Day 7 - May 3/4 - 2nd night at Khorpa
This morning Annapurna south at 17,200 feet, to the left of our camp, is socked in and hazy. In the background is a yak farm. Yaks are adapted to living at high elevations (up to 20,000 ft.) because of a larger heart and lungs. Their long, shaggy fur hangs lower than the belly. Like a skirt. When crossbred with domestic cattle the offspring is infertile and called a dzo (sounds like Joe.) The babies at the yak farm are funneled into the stone barn behind me at night. A herder stays with them and carefully guides the calves outside in the morning one-by-one so each can suckle without being trampled. We could hear the mamas circling the barn and grunting to their babies throughout the night. Each morning the yak are herded back to the jungle for grazing.
Upon returning to Kathmandu I purchased a lovely area rug, made of yak hair, that is soft and durable.
Wildflowers continue to bloom on the rugged mountainside, above timberline, around Khorpa. Sukey was the horticulturist among us, and she knew many names of the wildflowers. One of which was the Forget-me-not, the state flower of Alaska where she and Tim once lived. The Viagra of the Himalayans is harvested in high terrain such as this. See explanation below.
This morning was too cold to venture outside for long. Donna still wasn't feeling well but made it up for breakfast. By 10 a.m. she was back in bed. (When I was at the medical camp I was too sick to eat and back in bed during the evening meal. Another time when Del was sick she also decided to forgo the evening meal.)
Wind blew through the weather-beaten slats in the front door. I am chilled to the bone. Before lunch I wondered aloud if we could pay the cook to light a fire in the 55-gallon oil drum in the round dining hall made of stone. It's drafty here with no insulation and gaps in the mortar. The six windows are not insulated either. Mike jumped on the idea. I bundled up and together we went outside to collect yak chips and bits of wood. He poured kerosene to start the fire, and there was lots of smoke, but after 15 minutes of sitting on the benches smack against the fire we were toasty warm. Farther away in the room it was still chilly.
The day was spent napping, reading, writing, playing cards and storytelling. As we huddled around the wooden picnic-style dining table and benches Amrit told about the ancient Bon-Buddhist culture and a method called sky, air or celestial burial when a corpse is either dismembered or left to naturally decompose atop high mountaintops (mostly in rural areas of Tibet). This is considered a generous way of disposing of the body, as it is then consumed by vultures/griffons and teaches the impermanence of life. This sky burial is also practical. Higher up the mountain most rock and earth burials are impossible. There is a brief, discrete scene of a sky burial in a Nepali movie Amrit told us about called "Himalaya". It's about a herd of 1,000 yaks driven to Tibet to carry salt and trade for grain. Directed by Eric Valli. For more information see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210727/
When questioned about some of the Hindu beliefs Amrit admitted the Hindu religion is very confusing. "There are many deities." He told of the centuries-old sacred festival all over Nepal of the sacrificial killing of goats. The goal is pleasing Gadhimai, the goddess of power."But there is a practical side," Amrit said. "There are too many goats in Nepal."
In the meantime our industrious porters had other lucrative plans for the day. They took the opportunity, at this elevation of more then 12,000 feet, to hunt for what's called the "Viagra of the Himalayans." Yarchagumba (called the Y-plant) grows at elevations above 9,800 feet. This caterpillar fungus, a precious medicinal mushroom, grows out of the forehead of a dead caterpillar and is no longer then a match stick. The fungus is used throughout Asia, especially China, as an aphrodisiac, and a treatment for fatigue and cancer. Harvesting the fungus is the source of cash income. Prem found about 17 of the fungus. The porters found some, as well. Together they will get about $60 U.S. for their findings, whereas it will bring thousands on the open market outside these high villages.
It turned into a lazy day. Kagi prepared lunch of potatoes, carrots and green beans in sauce with freshly made tortilla-like bread. He also prepared hot, mango-flavored Tang throughout the trek. I didn't know this product from my childhood was still on the market. Amrit brought mint, from the village yesterday, and prepared several rounds of steaming hot mint tea. It's good I don't drink coffee because it wasn't available on this trek. Del shared her bar of dark chocolate and later I pulled out a Tobbler bar. It was a big hit with the porters. We sat near the 55-gallon drum wood-burning stove. By now it was hailing and sleeting. The wind kicked up more then ever and we needed more logs on the fire. It was almost like camping out except that we didn't have to look forward to sleeping on the ground.
After supper we continued our card game. By now the wind is blowing the door open. Mike barricaded it shut and hung a tarp in front to buffer the breeze. Amidst the lightning our low wattage lights went out. Then a strike hit close to home. We heard metal-on-metal and there was a small flash inside the hut. Up here alone we were like a lightning rod.
By now I'm wearing not only a down jacket, hat and gloves but my sleeping bag wrapped around me like a blanket. Amrit felt sorry for this desert rat and filled my new 32 oz., hard plastic, Nalgene drinking water bottle to the brim with boiling water. Ahhh. My very own hot water bottle that I put inside my jacket (and took to bed and kept my toes warm all night.)
These experiences are not written to scare any potential trekkers. On the contrary. Everything we encountered made the adventure all the richer.
During several more rounds of Rummy our Nepali guide, Prem Pun shared his family background with us and his goal of going to college to study banking. We could see he has a good mind for numbers. While his parents are uneducated and illiterate his mother has been a strong influence for Prem and encourages him to study and have a better life.
Wind blew through the weather-beaten slats in the front door. I am chilled to the bone. Before lunch I wondered aloud if we could pay the cook to light a fire in the 55-gallon oil drum in the round dining hall made of stone. It's drafty here with no insulation and gaps in the mortar. The six windows are not insulated either. Mike jumped on the idea. I bundled up and together we went outside to collect yak chips and bits of wood. He poured kerosene to start the fire, and there was lots of smoke, but after 15 minutes of sitting on the benches smack against the fire we were toasty warm. Farther away in the room it was still chilly.
The day was spent napping, reading, writing, playing cards and storytelling. As we huddled around the wooden picnic-style dining table and benches Amrit told about the ancient Bon-Buddhist culture and a method called sky, air or celestial burial when a corpse is either dismembered or left to naturally decompose atop high mountaintops (mostly in rural areas of Tibet). This is considered a generous way of disposing of the body, as it is then consumed by vultures/griffons and teaches the impermanence of life. This sky burial is also practical. Higher up the mountain most rock and earth burials are impossible. There is a brief, discrete scene of a sky burial in a Nepali movie Amrit told us about called "Himalaya". It's about a herd of 1,000 yaks driven to Tibet to carry salt and trade for grain. Directed by Eric Valli. For more information see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210727/
When questioned about some of the Hindu beliefs Amrit admitted the Hindu religion is very confusing. "There are many deities." He told of the centuries-old sacred festival all over Nepal of the sacrificial killing of goats. The goal is pleasing Gadhimai, the goddess of power."But there is a practical side," Amrit said. "There are too many goats in Nepal."
In the meantime our industrious porters had other lucrative plans for the day. They took the opportunity, at this elevation of more then 12,000 feet, to hunt for what's called the "Viagra of the Himalayans." Yarchagumba (called the Y-plant) grows at elevations above 9,800 feet. This caterpillar fungus, a precious medicinal mushroom, grows out of the forehead of a dead caterpillar and is no longer then a match stick. The fungus is used throughout Asia, especially China, as an aphrodisiac, and a treatment for fatigue and cancer. Harvesting the fungus is the source of cash income. Prem found about 17 of the fungus. The porters found some, as well. Together they will get about $60 U.S. for their findings, whereas it will bring thousands on the open market outside these high villages.
It turned into a lazy day. Kagi prepared lunch of potatoes, carrots and green beans in sauce with freshly made tortilla-like bread. He also prepared hot, mango-flavored Tang throughout the trek. I didn't know this product from my childhood was still on the market. Amrit brought mint, from the village yesterday, and prepared several rounds of steaming hot mint tea. It's good I don't drink coffee because it wasn't available on this trek. Del shared her bar of dark chocolate and later I pulled out a Tobbler bar. It was a big hit with the porters. We sat near the 55-gallon drum wood-burning stove. By now it was hailing and sleeting. The wind kicked up more then ever and we needed more logs on the fire. It was almost like camping out except that we didn't have to look forward to sleeping on the ground.
After supper we continued our card game. By now the wind is blowing the door open. Mike barricaded it shut and hung a tarp in front to buffer the breeze. Amidst the lightning our low wattage lights went out. Then a strike hit close to home. We heard metal-on-metal and there was a small flash inside the hut. Up here alone we were like a lightning rod.
By now I'm wearing not only a down jacket, hat and gloves but my sleeping bag wrapped around me like a blanket. Amrit felt sorry for this desert rat and filled my new 32 oz., hard plastic, Nalgene drinking water bottle to the brim with boiling water. Ahhh. My very own hot water bottle that I put inside my jacket (and took to bed and kept my toes warm all night.)
These experiences are not written to scare any potential trekkers. On the contrary. Everything we encountered made the adventure all the richer.
During several more rounds of Rummy our Nepali guide, Prem Pun shared his family background with us and his goal of going to college to study banking. We could see he has a good mind for numbers. While his parents are uneducated and illiterate his mother has been a strong influence for Prem and encourages him to study and have a better life.