Unknown Mongolia : a record of travel and exploration in north-west Mongolia and Dzungaria . itssummit. For the first four miles a thick cedar-forest, ofthe usual impenetrable nature, hindered our progress,and necessitated leading our horses. Rocks, soft grounds,and fallen timber did their best to obstruct us, and theusual difficulty of obtaining a view caused us to followa very circuitous route. At a higher altitude the deadtimber formed one of the most troublesome obstaclesthat nature could successfully place, in order to impedethe progress of man. The trees generally fall in a givendirectio
Unknown Mongolia : a record of travel and exploration in north-west Mongolia and Dzungaria . itssummit. For the first four miles a thick cedar-forest, ofthe usual impenetrable nature, hindered our progress,and necessitated leading our horses. Rocks, soft grounds,and fallen timber did their best to obstruct us, and theusual difficulty of obtaining a view caused us to followa very circuitous route. At a higher altitude the deadtimber formed one of the most troublesome obstaclesthat nature could successfully place, in order to impedethe progress of man. The trees generally fall in a givendirection, and in the fall they tear up their roots, whichstand erect, thus forming a tangled net-work resemblingthe most impassable fence. It invariably happenedthat our line of march was in a diagonal direction tothese barricades, so their interfering qualities can wellbe imagined. Emerging from the tree-zone at 5,400 ft., we found analpine lake of exceptional beauty, situated in a rockycirque ; here we left our Russian horseman in chargeof our belongings, whilst Price and I, alone, continued. u s < v 2£ THE HAUNTS OF THE URIANKHAI 139 the ascent on foot. With ruck-sacks on our backs,we climbed over rock-skrees to where the giant forestdwindled to mere dwarfed scrub-like bushes,—miniaturepines bent and deformed by continual winds and incle-ment weather. Beyond the limit of tree-growth we hadthree hours stiff climbing over granite boulders, devoidof growth, and did not actually reach the summit tillpast five in the evening. In consequence we had butlittle time for taking panoramic views, compass-bearings,and altitudes ; however, the lights at this late hourcompensated us for all other shortcomings, the viewswe obtained from the summit of Ulu-taiga being beyondour hopes. The highest pinnacle of Ulu-taiga was a rocky cone,steep-sided on the south and west, and dropping offsheer on the east and north. As was the case in ourprevious experiences of the taigas, we were consciousagain
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjecthunting, bookyear1914
