Transect Treefall

So, you're halfway through the transect and you've forded the stream and scrambled up a steep slope and you're finally on a little flat (and dry) spot and you think that everything is going to be a little easier for a while - and then you see that the transect line goes straight over a treefall and that the tree is the size of a railroad car. Gulp. [NOTE: The crew hopped right over the treefall; I walked around it].

Tiger Tracks

After we finished the first transect in the VMA, we went down to a little sandy beach along the stream to have our (late) lunch. The following day, after finishing transect two, we decided to go back to that same sandy beach for (an even later) lunch. And that's when the guys saw the tiger tracks. Fresh, from the night before. Tigers in the Village Management Area. Wow. [NOTE: Have never really wanted to meet a tiger in the forest (Yikes!), but I am honored to have seen their tracks and shared a space with them].

Basecamp

This is what basecamp at the Nam Sa Bi VMA (see Nam Sa Bi VMA) looked like. Surprisingly comfortable; constructed on site using local bamboo. Light bulbs powered by a battery charged each day by a small solar panel. That's my yellow duffel (see Duffel Bag) at the last spot on the rightside sleeping platform. Home away from home.

Nam Sa Bi VMA

U Myint Thein from the Myanmar Forest Department shoots a compass line as we lay out out a 100 hectare Village Management Area (VMA) in the forests east of Nam Sa Bi. Extremely steep and rugged terrain and running the baseline was tedious at best. I took a GPS reading at both the first and last stake, and Myint Thein's accumulated error after 2.0 kilometers - across slopes in excess of 100% - was about 8 meters. Really. [NOTE: This is unbelievable precision for a transect rope and hand compass].

The Baseline

Laying out the baseline for the inventory transects at Shinlonga involved setting the first stake (see First Stake) and the last stake (see The Last Stake) and then cutting a straight path through two kilometers of tropical forest. Took several days. A lot of rattan spines, pouring rain, mosquitos, and leeches. And numerous, wonderful interactions (see Tool Repair, Indigenous Knowledge, Shortwing Camp, Crossing Mawning Stream, and Believe Your Eyes). I am so ready to do another one these.   

First Stake

This image is the starting point of this one. The first of 20 stakes set along the baseline of the Village Management Area (VMA) at Shinlonga (see Holding the Rope and Shortwing Camp). Each stake 100 m apart, carefully laid out, and cleared, with slope corrections and paint and flagging. Monumental effort. [NOTE: Judging from the background in the photo, it looks like we had to cut through a rattan thicket to set this stake].