Random Notes from Kham Trek July 22-Aug 17. 2018

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(Notes from trip voice recorded on phone; to be edited and completed)
from most recent, back to July

​AUG 17, 2018
\nSa ma shankuh' - food.is.delicious.
\nTe-rre. Rolled rr. Wish u long life. Said when farewell.
\nDemo - for good by
\nSharukahn is suhkwinder singh
\n
\nLightweight camp gear
\nFirst aid kit, Fire starter. Water tabs.Binocular
\nWilderness survival guide.
\nProper packing of backpack
\nTashi denjup. - aruchya
\nFar left is god mountain - kawa luo ren (soldier god) snow capped
\nMiddle- zhuoda YOU BASTARD, mainly grey but some glacier
\nFar rt- unnamed MY UNNAMED LOVER, 2huge glacier.flows
\nKhandroma -saints, women nuns who are considered divine
\nAcademia.edu
\n**Charu coffe shop - Tibetan coffee. Shop on 16 fl in Chengdu
\nPADMA SAMBHAVA head of
\nJomo gompa is nunnery. JOmo mean nuns
\nPOEM
\n He said everybody thinks i'm Chinese.
\nShe said all the monks love me
\nThe dog sniffed and trotted ahead
\nHe tried on the monks ha
\nbut it didnt make him love me
\nThe dog waited for us to catch up
\n*Maps me.App*
\nNATIONAL GINAGRAPHIC
\n*Kam-ba not kampa*
\nKu chee please k'chee
\nTawu - monk.
\n-car to Yushu 150, mail, room price 270.
\nZhuoda peak in Gongga Massif
\nSUNDAY AUGUST 12
\nHad.no idea mountains between Kangding and Chengdu arr high! R we in a valley?. Wow!.
\nPassing cacti. Selling pricly pears on side.of the road!
\nSATURDAY AUGUST 11
\nUp the.hill to GouZhuang dont have.to.stop anymore, even the.stairs.to gomoa... altitude and 4wks hiking helpef! .
\nThought I had missed the chance to pick pepper corn but I found a Bush,full of fiery red. The scent remains on my hands and it's yummy.
\nMuch has changed in four weeks,however,as group four feet and four weeks. Buildings are near completion.Summer growth along the path has been trimmed back. The monastery is getting new gold roofing.And new building is near completion.
\nContemplate my intertwining wheel of happiness.: Health, connection, security, hygge, passe temps, Creative expression. How can I fill my life with these upon I returned to Chengdu?
\nI want to find huking near Chengdu nd nature opportunities in



\nFRIDAY AUGUST 10
\nIn Tagong. Right needs to pretty bruised from the fall. Slightly sore. Supposed to rain hard all day here. Will do A bit of shopping but I think i'll hitchhike to Kangding.. Hope lady!Give me my money back. Ahe did.
\nNote to self,do not stay on main street,but do not stay in main square.
\nI want one kilometre to the intersection,the road to.l Kangding. But arrived within ten minutes.with. nuoso man, who alsi picked up Khampa young man. We had good convo with helo. He wants me.to teach hos.children english
\nAnd.the vety talk, bery handsime Khampa man walked.me.to Himalayan coffee and.made sure.i went inside ; 4.he.left. damn he was cute! Amnd.kuke 6'4'
\nJust think,a few weeks ago,I had a headache the entire week I was in Kangding. .. after weeks at higher elevations , being here is a breeze. Maybe running will be easy in Chengdu now.!!
\nTHURS AUGUST 9
\nPoem for Ganzi based on brandy
\nShipped my box is only 50¥. Met nice guy who attend Tibetan University in Chengdu..
\nhard to believe i arrived in GANZI 19days ago, the first tine, n now im leaving.
\nHitched at east end if town about 20mins. W monk and friend. Picked up w in 5 mins by 3 guys in minivan. Nice too.
\nAs the landscape changes slightly with tje miles.tjat pass. The rocks.used in homebuilding chamge as well. Bigger, sliced lengthwise, open, tatjer than tje soft curved ovals usef further northwrst in kham. Also less buildings usong a lot of mud, like adobe, but becime whoolly.
\nGood luck, With hitch hiking three times today. Two guys,one was amonk. Then the three guys in a minivan,who are very nice and me all the way to tagong. Froped just outside a town,then the some Khampas ,pick me up, and monk too. Exchange WeChat
\nTUESDAY AUGUST 7
\n"INTO THE BADLANDS."
\n145pm. Heading out across the mountains and grasslands,trying to decide on a direction. I have supply for the mail on another ridge. It's big enough for me to crawl inside. I am very curious about the large animal that made that hole.But I will pass it by. On the hunt for nomads. Direct line is thirty five degrees North East that would take me.I've been down and massive elevations. Not to mention about four ridges of up and down. Guess i'll follow the dam 2 track.
\nThe temperature variance is wild.Without cloud cover it feels like Texas sun. Now the clouds.I'm chilled
\nSome ppl. Gathered on hill holled hello and cha soo ma. Later after i hike
\nJuat finished.tbought : going to.nab me a hhampa man, when a nomad on a Motorcycle dtives up amd offers me.aride! Fun and scary in.dirt traul along ckiff
\nFound a ganzi grand Canyon.Not getting too close to the edge as it's all crumbling ,mad.
\nDiscovered one of the problems with altitude hike,I have a very difficult time,walking slowly. Im used to pounding up hills and making traisl give way beneath me. Here, i must force myself to walk. A very very slow,.dull pace to prevent breathlessness.
\n3739feeling god but ears cold.
\nStarted well,East of the twin glaciers and
\n now i'm rounding about the front face and coming toward the west twin.
\n335pm 3867m so glad sun is back because i'm so cold.
\n425pm 1.5km ride w nimad up to 4000m lol. At 4013m stll.have to.go up to tje prayer flags.
\nOnly thing to woorry.aboit is nomads trying ti offe me aride that.is, anf.not wanrung to offend by declining bc i reallt wantef to hike.up tje mountain lol
\nteas claimed by the colonial power is not overrun w people n not overly polluted, excep in the areas with a karge concettation of colonists. Thei plastix n garbage lityer toadways, rivers n evetywjetr!
\n615pm. Two hours of daylight left. Could take a steep hike down the valley. But that would take at least an hour of slow and careful going.
\nSeven forty,the less than an hour of daylight left the thing about hiking is,you need a good navigator.I am that. I am now proficient and hiking trails And terrorist mountain sides. Especially good at getting down and going straight for the gozl Even if it's steep, Especially when it's late,and i'm tired,and i'm hungry,and all I can think about is Cha Su ma. Butter tea.
\nIn fact,i'm getting so good at negotiating the yet trails that I think i'm part yak. Sweet like yak Butter. Warm like yak wool. Strong n firm like yak yogurt. Tame like yak temperment, but with big sharp horns,just in case you fuck with me.
\nNothing more funThan running down mountains uas darkness.cimes, after hiking up 9km
\nAfter 830pm
\nOMG Ya'll, I just had the most terrifying experience at the end of my hike. I stayed up on the mountain too late and was descending in near darkness after 830pm. Nerve-wracking yes, but i have a torch and a phone; plus, near enough to see river below for bearings.
\nMy final descent ended at a PACK of effing dogs. That's serious folks, and one started up toward me. One dog is worrisome, but i have a sharp-ended walking staff and locals recommendation rocks (just the act of bending to pick one up is a deterrent), so i filled my pockets. I can fend off one, probably 2... but there were at least 4!
\nI headed away from town and down a steep, bush-filled crevice, continually pausing to listen... if i could only make it SAFELY down the last few ridges, and thhrough some fields, i would reach the road behind town, that runs along the river.
\nBut as i reached near the bottom of the crevice, i heard barking. Two had tracked me!
\n907pm Clear skyp First time to see any constellations in China. Spent five months dude
\n1120pm
\n The hardest part of the day,he's making it up this dozen stairs to my room..
\nI feel pretty dam traumatized. I want to curl up in a ball and cry, stay in my room and not talk to anybody. Even at 1130pm. After the incident,I couldn't handle going back to my room alone.And dealing with how upset I was.So I put it offAnd went to the coffee shop.And self medicate with Baileys. I actually did need the pizza.,,, Two winners my body revitalize.
\nI keep seeing that dog's tail. Fine to the bushes up and down hunting me.And that's the problem is they were hunting me and you can't reason with a pack of dogs.That is what is was most terrifying.I knew I had no alternative but to escape. I checked,and luckily I was downwind of them. Fuck that,I don't want to ever go through that again,I was so scared. The last time I was that scared was in the big waves off of Panama when I was too far from shore and tiring out. Then I was scaredThis time I was absolutely fucking terrified. There is no one to help me but me.
\nTodays hike broght to u courtyesy of Princr! Nothing pastoral cimes to mind, like the hills are alive wiyh.tje sound of music. Nooe, all during my travrls.in.Kham, wheneber i reach the high.point if my.huke, its primcr lol


\nSATURDAY AUG 4
\nCan hear Festival music.. so out of breath . Dropped off top of hill 9am
\nDiscovered 3new flower s and emerald green grasshopper. Trekking up mountain thru grassland hear birds and insects. Gaze at flowers. Its perfectionim in love. Yep. I feel in live here. With life.with mounyains with flowers witj earth witj natre. Gratitude and love. I love Everything Everyone. There's nothing better,than this is not possible. I really do wish I could just take a deep breath and dive right now. I feel like i've reached the pinnacle of serenity beauty of peace,love and life and living.
\n. There u r, u bastard! 1204pm
\n1215Now,even with the clouds.
\n1235 80m to go to reach 4000m. Very fatigue and chest tight. May.stop soon
\n110pm . 57m shy of 4000m oh well. Chest discmfirt for too long n extreme fatigue. Also been coughing for hours. Bad digns. Heaf too. Going back diwn Black squall coming anyway. Heart e is constricted .
\nI've renamed that peak of gangga massif, you bastard
\n3pm. descend steep Xmas tree hill to jomo. Now see.bridge. 7km away from.hostel
\nI think I was told the orange paint on the houses is Lhasa. Style.

\n Imagine if you were alive when our European ancestors colonized America.p. They came to the land and murder the people that were already there,so that they could have the land and the minerals Etc. They decimated populations and cultures.Sit without four minute and imagine what it would be like to know that your people were doing that to another race. What i'm living itIt makes me very,very unhappy. But there's nothing I can do if I speak out.I will be thrown out of the country.

\nMONDAY JULY 30
\nWhy are the thorn bushes,right at the edge of a cliff, so u have to sidle and slip around it.
\nThunder s brewing Wind n blowing from the south. Another a nasty storm system Brewing over the same ridge line from last night. temperature has dropped ten degrees.
\nOut running the front again.
\nWhy do you crowd me? Says the roof of the world, to the clouds of the sky.
\nfirst close up glimpse of glacier 1136am. said to it: u better be the.fucking glacier or im going to ne pissed .
\nSi out of breath and tired, may het my wish about dying lol. I could.seriously go to sleep. Am on alert for.signs of hape and hace even with doubled dose of Acetazolamide..
\n3rd Acetazolamide. At 1150. Mm fatigue and breathlessness aargh. tired.
\nSATURDAY JULY 28
\nOn oxygen,this morning,on and off. Will try to hitch a ride to. Kandze!
\nGot off taxi at 1044,.got Picked up at 1047! Waited in car about 20mins. ...?
\n To Maniganggo, w monk in carn nice Tibetan man, who statef chanting.
\nEveryone marvels at my nose ring
\n1215. Passed 4700m pass!
\n1235 At police checkpoint got pulled over and Lots of questions about the foreigner. But I explained I was a teacher from Chengdu. They talk to the driver admitted in with me but then told us to go ahead and go. Afraid it would cause problems for the driver. Everything okay!
\n1pm passed Sershul Gomoa and.monk and Tibetan man took off hats.
\nFRIDAY JULY 27
\nVery hard time breathing unless i'm sitting down, through up at 1115, after eating plum n peach.
\nMy body has decided it has other plans for me today... 😔 😖
\nno headache, but I didn't sleep much bc couldnt breathe well... even seriously out of breath just from a shower! 😳
\nWas all set to head out when i got nauseous and ill. 😲 😲
\nOxygen in every room...I thought the manager was joking when he told me that upon check- in yesterday. nope! and a very helpful and kind Hotel Manager, now i am in bed breathing 91%satO2 and feeling better.
\nAsking Dr. to overnight me some Acetazolamide. Don't care the price. 😖
\nFunny and so hot here.I think i'm going to die.
\nSome of the taxi drivers will try to rip you off. Because of being a foreigner.
\nO2 - 1hr each: 1130, 3ish, 545pm, 840pm -until asleep.
\nTHURS July 26
\n'De-mo' hello and goodbye
\nBa- Traditional yak tent
\nGuh - newer modern tents
\nPu-li -right name for momo
\nIn Tibet, lines are for driving.on, not between 😂
\nLots ohf Kham men have sexy mohawk style, tall on top shaved side
\nMet girl from Poland today.
\nGREAT KARMA! picked up by doje and invited to join family. .. spent afternoon eating talking, getting acquainted. .. wonderful wonderful time! Yak and yak milk tea and yak yogurt and yak puli... yep, the moments of positive soothsaying at Him Coff were correct! Everything works out for a reason. .. thr Hotel, walking a little further for cab to batang... meant to be!
\nConversation about Buddhism Shinto was born Buddhist,but is just now starting to study the practices and try to learn how to meditate. Fluent English speaker and read English books and writing her to the book club.
\nWEDS July 25
\nYachin Bus station on main st. Waited an hour for bus to leave. Left 215.
\n150¥ to Yushu
\nFurniture and clothing shops along main st .
\nLeaving Kandze, there are many more to choose from.
\n2pm in Maniganggo.
\n230 4000m!! 13100ft!
\nIf u dint jhear ftom me again we are on.a dirt raid. Guess highway closed. Barrly two lane w sheer dtop off.
\n250 pm 4528m. Severely out of breath turned corner n truck turned over. At. 14855fy n out of breath .
\nI survived. Car drives by,and what comes of watching out of the window but polo.
\nStopped in SanChaHe to eat yak.noodke soup. Of course everyone stared . Ate 'then tuk' yak, veggie, hand pulled noodle soup
\nHerbal medicine of Tibet plateau
\nHard to believe ive been gone 10 days and ive.got 12 or 15 to go!


\nTUESDAY July 24
\nDon't be alarmed when cars pass 2ithin. Altitude git me today. so her worn out today.Out of breath,just walking around my room.
\nLegs feel good feet feel good Except on on cement. the lungs and cardiovascular system that are fatigued.
\nSixty degrees does not Feel hot unless let you a她120000 feet on a sunny day.
\nWanted to lighten load by removing at momos n orange. Consider Water but glad.didnt 。
\nate 5 plums. Wish I had momos.
\nMonks keep passing me on motorcycles. Hopi.g to i get a lift down
\nHow many times can a person be awestruck and continue to live.
\nI think i'm seeing a glacier,for the first time in my life.
\nNature first green is gold.
\nMonks onotorcycles

\nMONDAY 23rd
\nWhat its like to be famous... taxi drivets call their nephews so u can talk to them..
\nCloud cover,the temperature drop 1245 pm. 3520m COLD!
\nAltitude not getting me too mucch. Little harder to breathe on the way up,but I slept very well.Didn't wake up until about fifteen minutes before my alarm.
\n40-1 So out of breath. I am frreezing!
\nCheck insoles.
\n3612m rain n wind. brrr. Only 150ft below 12k m!!
\nEasily out of breath
\nHoping rain passes so i can visit nomads!
\nToo tired, even after eating and ao cold. Rain.. head back down at 2. Back at 315.
\n4.63km, 3519m
\n-Temple to left.(E), grass n roads, Nomads!
\n-Hike green ridge (S). Road to baiyu-taxi . Mine road.
\n-How to get to gompa on the RT (W) ridge.rt, rt,, prayer wheels, straight, river, bridge, up.
\nName of the mountain: gonggo massif
\nSo many man wear polo here.
\nI was staying in the god room!
\nSUNDAY JULY 22
\n2 1/2hrs to tagong, left at 4pm.
\n250¥ to Daofu, gave. 3000
\nDriving from tagong is as like driving through the Texas hill country.Sparsely populated with ranches. Ranch home and cattle farms replaced by tibetan stone homes amd free roaming yaks .
\nLots of new homes being constructed. Private cement roads
\n745pm Descending. Now in Mountains of nc ga, tn..!
\nSun 22nd. 200to kardze Left for kandze at 12n. Driving alongside a river, many Hamlets on either side, at.the.base of steep mountainsides. New homes built of planks.Fund traders twice as big as me.
\nTraditiona Tibetan music,with a hint of rap. Mountains covered in green that rivals,Ireland. Flowrtd, yaks, and horses. Im beginni.g to. Understand why the call it the roof of the world. I.think i can touch the sky.
\nBring thirty that kicked out of a taxi because the police checkpoint. Now,I know it feels like to be an illegal alien.I guess
\nzhaddo - janggo - luhou
\nMala beads tree mah
\nTashi do jay - monk at Lhamo Tse
\nSoo yo cha -chinese - butter tea - ja soo ma (bo ja) Tibetan
\nBrought 1442¥ on trip , wd 1000 more
\nTues hike
\n-Lighting departedEleven thirty.With. Two liters of water,half a litre of milk te
\n-2 22 pm temperature dropping. near the grasslands.And there's a squall line moving toward nrw Kangding from south
\n-3pm 3 km, 3 1/2 hrs
\n324pm Snellen a twelve inch wide path keeps getting narrower and is filled with thorn bushes. 2970m
\n-Five p.m done with the trek. I only have thirty minutes to come down.
\nI love seeing kangaroo. delivered to the monastery.
\n

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