Outer Mongolia (aka DAMN, turt2)

So RGO offered to accompany me on the 3am survey this morning. And it was a darn lucky thing for me that he did, otherwise I might still be out there, searching for Turtle 2. We located and wrote up the first 5 turts easily enough, but then we went after turt2, last seen by KP and Steven somewhere near the paved main road. We wandered farther and farther north, bushwacking through thistle and rockhopping as we went. The signal bounce and fluctuation was absolutely ridiculous. Eventually we happened across a drainage with running water (and lots more large boulders). We went down the drainage and met a very unhappy bull at the bottom. Then we went back up the drainage as the signal faded out. Then we circled around the same area for what seemed like an eternity before eventually finding the little girl buried amid a bunch of dried thistle and rock outcroppings. We took GPS coordinates and then discovered that we were well off the laminated maps that we carry to mark locations. When I located the spot on google earth after I got home, it turn out that turt 2 now holds the distance record. She is ~ .5 mile from the reservoir (as the crow flies, so she trundled a whole lot farther than that). RGO and I were in a bit of disbelief when we finally packed up and headed back down the road. It looks like the turts are done staying close to home...

Turtle 2 in the dirt