Section 1 – Days 7 to 10
Day 7-10 GHT 2018 above 4000m I am lying in my tent, a hot water bottle at my feet inside my down sleeping bag. It is snowing outside. Perfect timing. The sky was still blue when we arrived here at camp in Khangpachen about two hours ago. The mountain scale is absolutely breathtaking here! We climbed about 700meters today from Ghunsa (3420m) where we had had a rest day. An absolutely beautiful old village with houses out of wood and pastures and kraals for their animals of which only the goats seemed to be around- the dhjopkes (spelling very doubtful but what they are are a mix between a cow and a yak and they are a little less shaggy and wild looking than a yak and live in slightly lower altitudes.) all seemed to be either busy carrying loads down the valley or be up high on pastures… in Ghunsa I went for a walk through the village and beyond after our acclimatization walk up the little 4000m peak above the village (stunning view!). On my walk I met the village paramedic (for lack of a better word) – a young man who “mans” the health post of the village -one room with limited supply of medicines yet enough to serve the most prominent problems which he explains are colds and bronchitis in the younger ones and hypertension in the above 40ties. He also educates and assists with women’s health issues and is the midwife of the region – he proudly reported to have delivered two babies in the past two months! The health post is one room next to some storage rooms that belong to the school which grounds it is on. On the big open court in front of the main school building a teacher had set up his mini classroom outside. Eight students of all ages (I would say from 6 to16) were sitting on a bench with books in front of them that had drawings of fish on them – the teacher kindly explained he was teaching science and today they were learning about the different animals. All students looked at me with big eyes. I moved on not wanting to disturb their class and soon got to a dilapidated essential oil “factory” set up in a shack that no longer had all its walls intact and looked very neglected inside as well. It had a sign explaining how WWF and other had sponsored it! Probably juniper is what oil is being harvested here because junipers are everywhere. Further down next to a massive chorten I saw a water powered mill that grinds flour. I crossed the river and visited a very old monastery and a beautiful chorten that still contained the old paintings of Buddhas and protector gods like the one hanging around our necks. At the entrance of the village there is a huge mani boulder with “Oh mane Padme om” painted on it- a beautiful sight with the white mountains behind it!
Today’s walk took us along the river (this will be a theme the next five months- really there is either the valley which generally has the rivers or we will be crossing passes and leave the rivers far behind us!) traveling through beautiful juniper forest – mossy and full of witches hair or old man’s beard and in parts still covered in snow so that we had to step carefully not to slip and slide on the sometimes steep slopes.
We had lunch at the most fantastic open space with a view out onto the Kanchenjunga range (although no site of the big one yet- we will have to hike a couple more days before we see her!)
Have I mentioned what lunches look like? Amazing! Always freshly cooked! There will be range of at least four different dishes ranging from fresh salad, soup, chapatis, mixed vegetables, butter beans, green bean salad, thuna salad, sardines in tomato sauce, Tibetan bread or even cinnamon buns!!!! And there will always be a fresh fruit dessert – grapes, apples, oranges or naartjies, local bananas or even pomegranate!! Then there is always hot water for tea and a welcome juice to provide energy upon arrival!!! And if you think that is impressive I have yet to share with you what the dinners look and taste like!!!
So dinner!!! It starts with a hot washcloth steamed in tiger balm that is neatly knotted or folded into some pattern depending on which staff member prepared it! This is wonderful treat after a long day of hiking and it feels best to put it right over your face and let the tiger balm steam clear your sinuses! Afterwards the hands get a good wipe with it and I feel clean and ready for the deliciousness that i know will follow soon! So we will always start with a soup- freshly made by amazing Khem and Ramesh our two cooks. Then a minimum of four different dishes will be served yet again – and here is but a few: vegetable curries in many different variations always made with locals veg and local potatoes, spinach, spring rolls, pasta dishes in all shapes and forms with yak cheese shavings on top! Fried veggie rice and of course Dhal! Home made paneer with delicious sauces and veggies, vegetable tempura and believe it or not: PIZZA -proper pizza that could win in any pizza competition in Rom or New York!!!! (and I haven’t mentioned any of the meat additions since I eat vegetarian and don’t pay much attention to what sausages and salamis make their way onto my fellow hikers plates!) ….. okay enough for today! I am sure it made you
hungry just reading your this…. so go and grab some food and I will be back with more stories soon.
