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item that I have brought has been used except the climbing gear
and that is still ahead.
In my general repair kit was heavy rug thread and large heavy duty
needles which Mona is now using to sew up the sole of one of her
boots. It’s a reason why I nixed the idea of light hiking boots
for this trip.
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I have taken pity on Mona and have taken over the
responsibility of re-attaching the sole back on the boot.
It’s dark and cold and the job is a tough one. I think
I have used the needle on my fingers as much as on the
boots. Too bad I gave away all the thimbles.
Observation: the more
desolate the family, the stronger the family bond seems to
be and these mountain children play with whatever is handy,
using the natural imagination of youth. They sing and spend
time around the fire which binds the family together.
It won’t be long and these family’s will be heading back
to their year around villages, leaving the desolation to the mountains and the coming winter. |
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So far I have encountered no hostility because I am an
American. In fact, I have been treated kindly. What little
traveling I have done, that has been the case. It is not
one’s national origins, with obvious exceptions noted,
instead it is one’s desire to assimilate into the culture
and to learn from it. By offering them the respect that they
deserve, they also offer you their respect.
I sure like Mona. I wish I would have met her three weeks
ago.
Thursday 10/29
Gokyo Peak is 17,400 feet and is the reason people trek to
this part of Nepal. Everyone climbs it, from the age of
sixteen to sixty six. It is a steep walk and offers
panoramic views of Everest, Lhotsa, and countless other
mountains. Everest, as the crow flies, is about twenty five
miles away and even though we are at 17,000 plus feet the
mother of all mountains still towers another nearly 3 miles
above us.
We walked up in the morning hours to avoid the crowds,
stayed awhile, surrounded by prayer flags and people, and
then challenging Dawa to a race for the bottom, started down.
Slipping and sliding I attempted a controlled fall to the
bottom. It must have been quite a sight, this ageing hippy
chasing an agile guide down the steep slope. Dawa with little
effort and a broad smile, was waiting for my gasping body at the
bottom. |
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