By: Sam Hoving, Carleton College
Less than a minute later, I heard a loud crinkle and vigorous scampering, as a vervet monkey climbed his way out of reach into a tree, my chips in tow.
By: Wyatt Skopov-Normane, University of Vermont
Despite the harsh nature of the environments we traversed – high winds, low moisture, frozen soils, among others – I was captivated by the diverse spread of plants and flowers. There were many plants that I learned to identify, but a few stand out as my favorite encounters.
By: Michael Minnick, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
How do animals like grizzlies and moose disappear so easily into the landscape? It felt as though most of the animals were moving through the landscape like ghosts, leaving only hints of their existence for us to see. I think it was this thought that made me realize something: this land and its ecosystems have been here for so much longer than I could truly comprehend.
By: Clare Freid, CSBSJU & Gia Silverman-Randolph, Harper College
Our last week in Mongolia was spent preparing to present our research to the local community […] The day of the presentations, we were running on minimal hours of sleep, but everyone gave very well-articulated, informative presentations. A highlight was getting to see the snow leopard that our camera traps had spotted – a first for any Round River trip!
By: Cade Conahey, Westminster University & Sam Herzig, University of California, Davis
We headed back into the talus to count and measure juvenile and adult Vansemberuu plants across ten plots on the mountain. We accomplished something that no other Round River group has done: We finished all ten plots on the mountain in one day!