Nepal: The Trek (part 9) 

I woke up feeling much better.  This would be the last day on the trail and there was still quite a bit of distance to cover.  I walked into the mess hall for breakfast only to find the mother and daughter from Tennessee there as well.  We compared our past few days and then chatted a bit about nothing in true southern fashion... it was nice.

This last leg of the trek was beautiful.  While we were simply backtracking 75% of the journey, I was so focused on the physical aspect of the trek on the first two days, that much of this scenery seemed new to me.  There were more fuzzy trees that seemed on the brink of coming to life, winding blue rivers, pastures filled with livestock, and  waterfalls.

There were also meadows of marijuana... yes, that's right. 

These marajuana fields completely caught me off guard.  The herb was so prolific that I asked the guide at least half a dozen times if he was sure thats what it was.  Bear in mind that I had all the time in the world to think on this trek, and the fields of weed were not spared the analytical nature of my mind.  These plants would have been woth over a million dollars... easily. And yet here they sat, unguarded, untouched... the locals weren't flocking to sell it; or use it.   It was so naturally abundant that it made me laugh inside at how horrible this plant has been made out to be; all the negative things we have been preconditioned to associate with the image of these leaves.  And in the moment, it struck me at how silly it all seemed.    To me, instead of making something relatively harmless illegal and villifying it, at some point people should be held accountable for their abuses of certain things and their actions while using them. This is just a natural plant afterall... not cocain, not LSD, heck, not even alcohol.   Anyway, these were my thoughts looking at beautiful fields of the plant in an idyllic setting.  I'm sure, if instead I had seen a pasture of lazy bums smoking weed I would have had the complete opposite reaction.

The marijuanna meadows definitely threw me for a loop and I spent most of the day thinking about my opinions on the matter and listening to my guide talk about the role of marijuana in their religion.  Apparently Shiva loved the stuff, and there's a day where everyone (including the children and elderly) all eat/smoke/drink weed in order to celebrate their god. Again, this is completely cross-cultural to me, and only made me think even more...  Children?!?!?  The feds would have a field day with that one!

Nepal: The Trek (part 8) 

After a night of strangely fascinating dreams, I was almost afraid to hit the internal snooze button.  Instead of drifting back to sleep, I ordered breakfast and walked around the small village for a few last-minute snaps of the shutter.  There were gray clouds seeping in through the valley and while they too, made for great photos, I was grateful for the past few days of clarity.

We were set to make our trek back to Kathmandu which would take 1/2 the time it took to reach the peak.  In other words, for every 2 days ascending, the descent would only take 1.  There was an upcoming holiday in Kathmandu and my guide mentioned that he had never been able to make it because he was always in the mountains.  I was full of energy at the time and said I wouldn't mind hiking for 10 hours to make it back for the festival.    This was defintiely an altitude induced mistake because I didn't realize at the time that going down did such a number on the knees.  A horrible number, like 4 8 15 16 23 42.  Easier on the muscles; yes.  But far far worse on the joints.   In the course of only 1 downhill hour, I had been transformed into a 90 year old man trying to walk down a few steps.

I eased the irritating joint pain by letting my mind wander in it's altitude intoxicated state.  These thoughts were either moments of clarity or sheer psychotic... probably a mix of both.  From the Ipod:

- If an American saw a scrapbook of my life they'd either think I was really interesting or weird. Either way, they'd definitely be able to place some type of judgement on it.  A beggar in India wouldn't understand most of what he saw and perhaps would only think I had too much money... Perspectives are fascinating.  (definitely altitude induced, but possibly a decent thought)

- I want a family in the near future and the tradeoffs scare me.  (probably altitude induced)

- I don't miss the cold as much as I thought. (true at the time)

- My parents are the most admirable people I know. (definitely true)

When my guide realized I was in no mood to continue on after a mere 5 hours, he was visually unhappy despite all polite attempts to hide it.  I'm sure he wasn't thrilled about missing the holiday (again), but he had also lent his mp3 player to some local girls he met along the trail.  He had arranged to meet them at the final town later on that night in order to retrieve his device.  I felt bad about getting his hopes up, but my legs felt worse.  Moreover, 2 hours into the trek I had more than hinted  that perhaps the 10 hour goal seemed a bit lofty.  I also felt bad about the mp3 player, but honestly, who gives their valuable electronics to strangers?!?!?!

The day ended with an early dinner, sore knees, and a heavy dose of solid sleep.

Nepal: The Trek (part 7) 

My thoughts prior to sleeping last night were quite nostalgic.  While I was thoroughly enjoying my time in the Himalayas, I missed America; I missed Bangkok.  And it wasn't so much that I would have rather been in either of those places, as it was that I was aware of how happy certain aspects of those locations made me.  If there's anything I've learned in the past three years, it's to enjoy the moment for what it is, good, bad, exhilarating... even boring.  All too often I find myself racing through the present on to the next thing.  And well, memories are great and all, but embracing the moment for what it is... that's a talent, a skill that must be honed to perfection.    Anyway thoughts like these used to flood my mind quite a bit before finally drifting off to sleep.  I suppose they've been killed off recently by the stresses of adulthood... replaced by thoughts of work and planning for the future.  But this was holiday, and all the unpleasant concerns of adulthood were several plane rides away.  I slept like a baby (one of the sleepy ones).

The next morning we woke up early, had a huge breakfast and set out for what promised to be another amazing day.  We were hiking to our final destination; a place by the name of Kanjing Gumpa.  While I was aware that my brain was working in a slightly different manner, hindsight shows that I was obviously enjoying the altitude.  It's quite funny to read the notes I took on my ipod.  Here they are verbatim:

April 12,

- 5th day, hiked to Kanjing Gumpa

- annoying Nepalese girl followed us.  "She sounded like a drunken piano playing different songs, but always sounding out-of-tune"

- sun baked me like the chocolate cake I had been craving so badly

- hiked to peak: worried about the drastic increase in altitude

- most incredible natural thing I've seen.  the mountain was breathtaking- 5000 meters does a number on your lungs, but it was so incredibly beautiful.

A prayer turn-wheel set in a small stream.
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Such a happy snowman.
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Prayer flags at the peak.
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The altitude also had an effect on my dreams.  Aside from the fact that I usually don't have any, they were plentiful and particularly vivid and odd.  One was about my cousin Justin setting fire to my grandmother's shed and what appeared to be her new house.  Suddenly it was my sister who had done it and I was yelling at her while looking at my scorched stuffed bobcat (which I actually do have).   I also dreamed about going on a date with this girl I used to like from the U.S.  What makes these dreams so weird is that my sister and cousin are both great people and I hated the fact that my mind caused them to do such a terrible thing- and then get angry at them for it. It's also bizzarre that my mind sent me out on a date with a girl I no longer have feelings for.   The emotions in these dreams were incredibly strong and this is what made them so memorable and puzzling to me.

 
Panoramic photo from the peak (10 combined photos)
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Nepal: The Trek (part 6) 

This morning was my favorite because I got to sleep in. It's amazing how such a little thing instantly sets the stage for a great day.  Today was a rest day, and while I certainly could have kept going, it was nice to relax and enjoy the surroundings (It was also needed for altitude adjustment).  I spent most of the morning cuddled up in my sleeping bag finishing The Kite Runner.  It's a depressing novel set in war-torn Afghanistan.  The story is gripping by itself, but the combination of satisfying rest and "altitude happiness" made it a very enjoyable read.  I was so engrossed, that I once looked out the window and was slightly shocked to see the Himalayas instead of a dusty, dilapidated city in the Middle East.

After finishing the book, I had brunch and made my way down towards the river to take some photos.  I think the idea of me hopping around on rocks submerged in a raging river made my guide nervous, so he followed.  Initially I just wanted to be completely isolated, but I'm glad he came because there was no official trail; only paths the yaks used.  Apparently yaks like thorns because their trails went straight through the only vegetation around: massive thorn bushes.  Being pricked every few minutes was a nice reminder, however, that my limbs were not yet numb.  I was trying to be efficient with my battery, but the cold sucks the charge away and the tea houses this far in rarely had a solar outlet.

Lovely thorns guarding the river trail.
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Looking back, leapfrogging across those boulders probably wasn't the safest thing to do.  Had there not been a freezing death trap below me, I'm sure I would have taken the plunge.  Over encumbered by a tripod and a hefty camera strapped to my shoulder, the occasional teetering was inevitable.  The frigid white water below demanded that each movement was precise and certain... there was no room for error.  It was fun!

We then made our way up the cliff, through the thorn trees, and back to the tea house where I promptly took a solar-heated shower and crawled back into my sleeping bag.  I hadn't enjoyed my surroundings this much in quite some time. 

Neighhhhhhh
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Mooooooooooooo
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