"...let the mountains teach our hearts to reach upward to heaven." -Rabbi Harold Kushner
A few weeks ago, I, along with four friends, spent 8 days hiking in the Langtang, a part of the Himalayas that lies north of Kathmandu. For the fist day and a half of our trek, we walked through a lush forest, which at times felt more like a jungle filled with moss-covered trees and many varieties of birds. The forest is also home to the red panda and 3-5 snow leopards (or at least that what the signs claimed). Unfortunately, these endangered animals stayed out of sight, although I'm sure they were close by. A glistening blue river, on the other hand, was a constant companion, guiding us toward the mountains in the distance. Eventually, as we climbed, the forest thinned, and the valley widened taking us through open, almost barren, land. We passed yak pastures and stacks of prayers stones. Beautiful snow-covered peaks reminded us of our destination. The hiking was difficult at times, but, in true Nepali fashion, we stopped for many tea breaks along the way. We spent our evenings in lodges that are scattered along the trail. After long days of hiking, our evenings consisted of huddling around wood stoves, eating lots of fried food and crawling into our sleeping bags way earlier than what we would normally consider respectable.
On our third day, we reached the small town of Kyangin Gompa, named for a monastery that sits just above the village. I'm not sure if I've ever been in a more picturesque place. The views of the mountains were stunning, and I couldn't stop taking pictures of them. We spent the next three days, taking day hikes from Kyangin Gompa. We climbed to the top of Kyangin Ri, a 15,000 ft. peak that looms above the town. Again, absolutely spectacular views of the glistening mountains. We spent Thanksgiving Day, exploring a valley beyond Kyangin Gompa, and I was reminded of the many things I have to be thankful for...good friends, the opportunity to live in a beautiful country like Nepal, health that allows me to hike in the mountains, sunshine, good food, etc. Since there were no turkeys in sight, I celebrated the day by eating other comfort food- tomato soup and chapati with cheese (almost as good as a grilled cheese).
After three days at Kyangin Gompa, we headed back to Syafrubrensi, where we had started. We took an alternate route back, following a high ridge that provided a bird's eye view of the trail we followed the fist two days. We stopped for lunch in small, Tibetan town where a boisterous wedding was under way (apparently two Germans were getting married...weird, I know). After a torturous downhill descent, we finally arrived back in "civilization". I had a week's worth of dirt and dried sweat on my body but a smile on my face. It was a fabulous trek!
Click here for pictures-
