Bau Sau

Tuesday, September 22, 2008

Crocodile Lake

This morning I went with the botany class out to Bau Sau (Bo S0). We took a big truck out to the lake, and on the way saw a douc jump from one tree to another right on the side of the road! I need to have my camera out and ready for unexpected and amazing things like this! 

Once we arrived at the trailhead, we got suited up and began our walk. The hike is 5k, or a bit more than 3 miles. We started out slowly, looking at the trees and collecting samples of the leaves. Then we had to pick up the pace- it would've taken us several hours to get there if we had continued poking along! About halfway there we came upon a BIG tree! Oh my gosh! I have never seen a tree so big! I love the idea of big trees- a living thing that has been on Earth for hundreds of years, maybe untouched, but standing strong through endless changes to the world around it. One thing I must do is go visit the Redwood Forest in California. I think I would be moved to tears there! 

After the big, beautiful tree, we went pretty quickly out to the lake. Most of the trail was very wet and kind of slippery. There is a big boardwalk out to the ranger station, and a last little stretch of trail that has orange soil! I saw some deer tracks in the soil here, but those were the only signs of animals- no monkeys or gibbons. 

Once we arrived at the ranger station, which overlooks the lake, we had lunch. It was incredible! The rain clouds came in over the lake, sprinkling a bit as we ate. Just before we left, some larger, darker clouds were coming, and they brought a great deal of rain as we nearly ran the 5k back to the road.