12-Jun-2004 -- 45 N – 129 E Heilongjiang（黑龙江), China

Visit Date: June 12, 2004

After the hunting party was able to reach 45N 128E and 44N 131E on the previous 2 days as part of our trip to Dong Ning City of Heilongjiang, we were driving near 45N 129E on our way back to Harbin toward the later part of day 3 at about 5 pm.

We knew that the confluence point will come the major highway we were on , but it is in a mountainous and remote area, hence we did not expect to find an easy route leading to it.

As luck has it, near the nearest point to the CP on the highway, about 6.8 km away, there was a well established road for the forest reserve (Tiger Peak Forest Reserve) that was heading in the right direction. Even though it was relatively late, we decided to check it out.

The dirt road brought us into a beautiful reserve with hills and meadows, and even after 4 km, as the road narrowed we were still heading in the right direction. We were starting to get our hopes up.

Unfortunately, our luck ran out when we reached a range within 3 km from the CP, the GPS indicated that we were not heading straight toward the point. Eventually we crossed 45N and the point was still 2.6 km due west from us. Other than the fact that the sun was starting to set, the 2.6 remaining km were stretching over a mountain at least 300 meters tall with very dense trees and bushes. Since this was a forest reserve, it was unlikely we would find trails that would bring us closer. We estimated it would take us at least 4-5 hours to fight our way to the CP.

We retreated as the area started to get dark.

We hope to come back sometime and complete the last 2.6 km which will require proper clothing and gloves to negotiate the dense forest.

Rating of this hunt:

Degree of Challenge: 1 – we did the easy part by driving up to 2.6 km from the CP. The last 2-3 km can easily be a 5 judging by the dense growth of trees and bushes (Scale: 1= very easy - drive to the point; to 5= a death march – glad it is over)

Scenery: 4 – a well preserved forest reserve very green and calm (Scale: 1= not interesting at all; 5= take your breath away)

Culture-social factors: 3– Northern China rural setting (Scale: 1=dull; 5= most stimulating)