Stones, soils, and senses (31. July and 1. August)
After another long drive through impressing mountains, we finally found a suitable camp site in a beautiful valley. We have chosen a location near a small grove and close to some hills.
With quite some routine we began setting up our tents, startet collecting firewood and prepared the cooking site. The weather was again not the greatest and after the long day we went to bed early.
The next day, the weather had not improved, but this did not stop us from beginning our field day.
In the morning we laid a transect up the closest mountain. Exciting here was the soil development from a huge variety of mother rocks. Also the age and progress of development itself was interesting for us. We startet in the valley and worked our way up the sometimes quite steep mountains. Our work was rewarded by some interesting soil profiles and also the weather turned out to be better. The sky cleared up gradually, so we had a much better view when we headed back to the camp around noon.
In the afternoon we inspected the other mountain near the camp. It turned out that the mountain itself is a Buddhist sanctuary and thus it was not possible to dig soil profiles. Alternatively, we first looked at the vegetation on very sandy, nutrient-poor soils and later we crossed the mountain from the morning and then hiked around back to camp.
This hike was particulary interesting because we not only deal with pedological aspects, but also took a closer look at the very diverse rocks. Also for the senses, this hike was once again a real eye-catcher. Mongolia again fascinated us with its incredible beauty. In the evening, we played volleyball and finally let the day linger on the campfire for a while enjoying also the stars.