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| protesting the whole affair, I can
certainly empathize. There have been times.........!
Nothing worked until the handler put his hands over the
dzopchuk’s nose and held his mouth shut. It took a
moment or two but then, in a explosion of sinewy muscle,
the beast was up; and with people
scattering in every direction, he ambled down the trail.
Tuesday - Wednesday 11/3-4
Tuesday we got up late and hit the road to the Mera
La. The trip had begun. All that can be said is that yesterday
was hard work. Now I had a fully loaded pack as well as Dawa,
and the trail was hand over hand on the way to the first ridge.
A six thousand foot gain through bamboo, rhododendrons and fir. |
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Deforestation is a Growing Problem Close to the
Himalayas, But Getting The Lumber Out is a Major Pain
in the Back |
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The distance was too great to make it to the ridge in one
day, and in any case, we had to stop where there was water.
On the ridge top there would be none. We pitched the
tent under a huge rock where for hundreds of years people
have slept. We woke up today (Wednesday), to a clear,
crisp morning; broke camp and headed for the first pass.
It not only seemed vertical, but icy as well.
The ascent was tough going for this old man.
There were others on the trail, but not nearly so many as on
the first part of the trip. Unlike Gokyo, I certainly was
the slowest, but then my pack was the heaviest, by far, of
those that I saw, except Dawa’s and the other porters on the
trail. |
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Leading to the top of the ridge the forest was thick.
But as we gained elevation it rapidly changed to shrubs and
grasses.
One group of three Chinese had thirteen porters and as many
trials and tribulations. One member of the group
became ill with high altitude sickness and lagged a
considerable distance behind. With him were the main body of
porters. The other two, being the jack rabbits, and with the
rest of the porters and guide, had opened up quite a lead.
There was a great deal of confusion amongst this strung out
group, and since Dawa had decided |
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