Unfathomably mammoth mountains, in
size, scope and nature, surround your being. Perceived through two tiny
intelligent eyes, gifted to our species, and walked among with a set of
deceivingly capable, and rightly determined legs. Distance and weight
take on new meanings when the terrain refuses to be level, and ‘just around the
corner’ seems like a most unfair expression.
The crow bypasses the ground terrain
as humans do while in urbanized setting.
Floating by on a gentle wind ignorant of the rock and circumstance below,
or rather viewing it with an unaffected countenance. When walking, one
step at a time, one accepts the challenge and is engaged in conscious effort to
attain knowledge and growth through the connection of feet on the bare earth.
And while the mind will play tricks
and suggest suffering and delude you with memories of sandy sunkissed beaches
and playing ball on flat low elevation where breathing was simpler and lemonade
was chilling in a fridge, I dare you not to feel the presence of the snow (sometimes
ice) covered giants. It was with a
present mind that I tried to stay in with my walk, but it certainly has the tendency
to wander: like our feet, our dreams, like all the endless possibilities that
await us on down the road.
Landscape and time never fail to define
a culture, such as those that lived in the Himalayas for the last thousand
years. It is always apparent in varying degrees – more directly in
history before globalization, airplanes, fuel, telephones and the like. What we need to survive has always been
cultivated from the land and within walking distance. A combination of flowing water year round, availability
to cultivate or harvest fresh food and dried food for storage, and timber for
shelter and wood for cooking and keeping warm in the cold nights. In the modern Himalayas, culture with a
touristic twist, reigns supreme, and the people added as much warmth to the
trek as the sun that peaked the mountains in the mid morning: allowing you once
again to recall what it is like to have feeling in your fingers.
15 years ago, when I began dreaming of walking in such a place, this trek would have
been completely different. Though like
any walk in life, it is how you approach it and how you are received by it that
creates your experience. The developing
world has reached its aggressive hand with large and noisy Chinese Construction
sites, and a road that has found its way to around 2500 meters. Dero, Tshampa Porridge, Chhang (local
alcohol), Buckwheat Bread, Rice, Potato Tarkaari, Tibetan tea and Black Tea,
and Yak Meat now have company on the menu.
Most of the new guesthouses cater to trekkers with menus that include a
breakfast of eggs and potatoes or muesli, as well as french fries and a version
of pizza. These goods are transported
through roads on jeeps to their limit and then carried by mules (taking on
daily loads of roughly 70 kilo loads at a time), to the villagers and
guesthouses at higher altitudes.
The path may be well walked too,
though depending on time of year, the time you leave your previous night’s
dwelling, and which trails you traverse, you can find yourself with hardly
seeing a tourist for days. Although part
of the interesting international vibe of the trip is meeting incredible people
from different backgrounds and sharing in this experience for entirely
different or perhaps similar reasons. We were lucky too, to have some knowledge
of the culture and language after living in Nepal for a short while. Nepali culture is very enthusiastic and
genuinely receiving to those who have made the effort to learn the language
(not merely an action to cater to tourists).
We were able to stay in home stays where the owners did not know any English,
and view amazing Gurung (the predominant local caste of this mountain range) communities.
We stayed in a few villages that
were well over 500 years established, often the Stupa (temple) would still be
standing, and these people, put simply, have figured it out. The way of life was basically unaffected by advancement
of the road, the food was perfect, the villagers were hardworking and the
community was simple and peaceful. It
was interesting to view these villages in light of the ones I have worked in
with the NGO. These Gurung communities,
though much further away from civilization, would appear to be much more
developed.
Some highlights:
We began our walking just before 7 am on longer days or enjoyed the slow mornings and warmer weather when at higher altitudes and took a later start. We rotated between eating at guesthouses, order small pots (7 cups of tea in each), or cooking up our own oats and nuts or soup and noodles on the campstove. We had days of 1000 m plus ascends and 1500 m descends, and were on foot with packs for 4 to 7 hours a day. We encountered many animals, including being surrounded by 100 yaks while trying to enjoy a midday tomato soup, and caught paw prints of what must have been a snow leopard. We walked to snowed over frozen lakes, and stayed warm by the fire in an unexpected snow storm. We spent one night at 5,000 meters (16,000 feet) and will be perfectly content if a long period of time elapses before sleeping at such an elevation again. We watched a film at 3,500 meters in a day of rest to help with acclimatization and always relished the feeling of arriving at the guest house and putting down the pack for the evening. Viewing ranges of mountains jutting into the sky from 6,000-8000 meters. Twice staying in a guest house suggested by two different folks named "Karma."
We began our walking just before 7 am on longer days or enjoyed the slow mornings and warmer weather when at higher altitudes and took a later start. We rotated between eating at guesthouses, order small pots (7 cups of tea in each), or cooking up our own oats and nuts or soup and noodles on the campstove. We had days of 1000 m plus ascends and 1500 m descends, and were on foot with packs for 4 to 7 hours a day. We encountered many animals, including being surrounded by 100 yaks while trying to enjoy a midday tomato soup, and caught paw prints of what must have been a snow leopard. We walked to snowed over frozen lakes, and stayed warm by the fire in an unexpected snow storm. We spent one night at 5,000 meters (16,000 feet) and will be perfectly content if a long period of time elapses before sleeping at such an elevation again. We watched a film at 3,500 meters in a day of rest to help with acclimatization and always relished the feeling of arriving at the guest house and putting down the pack for the evening. Viewing ranges of mountains jutting into the sky from 6,000-8000 meters. Twice staying in a guest house suggested by two different folks named "Karma."
I have put together a gear
list. And a trip itinerary. Though I will not post it here.
If you find yourself hiking in the Annaporna Range or in subtropical alpine
regions, I’d be happy to share my experience and recommend some things you may
or may not need, and specific side trails and home stays.
The trip was beautiful and a
fulfilled dream of many years of wanting to hike around in the Himalayas. I am very grateful to have done it. And feel very lucky to have found someone special and not done it alone. A dream in a dream.
