Journal Entry 13

Thursday September 20

The morning in Muktinath brings another long walking day for the three of us, but the journey is relatively flat and goes down the valley of a new river we will follow called the Kali Gandaki. It should be easy which is a nice change from the constant climbing we've been doing. I fatten up on a Tibetan omelet with yak cheese and bread and we are out the door by eight o'clock. It would have been great to stay in Muktinath for a few days because there is a lot to see here but, we don't have many days left in our trip before returning home. We haven't really thought about the terrorist attacks back home, but now with seven days left in Nepal we are wondering if getting back to Kathmandu early will be safer in case we have trouble with our flight. None of us have talked to anyone who could clue us in to what it's like in the United States right now. What if all flights into the United States are canceled and we have to stay in Nepal longer. I wouldn't be upset to stay longer except for the fear of running out of money, but I imagine our families are probably very worried too.

The land around us is still dusty, brown and dry, but irrigated fields along the path bring beautiful pink flowers of buckwheat to life. It's a beautiful sight underneath the clear blue sky. We pass Indian pilgrims all dressed in white on their way to Muktinath. They stop us with excitement introducing themselves with palms together telling us about their pilgrimage. We also see many well groomed backpackers coming along who are hiking the trail the opposite way of us. Soon they will have to tackle the long climb to Thorung La, but oh what an incredible experience it is. As we round the bend and hike into the river bed I think about all the people we have met on this trip. The Israeli man who swam in any stream, lake or waterfall he came upon and almost killing himself in the glacier lake near Manang. The German team led by a bleachy haired and kitty-paw fleece wearing man whom AB affectionately named, Colonel Clink. The four of them conquered the trail always in a perfect straight line with walking sticks swinging in unison. There was a beautiful blonde girl in their group that we named, The Hot Nazi which I know is horrible to make a joke out of, but we mean nothing bad. Jack and Trisha who have by now summited Pisang Peak and will follow our footsteps in just a few days. There are many more faces of course, but time is flying by and especially now as we tread faster and faster to get to the end of our trip. So sad to see that the end is near and all the friendships we made are lost in our rush to get out. Couldn't we just say, "Screw it all" to those obligations back home? We could be free to take our time and be with friends in these beautiful mountains.



What a long day it's been for all of us. We walked for 8 hours today, Muktinath, Jomosom, to Tukche. I've not even recovered from crossing Thorung La so today's walk reopened all my sore spots. It was sunny and dry but the wind was fierce as it traveled through the mile wide river canyon. It kicked up all the sand and dust which pelted us so hard we were forced to turn our backs to the wind. We walked the canyon with many pilgrims, hikers and porters and each time the wind cut through I could see people turning away and bracing themselves while the scarves wrapped around their faces twirled violently in the wind. We stopped briefly to eat in the dry dusty village of Jomosom but did not take any time to explore. Jomosom is the capital of the Mustang region complete with it's own airport and it's the busiest town we've been to on the trek. This is the last spot to get supplies, permits and contact with the outside world before heading into more remote parts of the Mustang Kingdom. We mail a few postcards and then very quickly we are blazing the trail again. I fell like we were racing today so that we can reach Tukche before nightfall. There isn't much talking among ourselves as we were all just heavily focused on the walk. The soundtrack in my head is blaring The Doors, 5 to 1 and Riders On The Storm over and over again. I wonder how these songs just pop into my head. What is it in the air that I feel or the thing I see that makes a song play in my mind. Whatever it is I'm just glad they are songs I enjoy. Feeling tired and haggard I am a stranger again when we settle into our hotel for the night because I do not recognize any of the other hikers. I have sand in my teeth and sand in my hair but the water has no heat so I don't brave a shower. It feels good to collapse and I'm fast asleep in minutes.