At 9 p.m. on September 21, 2009, five months to the day after I'd had my left shoulder surgically repaired so I could again draw a compound bow, my son dropped me off at the Los Angeles International Airport. From there I would fly to Beijing, China, the first leg of my 18-day adventure to bowhunt for Gobi ibex in Mongolia.

We estimated my Gobi ibex at 10 years of age. Pursuit of this animal took me on a fantastic adventure.

I would spend the first five days in China. After reading Neil Summers' article "The Mountain Gives" (Oct/Nov 2005), I, too, wanted to walk on the Great Wall of China and to see some of China's other cultural wonders. I also wanted time for my body to adjust to the 15-hour time difference between my home in San Diego and Asia.

My time in China was full of wonder and amazement, but, with images of big ibex in my mind, I was glad to board my flight to Ulaan Baatar, the capital city of Mongolia, on September 27. After clearing Customs, I met Ariunbold Anand, my Mongolian guide and interpreter, who would turn the next 13 days into some of the most enjoyable days I've ever spent bowhunting.

Because our flight to Dalanzadgad in the Gobi Desert didn't leave until the next day, Ari had a full afternoon planned for us, including sightseeing throughout Ulaan Baatar, a trip through the Natural History Museum, and an amazing traditional Mongolian cultural show in the evening. We ended the day at a restaurant where we enjoyed delicious traditional Mongolian dishes.

The next day we flew to Dalanzadgad, and then we drove four hours to hunting camp.

Having hunted the Southwest U.S. most of my adult life, I couldn't help but notice similarities between the Gobi and the deserts of California and Arizona. At first glance, the Gobi resembles the Forbidden Zone from the 1968 movie Planet of the Apes!

The main hunting camp comprised traditional gers [yurts], circular felt tents used by nomadic Mongolian peoples.

However, hiking in the mountains, you soon learn it is teaming with many bird and mammal species including ibex, argali, and even domesticated Bactrian (two-humped) camels.

Base camp consisted of several Mongolian gers [yurts], traditional circular felt tents historically used by these nomadic people. There we met Tumruu (Tomb-ur-oh) our local guide, Badrakh (Bod-ur-rock) our cook, and Bayaraa (Bye-yur-rah) our driver with his vintage, socialist-era, Russian-made Jeep.

The gers were warm and comfortable, but we spent only a single night there, and at 4:30 a.m. we headed deeper into the mountains with the Russian Jeep to set up a spike camp. As dawn was nearing, we arrived at the spike camp location where Ari, Tumruu, and I set out to find ibex while Badrakh and our driver made camp.

Hiking 45 minutes to the east, we arrived at a place where Tumruu had seen ibex coming to water for several days. This particular spot was bowl-shaped with steep rocky hills on two sides. Near the bottom of the bowl was a shallow, eight-foot-diameter pool of water with a narrow stream trickling down the hill for 50 yards before disappearing into the desert floor.

When forage plants have a high moisture content, Ari told me, ibex can go days without water. However, in recent months, no snow had fallen, and the foraging grasses were so dry now that the ibex were visiting this spring regularly. According to Tumruu, this was the only water for miles.