Walk Tall & Carry a Big Stick
NEPAL | Friday, 20 April 2007 | Views [2241]
I scoffed at Darrin when he hunted relentlessly for the perfect walking stick in Pokhara, for the trek. Like we're professional trekkers or something, or scaling Everest and need a technical pole with shocks. We learned today, however, how invaluable the walking stick is. As we passed through steep walls of mountain, on dangerously narrow paths, we came across many animals. Mostly we'd see donkeys in formation, carrying goods from village to village. Then the random cows, munching and shitting all over the pathway, along with herds of sheep/goats loudly calling to each other. These animals you always know are coming in advance of seeing them- either by the smell, or by the sound of the clanking, big metal bells that hang from their necks. When they block the pathway, our guide would give a big hiss, yelp, and then smack the animal with a rock or stick. Today, however, we kept running into random stray dogs that wouldn't leave us alone. Once they started fighting on such a steep part of the cliffside, the path barely able to hold a person walking. our guide threw himself in front of me, and with a large stick he found, beat them away. Darrin found a nice stick for me just after the dog incident, and I have used in religiously ever since picking it up. We arrived in Chomrong at the Kanapala Guest House early that afternoon, ate a fine pizza lunch, and just spent the day doing laundry, reading and napping. The view from our guest house was priceless. A corner, top floor room surrounded on two sides by windows, we could see fish tail and Annapurna II from our beds. The spectacular view of the mountains turned amazing at night, after the typical monsoon shower late in the day - the clear night sky was filled with more stars than we've ever seen, and little lights dotted the mountainside, where houses warmed under the glow of a lantern. A great end to a spectacular day.
Tags: Mountains
