It's a sunny, breezy day in Manang today. It's about 60 degrees and the clinic is slow. Lexi is seeing more Nepali patients than tourists. We've been doing some local hikes on our off days. I'm looking forward to getting up to the really high country. The maps we have are not accurate because every year the monsoon causes large landslides and subsequent trail rerouting. It is definitely big country to explore. A day hike carries us up to 14,000 ft. Longer hikes go up to 17,500 within 10 miles of our house.
Hello all!
Hope life is good. We've been here a week now and are settling in well. We had a total of 21 porters and 800 kg
of gear on our walk up here. Nearly everything in this town is brought up on the back of a porter. They carry
amazing amounts of weight. One porter carried Martin and my's heavy duffel bags (100 lbs) plus another bag!
Manang is a great little town. There are a couple bakeries (Mart has been sneaking in choco rolls),
the sweetest movie theater ever with yak fur benches (watched a bootleg of Hangover, funny!),
and don't forget the Yeti Mart, right across the street from our clinic, which stocks everything from superglue
to cheap Austrailian wine.
Steven, the other doc from Ca, and I have been alternating days staffing the clinic. Martin and I have been on a couple
of fantastic hikes this week and are looking forward to getting up to Thorung La, the high pass between
this valley and the one to the west. The weather is beautiful, low 70's during the day, probably high 40s at night.
Glad to hear Brian and Amy had an awesome bike trip to France, can't wait to hear about all the downhills!
Thanks again to Pat and Erika for taking care of Bailey, I have a feeling she's going to be disappointed when we get back!
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Just how big are those porters?? They must be all muscles and lungs. Amazing.
ReplyDeleteForgive my ignorance, but is fall a big trekking season? Or will you be seeing local patients primarily?
Do you have a translator with you all day at the clinic? What are your hours? What have you been working on, Mart? Have you re-wired the clinic's electricity yet? I guess that I can hear about all of this when I see you...I'm planning a trip to MT, btw. Anyway, just curious.
I finished my wall labels...each one a tortuous mini-dissertation.....I slept in this morning until 6:30! The great news is that Julian is finishing my cyclocross bike today!
While your dad and I haven’t had the thrill of your climb, I think we both feel we’ve been there with you in spirit—on our move. Saturday and Sunday were filled with numerous trips of perishable items in a gigantic Ford black pick-up borrowed from friends. By Sunday evening, we were exhausted, cranky and grumpy. Your dad, I think, would have welcomed your A-Star group for my evacuation anywhere. On Monday, there was a 40 mile an hour wind (of course!) and temps in the low 60’s. The movers arrived—four good looking young men that would have been dangerous in shades. One young man sounds like your porter: about 5’4’’ tall and not over 120 pounds. He would run up and down the stairs carrying TWO cartons of books—all with a smile and an eye twinkle--ah youth! So now we are in the new digs, surrounded by cartons and cartons of household items that need to be put someplace (your dad suggested the DAV!). About the time we get settled, it will be time to move again.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as though October will be a beautiful month to celebrate Martin’s birthday and also your anniversary. What a memorable adventure to celebrate both. Each evening we toast your health and safe arrival.
What an amazing journey you are having. The setting that you are in looks ruggedly awesome. Bozeman jumped from summer to winter as Tuesday we had lunch on our patio in 80 degree weather and it snowed the next day covering all in white! Just checked on your house and the roof looks tight, no leaks that I could find and all is good. That's the first real moisture we've had since you left. We've had a beautiful and warm fall. Several forest fires and one threatened Bridger Bowl but out now as the snow blankets all our mountains. we're really enjoying your blog. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you arrived in the high country and you are doing well. recieved 6 inches of snow here last night and still snowing today. Wishing you the best. Tuli and Danielle.
ReplyDeleteWOOOOHOOOOO! greetings from brandom and mitch, and ?? sounds great over there...so glad that you created this blog and are able to keep us up to date of your adventures. i'm especially jealous of the "hangover" date with the yak pelt bench coverings! our friends from the flathead are leaving the u.s. today and heading to the annapurna. steve and jen are apparently planning to get married at the top of thorung la by karen! all of them are great and i'm sure they'll be by to visit at some point. we are doing well here, just readying ourselves for the new chapter of life that awaits. baby stuff has started to pile up already! the house is grooving along. it'll be dried in by tomorrow, with windows in, roof on, and the SIP panels wrapped. good thing, because weather is on its way. pretty exciting stuff. i'm still feeling pretty good, just getting more of a belly every day it seems. have been hiking big mtn and swimming lots...with some modified yoga to boot. definitely interesting to learn how to 'take it easy.' well, we miss you and will write more. i'm in the eR now and it's a nice "you-know-what" morning. take care and enjoy those himals for us!!
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