Soul Searching

I don’t know what the word in Nepali is for “shortcut” but it probably is something similar in meaning to “let’s send this guy over a couple of mountains and see if he lives.” Anyway, after the first disastrous day, in which a 2 ½ hour trek took me 6 ½ hours, because I decided I should be able to recognize a marked trail without any help, I decided to ask the locals for directions BEFORE hitting the road. Well needless to say what is a shortcut for some one that is used to walking over mountains regularly isn’t quite the same for a guy with a 40 pound pack on his back. And they do this thing where they just kind of wag their hand in a general direction and say “straight” or “follow the path.” The only problem is there are a million forks in the road, and sometimes the “path” is the wrong way! You’ll be happily walking on a clear “path” and suddenly there’s a sign that points directly away from the path, into nothingness. So which do you choose? I chose to stay on the path. The map said that there was only one town for miles, and I figured the “path” had to lead there. Completely wrong. The “path,” of course, lead to nowhere. Impossible? Not here. I ended up hiking from 4500 meters to 5500 meters (I think that’s around 18,000 feet), and back again. Brutal.