BHUTAN--LAND OF THUNDER DRAGONS

BHUTAN: LAND OF THUNDER DRAGON

(DOUBLE CLICK TO ENLARGE PICTURES)

I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get out of bed, my left knee was locked up and my low back was experiencing a major stenosis spasm...what is going on? This can't be happening! In one month I am supposed to be on a 9 day 87 mile trek through the high mountain passes of the Himalayas, in the kingdom of Bhutan. 

RICK FRENCH:

YES-HE IS THE STAR

How often does one get to meet someone who is in a league of their own? I was told by my friends I had to meet Rick French at least once in my life, and boy were they right. 

RICK IN THE MIDDLE -WITH JENNY AND GARTH

We all joined Rick's  Pack Paddle and Ski team in Bangkok, Thailand.  A mere 5'6" (guessing) Rick is without a doubt a Giant when it comes to adventure. He is not just an adventurer, he is a leader of people. Rick embraced all the people we had on our team, (including the Bhutanese) learning their names.. asking them questions, and with a great sense of humor--sometimes singing in the morning with his squeaking parrot like voice to get us out of the tents...that made us smile.

PAUL GARSIN- HANDSOME 
DEVIL TOO!

TASHI-GUIDE, RICK, ME, PAUL, RO, LAL-GUIDE,
KARIN, ROB, SARAH, JENNY,  & GARTH

THE TEAM: All the trekkers were from around Rochester, NY.. They were a tough bunch of compassionate      hikers and a great group to hang out with. Paul was definitely the star, at 72 years old he carried a Cannon camera with a good size wide angle lens, Paul snapped many of these pictures.

MIND OVER MATTER: As the time to depart neared, I still faced pain like I have never felt before, so I had to ask myself- how bad do I want this?...I finally decided.. Real Bad! So before I left, I went to a couple specialist ...to get another cortisone shot in my knee, and the week before leaving a bilateral epidural in my low back...barely enough time for it to kick in. I didn't get much training.. some pool exercises and a short hike in the Sierras...not much. My long time trainer

RANDY NEUBERG-TRAINER

JUST A COUPLE REPS TO WARM UP

Randy Neuberg worked his magic to get me on my feet...and helped me practice a squat (for emergency #2 so I wouldn't fall over-Ha Ha!), and how to lift my suitcase up stairs. I was pretty apprehensive, but Randy kept saying I can do this----once again at age 64... 

AIRPORT AT PARO

TASHI NAMGAY RESORT

BHUTAN: Kuzuzangbo (Hello in Bhutanese). Bhutan is a land locked kingdom that has never been conquered and was part of the ancient silk road between Tibet and Southeast Asia. The country is high in mountains of the snowcapped Himalayas.  Bhutan is a very unique country, their 4th King, educated at Oxford, has molded his nation into a society that has only a 2% unemployment, free medical and education, and is centered around the now famous GHI (gross happiness index). Free of smog and congestion, it is a small kingdom of 700,000 people. No immigration issues, no land ownership by foreigners. The king has recently converted the country over to a Monarch/democracy with elections, but the King still has the final say so- he is after all the "Thunder Dragon King"  Bhutan has an amazing 64% of its land in National Forest. And as a visitor, each person must pay at least $250 per day, that includes the guide, hotels and food. From the $250, $65 goes to free education and medical-nice! Bhutan's main source of income is from Hydroelectric and Tourism. 

THE VALLEY AT PARO HAS A
 DROP -IN AIRPORT- AS SOON AS I GOT
OFF THE PLANE AND SAW SITES LIKE THIS,
                I KNEW THE DECISION TO COME WAS
THE RIGHT ONE

BHUTAN NEXT TO INDIA

STEPS TO TIGER 
NEST MONASTERY

TIGER'S NEST Monastery : As legend has it, in the 7th century the Indian 
Guru 
Rinpoche flew in from India on his Indian Tiger mistress, to save the village from a demon. He ended up living in a cave that is now the Tiger's Nest Monastery. A 2,654' elevation climb to the top, this is a spiritual journey, lined with prayer flags as the path weaves through the pine forest passing a cool tea house. You arrive to a Yosemite like setting next to a 1000' granite slab with the Monastery perched on a ledge, a gorgeous waterfall is your introduction along with monk chamber glued to the cliffs. 

TIGER'S NEST MONASTERY - BUILT IN 1700S AND
REBUILT IN THE 1990S AFTER A FIRE

SITTING ON THE EDGE
OF A GRANITE WALL
THAT LOOKS LIKE
EL CAPITAN

300' WATERFALL &
MONK CHAMBER

BHUTANESE FAMILY HEADING UP THE TRAIL
FOR SOME SPIRITUAL REPLENISHMENT

WHEN DO YOU KNOW U ARE IN BHUTAN?  Well, you know that you are in Bhutan when you see a giant Penis on the walls of buildings and homes..The penis is often referred to as a protective overseer, and a bringer of good luck, I find that hard to argue with! Lal our guide pictured below, is in his traditional Bhutan Gho outfit that men wear, while women wear Kiras.

LAL (GUIDE) IN HIS GHO

A DZONG - THE FORT
PROTECTING PARO 

THE LADIES AMIDST THE
DEATH FLAGS THAT
HONOR SOMEONE

I ALWAYS TRY TO OBEY
THE STREET SIGNS

JUMOLHARI MOUNTAIN PEAK
OUR TREKKING DESTINATION

CONNECTING WITH
THE SACRED COWS

GARTH- TREKKER MAN

PARO: (7,480") We spent the day driving around Paro visiting fortresses and temples, then the next day we drove up to the highest paved road in Bhutan- 11,000- 12,000'.  Passing a few signs along the roads with words of wisdom for driving slow.  A common sight are chilies being dried on houses and buildings.   

CHILIES DRIED ON HOUSES

Speaking of that, all food in Bhutan is organically grown, and when cooked with an Indian influence mixed with some hot chillies we were in for a mouth watering treat. Best dish--Ema Dashi!!! 

JHOMOLHARI TREK. 

87 MILES, AND 40,400' OF ELEVATION CHANGE
BHUTAN HAS 650 GLACIERS--WITH & ADDITIONAL 
1DEGREE CELSIUS CHANGE A PREDICTED 25% OF THE 
GLACIERS WILL MELT & A 65% DROP IN MELT WATER

OUR FASTEST LEAD HORSE
ALWAYS HAD THE  CUTE RED BONNET

SHANA CAMPSITE

BRIDGE CROSSING

We camped at (SHANA) left side of map, along the Paro river.  The campsite, although lovely, with a cool hut, and view of Jhomolhari mountain was full of horse poop that was tough to navigate at night. The next day we headed out on the trail and weaved through  the forest along the emerald green Paro river. Along the way we crossed many bridges, a small Indian army post, and the beginning of the yak herdsmen wintering home.

ARCHERY- THEIR
NATIONAL SPORT

JHOMOLHARI BASE CAMP: Along our approach to the base camp we passed a local village that was having a rousing archery contest with a nearby village. Archery is one of the few national sports in Bhutan. The target-- a tiny bull's eye painted on a board that is placed 130 meters away (426 ') WOW! The opposing village had either walked or rode their horses for many hours to reach this destination. The challenge was on, as the archer launched his arrow, he would charge the target hooping and hollering...then the opposing team at the other end would start yelling back if he had success or not. 

GAVE THEM A
LITTLE COACHING ON
POSING

THE TEACHER-LEFT IN
HIS TRADITIONAL GHO

Rick set up a visit with a local school in the village. The teachers here are volunteers, that have graduated with teaching degrees and are donating their time, to them education is everything for these mountain children. One of the teachers actually grew here. We arrived

PEELING BEETLE NUTS

JHOMOLHARI PEAK AT 24,000

at Jhomolhari base camp-
 the highest camping portion of the trip at 4,115 meters (13,500').  For our acclimation day we returned to the archery village and hung out for the morning watching a village lady peel beetle nuts, this is the locals way of getting a buzz, (beetle nut + lime), always smiling as they turned their teeth red. (Maybe that has something to do with the GHI :)). In the afternoon we took a hike up to the ridge looking up to Jhomolhari peak (24,000'),  looming 10,000' above us, and peaking through the clouds. 

JICHUDRAKEY MTN. (CLOSE TO 24,0000")

SUMMIT PASS: Time for the serious stuff, the 16,114' Yalila Pass! Rick had us on the right track with the acclimation days and pacing. Now, can we do it? 16,000' doesn't seem that high but it is still higher than all the mountains in Colorado and the highest peak in the continental U.S.- Mt. Whitney. 

JENNY-NOT FEELING
WELL- DOING HER
OWN BATTLE

TAKING A BREAK- I ASKED SARAH
IF SHE WAS CONTEMPLATING
   THE MEANING LIFE, SHE SAID NO I CAN'T
BELIEVE HOW MUCH THAT HORSE HAD TO PEE :)

ROB -LOOKING BACK

A HOT LUNCH IN THE SKY 

We started out from the Lingshi camp and faced the great Jichudrakey mountain that looks like the foreboding Matterhorn in Switzerland. Stopping for our hot lunch, we ended up being chastised by one of the locals for a past group leaving trash on their land. Approaching the pass everything turned into a moonscape and you could see the summit area lined with flags--time to put on some Rock and Roll and go for it. That day we did 11 miles and over 5,000' of elevation change. 

MOONSCAPE SUMMIT
APPROACH

THE SUMMIT PASS AT 16,114'

LAL - OUR GUIDE IN THE VALLEY

 MAGIC MOMENTS: I think these 2 pictures capture the insightful moments of trekking and travel. This is the time, "for you to go inside". One can only guess what LAL is thinking or feeling, for me it will always be the awe of the creation of this special round ball we call home--EARTH,  GAIA! majestic, unforgiving sustainable--with or without us. It's times like these that I feel on top of the world and insignificant at the same time, and wishing my friends and family were here to share these moments.

"CRAZY LAL"   
LAUGHTER- THE GREAT EQUALIZER
FOR STRESS AND LOSS

HALF WAY UP THIS PASS
A GROUP OF HORSES 
STAMPEDED DOWN
YOU HAD TO STAY STILL 
AS THEY CAME
CHARGING BY YOU.  

THE THIMPHU RIVER-PATH ON LEFT

SHODU---BARSHONG: After we descended Yalila pass it was time to carve out the last few days of the trek. We were now entering majestic river valleys that reminded me of Zion in Utah. The valleys were lined with pine trees and rhododendrons, coupled with the lightning color change of the Larch trees as we followed the crystal clear Thimphu river.

FALL WAS LIGHTING UP THE LARCH TREES

THE LAST MAJOR TREKKING DAY:
The last major trek day had a mind of its own. Started off innocent enough visiting a hidden monastery and talking to the monks. Some of monks have been here since they were 8 years old, no TV, but nowadays they do have Internet. 

YOUNG MONKS AT
 THE MONASTERY-
SOME ORPHANED, OTHERS
FROM FAMILIES

ISOLATED MONASTERY 

RICK BOBSLEDDING
WITH THE LOCALS

WORKING ON THE TRAIL

Along the trail they were doing some maintenance and our pack horses had to navigate this treacherous hillside path. And of course Rick had to jump on board a 16' plank they were pulling along the path to its destination below. 

FINALLY FOUND OUR
CAMPSITE

PAUL FOUND A NEW FRIEND

CHOW TENT-15 MILE HIKE

NEW DIRT ROAD

At about 2 pm I noticed Lal on the phone. Sounded like the horsemen were having trouble finding us a campsite. It appears our 10 mile hike was about to change. We forged our way out of the river valley straight up a broken path to find our camp.... Lose branches, nothing to hold onto, muddy, finally making it to a NEW dirt road-no camp, ok-- phone reception was out, so we just followed the jagged road, + add a little rain, and off we went.  Five miles later, and nearly dark, we finally found our campsite... and stumbled into our camp for some nice hot tea and dinner. Followed by a gigantic campfire after dinner it was rousing finish.

WORLD'S LARGEST
SITTING BUDDHA- 169'

SARAH MODELING
 THE LOCAL BEER

1000S CHANTING ALL
DAY IN THE TENT

RICK HOLDING THE BULL'S EYE
FOR THE DANCE CELEBRATION 

BACK TO CIVILIZATION AND LAST DAY IN THIMPHU: Greeted with beer and croissants we celebrated the trek at the end, and spent one last day touring the marvels of Thimphu including the largest sitting Buddha in the world. At the site they were having a pilgrimage to the Buddha and there must have been 3000 people chanting under the tent. On one of the last evenings Rick arranged a ceremonial dance from a local group, the dances represented stories of the wonders of Bhutan. This was a perfect way to end a great adventure. and as for me, I pushed my physical envelope, and wow, the old saying: "You Only Live Once" rang true, I will never forget Rick or the wonderful group of Rochesterians and of course the mystical country of Bhutan surrounded by the snow capped Himalayan peaks.

SENIOR CITIZENS
DROPPED OFF AT
THE TEMPLE TO HANG
OUT W/ FRIENDS 

RICK FRENCH-PACK 
PADDLE AND SKI,
 AND YAK HOLIDAYS INT'L. 
THANK YOU!








TI