I woke up this morning thinking that today was going to be a difficult clothes day. I peeked out my window and saw the sun shining in a bright blue clear sky. That the sky was clear was not too surprising as I could hear a fierce wind blowing. No cloud had a chance of staying in one place with the way the wind was howling past my window. In addition our trek was going to take us up to over 3800 meters so I knew the basic temperatures would be on the chilly side. Hence my clothes dilemma- high altitude, sun, and brisk wind all combined meant ample opportunity to be both hot and cold simultaneously. In addition, as I lay there with these thoughts running through my head I was warm and toasty in my sleeping bag, in an unheated, distinctly cool room so I knew my judgement was going to be most likely off. In the end I went for over-dressed because 1) I am a lizard, 2) once I handed my bag over to Bulram I would not see it until we stopped for the day which meant anything in it would be inaccessible and 3) you can always peel layers. So I armed myself for the day with the long sleeve shirt and fleece jacket I had slept in, my down jacket, fleece tights under my hiking pants, a neck gaiter, a wool hat with ear flaps (I had bought in Peru) and gloves. It was pretty much all of the warm weather gear I had brought with me. I knew I was going to get hot at some point and have to start peeling but I also was pretty sure I was not going to get cold!

The final clothing config. Yes, I know the hat looks funny but it does a great job shielding me from the sun.

After packing I headed over to the dining room, again which served as the living quarters of the family that owns the tea house, for breakfast. This morning I decided to try the Tibetan bread with yak cheese. It sounded very similar to a Georgian (the Caucus country) dish called Xhachapori (that is likely not spelled right, even in transliteration) that is basically a really good stuffed cheese bread. No matter what culture’s cuisine I have explored, two staples that I have always found are some kind of cheese and bread combination and some kind of pastry like thing with apples in it. Perhaps there are some areas of the world where you cannot find these two items but I have yet to visit those places. Anyway, I wanted to try the local variation on cheese bread. The bread came as a thin plate size round pancake and the yak’s cheese was folded inside. The cheese was firm, not gooey, but I liked the flavor. For the most part it was ok, but it needed more cheese. Of course, that is something I can say about almost anything so perhaps I am not giving the cook credit. There was some peanut butter sitting on the table and I added some to half the bread, mainly because I knew I was going to need the energy, not because I thought peanut butter and yak’s cheese would make a great combination. I decided I could eat gourmet later; at that moment it was all about energy. (It actually was not that bad.)

The village at the end of the world, or at least at the end of the valley…..

We set out after breakfast walking into the wind, headed to the last stop in the valley, a small village with a collection of last set of tea houses available for trekkers. Traveling beyond the village you run into a mountain and beyond the mountain is Tibet. But to get to Tibet you have to pass over the mountain which is not easy at it requires climbing skills, even through the pass. The hike itself was only about four hours with an altitude gain of about 600 or so meters so the morning progressed leisurely. For some reason I thought we were going to get to the endpoint, eat lunch and walk back, but we actually are staying in the village overnight. I had misunderstood Prem and was pleasantly surprised, when we arrived around noon, to find out we were done for the day. I was excited to have some rest time!

The altitude gain was slow and steady with a smooth path so the walking was pleasant. After about 30 minutes the fleece jacket came off. After another 20 the down jacket was replaced by the windbreaker and the neck gaiter came off. Finally after another 20 minutes the tights came off. This was tricky as I had to go find a place to peel the hiking pants off first- never a dull moment! I replaced the wool hat with the sun hat and peeled the gloves and I was set for the rest of the morning. It never ceases to amaze me when I hike how much clothing adjustment is necessary (and important to manage well). Think how complicated our lives would be if we had to do this every day.

A close up of just one small section of the long memorial wall that we passed.

As we walked along we passed a very long monument, called a Mane Wall, which is erected as memorials to departed loved ones with a dual purpose of containing offerings to the Buddha. The flat stones that make up the sides of the wall have inscriptions in the rock and some pieces are painted. Prem mentioned that the wall we were passing, which was broken up into many discrete parts, was one of the longest in Nepal. The rule is to always pass the wall on the left out of respect so the path split in these areas, and of course, we walked on the left. We also passed another Buddhist site, a small functioning water driven prayer wheel, as we crossed a small stream. Approaching the village, we passed two larger stupas with prayer flags, one decorated richly with white wash and a gold dome. The village itself hosted a monastery so there was a strong mountain Buddhist presence in the valley. It was near the monastery that Prem and I hung the prayer flag my staff had given me as a going away present. It is nice to think that the prayer flag will be blowing in the wind on behalf of human exploration of our universe.

One of the two stupas that we passed.

The “Aerospace” prayer flag. (Its the new one, brightly colored)

The best word to describe the scenery is “expansive”. Surrounding the valley are many 7000 meter plus peaks, some of which contain glaciers, and as we climbed up the valley more and more of these became visible. With the clear sky, the views in every direction were fantastic and awe-inspiring. You can’t help but feel very tiny boxed in by such illustrations of the huge expanse of our planet! There was a steady stream of traffic in both directions today as well but we all looked like ants crawling across a pebbly soil, as we were completely dwarfed by our environment.

One of the two glaciers that are easily visible. Prem told me they have been retreating dramatically.

We arrived at the tea house at lunch time. The village has a plethora of tea houses, Prem tells me almost 30, many of them newly rebuilt after the earthquake. The same family that ran the tea house we stayed at last night runs the tea house we are staying at tonight and so some familiar faces were on hand to greet us when we arrived. (They had departed earlier than we had to get here ahead of us.) For lunch I tried the cheese chowmein (cheese seemed to be a theme today) and sat in the sun for some time, soaking it in while watching the clouds start to form around the nearby peaks. It was very peaceful. The only problem was that the clouds were going to shortly block out the sun, leaving me to the mercy of the cold wind. Not having an agenda for the rest of the day, as soon as the sun disappeared I decided it was the perfect time for a nap; the lure of the two large warm looking blankets in my room certainly was no factor in that decision….I was happy to spend a lazy afternoon relaxing.

Just one of the many great views available.

Now it is evening and as I am sitting here in the dining room, near the now operating wood burning stove, writing today’s account. I need to report that it just started snowing. The snowflakes are big and healthy and the snow fall is steady, although Prem does not think there will be any accumulation. I am not sure I believe him but am happy to be inside! (No wonder I was cold earlier!) We’ll see what tomorrow will bring, but I am really even more grateful for those two wonderful blankets than I was earlier.