Jazzercising all the way to Sephu

Greetings All,
Clear skies greeting us the next morning and Namgay made the decision to keep to our orginal route and cross the Jaze La!  The French group we had met up with in Laya had already decided to go this route so we would not be the first to go over since the cyclone.

Throughout our trek we noticed that the villages were undergoing a housing boom.  Where was the money coming from to finance all these new houses?  The answer is surprising and totally unexpected, caterpillars, that's right caterpillars!  Every June/July, the people of the highlands harvest a caterpillar that has been parasitized by a fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis).  The fungus eats the caterpillar from the inside out and the corpse is prized by Chinese and Tibetan herbalists.    It is used as an aphrodisiac and treatment for fatigue and cancer.  A kilo of caterpillars is worth about $1200!

Namgay holding a Caterpillar Fungus

We headed up the Lunana valley towards the village of Thanza.  Just shy of Thanza we crossed the river on a wooden bridge and entered Thanza's sister village Thoencha.  A group of women were taking a break from threshing barley and were enjoying a cup of tea.  One woman was wearing the traditional black wool hat of the upper Lunana valley.

Thoencha Woman

We climbed steeply out of the valley with a stupendous view of Table Mountain.  After the Queen of Bhutan visited the area she renamed the peak Singye Kang after her husband, the fourth king of Bhutan.

Table Mountain Looms over the Lunana Valley

We encountered two women returning to Lunana with their yaks, a good sign as it meant that the Jaze La was passable.

Women Herding Yaks, Jejegangphu is in the Background

Further up the valley it appeared that the number 101 was etched on the hillside.  Namgay confirmed that indeed it was the number 101, our address and surely an auspicious sign.

101, Our Address etched on the Hillside

The following day we reached the top of the Jaze La, our 8th pass crossing.  Surely, nothing would stand in our way of reaching the end of the trek at Sephu now!

Us on the Jaze La, our 8th Pass Crossing 



We spent a cold night at 16,600 feet.  The staff started to clear snow in order to pitch our tents but we insisted that we could camp on snow.  We each had two sleeping pads and a ground sheet to insulate us from the cold.

Tsochena, the only Camp we had to Sleep on Snow

The next day we crossed another pass and a high plateau now covered in snow on our way to the Rinchen Zoe La, the highest pass of the trek.

Crossing the glacial Valley 

On day 23 of our trek, we reached the highest point, the Rinchen Zoe La at 17,400 feet.

Us on the Rinchen Zoe La, the 10th and highest Pass

We thought it would be smooth sailing from here but we still had one more pass to go over.  The night before our final pass crossing it snowed and snowed.  When we awoke there was 6 inches of new snow!

Marc peering out of our tent at Tampe Tsho

 

We would have to break trail over our final pass the Tampe La.  Namgay led the way but near the top lost the trail.  The wind was howling at 30-40 mph covering all tracks with the fresh snow.  We pressed on discovering that we were only 5 minutes from the summit.  It was too cold and windy to stop on the top for very long.  Graham snapped a quick photo of us and we headed down.

Us on the Tampe La, our 11th and Final Pass

On the way down we encountered a yak train coming up.  They packed the snow making the descent much easier.

Yaks to the rescue, clearing a path on the  Tampe La

This time of year the people from Lunana have to make the arduous 5-day journey to Sephu to pick up supplies for the long winter.  The yaks were laden with rice, powdered milk, distilled water for solar panels, kerosene, gas stoves, corrugated metal for roofs, wood for altars and some even carried wood stoves.  We were trekking for fun but for the people of Lunana it was a matter of life or death.  It certainly gave new meaning to "honey can you go to the store and get me some chocolate?"

The last day of our trek was long and challenging.  We had to negotiate 9 miles of dumpers, a mix of mud, yak and pony poo.  I was too tired to avoid the dumpers and ended up just plowing through them.

Peggy plowing through a Dumper

Finally, the village of Sephu came into view.  Hooray, we made it!!  We were greeted by reps of the local tour company and adorned with white scarfs, a sign of respect in Bhutan.

Group Photo at Trek's End 

A celebratory lunch followed with plenty of Druk 11000, a strong local beer, to go around.

A Toast to Completing the Snowman Trek

Now for some R&R before our next trek.

We hope all is well back home.
Peggy and Marc

Lunana or Bust

Greetings All,
The following morning the yaks had still not shown up.  Where on earth were they?  We decided to press on to the next village of Woche hoping they would catch up to us by the time we arrived.  As we were leaving camp, a flock of Blood Pheasants were feeding in the forest just beyond.  Marc was able to get a decent photo.

Male Blood Pheasant

  
We hiked along the valley past numerous rock slides and waterfalls cascading from the cliffs above, then climbed steeply to the tiny village of Woche.  The local kids came to check us out, their shyness outweighing their curiosity.

Kids in Woche

We had lunch in Woche and waited around for the yaks to show up.  They didn't.  We didn't have a choice, we had to camp in Woche tonight and hope that the yaks would finally arrive.  We were having afternoon tea in the mess tent when our assistant guide Ngawang bursts in announcing that the yaks had arrived.  Hooray, it was on to Lunana at last!!

AWOL Yaks turn up in Woche

Namgay told us that the yaks had left the high camp two nights before and had gone all the way back to our lunch spot after we had left Laya!  The yak men had finally caught up to them and drove them back to high camp arriving well after dark.  They spent a very cold night at 16,000 feet without many supplies.  They left early the next morning and finally caught up to us at Woche.

Two days and one pass later we finally entered the Lunana Valley.  Namgay chose to camp at the village of Chozo instead of Thanza to give us more options.  "Options, what options, why do we need options?", I enquired.  Namgay explained that there was still a lot of snow on the high passes and that no trek group or locals for that matter had gone over the Jaze La since the cyclone hit.  We may be forced to use an alternate, slightly shorter route.  I was disappointed but understood his reasoning.

We set out to visit the Dzong in Chozo, the only one in Lunana.

Chozo Dzong

The Dzong was deserted and most of the rooms vacant.  We climbed steep stairs to the second floor where there was a locked door.  "What's inside?', I wondered.  There was a tiny window and I stuck my camera through and took a photo.  The flash revealed the secrets inside.

Altar inside Chozo Dzong

Later Namgay told us a malevolent female deity lives in the Dzong.  I hope I didn't offend her by taking a photo.  Curious locals stopped by camp to check us out.  Not many outsiders make in to their remote valley home.  One man led his young daughter by the hand to visit the Chilips, as foreigners are called in Bhutan.  I got a kick out of her sweatshirt.

Angry Birds in Lunana!

We had a rest day in Chozo so decided to climb the ridge above camp.  From the top there were spectacular views of Table Mountain and of the mountains to the East including Gangkar Punsum, the highest unclimbed peak in the World.

Gangkar Punsum is the pointy peak on the far right

Our dinners were served each evening around 6:30 in the mess tent.  The meal was preceded by a hot cup of soup served by our camp staff.

Ngawang serving Soup

Following soup a hearty meal of meat, rice and vegetables was served by our ever so helpful guide Namgay. 

Namgay serving Dinner

Meat was either beef, chicken, mutton or pork.  Vegetables consisted of green beans, carrots, cabbage, turnips, or pumpkin served in a chili cheese sauce.  The Bhutanese love their chilies, the hotter the better.  Early in the trek fresh fruit was served for desert.  Later our deserts were Indian Gulab jamun or sweet balls sort of like Dunkin Donut munchkins.  We came to refer to them as yak balls.  That night we went to bed not knowing if we could complete the Snowman Trek as planned or if we would be forced to take the alternate route.

We hope all is well back home.
Peggy and Marc

Yaks Gone AWOL

Greetings All,
Yippee!!!  We woke to clearing skies and would be leaving Laya today!  Another trekking group had left Laya the day before and we hoped they would break trail over the next pass.

Laya Under Clear Skies

As we were heading out, two schoolgirls with the traditional conical bamboo hats that Laya is known for agreed to let us take their photo.



School Girls in Laya

 

As a result of the storm, Trek Groups piled up in Laya.  We were now on the same schedule as a group from France.  Some of our staff raced ahead to secure the trekkers' hut at Rodophu before the French arrived.  The hut was smoke filled so, we were happy to camp outside.  We did use one of the less smoky rooms in the hut to eat our meals.  A woman from Laya peered in through one of the windows offering to sell me a conical bamboo hat.  Of course I couldn't resist.

 

Laya Woman at Rodophu

 

Thanks to the group that was a day ahead of us, the snow that had fallen on our 5th pass, the Tsome La, had been well packed.

 

Us on the Tsome La, I'm wearing my new hat 


I'm amazed at how agile our pack ponies and mules are!  They are able to carry heavy loads over steep, slippery and rocky terrain wearing metal horseshoes!

Pack Ponies Crossing the Tsome La 

Descending from the pass we stopped at a flattish but snowy spot for lunch.  The sun poked through the clouds warming us.

Lunch below the Tsome La 

Yes, we were very pampered on this trek!  Our camp staff set up a table and chairs and served us a hot meal at every lunch.

 

We spent a cold night at our highest camp yet around 16,000 feet in preparation for crossing the Karakachu La at nearly 17,000 feet.  There were still lots of clouds around so the view was somewhat obscured.

 

Crossing our 6th pass, the Karakchu La 

 

It was a long knee-crunching descent to the Tarina Valley far below.  At least the spectacular views of turquoise lakes at the head of the valley distracted me from my aching knees.  

 

Lakes at the head of the Tarina Valley

 

We arrived at camp around 5:00, 9 and a quarter hours after we had set off in the morning.  Our pack ponies had arrived but where were the yaks?  We were now using around 13 yaks to carry loads over the high mountain passes.  Fortunately, the ponies carried all our stuff but the yaks had all the staff's gear.  It would be a cold night for them.  We offered some of our equipment but they would make do sleeping in the mess tent with pony blankets.

 

We turned in around 8:45 and still no yaks. 

  

We hope all is well back home.

Peggy and Marc

Hunkering Down in Laya

After leaving Jangothang the weather remained clear and we had spectacular mountain views from the summit of our first pass, the Nyele La at 15,900 feet.

Us on the Nyele La, our first Pass Crossing

Jitchu Drake is on the left and Tserim Gang is on the right.  As we descended from the pass we could see Lingshi Dzong perched strategically on a hill above.

Lingshi Dzong

Built in the 16th century by Zhabdrung, the lama responsible for unifying Bhutan, the Dzong is now falling to ruins after being damaged by the September 18 earthquake last year.  All monks living there had to move.

We dropped back down into rhododendron forest and camped next to the Lingshi Chu (River).  The following morning we climbed up to inspect the crumbling Lingshi Dzong then back down to the village of Lingshi.  As we approached we could see that an archery match was underway.  Men from the village of Lingshi were taking on rivals from the neighboring village of Gang Yul.  The Bhutanese take archery very seriously.  The match will go on all day with lots of singing and dancing when an archer hits the target and lots of beer drinking to improve aim.  New fangled bows from the US are now in vogue.

Archer in Lingshi

 

We descended to the tiny village of Gang Yul situated beneath enormous limestone cliffs and dwarfed by the massive east face of Tserium Gang.

Gang Sul at the base of Tserim Gang

The village was mostly deserted as most of the inhabitants were in Lingshi at the archery match.  A lone old woman spun her prayer wheel in quiet reflection.

Old Woman Spinning Prayer Wheel

We ended the day camping at the village of Chebisa in a yak pasture with lots of barking dogs at night.

Our Camp at Chebisa

 

Three more pass crossings brought us to Laya, the largest village on the trek.  As we entered the village, it started to rain.

Entering Laya

It was at this point we found out that a super cyclone from the Bay of Bengal was bearing down on India.  A massive wall of moisture was heading north into Nepal and Bhutan.  The rain continued throughout the night and through the next day.  Fortunately, the following day was a rest day and we could wait out the storm.  The rain did not stop and the next morning it had changed to snow! 

Snowy Camp at Laya

Our staff tried to cheer us up by building a beer-drinking snowman, very appropriate for the aptly named Snowman Trek.

Snowman in Laya

 

The decision was made to spend another day in Laya to see if the storm would abate.  At this point our trek was in serious jeopardy.  We may be forced to retreat to the road head at Gasa and miss going to Lunana all together.  My spirits sank and I prepared myself for the inevitable.  How could we proceed?  Even if the storm blew over surely it would leave lots of snow on the high passes. Could we or more importantly our pack animals make it over the snow clogged passes?  Only time would tell.

We hope all is well back home.

Peggy and Marc

Land of the Thunder Dragon

Greetings All,
Our next adventure has begun!  After flying nearly 22 hours (not all in one shot) we arrived in Bangkok, Thailand on September 30.  We visited Bangkok 22 years ago and ventured into the city to visit The Grand Palace to see how much it had changed.   I was shocked at the number of fellow tourists we encountered.   I remembered few visitors to this wildly ornate complex back in 1992.  Construction of a new palace and administrative offices began back in 1782 by King Rama I.  On the Upper Terrace are four main monuments including a large golden stupa on the near left, Phra Siratana Chedi.  Behind and to the right are Phra Mondop and The Royal Pantheon which contains statues of past kings.

Upper Terrace Monuments

Tall Guardian Statues stood by the entrance to the main gate.

Guardian Statue

The most famous temple is the Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha.  The Emerald Buddha is in fact carved from a block of green jade and was first discovered in 1434 in a stupa in northern Thailand.  At that time the stature was covered in plaster.  An Abbott noticed that the plaster on the nose had flaked off revealing the green stone underneath which the Abbott thought was emerald.  Back in 1992 we could photograph the Emerald Buddha but not this time around.  You'll have to settle for a row of golden deities that line the exterior of the monastery.

Golden Deities

On the morning of October 2, we flew from Bangkok to Paro, Bhutan.  The valley was shrouded in clouds and our pilot had to abort his attempt to land from the north.  The approach from the south had slightly more visibility and our pilot was able to thread through the mountains at the entrance to the valley and land safely, whew!

Flying in to Paro, Bhutan

We were saddened to learn that The National Museum had been severely damaged by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in 2009 and is now closed.

Earthquake damage to the National Museum

We had visited this museum back in 1992 but fortunately a new building has been constructed to house Bhutan's artifacts.  We also visited the Paro Dzong or fortress/monastery built back in the 15th century.

Paro Dzong

Today we did our first hike of the trip to Taktsang or the Tiger's Nest.  This monastery was first built in 1692 on a set of cliffs high above the Paro Valley.

Taktsang or The Tiger's Nest

Legend has it that the site was selected because it was here that Guru Rinboche who brought Buddhism to Bhutan meditated in a cave for 3 years back in the 8th century.  The Guru flew to the site from Tibet on the back of a tigress, hence the name The Tiger's Nest.

Sadly, a fire destroyed the monastery back in 1998, 6 years after our first visit.  Fortunately, it has been rebuilt to its former glory.  This time we were able to go inside the monastery and visit a few of the temples.  Photography isn't allowed so we don't have any photos of the interior.

Us with Taktsang in the Background

Tomorrow we start our 26-day trek in Bhutan considered by some to be possibly the greatest trail on Earth.  The "Snowman Trek" follows the spine of the Himalaya between Bhutan and Tibet.  Here is a  map of our trek route.

Trek Route in Red

During our 26 days we will cross 11 passes over 15,000 feet 5 of which are over 16,000 feet..  We will visit the almost separate mountain kingdom of Lunana, one of the remotest inhabited valleys in the world.  Internet access will be limited but I will try to give a few updates over the course of our journey.

We hope all is well back home,  
Peggy and Marc