>at</strong>urday.<br />
Rode over to the next basin (Green Fork, of Straight Creek, flowing north) and hiked up Scapego<strong>at</strong><br />
Mountain, <strong>at</strong> least to the pl<strong>at</strong>eau bene<strong>at</strong>h the summit.<br />
Rode by Spring Falls, which flows out of a cave. This is a sort of double falls, flowing out halfway<br />
up the cliff, with a long, high cave behind it. Looks something like gre<strong>at</strong> faucet flow out of a<br />
mountainside, halfway up the mountain. The cave here is reported to be two miles long (Graetz,<br />
p. 41). Pictures of this l<strong>at</strong>er. Also a lake below, which we swam in l<strong>at</strong>er.<br />
Rode horses as far as we could and tied up about tree line. Then we climbed on foot, a steep<br />
climb, skirting a cliff, and then reached a more rolling climb, with several ridges, and some<br />
snowfields. Found a pre-World War II military plane th<strong>at</strong> had crashed in 1938, Smoke found it in<br />
1958, twenty years l<strong>at</strong>er. Some pieces were sc<strong>at</strong>tered around, but most of it, wings and engine in<br />
one place.<br />
Lunched a bit l<strong>at</strong>er, and then came to the top pl<strong>at</strong>eau, and spent an hour or so here. There were<br />
lots of sinkholes on top, and you could toss a rock into some of them and it would be several<br />
seconds before you would hear it hit the bottom.<br />
Some quite pretty little he<strong>at</strong>h gardens here, also with Dodec<strong>at</strong>heon in them.<br />
Down and back to the horses about 5.00, back in camp about 7.00, a good day.<br />
August 3, Sunday. Day in camp to let horses rest. Clark's nutcracker.<br />
Walked down to the swampy area and prowled around. Had lunch down there. Trout in the creeks,<br />
cutthro<strong>at</strong> trout. Clark's nutcracker. Hoary marmots, see below. Columbian ground squirrel,<br />
Spermophilus columbianus, a big one, almost like a prairie dog, but with a more bushy tail than a<br />
prairie dog. Found in Montana, Idaho, British Columbia, somewh<strong>at</strong> limited distribution. Robin.
Lots of caves in the Chinese wall face. This is the Lewis overthrust. Limestone.<br />
One out of every four acres of N<strong>at</strong>ional Forest in Montana is wilderness.<br />
S<strong>at</strong>ellites seen in the sky both nights, quite bright.<br />
The second star of the Big Dipper is double. Indians used to separ<strong>at</strong>e out those who had eyesight<br />
good enough to be braves this way.<br />
August 4, Monday. Day ride around Halfmoon Peak.<br />
Rode down Halfmoon Creek, then turned to go down Straight Creek, and reached Green Fork<br />
cabin, where the Green Fork (of Straight Creek) leaves. Lunched there, with some backpackers.<br />
Rode up the Green Fork to the lake down from the falls coming out from the cave. Walked up a bit<br />
toward the falls (pix), and then came back for a swim. The lake has leeches in it.<br />
The ride was 9-10 miles, a little of it (the Straight Creek part) on the Continental Divide <strong>Trail</strong>.<br />
Horses are built to go uphill better than downhill.<br />
rain in the night.<br />
August 5. Tuesday.<br />
Packed up and began the ride out.<br />
5 hoary marmots (Marmota calig<strong>at</strong>a) on the highline ride under the wall. This marmot is from<br />
Alaska down to northern Montana, barely, and is found in the high mountains. It has a whiter<br />
(hoary) head and shoulders, with black on the head, not so on the Yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota<br />
flaviventris) of most of the Western U.S., also in Montana, but hardly here. Interestingly, the<br />
eastern woodchuck (Marmota monax) swings around up from the Eastern U.S. and across Canada<br />
and is found in bits of Idaho. See distribution maps, Burt and Grossenheider. Another one is<br />
confined to the Olympics.<br />
If the horse walks away from you when mounting, grab her mane good with the reins holding her<br />
up tight, and she won't move while you get on.<br />
Walked downhill past the divide for about a mile and a half. Smoke said it was too steep to ride the<br />
horses down.<br />
Golden eagle perched in a tree as we crossed the divide.<br />
Grouse perched in burned tree as we walked the horses past.<br />
Ride of about 8 miles. Camped <strong>at</strong> Carmichael cabin. Pancakes, now six mornings in a row.<br />
Smoke cooks quite a breakfast.<br />
Bill and I took a stroll in the woods for an hour or so. Olive-sided flyc<strong>at</strong>cher. Fawn with white<br />
spots, seemed young for this l<strong>at</strong>e in the season.<br />
August 6, Wednesday. Ride out, about 14 miles. Out about 3.30 p.m., good but uneventful ride<br />
out.<br />
Total ride about 65 miles.
Shuttle back to Missoula, arriving about 5.30 p.m. Osprey on nest on telephone pole on the way<br />
back.<br />
Supper with Andrew Light, and friend from <strong>University</strong> of Alberta, Edmonton, in medical ethics.<br />
August 7, Thursday. Bill caught the shuttle to the airport, and I drove home. Left 6.00 a.m., and<br />
drove 875 miles, arriving 9.20 p.m. Long drive. Nighthawks were striking in the sky over Wyoming<br />
<strong>at</strong> dusk.<br />
Arrive Ft. Collins to pick up the pieces after the flood.<br />
I had the fire in Montana while the flood was in Ft. Collins, and hope th<strong>at</strong> the pestilence and famine<br />
and other apocalyptic events can be postponed.<br />
Graetz, Rick, Bob Marshall Country. Helena, Mt: Rick Graetz, publisher, Montana Magazine, 1985.<br />
ISBN 0-938314-15-7. A good book. Copy in CSU library.<br />
Moore, Bud, The Lochsa Story: Land Ethics in the Bitterroot Mountains. Missoula, Mt: Mountain<br />
Press Publishing Co., 1996. The Lochsa country is a region of the Bitterroot Mountains, Idaho.<br />
Moore is a forester with the U.S. Forest Service.<br />
Flora seen on the trip:<br />
Abies lasiocarpa, subalpine fir<br />
Acer glabra, Rocky Mountain maple<br />
Achillea, yarrow<br />
Actaea rubra, baneberry<br />
Agroseris, false dandelion<br />
Allium, onion<br />
Alnus, alder<br />
Amelanchier, serviceberry<br />
Antennaria, pussy-toes. Didn't try to sort out the species.<br />
Aquilegia flavescens, columbine. All yellow up here, no blue ones.<br />
Arabis, sp. Rock cress<br />
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Kinnikinick, Bearberry<br />
Arenaria, sand-wort, several species<br />
Artemisia, sagebrush<br />
Aster, asters, several species, but I didn't try to separ<strong>at</strong>e them.<br />
Aulacomnium palustre, Bog moss<br />
Balsamorhiza sagitt<strong>at</strong>a, balsamroot, though not in flower<br />
Betula glandulosa, bog birch<br />
Campanula uniflora, harebell<br />
Campanula rotundifolia, harebell<br />
Castilleja, paintbrush<br />
Ceanothus velutinus, lots of it, often enough to give an odor to the woods.<br />
Cerastium sp. Mouse-ear chickweed<br />
Circium foliosum, elk thistle<br />
Claytonia, spring beauty<br />
Clem<strong>at</strong>is columbiana, clem<strong>at</strong>is<br />
Cornus stolifera. Dogwood
Delphinium sp., larkspur<br />
Dodec<strong>at</strong>heon pulchellum, Shooting star. Often quite nice.<br />
Dryas octopetala, Mountain dryad.<br />
Epilobium angustifolim, fireweed. Lots of it.<br />
Epilobium glaberrimum, Northern willow-herb<br />
Erigeron, fleabane<br />
Eriogonum sp., buckwhe<strong>at</strong><br />
Eritrichium nanum, Alpine forget-me-not<br />
Erythronium grandiflorum, Glacier lily<br />
Fragaria virginiana, strawberry<br />
Frasera speciosa, Monument plant. Green gentian<br />
Gaillardia, gaillardia<br />
Galium, bedstraw<br />
Geranium, geranium<br />
Gentiana calycosa, mountain gentian, blue gentian<br />
Habenaria, bog orchid<br />
Heraculum sphondylium = lan<strong>at</strong>um, cow parsnip<br />
Hieracium aurantiacum, hawkweed, the orange one<br />
Hieracium, sp. a yellow one.<br />
Hypericum sp., St. John's wort<br />
Juniperus communis, juniper<br />
Larix, larch<br />
Linanthus septentrionalis. Linanthus (no common name). filiform stems, tiny white blossoms.<br />
Leaves appear as a whorl of linear leaf segments, interpreted as two deeply divided <strong>at</strong> the nodes.<br />
Calyx has green costa and hyaline segements betwen. I had to key this one when I got home.<br />
Harrington doesn't show it; Weber finds it in North Park. pix, Rickett. From the Halfmoon campsite<br />
area.<br />
Linium lewisii, blue flax<br />
Linnaea borealis, twinflower<br />
Lonicera involucr<strong>at</strong>a, Twinberry honeysuckle<br />
Lupinus sericeus, silky lupine<br />
Mahonia repens, Holly-Grape. Oregon-grape.<br />
Menziesia ferruginea, Menziesia<br />
Mimulus sp, a good-sized yellow one.<br />
Mysotis alpestris, Alpine Forget-me-not<br />
Osmorhiza, sweet cicely, tho Smoke calls it wild licorice<br />
Parnassia fimbri<strong>at</strong>a, parnassia. Especially nice on this trip.<br />
Pedicularis racemosa, lousewort, the white one, Parrot's beak<br />
Pedicularis groenlandica, Elephantella<br />
Penstamon sp., several.<br />
Perideridia gairdneri, yampa, a small white umbellifer.<br />
Phacelia sericea, Silky phacelia<br />
Phlox multiflora, phlox<br />
Phyllodoce empetriformis, pink mountain he<strong>at</strong>h, mountain he<strong>at</strong>her. Splendid in the little rock<br />
"gardens" <strong>at</strong> the top pl<strong>at</strong>eau of Scapego<strong>at</strong> Mountain. This one is not in <strong>Colorado</strong>.<br />
Picea engelmanii, Engleman spruce<br />
Pinus albicaulis, whitebark pine<br />
Pinus contorta, lodgepole pine<br />
Pinus flexilis, limber pine<br />
Pinus ponderosa, ponderosa pine<br />
Polygonum bistortoides, American bistort
Polygonum viviparum, Alpine Bistort<br />
Polytrichum, sp. haircap moss<br />
Populus tremuloides, aspen<br />
Potentialla fruticosa (= Pentaphylloides floribunda), Shrubby cinquefoil<br />
Prunella vulgaris, Heal-all<br />
Puls<strong>at</strong>illa p<strong>at</strong>ens = Anemone multifida, in Dorn. Seen only in seed, but seen often.<br />
Pseudotsuga menziesii, Doug fir<br />
Pyrola aserifolia, Pink alpine pyrola<br />
Ranuculus, buttercup, various species<br />
Ranuculus adoneus, snow buttercup<br />
Ribes, sp, currants, gooseberries<br />
Rosa woodsii, rose<br />
Rubus parviflorus, thimbleberry<br />
Rubus idaeus, raspberry<br />
Salix, willow<br />
Salix nivalis = reticul<strong>at</strong>a. Snow willow.<br />
Sambucus, elderberry<br />
Saxifraga, saxifrage, several of these<br />
Saxifraga brochialis, Spotted saxifrage. like a large moss<br />
Sedum, stonecrop spp.<br />
Senecio triangularis, Arrow-leaved groundsel. Common.<br />
Shepherdia, buffaloberry<br />
Silene acaulis, Moss campion<br />
Solidago, goldenrod<br />
Sorbus, mountain-ash<br />
Spiraea, Spiraea. Everywhere<br />
Symphoriocarpus, snowberry<br />
Swertia perennis, star gentian. Purple, in the wet areas. Tricky, really a sympet, but looks like a<br />
polypet. But the twin hair glands are there <strong>at</strong> base of petals (= lobes).<br />
Thalictrum, sp. Meadow Rue. Common<br />
Thalspi alpestre, alpine candy tuft<br />
Tragopogon, sp., go<strong>at</strong>sbeard<br />
Vaccinium, vaccinium, whortleberry<br />
Valeriana, Valerian<br />
Verbascum thapsus, mullein<br />
Ver<strong>at</strong>rum viride, False hellebore<br />
Veronica sp., speedwell<br />
Vicia, vetch<br />
Xerophyllum tenax, beargrass. But not especially in bloom.<br />
Zygadenus sp., De<strong>at</strong>h-camus. Especially nice on this trip.<br />
Still nursing the sore knee, which wasn't done any good by the horseback ride.<br />
August 12, Tuesday. Hike to Gem Lake in RMNP, leading a group from the Society for<br />
Contemporary Philosophy, about fifteen. Very pleasant, with enough thre<strong>at</strong> of rain to make it<br />
exciting, but none really fell. Nice coyote on way out <strong>at</strong> MacGregor Ranch.<br />
September 19, 97. Red fox, seen on way out to Giles' trailer, <strong>at</strong> the railroad tracks just before
entering his trailer park. After dark, seen in headlights. It ran across the road, and then turned<br />
around and ran back. Quite red, long bushy tail straight out as it ran.<br />
September 29, <strong>1997</strong>. Jane saw three racoons on the street near the house, in the dark, coming<br />
home in the car.<br />
October 19, <strong>1997</strong>. Alamosa N<strong>at</strong>ional Wildlife Refuge with Jerry Freeman and Jim Gilmore, and<br />
Jane. I spoke there the afternoon and evening before for Jerry Freeman. Jim Gilmore is wildlife<br />
sculptor, former rancher there. Birding on the refuge for a couple hours. Gadwalls, many of them.<br />
Canada geese, a few. Widgeon, flicker, loggerhead shrike, blubird, kestral, marsh hark, kinglet,<br />
migr<strong>at</strong>ing in shrubs, mountain chickadee, meadowlark, pied-billed grebe, lesser yellowlegs, gre<strong>at</strong>er<br />
yellowlegs, snipe, gre<strong>at</strong> horned owl, goldlen eagle - nice flew up over road, magpie, redwings,<br />
prairie falcon. Then back into town and drove north of town to find some sandhill cranes, found<br />
about two dozen of them, also calling. Two cottontails.<br />
Half a dozen deer. One beaver seen nicely swimming in a wetland pond. Freeman is a co-author<br />
of the <strong>Colorado</strong> B<strong>at</strong>s book, leads an annual tour here to w<strong>at</strong>ch Mexican free tailed b<strong>at</strong>s coming out<br />
of a mine north of the Gre<strong>at</strong> Sand Dunes. Shrub common in dry fields here they call chico, which<br />
is greasewood, Sarcob<strong>at</strong>us vermicul<strong>at</strong>us (Chenopodiaceae), abundant on alkaline fl<strong>at</strong>s, poisonous<br />
containing calcium oxal<strong>at</strong>e, nevertheless a useful forage plant if the diet is mixed and sheep do not<br />
graze in pure stands. Also much Atriplex.